Page 25 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

More screams sounded.

I gritted my teeth and stared my men down. “The Fates named her,” I corrected. “That’s not who we serve.” It wasn’t entirely true. Even the one I served agreed she was the key to stopping what was coming—if that’s what she chose to do. The fact that he’d insisted she should have a choice in the matter kind of negated the whole prophecy thing.

“Did you forget your brother is up there?” Slade demanded.

Something hot boiled up inside me. “Half-brother. He’s not my concern.”

Slade stared at me then shook his head.

Daegel, however, continued to push. “You can’t just expect us to stand by while?—”

A scream rent the air. Her scream. I wasn’t sure how I knew it, but I did. And then my feet were moving, and my entire being was focused on getting to her.

I raced back through the gardens, vaulting over low hedges and ripping through the middle of the taller ones. My chest tightened with the knowledge I’d never make it in time. Not to mention I was outing myself by even trying. But I didn’t care. All that mattered was the spoiled princess. The beautiful, sharp-tongued, possibly Chosen princess I’d taken one look at and hated on sight.

The thunder boomed a second time, this one powerful enough to shake the earth. My feet came out from under me as magic split the air with a force unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

My body absorbed the blow like a hammer strike. Mybreath whooshed out, and pain exploded in my ribs. I groaned, or tried to, but sound proved impossible.

The last thing I saw before my eyes slid shut were three winged Aine, their eyes alight with the Fates’ fury, descending over the rooftop. No one moved but them, and a sense of utter loss sank into me, bone deep. The princess had fallen. And now we would too.

Chapter Nine

Aurelia

Ijolted upright, the sheets tangled around my legs, my breath coming in shallow bursts. My heart pounded, a frantic rhythm against my ribs, and I blinked at the sight of my bedroom.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, curtains fluttering in the breeze. It looked like any other morning. But somehow, I knew it wasn’t.

Then I remembered: the party. Heliconia. Her killing blow.

What came after was harder to recall.

I tried to piece together how I’d gotten here. How I was alive at all. I looked down. A nightgown clung to my skin, itchy against the layer of sweat that slicked my back. My face felt hot and flushed like I’d been fighting a fever. I pressed a trembling palm to my chest, trying to calm the wild panic bubbling inside me.

Was it a dream?

Heliconia’s dark magic. My people falling, their bodies crumpling to the ground. I had fallen too—hadn’t I? Thathorrible darkness had swallowed me whole, and I was sure… I was sure I’d died.

But here I was. Alive. In my bed. Dressed in a nightgown.

The faint scent of roses drifted through the window, the same scent that always lingered in the halls of Sunspire. Birds called outside, their song happy and bright.

It all felt so… normal. As if nothing had happened.

I swallowed hard, pushing the covers aside. My legs were weak as I stood, but I forced myself to move, padding barefoot across the cool floor. There was no breakfast waiting on the side table. No dress hanging on the armoire signaling what I should wear for the day. No evidence anyone had been in this room but me.

Except I couldn’t remember putting this nightgown on. Or climbing into this bed. Or peeling myself off that rooftop.

I opened the door to my room and stepped into the corridor, the familiar sight of the arched windows and soft rug comforting me. But something was off. The usual bustle—the life that always hummed through the castle—was gone.

Everything was quiet. Too quiet.

“Hello?” I called softly.

No answer.

The hallway stretched ahead of me, empty, the light through the curtains casting long, eerie shadows across the floor.

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