Page 33 of Wicked Prince of Shadows
A shudder passed through me as I stared up at it, my heart thudding painfully in my chest.
“Maker, how am I supposed to survive this?” I whispered. “Please. I don’t want to die out here. I don’t want my soul to be shredded and cast into oblivion. There must be some other way? Some way to save me and not condemn everyone here to remain for even another cycle. We need a miracle.”
Miracles weren’t just available for the asking though. Closing my eyes, I shuddered again. The fear licked up my spine and bit deep into me, whispering that there was no hope, no chance at all. I’d die, and all of these people would be stuck here for another cycle or however long until the portal opened and he could try again.
No.
There was. I always figured things out. It was the one thing that outside-wall people like me could do well. We figured out how to survive, even when it was difficult. We fought until we couldn’t.
The night wind stirred the trees, and the blackened branches creaked in answer.
I wrapped my arms tighter around myself, breathing through the tight fear that clamped over my ribs. A few tears leaked down my cheeks, and my throat tightened.
“Hey, princess, come along. It’s late,” Six Stitches called from halfway up the staircase. “Get yourself up here. Don’t make us walk down there again.”
I lingered for a breath, glancing back over my shoulder at the plants. The small trees and shrubs had grown notably, their branches waving in the wind. A few of the vines twitched when I looked at them, and numerous planters held buds and plants that were so close to blossoming I could almost imagine their sweet, light perfume. Of course, in this place, they might wind up smelling more like burned carrion.
My steps sluggish, I forced myself up the dozens of stairs until I reached the guards who then flanked me. We made thenow-familiar trip back to my room in silence as my thoughts twisted over all the things I might do and how I might manage my escape when it finally opened again.
But one question lingered in my mind. Could I just flee and leave everyone here to this curse? Just save myself and leave them here to face death and destruction in such a merciless hellscape?
Scared as I was, I was no longer quite so sure.
I started to press my bedroom door open, then glanced back at Six Stitches and Broken Nose in their dark armor. “I’m Sabine, by the way. I don’t think we’ve actually been introduced. What should I call you?”
They exchanged looks. Six Stitches adjusted his grip on his sword hilt, then gestured to himself. “Gehn. And that’s Lou.” He gestured toward Broken Nose. “Blessed rest, Sabine.”
I nodded. “Thank you. It’s good to know your names.” I couldn’t bring myself to say that it was nice to meet them, but they hadn’t harmed me even though they could have. They just seemed tired and soul weary really. And depending on how long they had been in this place, I couldn’t blame them. “Blessed rest to you as well,” I said.
I pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped in. Darkness enveloped me. Something had changed. Then the realization hit me. My breath hitched.
CHAPTER TEN
Iremained frozen in the doorway, hand on the carved handle as I stared inside at the barely illuminated room.
Someone had not only been in my room, they had put up curtains again and left them partially parted. They had also made the bed. Clean sheets as well as blankets and even a coverlet. My whole room smelled faintly of myrrh, cloves, and cedar.
Surely the Hollow King hadn’t put it on himself? He had servants for that, didn’t he?
Pressing my hand to my mouth, I stepped farther in and let the door slide shut behind me. The pale moonlight slid through a gap in the curtains, providing just enough light to see. Was this his doing? It was. It had to be.
I tugged at the edge of the coverlet, grateful for the softness and the warmth it brought. No bargain. No offer. Just…kindness. From his perspective, he probably didn’t think I deserved it. After all, in his eyes, I was a spoiled princess who just didn’t want to be inconvenienced and who came from a family that had once used his people to benefit themselves.He had no idea how truly terrified I was. But maybe he would understand me better soon?
I could only hope.
I cleaned myself with the cold water from the washroom and then wrapped myself in the blankets and burrowed down against the pillows. My chest knotted, and I struggled to breathe through the emotion.
There had to be some other way to fix this whole problem. It was getting harder and harder to imagine running to that portal and escaping back to my home and my quiet little cottage outside the city wall with the rooftop garden and clay birdhouses. The heavy ache within my soul intensified.
Darkness swept over me, thick as my despair. There had to be a way. There just had to be.
I woke with a start in a cold sweat. Nightmares again. The same as before. That awful hungry chasm. The strange hands made of vines or bones or stones or whatever they were in the moment, reaching, always reaching. Reaching and yet never succeeding.
“Maker, why do you allow this place to exist?” I whispered. Could my prayers even be heard here? There was an awful stillness in the air that made me wonder if any spirit could hear anyone here at all.
Unfortunately, despite that, time still passed. The toll of such hard work without eating was starting to tell on me more. My stomach cramped hard with hunger, and if I moved too swiftly, I dizzied. Some people managed to fast for days, even weeks. And even the strange unappealing grey food was starting to seem tempting.
I put on a clean dress and went down to the garden without waiting for Six Stitches and Broken Nose. Morbid as it had been to intentionally use blood for the plants, curiosity gnawed at me.
