Page 28 of Beholden
“Jewels?” His voice held curiosity and, thankfully, was devoid of further scoffing.
“Yes, once a year on Midsummer’s Eve, the queen and her alchemists create the concoction. Then her priests bring a special golden box containing the stone and newly made concoction to the Gemstone Mountains. They descend into the mines and sprinkle the mixture throughout the tunnels. Weeks later, after the alchemy process works, the slaves begin to find the gems.”
Vilmar worked in silence for a moment, his expression severe. Did he believe me? Or did he think I was telling him fairy tales? The whole process seemed too mystical and magical to be true. And I wouldn’t have believed it myself, except my father had stumbled upon the truth.
“Last Midsummer’s Eve, my father discovered one of the secret ingredients the queen uses to mix with the white stone.”
Vilmar gave me his full attention. “So she killed him for knowing the secret?”
“She killed him because he wanted her to stop. Or, at the very least, he pleaded with her to find a way to make the concoction without using that ingredient.”
“What ingredient?”
Before I could respond, Ty’s faint voice startled us. “A human heart.”
We both turned toward him. Ty was watching me with new interest, as though he could see my deepest thoughts. The intensity made me want to shiver, but I pushed aside the urge. “The white stone concoction requires not just any heart. It requires the heart of the fairest maiden in all the land.”
Vilmar would have straightened and bumped his head on the low ceiling, but he caught himself. “So, after Grendel kills the fairest maiden, the queen uses the young woman’s heart in her alchemy?”
I wasn’t surprised he’d connected the two and now prayed he wouldn’t also figure out my plans. “Yes, after the slaughter and after Grendel retreats to his cave, the priests take the young maiden away to prepare her for a royal burial in honor of her sacrifice. During the embalming, they remove her heart, and except for the alchemists, no one in the kingdom is the wiser for the queen’s cruel custom.”
“Except your father.”
My heart ached at the memory of Father’s agony the day he’d entered the chapel just as the priests had removed the maiden’s heart and were placing it in the gold box with the stone. One look was all he needed to surmise the secret ingredient to the alchemy process, and he finally understood why the Gemstone Mountains never ran out of jewels. He came home distraught, paced for hours, and then fell to his knees in prayer.
After rising, he took me aside and privately told me everything he knew. Then he kissed me farewell, hugging me tightly and telling me to stay strong. At the time, I hadn’t understood why. But later in the day, when he was attacked and killed by so-called bandits after leaving the palace, I realized his confronting the queen and standing up for what was right had cost him his life.
I’d also since realized I was partly to blame for his quest to put an end to the sacrifice to Grendel. At that time, with my eighteenth birthday less than a year away, he’d likely been desperate to find a way to save me.
“So, the sacrifice of a young maiden to Grendel isn’t necessary?” Vilmar watched me carefully, so much so I feared he’d see inside to the plans I’d been formulating ever since I arrived at the mines.
I bent so he could no longer read my face. “Grendel’s rage must be assuaged in some way.”
“That accounts for why the queen has given up capturing him. She has more use for him alive than dead. The madman provides the excuse she needs for killing a maiden every year.”
“Though many knights over the years have offered to fight Grendel, the queen has fanned the fear of the people, reminding them of what happens if a warrior should fail to kill the monster, how countless more would needlessly die.”
“She is crafty indeed. If I were king of this country, I wouldn’t hesitate to put a bounty on Grendel’s head and handsomely reward the knight who brought him to me.”
I almost smiled at the confidence in Vilmar’s tone. He had a good and giving heart, but what did he know of ruling a country?
“I would not wish the fate of being sacrificed to Grendel upon any maiden. But I’m glad it isn’t you.”
I could feel Ty’s keen gaze upon me again, and I focused on the rubble and the task of removing the stones. I couldn’t agree with Vilmar. With the knowledge I had, I was the only one who could put an end to the madness. I’d rather forfeit myself to do what was right than stand by and watch the queen continue her evil practices for years to come.
Even more, I wanted to avenge my father’s death. The queen had taken an innocent man’s life for the sake of her selfish gain. She cost me the one person I’d loved more than anyone else. And I wanted her to pay for it.
But I wouldn’t be able to do anything trapped deep in the mines. First, I had to find a way out before the rats closed in on us. And before I ran out of time to make it to the ball.
Chapter
10
Vilmar
The torch sputtered,and I held my breath, praying it would miraculously keep burning even though only a blackened stub remained. The clatter of rocks was frantic, from my tossing and Gabriella’s. We’d both worked for hours trying to clear away rubble in order to make a way out, but every time we thought we were close to breaking through, we faced additional rocks. Had the entire mountain collapsed in this tunnel?
Ty had attempted to get up and help us, but he’d only been able to work for a short while before he bent over, retching. Gabriella insisted he lie back down and did her best to tend to his wounds and make him comfortable.
