Page 53 of The Curse of a Kingdom
“I’m fine,” he said sharply. “We are almost there. I’m guessing you won’t be able to do your disappearing trick to get to your room.”
“Transferring? No, I’m barely able to walk. Be glad I’m not fainting as we speak—I have done that before.” Her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. “Multiple times.”
He faced forward, fighting a smile. “There are some areas of the garden that are heavily watched.”
“You mean by the creepy flowers?”
“Yes.” That was one way to put it. “I’ll take you through a secret passage and then fly you up to your room.”
“Aren’t you also tired?”
He raised a brow, facing her. “Are you worried I’ll drop you?”
“Absolutely. I know you think you are invincible because you’re the all-powerful Ar—prince, but it’s not the first time you have crash-landed with me in tow.” Nava pressed her lips tightly together, as if realizing she had given too much of their past, and once again, silence descended upon them. When and why had he dropped her? He hadn’t shown his wings to anyone before he came to this kingdom.
The two of them had to be close, and if the dreams were memories . . . intimately so.
“I won’t drop you,” he promised. “Say I believe this madness you are telling me, that I have known you from before—you claimed the king knows this?”
Nava took a subtle breath but didn’t hesitate. “Yes, if you remember the way he greeted us at dinner, then you know there was a threat woven in there.”
Orion nodded. “I have learned in my time here that our kingdom’s history is messy. The king wants to prevent it from repeating itself. It’s hard for the royal kin to produce heirs. Something to do with our blood not mixing well with others, even our own kind—or humans.”
This was it, the area of the woods he hated the most. The trees had become thick with age, and even though it had been years since this part of the forest had caught on fire, it was still all dead.
He slowed his steps and turned to meet her gaze. Nava was not looking at him but at her surroundings.
Her eyes were wide and horror shone through her expression. “The Zorren were here too? So close to the castle.”
He walked forward, and the tree of his nightmares came into view, so large it commanded reverence. A huge clearing was around it where no other tree could grow due to what he assumed was poisoned grounds.
He was sure this had been a beautiful place, but it wasn’t anymore. The tree’s charred trunk and branches were all that was left.
“When my mother took me away, the kingdom mourned us for years.” He paused, turning away from the horrible imagery that would forever haunt him. “This tree was where the queen was murdered, though it’s not the story told to the population.”
Nava brought both her hands to her lips, covering her horror.
He wasn't sure why he was feeling so open and vulnerable with her and the Beekeeper, who trailed close behind, but he was. Orion needed to get this burden out somehow. “My dreams of you are not the only ones that have haunted me these past few months.” His chest sank lower despite himself.
“You have had nightmares of her dying here?”
“Yes, though very fragmented, and it doesn’t really reveal who did it or why she was here in the first place.”
“I’m so sorry, Ark,” she whispered, her brow wrinkling as she grasped his hand. Her skin was warm, and it lifted some of the heaviness that had settled in his gut. Her touch should have startled him, made him want to shake her hand and put some distance, but that was the opposite of what he craved.
They stood in silence; the looming presence of the tree hung around him like an oppressive force, and he no longer wished to speak a word of it.
“Is this why the kingdom’s emblem is a dead tree?” Nava’s voice shook him out of his thoughts.
“No.” He cleared his throat, debating whether he wanted to keep speaking or just move on. Her gentle gaze brought him back into the conversation, like a moth to a flame. “There is a mirror tree inside the castle, the queen’s tree.”
“Oh?” Her brows knitted together, but she didn’t ask anything else.
“Since there is no recollection of what happened, it’s all my own conclusion. But it’s possible this was made to look like the one inside to send a message to the king.”
“Do you think it’s the same species of tree?” she asked, her voice hesitant.
“I think they look too similar for it not to be so. The only difference is this one is burned, and the one inside is asleep and untouched by fire.”
