AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Two flights up, she’s knocking on Ember’s door.
No answer.
My heart hammers within my chest…fear for Ember, for what will be done to her should Taranus manage to consummate their marriage—she will beg for death. Anything to release her from the hell a lifetime with him will rain down upon her.
“We may be too late, My King. You need to go. Now. The Rebellion—”
“Will survive without me, and I am not your king.”
Bea’s cheeks flush with frustration, though she doesn’t argue. Likely because she knew my mother and knows how stubborn my family can be. “They must be in the wedding hall already.”
“Even if he exchanges the vows, it’s not too late.” Together, we rush back down the hall.
A group of fae waits at the bottom of the stairs. Waitstaff, maids, those Taranus has deemed unworthy.
I freeze. All it would take is for one of them to out me, and this rescue mission would be over.
A man steps forward, one I don’t recognize. “They took her to the wedding hall,” he says. “It has begun. The fight is over.”
I move toward him and press a fist to my heart. “It will never be over,” I tell him. “Not until Taranus’s blood soaks the ground he tried to rule.”
Relief echoes over the faces of every single fae in front of me. A near dozen men and women who have been tormented by my youngest brother.
I cannot help but feel partially responsible. And that makes me even angrier.
“He killed Flora,” a woman chokes out.
“There will be time to grieve,” I assure them. “Time to reflect on those lost and time spent fighting, but now we need to get the future queen out of here so she may find the one true king. Otherwise, there may be no stopping him.”
A man clears his throat. His hair is cut short, his face scarred with jagged lines climbing down both sides of it. “The guards are all standing outside of the wedding hall. You’ll never make it inside.”
I consider his words, thinking through all the possible scenarios. Taking into consideration Taranus’s arrogance, he will likely have her escorted to his chamber immediately following the ceremony even as he continues to bask in the faux approval of those he allows to attend the wedding.
And it’s his arrogance that will give us the opportunity we need. “We don’t need to get inside.”
“But the blood exchange, it happens during the ceremony!” Bea exclaims.
“Candice can help us break that,” I remind her. “She’s been studying our kind long enough that she should be able to come up with something.”
“And if she can’t? If this ceremony binds them together—”
“One problem at a time,” I tell her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We need to focus on getting Ember out. Then, we can tackle everything else.”
“What do you need us to do?”
I turn back to the fae who spoke, the scarred man. “Do your jobs until I have Ember. Then, we all leave together.”
“I’ll be staying,” Bea says, softly.
“You can’t, they’ll know—”
“My family is here, dear. We’ve been serving this kingdom for generations, and I won’t turn my back on it now. Not even for Taranus.” She reaches up and pats my cheek. “I’ll be here when you don that crown you were born to wear.”
Swallowing hard, I accept her praise even as I feel like a fraud. The truth is, I’ve known for a long time that I was not meant to wear a crown.
I am not the one true king.
And I never will be.
