Page 30 of Deadwood
What if my secret got out?
Would he tell people? Or possibly blackmail us with it?
Would my father kill him for knowing?
The beat of my heart picked up its already pounding pace, crashing against the cage of my chest. My father had easily ordered someone to be killed for simply getting close to me before. What was stopping him now if he already disliked the man in front of me?
As Bowen set the empty vial back on the table without so much as a sound, two guards filed into the room, hands at the pommels sticking off their belts.
“I suppose it’s time to get going,” Bowen said, more so to my father, but he was looking straight at me.
He gave me one last once-over before turning on his heel and striding out of the room. As soon as he left, I inhaled a deep breath in an attempt to slow my racing pulse.
“Where were you?” my father demanded, not trying to hide his aggravation any longer.
“Our deepest apologies, Your Majesty. We didn’t mean to doze off. I don’t know what came over us,” one of the guards answered, followed by a rough chorus of coughs from the both of them.
“No excuses!” my father boomed. “One slip-up, and everything could be ruined. Is that what you want?”
The guards shook their heads in unison, keeping their eyes downcast.
He’d have them killed, I was sure of it. Not only for falling asleep while on watch, but for seeing what was in this room.
My entire life, my magic had been a secret. Now there was the possibility that Bowen knew. The way he’d looked at that empty vial, how he saw the crates full of glowing amber—heknew.
Would he send someone to harm me? Or would my father give orders to have him killed before he could step foot outside this kingdom?
“Auria,” my father snapped. I flinched, my eyes shooting to him. The guards were gone, the door now closed. I hadn’t noticed them leave the room. “Finish your job.”
I bent, grabbing the vial I held minutes before and palming the empty one Bowen had held in my opposite hand.
Only a little less than two dozen crates to go, and I’d be that much closer to leaving this castle.
That much closer to knowing what a sliver of freedom might feel like.
CHAPTER 11
The chest holding the clothes my father had picked out for me was removed from my room an hour ago. Already, I had another packed and waiting by the door. Katie didn’t have a choice but to follow my father’s orders in packing only the most elegant of dresses, but I couldn’t imagine spending the entirety of this trip in suffocating outfits. The tight girdles atop bulky piles of skirts would be unendurable during our journey. If the dresses in the first traveling case were anything like the one I was forced to wear the night of the masquerade ball, I was making the right decision in bringing spare clothing.
“This one as well, my lady?” a servant I’d never seen before asked, gesturing to the case.
I gave a curt nod, doing my best to keep my chin held high, despite my reservations about leaving. I was beyond eager to cross the bridge leading out of Amosite, but unsure of what to expect once we did.
“Very well,” he said, hefting the chest in his arms and exiting the room.
Aside from what I’d packed, my wardrobe was still overflowing. All the garments in the other case were newly sewed, and it made me feel all the more guilty for wearing them. The people in Silicate needed them far more than I did.
“Auria,” Katie said from behind me. I tore my attention from the window, where I’d been etching the view I saw day in and day out into my memory, as if it wasn’t already stuck there like a preserved painting. “Are you ready to leave?”
I took one last glance at the city in the distance, knowing my answer before she even asked the question. “Yes.”
“Your father would like to say his goodbyes.”
I turned, facing her. I inhaled as deep as my corset would allow, having half the mind to ask her to loosen the strings before my departure, but knowing it would be no use. My father had given strict orders that I must look my best on our way out of the city. My lungs would be aching for air until we stopped for the night and I was finally able to change, though I wasn’t sure they were ever truly filled in this dreary castle. Some people starved for food or water, but I was peckish for a whole different reason.
I wondered what a change of scenery might do for me.
Katie leaned close as we walked side by side down the hall, two guards trailing behind us out of earshot. “Taylin is waiting in the gardens if you would like to say your farewell. It’s on the way to the throne room, after all,” she muttered.
