Page 2 of To Bleed A Kingdom

“Mama?”

A choked cry rips from my lungs. Slapping my palms to my face, I hurriedly swipe away the tears streaming down my cheeks and turn to face my sweet baby boy.

Green eyes stare questioningly back into mine from where he sits on the floor playing with wooden blocks. I see my mother in him with his soft heart, as well as how his power manifested identically to hers with his sapphire and starlight jewels. But when I look at his platinum blonde hair and bright green eyes, my heart constricts painfully with how much he looks like his father.

Attempting to control my breathing, I look to the crib where my two-month-old daughter, Aurora, is sound asleep.

They haven't made it here. Not yet.

“Mama?”

With a watery smile, I kneel down next to him. “Theon, where's Cinna?”

He points to the door. “Left.”

“She left?”

He nods.

I sit back on my heels, my mind roaming back to the corpse I saw being defiled in the hallway. With the panic lessening now that I've reached them, I can place a name to the ravaged face. Cinna. The children's wet nurse. She must have gone to see what all the noise was about.

Get to the Palace Keep.

Knowing we have only a few minutes at best, I compartmentalize my grief of another senseless death and stand. Retrieving a dagger from my thigh holster, the very same dagger Valor forbade me from leaving our chambers without, regardless of how much I argued against it, I stab my skirt above the knees, slashing all the way around until I have a large piece of fabric. Slipping the knife back into its holster, I wrap my chest several times with the cloth and place the still sleeping Aurora into the makeshift sling.

Patting Aurora's bum, I force a smile and grab Theon’s hand, tugging him to his feet. “We're going to play a little game today.”

His green eyes light up. “Game?”

“Yes.” I nod, pulling him behind me. “We're going to play hide and seek.”

“Daddy play?” he asks, his expression brightening.

My smile falters. “No, sweetie. Just you, me, and Aurora.”

“Where's Daddy?”

He's dead.

“He'll be along shortly,” I lie, careful to keep my smile in place.

We stop before the door connected to mine and Valor’s chambers and I place my ear against the wood, listening for any sounds. Hearing nothing, I unlock the door and peer down at Theon.

“We're going to play it a bit differently today. We have to move very fast and very quietly.” I swallow nervously before continuing. “You may see some frightening things out there, but you can’t make a sound. No matter what.”

His excitement dims and he nods in confusion, but says nothing more.

Tightening my grip on his hand, I inhale a fortifying breath and swing the door open.

Not a soul in sight.

Releasing that pent-up breath, I give Theon a reassuring squeeze and walk through the door, moving as quickly as his little legs can manage. Staring straight ahead, I ignore everything, shoving away each memory called forth as I pass through the adjoining rooms.

The dining area where Valor blew raspberries on Aurora’s belly while we had breakfast this very morning. Valor's office, where he would pretend not to notice the giggling Theon hiding beneath his desk. The receiving room where we snuggled up every night as a family while Valor recounted tales of gods, dragons, and legendary immortals’ mighty quests.

Ignoring it all, my eyes remain fixed on the door to my bedchambers, the door that will lead us to the secret passageway that leads to the Palace Keep. The door that will be our salvation. Hope rekindles as I step before that solid slab of oak. As I reach for the bronze handle, my fingers barely graze the cool metal before it swings open from the inside, revealing a man on the other side.

We both freeze, staring wide eyed at one another. Me in terror, him in shock that quickly shifts to excitement.

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