Page 102 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

I cast him a sideways look, considering. He was a better option. He’d have fewer spies watching his movements than I surely did. And he could travel faster. “If you double cross me?—”

“Oh, stuff it up your ass, Ryd.” I blinked at Daegel’s rare show of temper. “I’d never betray you. You know that.”

“Even when you think I’m a fucking idiot?” I countered.

He grinned, his easy nature returning in an instant. “Even then.”

I sighed, my shoulders sagging. “Okay.” I stalked to the table and leaned over it as I scrawled the message. Then I folded it and handed it to my friend.

“Make sure this gets to my mother,” I said.

His expression was unreadable as he took it from me. “If they take her, you’ll never see her again.”

“I know.”

He stared at me, and I forced myself not to flinch at the truth he must’ve seen in my eyes. “Slade was right,” he said finally. “You care about her.”

I turned away, not trusting myself to answer. Caring about Aurelia wasn’t the problem. It was caring too much. So much that I’d throw away her chance at saving us if it meant I could have her for myself. And if I thought about that for too long, I’d lose my resolve to let her go at all.

Chapter Thirty

Aurelia

With my hood pulled low, I wandered alone through the narrow, twisting streets of the city of Grey Oak. Soon enough, the quaint suburbs of Rydian’s neighborhood gave way to bustling downtown until I was once again swallowed up by it. I glanced up every so often to note the direction of the taller shops, adjusting my course as I continued to aim at them. It was farther than I remembered from my earlier escape. And without Rydian leading me, it was lonelier too.

The unfamiliarity of the city pressed in on me from all sides. The towering trees, their bronze bark twisted and gnarled, loomed overhead like silent sentinels. But I saw no castle guards roaming the city, looking for the lost princess. Rydian had been wrong.

Maybe Callan thought me dead.

The streets, winding and narrow, felt claustrophobic compared to the wide-open paths of Rosewood. The fae I passed kept their gazes down, their movements slow and deliberate. There was something in the air, an unease I couldn’tshake, and I was acutely aware of every step I took back to that gray castle on the hill.

The things Rydian had told me—about the fae tax and Callan’s hand in it—played on a loop in my thoughts and twisted in my gut. I wasn’t ready to face him yet. Not when I knew I’d see the truth in his eyes the moment I confronted him about it. My breaths came in shorter bursts as I pictured that conversation. As I faced the situation I found myself in.

I’d yielded my kingdom to the Furiosities’ magic. My father’s magic. I’d locked my home without a key. And I’d unknowingly tied myself to a king whose atrocities were only overshadowed by Heliconia herself.

Even if I ran, there was nowhere I could hide forever. Heliconia’s reach spanned the continent. Maybe I could cross the sea to Alorica or ask for asylum among the Moriori, but neither of those were permanent solutions. Not if I wanted to truly break this curse or face Heliconia someday. Besides, if I left, Callan would marry her. And then there would be no stopping the dark queen.

As crazy as it sounded, I had to stop myself from turning around and going back to Rydian for help. But I forced myself to continue onward. Going back would change nothing. Rydian had made his choice clear. He might not plan to betray who and what I was to the king, but he certainly didn’t intend to help me escape him either.

My chest panged with emptiness. I’d never felt more alone.

I turned down a side street and tried to steady my breathing.

A voice, low and rough, broke through my thoughts. “Well, hello there. And aren’t you a powerfully magicked little thing?”

I froze mid-step, my heart lurching in my chest. The voice came from behind me, a fae male standing in the shadows of the narrow street.

His eyes gleamed as they roamed over me. “Pretty and powerful,” he added hungrily, and I realized with a jolt that I’d let my shield down enough that he’d sensed what slept inside me. He took a step forward, and a surge of panic rose in my throat.

“I… I’m just passing through,” I said quickly, forcing my voice to stay even as I began to edge away from him.

He narrowed his eyes. “Where are you from?” His gaze lingered on my cloak, and I could see the calculation in his perusal. “Not from Grey Oak, that’s for sure.”

“I’m visiting from the coast,” I lied.

“Where’d you get that mark?” He pointed at my neck.

I reached up and grabbed my hair, covering the tattoo. But too late.

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