Page 6 of Bound to the Shadow Prince

Did she come here to chide me? I’m not going to let our people starve just because of me, no matter how much I like the thought of getting on the back of a horse and just riding away from all my problems. Of how panicked it’d make King Lionel, whose fastest ships are waiting at the harbor for a fair wind, and that if the Golden Moon isn’t given its sacrifice, that the ships will be destroyed, driven against the rocks by the wild winds, and there will be no war with Darkfell.

I like that idea quite a bit…except I can’t ride a horse.

But other than that, I’ve thought about it a great many times, all right. All day today, in fact. But of course I can’t do it. “I’m not going to run away,” I say, bitter. “Where would I go? To Darkfell?” I snort at the absurd idea. “They will impale me on a stake in front of their great stone doors as a warning to all Liosians who venture near. I amtrapped, Erynne. If I go to the tower, my life is over.” I spread my hands helplessly. “And if Idon’t go to the tower, my life is still over. Lionel will make sure of that.”

Her eyes glitter with tears. “I know, sister. I know. Which is why you must promise me that you’ll go.”

“I’ll go.” I sound as defeated as I feel. “Don’t worry. I will take Meryliese’s place.”

“A shipwreck,” Erynne says, fussing with my covers as tears fall down her cheeks. “I cannot believe a shipwreck is taking you away from me, and just when I need you the most. Do you know how difficult it is to be queen? To behisqueen? And with the baby…”

Her words choke off.

I reach out and rub her arm. “I know. But you’ll have Isabella with you. And Riza. She’s trustworthy. Please find a place for her with your staff. And Nurse, too.” I touch her belly briefly. “Nurse will love to take care of this little one for you.”

Erynne gives me a faint smile through her tears. “Here I thought to comfort you, and you’re comforting me.”

“Well, I’ll have seven years to weep into my pillow,” I say brightly. “So I’m saving it up. It’ll give me something to do in the tower.”

She makes another choked sound, and then my sister flings her arms around my neck. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

Even though I’m trying to be strong, it’s hard not to cry as my sister sobs against my shoulder, I hug her tightly, breathing in her scent. It’s going to be the last time I get to hug her for seven long years, and we’ll both be different people when I come out. Seven years of my life is being stolen away from me for Lionel’s war, and I’m so bitter about it I want to spit…except a princess doesn’t spit. So I just hug Erynne and try not to think about the future. One day at a time, I remind myself. Or you’ll collapse before you ever make it to the tower. “I’m going to miss you, too.So much. But you’ll have your baby soon. Every time you think of me, just hug her.”

“But I’m going to be the last Vestalin,” she chokes, hugging me tighter.

My belly clenches. “I’m notdying, Erynne. I’m just getting shut away for seven years.”

“Right. Of course. I’m sorry.” My sister pulls back, and the expression on her face is grave as she studies me. “I brought you something, but you must tell no one that you have it.”

Well this sounds properly ominous. “What is it?”

I’m not sure what to expect from my sister. Erynne has always been the dutiful one, the one who is good and sweet and follows the rules. I’m the one that got caught losing her virginity in the chapel with one of the court knights. I’m the one who falls asleep during Lionel’s speeches, or gets in trouble for embroidering mustaches onto all the important historical tapestries. What could Erynne possibly give me? A dirty book? A key so I can let myself out?

I’m more than a little perturbed when she produces a knife and holds it out to me.

“You want me to kill myself the moment I get into the tower?” I ask, blank with surprise.

“No,” she hisses, grabbing my hand and forcing me to take the sheathed weapon from her hand. “This is to protect you, Candra. Use your head.”

“I would, but right now it’s filled with all the recipes Riza has been trying to get me to learn in the past day,” I joke half-heartedly. “What am I supposed to do with a knife? Is it for cooking?”

Erynne gives me an exasperated look. “Don’t be dense, Candra.”

“I’m not being dense. You’re the one giving me a knife!”

“Look.” She closes my fingers around it and pushes it towards me. “You’re going to be trapped in that tower with someone from the Darkfell bloodline. You must defend yourself if they try anything.”

My mouth goes dry and I stare down at the little knife in horror. There’s been so much going on that I haven’t given much thought to the fact that I’m going to be trapped in a tower for the next seven years with someone whose kingdom has sworn to destroy ours. Someone who Lionel will be declaring war against the moment I step foot inside the tower.

Suddenly a knife no longer seems like a silly gift. I clutch it tightly to my chest. The hilt can’t be more than the length of my finger, and the blade small and slightly curved. “It’s rather small for a murder weapon.”

“You’ll be locked in the tower,” Erynne says. “Figure out some poisons if you like, and rub them on the blade.” The look on her face is intense. “This is the dagger mother gave me when she was on her deathbed. It’s infused with magic.”

My jaw drops. “Magic?”

Also, I’m hurt that our mother gave Erynne a secret gift as she lay dying. All I got was a pat on the hand and instructions to “be good.” I wonder what else has gone on behind my back.

Erynne nods. “The magic of the gods is bound to this blade. It can answer true or false questions. When the answer is true, the knife will shiver in your hand. False, and it will have no response.”

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