Page 55 of Cursed Crowns

“I didn’t get rejected.”

Wren swished her velvet skirts. “If you say so.”

Alarik turned back to the door and closed his eyes for a moment, as though he was steeling himself for whatever was behind it. Then he pushed it open and stepped inside.

Wren followed him, leaving the soldiers out in the tunnel. The door closed behind her, sealing them in. The room was small and dark, a single candle flame illuminating a low ceiling dripping with icicles.Beneath it, laid out on a thick stone slab, was a dead body.

Wren clapped a hand over her mouth.

The body belonged to Prince Ansel. The corpse of the young royal lay before her, his expression placid, as if he were only sleeping. But the wound above his heart betrayed the awful truth. Wren had seen him take his dying breath with her own eyes, had watched the blood spurt from his mouth like a fountain when Willem Rathborne had thrown his dagger at him. Ansel was dead. He had been dead for a while. She stumbled away from him.

Alarik caught her by the shoulders, holding her still.

“What is this?” breathed Wren. She couldn’t take her eyes off the dead prince, his porcelain cheeks and fair eyelashes, the gentle sweep of his golden hair. “Why have you summoned me here?”

The king brought his lips close to her ear, his breath as cold as the ice that wept from the ceiling. “Here is the new bargain, witch. You will perform the spell your grandmother refused. If you succeed, then I will free her, and you may journey home to Eana together.”

Wren turned to stare at the king in horror. “Have you lost your hissing mind? Your brother isdead, Alarik.”

“I know,” he said calmly. “I want you to bring him back to life.”

20

Rose

“Let us out of here, you withered old fool!” Kai took a running leap at the earthen wall.

Rose watched him with mild curiosity. “You know we can’t get out until they let us out, right?”

“Nobody traps Kai!” he roared as he leaped again.

Shen, who had kicked his legs out beside her, sighed. “Just let him get it out of his system.”

Rose dusted herself off as she stood. Now that the Poisonweed Valley was behind them, its effects were wearing off. Her head was clearing, and the absurd urge to laugh at their predicament had passed. “Excuse me,” she called out in her most polite voice. “Can you please let us out? I think you’ll find I’m rather important.”

“Nice try,” Kai scoffed.

A moment later, a rope ladder unfurled in front of Rose’s nose. She tossed a smirk at Kai before grabbing hold of it. She climbed back up, marveling at the view.

Above her, dozens of starcrests perched in the leafy trees, adding their dulcet chirps to the distant tinkle of the waterfalls. Beyond the mist, Rose could see the crumbling towers more clearly now. Theyseemed to grow up from the stony valley as if they had always been there.

The old man was waiting for her up on the grass. Beneath the hood of his blue robe, Rose could see that his skin was pale and deeply wrinkled, his tumbling gray hair bleeding into a long, wiry beard. He had a sharp nose and keen eyes that matched the silvery mist around them.

“It is her!” he cried to the woman, beside him. “Queen Rose is here. I foresaw the queen’s visit, and she came! Andyouhad the nerve to doubt me, Meredia.”

The woman wore the same dark blue robe. She had brown skin, hazel eyes, and a strong jaw, her long white hair tucked away beneath her hood. Even though her face was unlined, there was something ancient about her. “There is always doubt among the skies, Fathom,” she said with serene calmness. “You know that just as I do.”

A pale-faced boy dressed in a simple white robe lingered behind them. He appeared to be a year or so older than Tilda, but his shorn blond hair and huge blue eyes made him look like a giant baby. “And you did say there would betwoqueens.”

“Details,” said Fathom, waving his hand.

The boy frowned. “And shouldn’t we bow to the one who is here?”

“Oh, yes!” said Fathom. “Good idea, Pog!”

“Thank you, Pog,” said Rose primly.

The seers bowed, just as Shen and Kai emerged from the hole in the ground.

---