Page 43 of The Abandoned Princess

He strode toward the farthest corner of the room, while I stared at the gem in his hands. Was it starting to dim? Was that a flicker? Was it about to go out and send the kingdom of Northhelm into some sort of crisis of confidence in its ruler?

“It’s still glowing,” Xander announced, making me admit the dimming had only been in my imagination. “We were right that it only needs general proximity. I’m not going to test how far it stretches because that’s unnecessary for our purposes, and I’d prefer it didn’t actually go out.”

I nodded fervently, glad he felt some sense of caution.

“We have to put it back on, don’t we?” I asked with a groan.

He joined me beside the bed again. “I’m afraid so.”

But he didn’t move toward the king. Instead he looked down at the jewel in his hand and then apologetically up at me. “There’s one more test we have to do, though.”

“Another one?”

“We know the jewel won’t stop glowing if it’s removed from the king’s neck, but what about if someone else puts it on?”

I stepped back, raising both hands defensively. “I am not putting that thing on. What if it decides I’m the next ruler of Northhelm?”

I was only half joking. I had no desire to get any more involved with an object that was so intertwined with another kingdom’s succession.

Xander grimaced. “I don’t want to wear it either. But it’s not a proper test unless we try.” With an exhale, he whisked the chain over his head and let the gem settle against his chest.

We held our breath and waited. It continued to glow.

“The godmothers could have designed it better,” I said disapprovingly. “Why does it glow when it’s out of contact with the king?”

“He probably doesn’t want to have a stone chained to his skin every second of the day,” Xander pointed out. “I’m sure he takes it off to wash among other things. And it wouldn’t inspire confidence in his subjects if the light was constantly going out.”

I sighed. “Fine. Please just take it off, all right?”

He willingly slipped it back over his head. “Now we need to return it to its proper place and it will be like we were never here.”

“I really hope so,” I said, “because if they wake up, we’re not going to be able to open that door without them noticing.”

“We’ll just have to open it regardless,” Xander said. “They’ll be surprised, but they can’t stop us leaving.”

“It’s not that we shouldn’t open it, but that we won’t be able to. The enchantment doesn’t approve of doors opening on their own. If these two wake up, we’ll be stuck in here unless they open the door themselves and leave it open.”

Xander grimaced. “Let’s be extra careful, then.”

But as soon as my hands touched the king’s head, he stirred. I froze, holding my breath—an instinctive, if futile, gesture. Our previous contact must have brought him out of a deep sleep, leaving him in a much lighter state of sleep for this second attempt. He began to wake.

“Quick!” I screamed, abandoning the pointless silence. “Get it back on!”

Xander shoved the chain over the king’s neck one second before his eyes fluttered open. It was just in time because the moment they opened, both Xander and I were forced back out of contact with him by the enchantment.

“That was close,” I breathed, staring thankfully at the chain around King Richard’s neck. It was tangled and twisted, but that could easily be explained by sleep.

The king sat up, and the guard sleeping by the door instantly woke. He leaped to his feet, gazing around the room.

“Is something wrong, Your Majesty?” he asked.

The king blinked slowly, also looking around the room. “It felt as if someone was touching me.”

“Touching you, Your Majesty?” the guard cried, alarmed. “Are you injured?”

“No, no, I don’t think so.” The king took stock of himself, running his hands over his hair and then letting them fall to the gem on the chain. “It must have been a dream.”

“Yes,” I whispered encouragingly, although I knew he couldn’t hear me. “Think of it as a dream!”

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