Her hand latched onto a rung, jerking her arm, stopping her descent before her fingers slipped again.
Only this time she didn’t fall. The wind swirled under her feet—keeping her from falling long enough for her to grab the rungs one more time and find the loops with her feet.
All at once, the wind stilled completely, as though it had been sucked into the windmills. She willed herself to hang on for the next rung. And the next. And one more, until finally, she crumpled into the snow on the ground.
Everything inside her clenched and screamed and pulled and trembled as she tried to rise but couldn’t. Not even when she heard her brother step from his ladder. Not even when she heard him whisper that next time she wouldn’t get so lucky.
She heard Lord Errik calling to her—asking if she was okay. Garret crouched in the snow a few feet away and held out his hand and she shook her head.
No. She had to get up on her own. The people had seen her fall. They would see her rise. She would show them—show her brother—that she would always get back up as she promised. She needed them to see it so they would remember.
Placing her scraped, raw hands into the snow, she pushed slowly to her knees. Then, using the ladder, she pulled herself to her feet and sound exploded around her.
Blue banners waved against the snow and the darkening sky. People cheered and stomped and called her name.
Her brother’s eyes burned as Elder Cestrum pointed up to the scoring board on the wall where two blue pegs were being lowered in. Behind the board, atop the highest tower, the orb of Eden glowed bright.
Trumpets sounded and the people fell silent as Elder Cestrum stepped forward and announced, “The trial of strength is complete with Princess Carys as our winner. While I am sure they are tired and would like to rest, monarchs often do not have a chance to rest in between decisions that must be made. Duty always calls and they must have endurance to answer that call. Tonight, Prince Andreus and Princess Carys will demonstrate that endurance. For this trial, they must travel to the Majestic Tomb of Eden. The Council has hidden the crown of virtue in the tomb. The one who finds the crown and safely returns to the castle will win. Your attendants have prepared your horses. Good luck to you both because this trial begins now.”
Now.
Tears slipped down Carys’s face.
The crowd shouted their encouragement as Andreus raced toward the large staircase.
Carys could barely take a step. Her head pounded. Her arms throbbed. And she was cold. So very cold as she willed one foot in front of the other—as fast as she dared.
The wind began anew. It pulled at the strands of her hair, which had come free from its binding as she squinted down to the bottom, where her brother was already mounting his horse. She couldn’t beat him in this challenge. She wasn’t sure she’d even be able to survive it.
The cold.
The pain.
The way her legs trembled beneath her, telling her no matter how much she willed them she would soon no longer be able to stand.
The darkness and the mountains where the Xhelozi hunted.
And Andreus who had tried to send her crashing to her death. She had survived his anger once. Unless she could outthink him, she wouldn’t be able to survive another attack.
She wanted to lie down, to give in to whatever her fate would be if she did so. But the blue banners kept her standing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thinking about the Trials. Then she stiffly walked down the steps to where Errik stood waiting.
“Your brother tried to kill you,” he said, draping the cloak she’d discarded earlier around her shoulders. “If you follow him out of the city he’ll try again, and there will be no one there to stop him.”
“I know,” she said, marshaling her strength before looking deep into eyes that warmed her more than the cloak she now wore. Putting her hand over his, she leaned into his touch. “I have to go, but I need your help.”
He stared at her as if memorizing her face, then leaned close and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Ask of me anything.”
The sounds of the crowd were all around her, but as the snow fell harder it felt like she and Errik were alone. She should be angry that he’d kissed her in the open, but she was glad for the moment. Because that moment might be the last bit of tenderness she ever had.
Stepping away from his touch, she looked out at the city and shivered. An image from her nightmares flashed before her eyes: a bloody face. Whose?
Quietly, she said, “If my brother comes back and I do not, there is something you need to know and there is something I need you to do.”
20
Wind whipped Andreus’s skin. The falling snow and setting sun painted streaks of pink and purple speckled with white. The crowd lining the road waved and bowed. Here and there he saw a banner of yellow, but the majority had turned blue.
For Carys.
It seemed impossible that she had reached the ground safely. He’d watched her lose her grip and plummet. She should be lying on the flagstones at the foot of the battlements—broken. Beaten.
But then the wind had—
What had it done, Andreus? he chided himself. Had the winds come to slow Carys’s fall? Had they protected her—come to her call?
No. It was preposterous.
No matter what had actually occurred his sister reached the bottom intact.
And part of him—a part he hated—had been glad.
It was a momentary weakness. One Imogen had worried about. Well, it was the last time he’d be that weak. After this trial, Andreus’s subjects wouldn’t raise Carys’s banner again. Imogen deserved justice and Andreus needed to prove that he was the man he’d promised her he could be.
He glanced back as he passed through the main entrance of the city. Carys wasn’t there. But she would get on her horse and ride to the tomb. His sister didn’t give up unless someone made her.
Tugging on the reins, Andreus turned his horse toward the mountains. The trek to the tomb of the Kingdom of Eden’s rulers had been a two-hour journey when they’d escorted his father and brother to their resting places. Without the wagons and the stately pace he should make it in half that time. Cole had been exercised by the grooms regularly. Andreus was sure he would be able to make the journey in good time. Unless, of course, the snow that was thickening with each passing minute slowed them down. The swirling white made it harder to see as the sun disappeared from the sky. And as the sun sank, the temperature dropped.
Andreus shivered and urged Cole to return to a gallop as they moved toward the mountains and away from the safety of the illuminated walls behind him. The faster he traveled, the faster he would get back to the lights.
A screech filled the air and Cole slowed his gait. Andreus held his breath and reached for the sword he’d taken from a member of the guard before riding out of the city.
There was another screech—like a rusty hinge being opened.