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Killian awoke on a lump of scratchy canvas. Straw stabbed through the fraying fabric, piercing through his clothing to prickle his skin. He blinked once and his whole soul clenched in pain as he remembered his last few moments of consciousness.
Raela saw him kissing Zalina.
Zalina was magical.
Killian was throneless.
The ceiling above him was covered with stones, mildew and moss lining each one. At his feet, water dripped slowly, splattering the ground with an echo. The room was cacophonous in its all-consuming silence. Killian sniffed and realized he was very cold.
“Ah, so the sleeping beauty awakes.”
Killian twisted his head to see Zalina standing behind rusty iron bars. Stairs led upward behind her. His eyes traced the three other barred walls before returning to her. He was imprisoned in a dank, iron cube. Zalina stood out from the drudgery, draped in a black and red velvet gown which billowed around her. The crown she wore was black and peaked at the sides. She looked every bit a queen.
“Hello, Killian. I really do have to thank you.” Zalina said. “I wondered why you went for your walks so early and so often. If you hadn’t found her, she would never have left that magical forest. Never landed in your cursed land where I could finally taste her magic. It’s no wonder I hadn’t, disguised as the forest’s magic. Those cursed fairies were quite clever.” Zalina’s laugh was slow and cruel. “I thought she’d just been suppressed, not living wild and free. But then she stepped out, looking foryou.And she burst forth with that delicious wellspring of power. The irony of it all is quite lovely.”
“Zalina.” The words came out of his parched throat as a croak. He tried to swallow. “What do you want?”
Her arms folded across her chest. “I want the throne I am owed. My mother is Queen Marisha of Walworth. I should be the next queen. I should be the one named in the treaty.”
He paled.Walworth. The neighboring kingdom. The kingdom that would unite with Norwood through his betrothal. He forced out his next few words, terrified of the answer. “You’re the missing princess?”
Zalina burst into a bitter laugh. “No, no, you fool. Not that one, at least. I’m quite a bit older than eighteen, but thank you for that compliment. King Jonat was away fighting in some naval war, and just before the start of their very young, uncomfortably arranged marriage, my true father, a fairy, tricked her into having a dalliance with him. The next year, when my mother tried to hide me with her parents, my fairy father stole me away to these mountains, in this castle. I’ve been here practicing my magic, perfecting my skill”—she sniffed—“overcoming my father to steal his magic and more recently, waiting, waiting, waiting for my chance to take my rightful place as your bride. I am the firstborn, regardless of who my father was. The throne is mine. I have been here, hidden away, abandoned by my parents in shame, and I am owed my rightful place. And they thought some fairy-blessed betrothal would protect you both.”
“But I met you up north,” Killian said. “You’re the Rykers’ ward—”
“I am the ward of no one but myself. They were wealthy and weak, mere tools—unable to resist my magic. And they have served their purpose, just as you will serve yours. I may have cursed the tiny princess at the beginning of her tragically short life, but your assistance allowed me to complete my curse through the fairy circle.” Her lips pulled wide in a deadly smile. “They are such useful portals.”
Killian scrutinized her appearance—young by fairy magic, not her true age. And the princess—somewhere—was cursed? Because of him?
His voice wavered. “Then who is the princess I was betrothed to?”
“That maiden was struck down by my poison-laced wheat.” Ice flooded his veins as she spoke. “She will now sleep forevermore out of the way. Sleeping but not dead so I can use her magic to bless the land after I remove my drought. I’ll be a hero. I just need you to marry me, and we can rule our nations—united and powerful.”
“But how did the princess get her magic?”
Zalina’s dark eyebrows flew upward. “From fairies, of course. On her birthday, gifts of magic were bestowed on the child.” She huffed a breath through her nose. “Though no one foresaw the depth of ancient magic that was awakened within her from the giftings. She will bless the whole land, making it prosper.”
His cheek twitched in a wave of disgust. Only months earlier, he had considered Zalina lovely. But the dark bitterness in her eyes looked nothing like the innocent maiden she had appeared to be.
“Zalina, I won’t marry you.”
He expected outrage, but instead she smiled. “Not yet, perhaps. But if I can break even my father and make him give me his power, I can make you consent to marry me. Willingly. Maybe it will be a desperate, dying sort of willingness, but magic doesn’t care about duress.” Her hand twisted flippantly in the air. “And marry me you will, as it’s the only way to overcome the magic protecting your throne. And that throne is mine.”
Killian swallowed again, knives lining his throat.
She turned away and waved casually behind her. “Sleep and dream well, beautiful prince. We will have many, many long and painful moments together. It’s your choice how painful.” She glanced back with a slitted gaze. “And how long.”
Chapter 14
Sleep
The Castle
Abearfoundthesleeping princess first. She was barely breathing but warm and flushed. An ever-living, frozen rose. When two fairies arrived, led by a pulsing light, the princess was surrounded by forest animals. The fairies carried her to the castle, using their magic.
There, the princess was placed in the tallest tower, in a bed with silken sheets.
The kings and queen and all the people fell into deep mourning. The beloved princess had finally returned only to be trapped in endless sleep, with no hope of awakening. So painful was their grief, the rulers begged the fairies to let them sleep too.
