Until the stars fall, p.12
Until the Stars Fall, page 12
Slowly I turned to face him, the familiar ache of grief stabbing me in the chest. “No.”
“I know there’s bad blood between your family and—”
“She let my mother die, Matthias!” I bellowed, and a pair of birds flew out of the trees above our heads.
“And your father has forgiven her,” he said calmly.
“No,” I repeated. “We can do this without her.”
Matthias replied with a sharp nod. “Yes, Your Highness. We’ll start with the locations of the most recent attacks and work our way from there.”
Drawing in a deep breath, thankful to be off the topic of the old mage, I faced forward again. “Maybe see if the healers have any thoughts on herbs or stones or some magical something that could be hindering our search. Maybe if we can find—”
“What about the girl?”
“Girl?”
“You know, the blonde human who’s currently distracting a certain brother of yours?”
“What about her?”
“Where did she go after you saved her? I’m assuming she didn’t go live with some benevolent fae somewhere, right? If she was in hiding with humans, maybe she could help us find who is responsible.”
I was already shaking my head. “I don’t know. Obviously I’ve considered it, but her parents served my family for years.”
“Maybe her other family isn’t as loyal as her parents were.”
“And maybe her family has nothing to do with these attacks.”
Matthias shrugged lazily and muttered, “And maybe they do. You could at least talk to her?”
“I’ll think about it,” I said. He wasn’t wrong. I did need to consider the possibility, especially given how much time Lieke had been spending with Brennan. Maybe there was more than just her idiotic love for my brother at play here.
We continued on in silence for a bit, but my mind was in chaos. Someone, or something, was helping the humans elude us, keeping us from tracking them down despite our natural advantages.
But what if the rebels weren’t humans?
What if we were chasing the wrong adversary?
I was about to pose these questions to Matthias when we entered the courtyard and someone shouted my name. Lieke sprinted out of the palace’s front entrance toward us, her dark blue eyes lit with panic. I dismounted quickly and threw my reins to Matthias before I rushed to meet her.
“What is it?” I asked. My hands gripped her arms as I searched her wild expression for any answers. Had Griffin come here? Had he tried to attack her again?
“It’s Brennan,” she said breathlessly. “The king…”
Shit.
My heart plummeted into my stomach, and I pushed her aside as I ran.
No, no, no. I should have been here.
My mind repeated the words with each step I took up the stairs and down the hallway.
And then I stopped.
A pair of guards stood outside my father’s study.
He never placed guards here.
Never.
Then I heard it.
The sounds that haunted my memories, echoed in my mind, tormented me.
The steady voice counting.
The fists hitting flesh between each word.
The groans and whimpers and hisses of pain.
It should have been me.
I should have been here.
I had promised our mother I’d be here.
I ran for the door.
The guards tried to stop me, but I elbowed one in the face and slammed a fist into the stomach of the other. And then I was inside.
Whether my shouts were only in my head or managed to escape my mouth, I didn’t know, but my teeth slammed together at the sight of my brother slumped in a chair, his face battered and beaten. Our father stood in front of him, rubbing his bloodied knuckles.
The king turned to look at me, but I couldn’t move.
All I could do was stare.
My heart thundered in my ears.
My lungs gulped for air.
My mind whirred around nothing and everything all at once.
“Connor,” my father said, his tone so casual I wanted to retch. What had happened to him? Where had our loving father gone?
But I knew. I knew what had blackened his heart and why his temper raged.
He had lost his mate.
That’s no excuse for this!
“What happened?” I asked, my voice shaky.
But the king didn’t respond. Instead, he leaned down and grabbed Brennan hard by the chin. His fingers slipped in the blood that covered my brother’s face, but he still managed to yank his head up.
“I don’t care if that human is your fucking mate, Brennan,” our father hissed. “You will propose to Calla. You will marry Calla. You will forget the human. Do you understand?”
Brennan choked and swallowed hard before nodding.
My father growled, “Good” and then flung my brother’s face away from him, sending him backwards in the chair, which toppled over and slammed into the floor with a crack so loud I winced.
The guards rushed in behind me.
“We’re sorry, Your Majesty.”
“He just—”
With a wave of his hand, the king quieted them. “It’s okay. He needed to see this. Take Brennan to the healer.” He tossed his head toward my brother, and then his hostile eyes met mine. “You can’t always protect him, Connor. You can’t always take his punishments for him. And I should never have allowed it all these years. I did you and him both a disservice by doing so. But this had to be done. You know what is at stake. You know what he needs to do. You know what we stand to lose if he fails. And now hopefully he does too.”
I had no words. I had no thoughts. I had nothing.
I was nothing.
I was good for no one.
CHAPTER 24
Lieke
My feet wouldn’t move. As I watched Connor race into the palace, I didn’t know if I’d done the right thing. Connor didn’t particularly like me, and he certainly didn’t like my relationship with Brennan.
Any hope that my fear for Brennan’s safety was unfounded had been dashed away by the horror in Connor’s eyes when I’d told him. No, Brennan wasn’t okay. Rumors of the king’s temper had circulated the palace hallways since the queen’s death, but few of the staff had ever witnessed it firsthand.
Those who had seen it refused to talk about it.
“What happened?”
I spun around to find the other fae, Connor’s friend, walking toward me while a page led the horses off to the stables. I couldn’t speak. All I could manage to do was stare dumbly at him as he approached. He assessed me, his brows lowering over his dark eyes as if I were some wild animal who didn’t speak his language.
He stopped a respectable distance away but leaned forward slightly as he said, “I’m Matthias. You’re Lieke, right?”
I nodded, still incapable of speech.
“What happened to the prince?” he asked gently, concern softening his features.
“The king dragged him away,” I said.
Matthias’s eyes widened slightly. “Why?”
Something in this fae’s eyes gave me the impression he was well aware of my relationship with Brennan.
“You seem to know already,” I said, pursing my lips.
“I have my suspicions, but I’d like to hear it from you all the same.”
My face warmed, and I dropped my gaze to the ground between us.
“Well?” he pushed, though not unkindly.
“He was spending time with me.”
“Doing what exactly?”
My chin snapped up. “Oh, nothing like that. We were just playing a game of cards and talking, I swear.”
Angling his head, he studied me for a bit. “Just playing cards?”
I tossed my hands in the air with a huff. “Fine, there might have been a kiss, but only one.”
Matthias’s eyes flitted over my shoulder, but when I turned, the doors were still closed.
“Is Brennan going to be okay? What’s the king going to do?” I asked quietly.
Taking a deep breath, he shrugged and started to walk past me toward the palace, but when our shoulders touched, he stopped and said, “You seem to know already.”
I didn’t know how long I stood in the courtyard watching the palace doors, but it must have been a while, because the sunlight was fading fast by the time I coaxed my feet to finally move. My guilt and fear over Brennan—and whatever punishment he was receiving because of me—were painfully twisting my insides. And now I was late getting back to the kitchen.
Mrs. Bishop would not be happy.
When I reached the door to the kitchen, I took a deep breath and braced myself for the oncoming tirade. It didn’t help. My nerves were still pulled taut, and my hands were shaking.
Being even later isn’t going to help you any.
I held my breath as I pushed open the door.
The kitchen was quiet but not empty. In addition to Mrs. Bishop and Marin, two fae—Britta and Lola, sisters from the dining room waitstaff—silently flitted about the space, carrying dishes and fetching utensils. Part of me longed to back out quietly before they all noticed me standing here, since Mrs. Bishop appeared to have enough help preparing dinner. But the idea of going back to my room, being alone with all my what-ifs—or worse, having Millie present while my thoughts plagued me—was unbearable.
“Nice of you to join us, Sunshine,” Mrs. Bishop said in a flat tone. “Their Highnesses are all taking their meals in their rooms this evening.”
No one looked up from their work, though I could have sworn I saw Marin bristle. Trying to keep my tone casual, I asked, “Does anyone know why?”
Four faces lifted in unison, gawking at me as if I’d sprouted a second head.
“You haven’t heard then?” Marin asked skeptically.
“Of course she did,” Lola said. “She’s been sneaking off to see the prince every day this week.”
My stomach shot straight up into my throat.
They knew? How?
We’d been so careful.
But have you? My thoughts poked at me.
There were no secrets in this place, were there?
As Britta passed by me, she leaned in close and whispered, “It’s okay. We all would do the same if Prince Brennan fancied us.”
“And some of you have,” Marin muttered in a somewhat jealous tone.
Lola snickered, and Mrs. Bishop clapped her hands loudly.
“That’s enough of that talk, girls,” she said, a look of genuine concern in her eyes. “We don’t deal in gossip in my kitchen. You hear? The king requested a change in the dinner arrangements. We do as we’re told. End of story.”
“I—” Lola started, but Mrs. Bishop’s sharp glare forced her mouth shut.
The old fae looked pointedly at each one of us, jabbing a finger in the air as she repeated her instructions. “No gossiping about the royals. No guessing about what happened. No assuming you know the truth. Now, get back to work!”
Hurriedly I rounded the table to join Marin, who was ladling a hearty lamb stew into three gold-rimmed bowls. Without a word, I took each bowl and placed it on its respective tray. Soon we had the trays filled with steaming hot rolls, butter, and a cup of strawberries I’d picked from the garden this morning.
As Marin placed the silver lids over the trays, I cleared my throat and asked, “Shall I help deliver—”
“No,” Mrs. Bishop said without looking up from where she was cleaning the table. “Britta, Lola, and Marin will be doing that.”
Although I’d known it was a long shot, especially after Lola’s earlier accusation, my heart sank a bit. I needed to check on him, to know he was okay.
While they removed their work aprons, dusted off their hands, and picked up the trays to leave, I busied myself with wiping up spilled stew from the table before tossing the towels and linens into the laundry basket in the corner. Thankfully the dinner was a simple one, and most of the preparation had been done earlier in the day, so there was little left to clean.
As Marin and the two fae waitstaff stepped out of the room, I bit the inside of my cheek and counted to ten. I could still catch up to them before they reached Brennan’s room, but I couldn’t risk raising Mrs. Bishop’s suspicion. When I was sure I’d given them a reasonable head start, I pushed out a sigh and forced a yawn.
“I’m pretty tired. Mind if I leave a little early tonight?” I kept my tone as casual as possible, repeating the words in my head to ensure I hadn’t slipped up. No, there was no lie in what I’d said. I was indeed tired, and I certainly wanted to leave early.
She slowly surveyed the kitchen, and stars, I had to force myself to breathe slowly, to calm my heartbeat and prevent it from galloping away with my impatience. She might not detect a lie, but there was no way to hide a panicked heartbeat from her.
Finally she shrugged. “Go on then.”
I dipped my chin, careful to keep my movements slow, and offered her a quiet “Thank you” before slipping out of the kitchen.
With a glance down either side of the hallway, I took off for Brennan’s room. I hoped whoever was delivering his meal would hand over the tray without a fuss—assuming I made it there in time. I ran as fast as I could, skipping the servants’ stairways and heading for the main stairs that led up to the royal wing. It was a risk, but hopefully the king and Connor had already retired to their rooms and were awaiting their own meals.
Thankfully, I met no one on the stairs or in the upstairs corridors until I rounded the corner and spotted Lola about to knock on Brennan’s door.
“Lola!” I whispered as loudly as I dared, still running toward her. She slid a sideways glance my way and pulled her lip back into a devious smirk.
When I finally stopped beside her, my labored breathing made it impossible to say anything beyond a pathetic “Wait!”
She turned her head fully toward me. “Forget something, Lieke?”
I sucked in another long breath and shook my head. “Can I deliver his meal to him?”
Lola pursed her lips, and I clenched my teeth, fighting the urge to smack that smug look off her face. “How do you know he’ll want to see you? From what I hear, you’re the one who got him into this mess. If I were him, you’d be the last one I’d want walking through my door.”
I stifled a sigh. I didn’t have time to worry about how she’d heard or who had found out. The longer I stood in this hallway, the greater my risk of being caught by another servant—or worse, Connor.
“Please,” I said, the desperation in my voice earning me another wicked smirk.
“What’s to stop me from going straight to the king about this? I bet he’d be most interested to know the servant distracting his son weaseled her way into his bedroom.”
“I’ll take your dining room duties for a week,” I offered.
She scoffed at me and rolled her eyes. “And earn yourself even more opportunity to be in the same room as the prince? I don’t think so.”
“What do you want then?” I asked. What could she possibly expect me to have that held any value? What could I offer her that didn’t involve taking on her duties?
“Your necklace,” she said quickly, dropping her eyes to where Mother’s pendant hid beneath my dress. My hand flew up protectively to where it sat near my heart as I shook my head. I couldn’t. She raised a single brow and shrugged. “No necklace for me? Then no prince for you.”
My mind spun in circles, going so fast I thought I was going to be physically ill.
I can always see him another time. It doesn’t have to be right now.
But I need to make sure he’s okay. I won’t be able to sleep unless I check.
Then why not ask someone to check on him for you? It’s not worth handing over Mother’s necklace to this wench.
He’s fae. He’ll probably be healed in no time.
“Well? Do we have a deal? The prince’s food is getting cold,” Lola said, her expression turning bored.
Footsteps echoed from somewhere behind me, their steady thumping slower than my thundering heartbeat but growing louder, closer.
“Fine,” I growled, pulling the pendant out from my collar and slipping the chain over my head, wincing as it caught on the hairs at my neck.
Lola shoved the tray of food into my arms before swiping the necklace dangling from my fingers. Without looking at the door, she reached out and rapped on it three times before whispering, “Better hurry, Lieke. Someone’s coming.”
She spun on her heel and scurried off toward the servants’ stairs. Dropping my chin to my chest, I let my hair fall over my shoulder, hoping it might hide my face from whoever was approaching. The footsteps were louder now. I held my breath, waiting to be spotted, but then the door opened. Without looking up, I hurried inside and kicked it shut behind me.
“Lieke?” Brennan’s voice was weak, sad, and distant. “What are you doing here?”
The room was so dark I couldn’t make out his features or how bad his injuries were, but I could hear his pain in each syllable.
“I brought you a puppy,” I said, holding up the tray and trying to smile.
He didn’t laugh at my attempted joke but simply rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. Averting his eyes, he pivoted and started to walk away, saying, “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Yes, I know. If I get caught—”
He continued to walk away from me as he said over his shoulder, “That’s not what I mean.”
Grinding my teeth together, I breathed deeply before following after him. “Do you want to eat in your bedroom then?” I asked, not actually knowing where he was going since I’d never been in his rooms before.
