Page 49 of Blood Red Woes

I take Prim’s tiny hand into mine and squeeze. “Hear that? You’re going to get better. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Prim smiles weakly, and it’s as though I can feel my heart cracking, threatening to break. “You don’t want to be, but it’s okay. You’re my empress.”

The breath that leaves me then is one full of emotion, and I have to pull away from her when a pair of guards come with a makeshift stretcher. Frederick oversees them carefully move her and set her on the stretcher. He tells them he’ll go with her, and before he leaves with Prim and the guards, he tosses me a glance over his shoulder.

I give him a nod, wordlessly telling him it’s okay for him to go with her. That looked bad. I don’t know what kind of medicinethey have here, or if it’s only a matter of time before she dies, but I know Prim’s a strong girl and she’ll give it all she’s got.

Kretia does not take her eyes off me, and it’s a long while before I turn to face her. I fold my arms over my chest and ask, “You going to throw me in jail again?”

“No.” Her nostrils flare as she takes one look around us, at the chaos and destruction a mere two soldiers had made. “The empress I love and follow would never have done this. Perhaps we were wrong in all respects and the girl was right.”

She doesn’t say it, but even so, I know what she means, which is why I tell her, “I’m not an empress.” How many times am I going to have to tell these people that? When will it get through? I’m just a normal girl, stuck in a magical land, who wants nothing more than to get home and forget this place exists.

Kretia holds her hands behind her back. “That remains to be seen. What I do know, however, is that Gladus’s soldiers were here looking for you. If you do not go to her, more will come. You must go. You must understand I cannot let you remain here while you put what’s left of Laconia in danger—”

As she talks, I think about Prim. I think about the destruction of the marketplace, how frightened everyone looked. They were just people, people who’ve been through so much. They shouldn’t be terrorized or threatened because of me.

Prim’s words echo in my mind. I want to stay, to sit at her bedside and hold her hand while she recovers. I want to remind her every hour that things are going to be all right—but that’s the thing, isn’t it? Nothing’s going to be all right, not while I’m here and the empresses are still out there.

Empress Gladus sent two unearthly soldiers in her stead; what would happen if she herself came? How much destruction could she wreak? How many deaths would be on her hands while she’s too mad to care?

So, I tell Kretia the only thing I can: “I’ll go.” It’s honestly the only thing I want to do, besides sit at Prim’s side. Inside I feel angry. Enraged on Prim’s behalf. Gladus will get what’s coming to her, and this will never happen again.

Kretia bows her head in approval.

“I’m going to need some food, first. And a map.” The only map I have is one for Acadia, and what food I had packed in my bag is long gone. I need to restock before I head into Pylos to face the empress herself.

“That,” she says, “we can do.”

Guess it’s settled, then.

I’m going to kill an empress.

Chapter Fourteen

Kretia comes with me to the northern gate. It’s past the marketplace, through the small fields that contain the city’s dense gardens. My bag is full of food again—dried, smoked meat, cheese, and even some bread that’s hard as a rock. I have a new map, one that goes into detail about how to reach the castle in Pylos.

“If you follow this road,” Kretia says, gesturing to the large doors before us, “it will take you to the castle. If you follow the trail I marked on your map, you will arrive there sooner—however the terrain will be difficult to navigate. Pylos is the smallest region of Laconia, but it is a land of mountains. Once you near the castle, the only way in will be the main path. The castle is part of the mountain itself, defensible from all angles. It will be a tough journey.”

All I can do is nod. Nod and wish this whole thing was over with.

Kretia raises a hand, and the two guards near the door work to pull it open for me. “Go in power, Rey.”

I don’t thank her as I step around her. I just want to get this over with. The guards finish opening the doors, and I march out. I don’t look back, not even as the hinges of the giant doors creak closed.

From where I stand, on the road out of Laconia, the horizon is much the same as it was on the other side of the city: full of sharp cliffs immediately around the city, with gentle, rolling hills beyond that. Eventually, the landscape would change.

Rune speaks from my wrist, “Rey, you know what happened in there isn’t your fault, don’t you?”

My jaw grinds. “If I never would’ve come, Gladus wouldn’t have sent soldiers for me. No matter how you spin it, they werethere for me. Prim might die because of me.” That’s the worst part of it all.

His voice is abnormally soft and tender when he says, “You can’t blame yourself for the actions of others. If the empresses have long since lost their minds, it was truly only a matter of time before something like that happened.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” I huff. “Gladus’s days are numbered.”

Rune doesn’t say anything right away. After a long pause, he says, “That’s the spirit. Let’s get her, then.”

Since I can use the magic to jump, surf, and parkour like crazy, I figure I can also use it to run. Help me move across vast distances without breaking a sweat. According to the map I have, Pylos doesn’t have as many rivers. None lead right to the castle, like in Acadia, so the journey’s going to be a little different.

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