AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The dungeon is gone.
I’ve seen Asmo teleport many times, but never once have I gone with him. The castle seems so small from here, but I’ve seen this place from my cell. We’re in the mountains east of the castle, and from our vantage point, I can see the entire bay. The castle rises tall off the surface of the water and a bridge connects it to the mainland. The bone bridge… Meg wasn’t kidding. It really is made from skeletons, but it’s too far away to tell what sort of creature they belong to. Somehow that fills me with awe and has my stomach churning at the same time.
The cold wind bites at my skin, making me shiver, and when I turn around I find a small campsite…and people.A smokeless fire is nestled among the towering trees and five figures gather around it, all of which are staring at us.
My gaze is immediately drawn to one in particular who’s piercing, silver eyes nearly glow in the night. It’s a man, leaning against one of the thick tree trunks. His unruly brown hair blows gently in the breeze and despite knowing these people are meant to protect me, I can't help but feel a twinge of unease. It’s like I’m being scrutinized from the inside out.
"Calamity, I’d like you to meet Loric," Asmo says, gesturing toward the group by the fire. “He’ll be seeing you out of Solaria.”
The man near the tree tilts his head slightly, a ghost of a smile playing at the corners of his lips as his eyes catch the firelight, making them glow brighter. "And you must be the princess. I hope you don’t expect me to bow."
"I don’t think anyone has ever bowed to me, so no. I don’t," I snap back, which only seems to make his grin spread wider.
Loric's gaze shifts between Asmo and me, his eyes widening with skepticism. "I thought all of the princesses had white hair?Who is she really? Don’t tell me you’ve gone and fallen in love with another servant girl.” The man’s voice carries an edge, but his comment does little to settle the nerves clawing up my spine. If anything, it just brings more questions.
Asmo has told me of his past, how he was banished to our realm. Yet, not once has he mentioned being in love.
Reaching into his pocket, Asmo tosses a pouch full of coins toward Loric. "You'll see. Her hair isn’t always dark. Now, if you're done, there's enough money in there to buy passage to the outer realm and for anything else you might need along the way."
Loric catches the pouch effortlessly, but his gaze remains on me, curiosity and something else flickering in his eyes.
Asmo snaps his fingers. "Are you listening?"
"Yes." Loric finally looks away, refocusing on Asmo.
"Calamity is very dear to me. I trust you to treat her as you would've wanted me to treat Elaria. Can I count on you to do that?"
Loric arches a brow before replying, "I don't think you’ve given me much of a choice in the matter. Though, you didn’t have to blackmail me. And let’s not forget, I apparently owe you a debt.”
A long pause passes between them and the tension thickens with every second that passes by.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable with this? That they’re safe?” I ask, stepping between the two and facing Asmo. I shoot a weary glance over my shoulder, eyeing the group around the fire.
"You’ll be just fine. I know it."
I nod, swallowing hard, but Asmo pulls me against his chest, hugging me tight.
“This isn’t goodbye for good, just for now. Once the king’s dead, I promise, I’ll find you. I’ll find a way to remember.”
My lungs seize as I glare at him, letting his words soak in.What does that mean?"Why wouldn't you remember?" I search his face, desperate to make sense of it.
Asmo doesn’t answer me, just looks over my shoulder and says, “I’m ready.”
“Mira, Vik, take the princess to the woods. I’ll catch up.” I don’t need to see him speak to know it’s the silver-eyed man. He must be their leader.
Panic settles into my bones as the man nears. His footsteps crunch louder in the grass the closer he gets. Something is wrong about this. I can feel it, a pit in my stomach that won’t go away. “Ready for what? For me to leave? Why won’t you remember?”
A tear slips down Asmo’s face as he cups my cheek. “Promise me that you’ll go with them–that you’ll stay away.”
“Answer my questions first.” I step closer, but he matches mine back.
“If the king found out you’re alive and I remember you, he could exploit it. Loric is going to make me forget.” Asmo traps his bottom lip to keep it from trembling. “He’ll let me know what he’s done and that I need to fake your death, but I won’t remember your face. It’ll keep me from being able to track you.”
“What if you never remember? There has to be another way,” I protest, but I can sense the man’s presence. He’s likely standing directly behind me, ready to haul me away… but I don’t want to go. I can’t. I need more time.
“Trust me, if there was another way, I would’ve gotten you out a long time ago.” Asmo glances up, his gaze locking on something above my head before returning to mine. “I love you, Calamity. You can do this.” He wipes at his cheeks before nodding.
Spinning around, I lock eyes with Loric. He’s taller up close, his very stare more daunting. It’s not until he reaches up to wipe my cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt that I realize I’m crying.I shouldn’t be letting him touch me at all. I should be fighting like hell to make Asmo stay, or at least remember our time together. All the memories of my childhood, of him reading to me when the nightmares started… The times he and Meg sang, just because I wanted to learn how to dance, to feel like a real princess for once… The pastries he’d sneak me, claiming that he just wanted to see me smile.
