Page 10 of To Steal the Sun

“Not here.” Natalie suddenly reappeared, her nose wrinkling. “This place isn’t set up for long term anything. You’ll have to come back to my house with Easton.” She looked Easton up and down, her lips pursed and eyes narrowed. “But if the plan revolves around no one knowing he’s returned or what he looks like, we can’t go waltzing through the front door.”

“The plan…?” the count asked carefully.

Natalie rolled her eyes. “I was standing on the other side of the room, not down the street. If the plan was supposed to be such a big secret, you shouldn’t have talked about it right in front of me.” She propped both hands on her hips. “And it’s a good thing you’ve got me anyway. You and the toddler over there will be heading back to your fancy manor soon, and it’s going to be up to me to keep these two under wraps.”

“Hey! I’m not a toddler!” Emmett protested, but Natalie ignored him.

“We’ll have to go before it gets light,” she said.

“I thought bears patrolled the streets overnight,” Charlotte said cautiously. “Aren’t we supposed to stay inside until morning?”

“They do, but come on—they’re not on every street at once.” Natalie eyed the window consideringly. “If we leave just before dawn, there will be even fewer because some of the patrols always cheat and head back early. On the other hand, if we wait until after sunrise, the people will flood out of their houses and there really will be someone on every street. If we want to get back unseen, we need to go while it’s still dark. It would be one thing if I had brought giant cloaks or something to disguise you all, but I didn’t know I’d need to do that.”

“Is that really wise?” Easton looked to the count.

He sighed. “It’s not ideal, but she might be right. I don’t spend a lot of time in this part of the city during the day, but the streets have been busy whenever I’ve come.”

“Relax.” Natalie snorted. “I’m not suggesting you hand your plans and your whole future over to a fourteen-year-old. I’m just going to sneak you through five streets and across one square. Then I’ll hand you over to the grown-ups.”

Something about her tone told Gwen they wouldn’t get rid of the younger girl so easily, but she stayed silent. Natalie was Gwen’s opposite in so many ways, but Gwen couldn’t help wondering if she might have turned out more like the other girl if she had been free of her mother’s influence. It was an unanswerable question, but Gwen liked Natalie all the same. At least someone was willing to take bold action and state their opinion without hesitation or pretense.

“If the plan is settled, Emmett and I will head home now,” the count said. “I need to make some preparations before the missing princess returns. The rest of you should try to get some sleep. It will be many hours before it’s time for Easton and Charlotte to head out. And Gwen, you’ll be the last to leave. It’s essential you not be seen until you’re human again. Most of the kingdom still believe you escaped the enchantment.”

“The pure princess who’s going to save everyone,” Gwen muttered, wishing she could say the words with any kind of conviction.

But it was too late for her to quibble now. She had committed herself to the count’s plan, and she would have to see it through.

CHARLOTTE

Leaving Gwen alone in the dirty basement felt wrong. Especially when Charlotte was leaving with Gwen’s…betrothed? She wasn’t sure if that was the right term for them, but they had both agreed to the plan, so it seemed to fit better than anything else. Charlotte just wished she could have had a proper conversation with Gwen about it—one that didn’t involve Easton and Natalie listening in.

“Are you sure…Are you sure we should just leave?” Charlotte asked instead, looking reluctantly at Gwen.

Her friend forced out a laugh. “Don’t make me say it again! This is the plan. I’ll be fine waiting in an empty room on my own.”

But from Gwen’s face, she was as aware as Charlotte that neither of them were worried about the extra hour or two of waiting. It was the part that came after. She wrapped her arms around Gwen’s enormous bear neck and gave her a tight hug.

“You can do this,” she whispered. “And you won’t be alone once you reach the palace, right? You’ll have Alma and the others?”

Gwen twitched beneath her arms, confirming Charlotte’s earlier suspicion. She’d noticed her friend hadn’t mentioned her alliance with the captive servants to the count, and it hadn’t taken much thought to come up with a reason why.

They had arrived in the mountain kingdom mere hours ago, and so far the only assurance they had that the count was telling the truth was Natalie’s corroboration. Could they be one hundred percent sure it wasn’t some elaborate scheme orchestrated by Queen Celandine? Charlotte couldn’t think of a reason why the queen would do something so complex, but that didn’t mean she entirely trusted the count either.

She couldn’t say anything aloud—not in front of Natalie, and not in front of Easton. If it occurred to Easton this might all be a deception, he would never agree to leave Gwen.

“Don’t worry,” Charlotte whispered, too quiet for a human to hear, but knowing Gwen’s enhanced bear hearing would pick up her words. “I won’t say anything about them to anyone. There’s no harm in having an extra card to play if something goes wrong.”

Gwen nodded almost imperceptibly. “Thank you,” she said aloud, and her words rang with sincerity.

Charlotte gave her a final squeeze and stepped back, thinking Easton might want to take her place. He remained where he was, however, merely meeting Gwen’s eyes with an intense gaze.

“Stay safe.” His voice was low and rough.

She nodded, appearing unable to answer with words.

Charlotte waited another moment, but when neither of them moved, she tugged lightly on Easton’s arm. “Come on.” It would only get harder the longer they lingered.

At first, Easton didn’t budge, his eyes still fixed on Gwen. But finally he relaxed, bowing to the princess before he followed after Natalie and Charlotte with quick strides.

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