I wasn’t sure when I shouted for help, or when the mountain of guards pooled into the room. I just remembered telling
them to keep my sisters out.
My parents. Our parents had been murdered. Throats slashed in the night and left to bleed to death. Father had his arm
draped across Mother’s waist. She had her head turned to look at him. Both their eyes locked on each other. As if they knew,
they sensed it coming.
Falling to my knees, Nora barked orders to search the castle and find the person who did this. But I knew, they were
long gone by now. The fire told me so.
As the guards bowed in front of me only minutes later, I felt the weight of the crown rest upon my head. My parents were
killed in cold blood and I became the new king.
A job I did not ever wish to gain this way.
Chapter 56
ORNELLA
Unimaginable pain burnt through my chest and down back as my eyes flung open to see the dark starlit sky. The tree line
that surrounded me seemed to be moving. I had no idea where I was or what I was laying on.
All I knew was I was being moved, there was a small jolt and a rocky feeling underneath me as the sky moved in
front of my eyes.
I could no longer hear the sound of waves crashing, only the sound of something squeaking and hooves padding against the
ground. The midnight blue sky was already changing, fading into purples and oranges. It was becoming dawn.
It hurt to breathe, to swallow. Shivering from underneath my wet clothes, I tried to move, to sit up but felt a pressure placed
firmly on my chest. When I reached up to find out what it was, I heard the clunk of the metal before spotting two heavy metal
cuffs around my wrists.
“Oh good, you’re awake.”
Startled by a female voice, I turned my head to see where it’d come from. Nora sat next to me with an inviting smile across
her lips.
“Don’t try to talk, you took in a lot of water. We will be arriving soon. You can get changed once we’re there and I’m sure
they will be happy to see you. We were worried sick.”
We? They? My mind raced with all the possible questions. Was she talking about Nicholas and his sisters? Surely they
wouldn’t have even noticed I was gone. And if I was lying here, my plan had failed. I’d failed.
“Wh—” I tried to speak, but the dryness and pain hurt too much.
“I said don’t speak,” she commanded, “We will be arriving soon, rest now.”
