She hadn’t signed her name. She must have known I would easily recognize her handwriting. I cried as I read the words over and over. It seemed strange that she made no mention of Cole, but I could not deny her desperation to free me from the Beast. It was surprisingly easy to see how even Cole would seem a better option to her.
And I had just been treated to yet another display of the Beast’s arrogance and temper. So why didn’t I feel relieved to be offered a way out?
I didn’t attempt to visit Cole the next day. It felt weak of me not to defy Dominic’s order, especially when Cole might have been injured in the confrontation and need medical care I knew Dominic would never provide. But I needed more time to consider his plan.
He had made it this far on his own; if I could free him from the dungeon and requisition two horses from the stables, perhaps he truly could get us to the capital. We wouldn’t even really be stealing the animals since, once we were crowned, this castle and all its possessions would belong to our future child.
I shuddered at the thought. I had no desire to have children with Cole. Or to attempt the flight to the capital, even if I now knew Dominic himself would be unable to pursue us.
I told myself I hesitated out of fear of the wolves, but part of me knew it wasn’t true. I just didn’t want to marry Cole. I still wanted to believe there was another way to free Palinar.
But when I asked Tara for the date the king had died, her answer shocked me. She was clearly reluctant to answer, but obviously unable to think of an excuse not to. And it turned out Palinar had been cursed for three long years before I arrived. And I had been here for over three months. Time truly was running out for Dominic to claim the throne.
When I realized how close we were to the deadline, I pleaded with her to tell me the truth of the curse, but she merely burst into tears and ran from the room.
I could only assume she reported our conversation to the rest of the servants, because they all began to act strangely. Every single one of them seemed almost as antagonistic toward Cole as Dominic was. But unlike Dominic, who stormed around the castle avoiding me, they all seemed unnaturally cheerful.
Tara soon told me this was because they had finally chosen a date for my birthday ball. I suggested this was hardly the time, but Tara insisted defiantly that they were all extremely excited about it and had planned it for their upcoming monthly shared half-day. I had long ago insisted that the ball must include all the servants—since it would hardly be a ball with only two people—so I could hardly tell them to cancel it now.
Plus, I was informed that preparations were already well underway.
Every time I tried to go somewhere quiet to think, a servant would appear with questions about the ball. I felt as if I had somehow stumbled into a farce. I wasn’t even safe in my own chamber. My attempt to retreat there was foiled by the arrival of Tara and Lottie with a bevy of castle seamstresses. They all chattered loudly as they measured me for a ball gown, not leaving any openings for me to speak.
As soon as they removed the last pin, I fled, determined to find somewhere where I could be alone. But I had barely settled myself in an unused room than Gordon appeared saying I was urgently needed in the kitchens. I sighed. Clearly Gordon’s expert hide-and-seek skills were now going to be used against me.
I considered ordering him away, but I couldn’t bear to send him to face the wrath of the other servants for having failed to bring me. So, I followed behind as slowly as I could, tuning out his constant stream of talk in an attempt to think.
I complained to Dominic at the evening meal, but he just shrugged and said the date had been none of his choosing. I huffed in frustration, but considering it was his first comment to me of the evening, I could hardly be surprised at his curt response.
“Why are you so determined to keep me from discovering the truth?” I exclaimed.
That man doesn’t hold any truth! Dominic gripped his wine glass so hard, I thought it would shatter. I am your betrothed, and I am responsible for your safety. If you refuse to see his true intentions in his eyes, I will have to ensure you never see him again. Cole will never leave that cell.
“Never?” I almost growled myself in my irritation. “One day, when Palinar is freed, we will need to return him to the Marinese prisons, at least. Or are you trying to say you believe your kingdom will always be cut off and cursed?”
He stared at me. The curse has nothing to do with it. I would not be returning him to Marin, even if the way were clear.
I frowned. “What do you mean? He is their prisoner, not ours.”
Dominic shrugged and looked down into his wine glass. He may have been their prisoner. But now he’s mine. If they wanted to keep him, they should have made sure he didn’t escape.
I stood to my feet. Indignation burned at this suggestion that Jon and Lily had been negligent. He spoke of Marin so disparagingly, as if only he knew how to correctly rule. As if Palinar was an example of a well-managed kingdom. “Why must you be so stubborn? So sure of yourself? Perhaps if you had worked with the other kingdoms in the first place, none of this would have happened!”
You know nothing of what happened.
“No, I don’t.” I almost yelled the words at him. But then I sighed and my voice dropped low. “And that is precisely the problem. How can I help you when you won’t be honest with me?”
Dominic also stood to his feet, and for a moment I thought he meant to yell back at me. But when he spoke, his words were a quieter whisper than my own had been. If I was honest with you, you wouldn’t wish to help me.
Then he turned and strode from the room. I stared after him in dismay. Just when I had found some measure of peace here, my whole world had once again been turned upside down.
I could almost feel the hours ticking by as I tried to make up my mind about what I should do. I could understand now the urgency that had made all the servants so tense. But their continued refusal to tell me anything made me want to scream. How could I begin to know how to rescue them, when I didn’t even know the full story of the curse?