Page 35 of Wicked Prince of Shadows
I cleared my throat as my mouth went dry. “I-I don’t know anything about the plants here, and I can’t make any guarantees. So if you know what kind they are and if you know what they do, let me know, I guess. And if you can harvest them without destroying the plants for others, go ahead.” My shoulders dropped, but happy murmurs spread. Then I cleared my throat. “And I guess just make sure to leave some for the other people in the kingdom too and not just the palace.” Wherever those people were, they were likely to be the ones most swiftly forgotten.
A couple of the kitchen workers murmured, and one dropped her shoulders as if saddened. Candice tilted her head, her brows lifting. “Oh…it’s one and the same. We all live in the palace now.The city walls couldn’t protect our kingdom, but the palace walls have held up thus far. May they continue to hold.”
The others ducked their heads and echoed her, “may they continue to hold.”
An uncomfortable ache spread through my chest. So this really was all there was left of this kingdom? Whatever fit in a palace that wasn’t even the size of a city’s market square? “Oh…then, yes, help yourself.”
A smile lit up Candice’s face. She walked down the staircase and started directing the others. “Only take what is ready. Save the starts. Reserve seeds.”
“Any of the stalks or stems that you don’t use, please save. We can turn it into a better compost,” I called out. The words slipped out before I realized it. Was I really already planning how to make this garden better in the long term?
Candice turned to face me, her eyes bright and her expression happy. “Of course! We must take care not to waste. This will be such a bounty. There’s barely been enough food without the gardens, and our alchemists have been waning as the land has taken their vitality and their strength. Even if we are to be free after this week ends.”
My heart sank. Yes. The curse. “Oh…”
She looked down at me, her elegant eyebrows drawing up as if she thought I didn't understand. “You are the princess. Don't you understand? The descendant of Tanith. When he weds you, this curse ends and we will all be able to enter the Waking Lands. This blood moon’s dance will celebrate our final cycle in this place, and then we will be free. Your wedding is the day of our greatest joy. A celebration of our freedom and the beginning of a new journey.”
She covered her mouth and drew in a shuddering breath, tears now in her eyes. “I promise. We will be wise with what we take. We have to make sure to prepare food for the journey. Oncewe enter into the Waking Lands again, we’ll have to find new homes. I’m so glad King Vetle found you. Too many have died. To think of what would happen?—”
Her voice broke. She dipped her head forward, then drew in a deep breath. “Even if it were possible for the gardens to produce enough to support us for days and months after this, I couldn’t bear another cycle.” She took another long breath and then forced a smile. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. I forgot my place. I will not bother you further.”
The garden was soon a bustle of movement. A few other members of the palace came to join us. They called out names for plants, and more than once, a member took me aside to explain what a plant was or a risk associated with it. While not all of the plants were carnivorous, they all had their little quirks. Some were ones like the kind I was used to in the Waking Lands but without their typical colors.
Doctor Rasoul approached me about mid-morning, hands clasped behind his back. He found three planters of medicinal herbs, which he told me could be used to make more of the healing salve. But he only took a few clippings and insisted that I drink a tea he would send me to fortify me.
“I understand your unwillingness to consume the food in this place. I remember hearing such tales as well,” he said with a firm nod and an expression that made it clear whatever he said next was not to be taken lightly. “But you have bled quite a lot, and you only have so much strength. I’ll prepare you some tea, and I expect you to drink it. It will keep you going.”
I hesitated, then set my hands on my hips. “And it won’t bind me here or to him?”
He shook his head. “I assure you there have been a few who have come and gone who drank the tea and ate the food of this place.” A faint smile tugged at his lips, and his smile pulled crooked thanks to the stitches that lined the left side of hismouth and down to his neck. “If I could make a binding vow to you, I would, but all I can give you is my word.”
“Well, answer me this question then,” I said. “The portal. I know it’s locked or not prepared or whatever it is right now. But when it opens again, even if the curse isn’t lifted, can’t at least some of the people here go through it?”
His brow lifted. “You wouldn’t be trying to escape again?”
I kept my expression as neutral as possible though a surge of fear passed through me. This was a gamble, but I needed the information. It wasn’t just my own fate that hung in the balance. “No. I’m just trying to understand. I mean, I’m sure there’s another explanation since otherwise this would be too obvious. But I have to point this out. This kingdom literally has a portal out, and it’s clear that there are many needs in this place. While I’m not the princess and not a descendant of Tanith, that doesn’t mean that the portal is useless. Why can’t you go through before the blood moon ends? There would be fewer to provide for until the next cycle.” Gehn or Lou had said that the Hollow King could only leave once per blood moon, but we’d find a solution for that. The children could at least be saved. Somehow I knew he’d agree to that.
“Unfortunately, it is not so simple,” the doctor said, his voice calm despite the tension in his expression. The wrinkles around his grey-brown eyes deepened. “The portal, like so much, has been weakening these past years. It’s controlled by the Witheringlands itself. And even at its strongest, the Witheringlands has always been reluctant to let anyone leave unless everything is precisely right. King Vetle understands it far better than I, but then again he has been among the longest here. Many entered this place unintentionally.”
His gaze flicked toward the children. Osric had climbed up into one of the tree pots, crouching down behind the thick leaves as if that would be enough to hide him. “For the past twohundred years, none who have entered have been able to leave. It’s how I came to be here.”
“You?” I fell back a step, shoulders dropping.
He dipped his head forward with a slight nod. The wind ruffled his silver and iron-grey curls, and a wetness shone in his eyes. He turned his face from me as if fascinated by one of the plants, turning a leaf over between his fingers but not plucking it. “I was a simple physician who caught the eye of a royal. There were strict protocols that a commoner had to go through to ensure that they could stand before the temple and be wed to one of such high birth. All had been completed. I was made royal, and at dawn as the sun reached the chalk cliffs, I was to be wed. But I couldn’t sleep that night…so I wandered into the gardens and found a fountain. There was a strange portal within it, and when I peered in, I heard someone calling for help. So I answered the call, stepped into that portal, and then…”
I blinked slowly as I tried to process this. Shifting my weight, I pressed my hand to my collarbone. He had been trapped here? “Which kingdom were you from?”
“It doesn’t matter. It was years ago. My love hasn’t waited for me, of that I’m certain. What matters is that there’s no way back if the Witheringlands refuses to let you go. And unfortunately for me, it prefers me to be here. Based on what you have done with the garden, I suspect it will feel the same for you. This is a lonely, hungry place. It has a mind all its own, but the one thing to understand is that it is not controlled by any mortal. The portal will not be ready to allow anyone back or across until the final hours of the blood moon’s cycle before the curse must be lifted. Put any thought of escaping back to it far from your mind. Your lot is here with us now. The curse must be broken with what we have here, or else hope fails forever.”
“Well, not until the next blood moon cycle.” I gestured toward the east though the moon wasn’t visible.
The ground beneath me suddenly trembled. I staggered, grabbing at the nearest planter for support as the entire garden began to shake. Pebbles and dust rained down from the tiers above, and the plants swayed violently in their beds.
The doctor reached out to steady himself and placed his hand on my arm. All around us, people froze in place, expressions tense as the rumbling grew stronger. The vibrations traveled up through my legs and into my spine, rattling my teeth. Then it stopped. It was alarmingly ordinary. “Those seem to happen a fair bit here,” I said, shivering. I could still feel the earth moving beneath me even though it had stopped.
The doctor met my gaze, then smiled faintly. “They’ve been coming more frequently these past weeks. Let’s hope they remain small. Now as I answered your question, I expect you to drink the tea when I send it to you. Good day, princess.”
I steadied myself against one of the walls and then picked up the bucket. The more I learned of this place, the more I hated it.
