Page 14 of When the Moon Met the Sun

I was led all the way to the second-to-last door on the right, Teagan motioning to it. “This will be your room, at least for the next couple of nights. Or if you get tired of my brother,” she tried to joke.

“Why only a couple of nights?” I asked.

Teagan paused, pursing her lips together, then said, “Your wedding is in two days’ time—in the early afternoon, Princess. My brother and I thought it best to not put it off.”

I sucked in a sharp breath and held it in my chest for a moment, thinking and trying not to panic.I’ll be married in just a couple days.

“I guess I should get some beauty rest, then,” I finally said with a calm I didn’t feel after a couple of quiet seconds. Teagan nodded, then opened the door for me to lead the way inside.

The inside of the room was modest yet elegant, and my trunk of belongings had already been placed at the foot of the bed, along with the wooden crate from Hugo. The room was decorated in soft shades of blue, from the plush rug to the curtains over the windows, to the quilt on the four-poster bed. Hidden under the blue, though, were traces of the green and gold of the South. The sheets were a pine green, and all the hardware in the room was gold, down to the doorknob leading into the washroom. Though, a small part of me was moved that they even tried to make this more comfortable for me by adding my nation’s colors. It’s not like they had much time to prepare.

None of us did.

Although I was touched, I reminded myself they were the enemy. Nothing more than heartless killers—despite their attempts to sway me otherwise.

“I’ll be back in the morning to bring you breakfast,” Teagan said from where she stood in the doorway.

I nodded, and she inclined her head before shutting the door behind her, though I noticed she didn’t lock it as she left. I listened to her footsteps retreat down the hall until I could no longer hear them before getting to work collecting materials.

Walking over to the small table next to the bed, I picked up a vase full of blue and white flowers I’d never seen before. Taking it to the washroom, I dumped out the water and left the flowers in a heap on the table.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a rope, but I did find a tattered blanket hidden away in the closet. I cut it into strips with a dagger, then set off to work with what I’d gathered.

Within ten minutes, my contraption was complete. Now, if anybody were to open the door without me disarming the suspended vase, it would fall and shatter, alarming me of the person’s arrival.

Sighing and finally feeling somewhat comfortable, I collapsed onto the bed. That’s when I suddenly remembered the box my twin had given me early yesterday morning.

Sitting up, I pulled the rectangular box from my cloak and slid the lid off. My breath caught as I peered in.

Inside the box sat a small dagger with a family crest I didn’t recognize, detailed with a bright blue gem that I believed to be some variety of sapphire.

Hands shaking slightly, I lifted the sheathed dagger, dropping the box onto the bed. On the back side of the dagger was another unknown insignia, but instead of a blue gem, it had a deep green gem that I didn’t recognize.

The workmanship of the dagger was unlike anything I’d ever seen back home, despite all the time spent training with various makes and models of blades alongside Dimitri. Most daggers nowadays in the North are basic, with little detail to make them special, unless you decide to commission a local to craft you a specific design or pattern. It was highly unlikely the dagger in my hands now was of Northern origin.

My mind reeled with questions. Dimitri said what was in this box he’d found in our mother’s things, but where did he even find some of her things after so long? And what was a likely Southern-crafted dagger—or possibly Ocrein Isle crafted—doing with her belongings? Where did she get this from in the first place?

Frustrated, my eyes burned with tears that I frantically tried to blink back.

What does this all mean?

Shaking my head, I took a few deep breaths to help clear my mind. I slid the dagger into my top, nestling it in place, then walked to the washroom and splashed cold water onto my face.

For a moment, I simply stared into the mirror above the sink. I was beginning to get purple smudges under my eyes from the stress, and the braid I’d put my hair into that morning was falling down in places. I was careful in taking it down, and took extra precaution in setting my mother’s tiara next to the blue and white flowers on the bedside table.

Sighing, I returned to the bedroom and threw myself onto the bed. Exhaustion hit me heavy and fast, and before I could even care about changing clothes, sleep overcame me.

***

The sound of glass shattering had my heart pounding, bolting up from sleep, and reaching for the nearest dagger—the one still resting in my sleeve.

I’d set my little trap every night since arriving a couple days ago, and so far, I’d run into zero issues. Until now, that is.

After a couple seconds of blinking the sleep from my eyes, as well as the morning light, I slowly lowered the dagger back down as I took in the sight before me.

While focusing my eyes forward, I did my best not to think about what today’s rising sun meant for me. How this would be the day my fate was sealed, forever.

My wedding day.

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