Page 28 of A Heart Too Tender

Astride a dappled stallion, I waited patiently for Colette to join our procession. The doors of the summer palace opened and she took a step into a beam of sunlight, with a flustered Maude at her side. Colette’s hair gleamed like spun gold, a slight flush on her cheeks the same shade as the roses in the garden, and I strained in my saddle to be closer.

I was much too far away to hear their exchange but Maude gripped her hands and whispered something to which Colette nodded fervently, a tired smile plastered on her face.

I cleared my throat as she took her seat in the carriage with the others. “Now that we’re all here, I shall explain. Our second trial is that of courage. We will travel to Dragon Mountain and your task shall be to make it down into the mine and out with a single emerald—without becoming lost, or too frightened.”

Zuri leaned over and whispered something to Colette, who grimaced.

“Is there a problem?” I arched a brow, and the two of them shook their heads.

But Gisela, ever the viper, laughed. “Colette is afraid of small spaces, my lord.” She shared a sneer with Elizabeth and the two clucked like hens.

“You will do fine, Princess.”

Colette nodded, but didn’t appear to believe me. The journey passed exceedingly quickly. There was nothing but a wall of green forest as we traveled away from the coast and west to the base of the mountain.

I found myself looking over my shoulder more times than I could count, but almost as soon as we had left the grounds, Colette had fallen asleep. Zuri had seemed at ease as Colette’s head had fallen upon her shoulder and even began conversing quietly with Gisela and Elizabeth.

Storm clouds gathered in the distance and the rumble of thunder had my mount flicking his ears.

“Queen Theodora was right,” one of the guards surmised aloud.

A breath had my shoulders rising and falling. “She usually is.”

The trees thinned as we came closer to the rocky outcropping near the base of the mountain. The roots of it stretched across most of the kingdom, with mines marked by a great wooden tower. Its beams pierced the blue sky and the scent of cedar and juniper trees mingled with that of ancient stone.

“Here we are,” I announced, turning my horse to face the carriage.

The princesses began descending the carriage step and Zuri gently roused Colette, who stretched her arms above her head and yawned.

The small troop of guards we had traveled with dismounted, each removing a lantern from their packs.

“You’ll be allowed a lantern for light, and an hour to enter the mine, descend to the first level, retrieve a single emerald, and then exit the mine shaft.”

Colette turned an astounding shade of white as she eyed the shadowed entrance of the mine.

“Gisela—as the winner of the last trial, you will go first.”

She flicked her dark hair over her shoulder and grabbed a fistful of her fuchsia gown. A guard eyed her with a smirk and she ripped the lantern out of his hand without so much as a thank you. What had the magic been thinking, selecting someone like her? Her attention fell onto me, and she frowned.

“Well? Are you going to start the time?”

I dug my pocket watch from my trousers and gave her a stiff nod. Then she set off without a backwards glance. The guards began conversing between themselves as did the other princesses but I found myself tugged towards Colette’s side.

“Did you have a restful nap?”

She turned away from Zuri and Elizabeth with a bright smile.

“I did.” When her attention turned towards the mine shaft, though, her smile fell away and her disposition soured.

“I do think it matters worth mentioning—that no true harm may befall you during this trial. Although I’m sure being lost for any length of time would be traumatic.”

She grimaced and I wanted to comfort her.

“I don’t think you should make such promises,” she whispered.

“Why is that?”

Her eyes widened as she wrung her hands. “I don’t think you have control over the mountain or the earth, my lord. Cave-ins are a law unto their own.”