“If you stay, there will be nothing left for you to abdicate from. And nothing left of you, either.” He stepped forward and offered his hand this time. “Please. The princesses will not go any further without you, and the same fate awaits them.”
Indecision warred within me for a matter of seconds. He had me. Catching myself before I reacted uncouthly, I nodded as if the predicament regarding my two closest friends didn’t mean more to me than the wellbeing of my newly acquired kingdom.
I didn’t like the idea of fleeing. It went against everything I’d been taught, but I knew Toby was right. He was also fiercely loyal and risking his life to save mine.
“Then let’s go.” I took his hand, allowing him to lead me once more.
Wordlessly, he set off at a rapid pace.
“How are we able to move so freely?”
“The very reason the palace is near empty. Your father’s last order was to protect you by all and any means necessary. Your subjects took it upon themselves to serve as a… distraction. The ones that haven’t fled, that is.”
Fled where? I wanted to ask, but I knew my energy needed to be solely focused on escaping. My silken slippers fell into rhythm with Toby’s boots. We took three sharp turns before coming to the hall in the very back of the palace. An ornate side table was affixed to the rear wall; moving it revealed a small indention that served as a mechanism to open a secret door.
Father had planned for it to be used in a situation such as this one, although he’d never wanted that plan to come to fruition.
Toby led me through the passage with ease, ensuring the door closed behind us so no one could follow.
We rapidly navigated the narrow passage set between moss-covered walls, lit by flickering candles.
When we finally emerged, it was directly into the woodland a little way behind the palace. The moment we stepped outside, I sensed an immeasurable amount of death. It crawled over my skin and poured into my lungs. The stench of burning bodies clung to the air, along with the sound of my subjects losing a battle.
Again, I was troubled with my decision.
Leaving like this felt wrong, regardless of my station, but I would do them no good dead, and, though I could fight well enough, I knew I was no match for whomever was behind this all by my lonesome.
I stepped deeper into the trees with no idea where I was going, staggering as the weight of what was now lost truly began to sink in.
One final glance back and my splintered heart shattered into pieces. We may have been escaping, but it was not unscathed.
My life as I knew it was over.
My home.
My family.
It was all gone.
CHAPTER TWO
Not all crowns come with wealth and power. Not all fiefs were made up of generous land, boasting prestige.
That wasn’t the case for the kingdom of Vita.
My father could be called nothing less than a great ruler. His devout dedication to his kingdom and the subjects that dwelled within it was evident even to those who wished to see his head mounted on a pike. A man so great his enemies marveled at his excellency.
It left the maddening question of who would do this, and for what purpose. If someone were after his position or the fief, they wouldn’t have brought down the castle and turned a utopia into this dystopian hell. I would never have made it out intact, for as long as I lived, the Vita was mine by right and by blood.
A kingdom of anguish and suffering. That’s what I had inherited.
With a sigh, I poked at the fire one last time and slowly rose, keeping a tight hold on the worn fleece throw I’d wrapped around my shoulders. This was the sixth dwelling we’d moved to in a span of two months.
Staying in one place for long periods of time was not a feasible option, and while this was not as bad as some of the other places we’d sheltered, it gave the impression that it would crumble and crush us if the wind blew hard enough. I didn’t dare complain. Not when so many lay rotting on once pristine cobblestone roads now dull from old blood, those who once knew them picking flesh from their maggot-infested bodies in a desperate attempt to prolong starvation.
I turned towards the warped piece of wood that served as a front door, watching Toby and Victor enter, a dark, flurried sky overcast behind them.
They brought in nothing but chilled air and tangible anger.
Their sour moods could have been caused by a sleuth of things, but I knew the bold red flyer crushed in Toby’s right hand had a lot to do with it.
“Is that old or new?”
“Who knows? There’s even more today. So many I can’t remember all the places I’ve already torn them down from!”
“Quiet,” I hushed him gently, casting a glance to where Jacinda and Scarlett were sleeping. “Give it to me.”
I held out my hand, and he begrudgingly passed me the flyer. I carried it to the rickety table in the far corner and smoothed it out. I’d seen many of these since the night everything went up in flames. It wasn’t a very detailed call to action. The clearest thing about it was the decree that we be brought in unharmed. The rest of my kind was being rounded up like cattle and taken by whatever means necessary.
This clear order for preferential treatment had given me a lot to question over these past few weeks.
If I were to ask any of the supes and demis I knew about the king who’d placed the bounty, all I’d get in response would be hearsay and convoluted rumors. Going off common knowledge was best, but I couldn’t hold much stock in that either when I’d never personally met him.
Powerful, ruthless, homicidal enthusiast. Those were the nicer adjectives I could use to describe the notorious mad king. Tapping my fingers against scuffed wood, I needlessly studied the flyer illuminated by a soft, glowing lantern light in the center of the table.
From my peripheral, I saw Victor approaching with quiet footsteps despite his massive size, a perk of Lycan genetics.
“What are you thinking?”
I looked into his brown eyes and saw wariness in their depths, as if he knew what my answer would be.
“I need to go to him.”
Toby’s mouth audibly opened and closed, a sputter coming out before actual words. “You need to go to him? I couldn’t have heard that correctly.”
“It’s exactly like you heard.”
He came towards the table, his footsteps just as quiet as Victor’s. “Why on earth would you do that after everything he’s done? Go to the tyrant responsible for bringing your kingdom to ruin?”
“There’s nothing concrete that ties him to our misfortune.”
He crossed his arms, causing the worn chainmail covering them to bunch together. “Are you saying he isn’t the cause of all this?”
“She’s saying,” Scarlett’s cool voice cut across the worn floor of our depleted hut as she stood up.
“The king of the void would parade through our streets and stick a flag of victory on top of our people’s corpses if he was the one behind the attack.”
“Have you been awake this whole time?” Victor questioned.
Scarlett smoothed a hand over her long brown hair and adjusted her skirts as she came to join us. “Long enough to hear this fool try to discourage her from making a logical decision.”
Toby set his eyes on her in a glare. She matched it, her jade green hues holding a challenge.