I stroked Bloom, telling him he'd done a good job, then I smacked him on the side and told him to get out of here. He did as he was told, racing back out through the doors again, and I turned to Konstantin.
"Have you found Ridley or Mina?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Not yet. I checked the dungeons for Ridley, but there was no sign of either of them there. I was heading to the throne room."
"You think Mina will be there?" I asked.
"She's obsessed with the crown, so it would make sense," he said. "And if we find her, I'm sure she can tell us where Ridley is."
I nodded. "Then I'm going with you."
The throne room was rarely used, except for coronations and the occasional ceremony. It was at the south end of the palace, straight at the end of a long, narrow corridor that led out from the main hall.
I let Konstantin lead the way, jogging a few steps ahead of me, but we both slowed when we saw someone standing in front of the doors to the throne room, blocking us.
Wearing only a leather vest to reveal the scars and tattoos that covered his thick biceps was Helge Otack. His greasy hair hung around his face, and he grinned at us as we approached, showing off his gold teeth.
"Well, well, well. You thought you could just come waltzing up here--"
"I really don't have time for this shit," I muttered, so I took my sword and threw it at Helge like a spear, right at his stupid grinning mouth with his gold caps.
The blade went through, knocking out one of his teeth, and going out the back of his skull. His open mouth tore around the blade, making him look like a mutilated clown, and when I pulled the sword back, the top half of his head fell to the floor.
"Well done," Konstantin said. He kicked Helge's body out of the way, and then he pulled open the door to the throne room.
It was a small square room, with white velvet drapes hanging over the stone walls, from the ceiling down to where they pooled on the floor. Two thrones sat at the back of the room, and Viktor Dalig sat in the larger of the two, looking like he owned the place. But that wasn't what really caught my attention.
Hanging from the center of the room was a large metal cage. A black-bearded vulture sat perched on top of it, squawking at us, and Ridley was inside it, lying on the bottom with his clothes torn, looking badly beaten.
He lifted his head when the door opened, and I could see dried blood had crusted along his temple. He knelt at the bottom of the cage, looking down at me with fear in his dark eyes, and he clenched the metal bars.
"Bryn, get out," Ridley warned me frantically. "It's a trap!"
SEVENTY-FOUR
ensnared
The white velvet drapes along the wall began to move, rippling like waves, and men dressed in black stepped out. There had been just enough space between the fabric and the cold stone to conceal them, and a dozen of Viktor's soldiers filled the small room.
Behind Konstantin and me, the doors slammed shut, and that's when Viktor threw back his head and began to laugh. His long, black hair swayed as he did. The dull red of his scar ran from just above his left eye down to his right cheek, a present from Ridley's father before Viktor had killed him.
"The prodigal son returns," Viktor said, grinning broadly at Konstantin.
"I was never your son," Konstantin spat at him.
I had my sword at the ready, waiting for the soldiers to attack, but Konstantin stood with his weapon at his side, his eyes fixed on Viktor.
Viktor's smile finally fell away. "I told you what would happen if you betrayed us. And I knew that eventually you would return to collect your punishment."
"No." Konstantin shook his head and pointed his sword at Viktor. "I told you that I would return to give you yours."
"Enough of this," Viktor growled. "Capture them. The Queen wants to torture them herself."
The soldiers started coming toward us, and Konstantin and I moved so we were back to back. Our only advantage was that it was a small space, so we could rely on each other. That, and Konstantin was the best swordsman I'd ever met.
I pushed down my fear, my worry for Ridley, my anger toward Viktor and Mina. I blocked out everything, leaving my mind blank, so when a solider struck out at me, I reacted only on instinct. I let my body move the way it had been trained to, blocking every attack, and lunging when I saw an opening.
From the corner of my eye, I kept trying to look for a way to free Ridley as Konstantin and I pivoted around the room, fighting off the soldiers as quickly as they came at us. The cage hung from the ceiling by a long chain, and I finally saw where it attached to the wall, in a small gap between the drapes.
Viktor sat on the throne in the center of the room, watching it all as if we were putting on a performance solely for his entertainment, and then I realized sourly that we were. He had staged this all with the expectation of trapping Konstantin or me here, and he'd lucked out by getting both of us.
Above, I heard the cage rattle, and I glanced up to see the bird had taken flight, as Ridley started swinging the cage. He used his body weight to rock it, and I could see the anchor straining in the brick wall.
The cage had been meant to hold doves, which Mina released during special ceremonies. It hadn't been built to withstand the kind of tension Ridley was putting on it.
"Bryn!" Konstantin shouted, trying to direct my attention back to the fight.
I turned to see a soldier charging at me. I kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying back into the wall, and he dropped his sword to the floor. I ran at him and before he could get to his feet, and I stabbed him through.
Looking around the room, I realized that it was full of dead bodies, and Viktor's expression had turned to an angry scowl. We'd killed all but three of his men, and Konstantin was dealing with two of them.
The third ran at me, and I lunged at him, driving my sword through his stomach. Then Ridley shouted a warning, and before I could even think, his cage clattered to the floor mere inches from me.
I ducked out of the way just in time. I narrowly avoided getting crushed by the metal enclosure, but I dropped my sword in the commotion. The cage bounced over the bodies and crashed into the wall.
I ran over to help Ridley open the door, but as I did, his face blanched with horror.
"Bryn, watch out!" he shouted, and I whirled around just in time to see Viktor behind me, carrying a bloody sword.
SEVENTY-FIVE
reprisal
I felt the sharp point of the blade tear my clothes and pierce the tender flesh of the left side of my abdomen, just above my hip. I staggered back, my eyes scanning the floor for a nearby sword. Konstantin was busy on the other side of the room, finishing off the last of the men, so he couldn't toss me a weapon.
Viktor sneered at me, and I spotted my sword--the handle red with blood, lying a few feet to my left, directly beside the birdcage. But before I could make a play for it, Ridley kicked open the door to the cage. He climbed out and stepped toward Viktor, blocking Viktor's access to me.
"Enough games," Viktor growled at him. "It's time to finish this."
He lunged at Ridley, but Ridley dodged to the side and grabbed Viktor's arm. He twisted his wrist back, and even after Viktor dropped the sword, Ridley kept twisting until the bones in his hand and wrist finally made a loud cracking sound.
Viktor was bigger than Ridley, but he was also older and out of practice. And I knew that Ridley wouldn't let him get the best of him again.
Viktor let out a loud pained groan, and Ridley let go of him, allowing Viktor to stand up.
"I thought you were going to finish this, old man," Ridley growled at him as Viktor staggered back away from Ridley.
"There's still time," Viktor assured him with a sick smile.
Ridley moved toward him and kicked his feet out from under him, and Viktor fell back onto the bodies of his fallen men. He lay at an awkward angle, with his back curved up over the bodies and his head on the cold stone floor.
Ridley jumped on top of Viktor
and grabbed him by his greasy hair, and he slammed his head into the floor three times. He wasn't dead--not yet anyway--but he wasn't really moving either.
"That was for Bryn," Ridley said as he got to his feet.
The scar that ran along my temple seemed to throb in sympathy, the one that Viktor had given me when he had bashed my head into a stone wall.
Konstantin had killed the last two men, and he stood on the other side of the room, catching his breath. With Viktor incapacitated, Ridley turned his attention to me.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes darting down to where my blood was staining my shirt.
"Yeah, it's just a flesh wound." But it did hurt far worse than I was willing to let on. Then I motioned to him. His shirt was unbuttoned in the front, revealing dark bruises all over his body. "Are you okay?"
"Hey, hey," Konstantin said, interrupting us.
When we looked over at him, he tossed his sword to Ridley, who caught it easily. I turned back to see that Viktor Dalig had gotten up and was stumbling toward us. Blood streamed down the side of his face, but he'd picked up a sword and managed to wield it with his shaky left hand, the one that Ridley hadn't broken.
Ridley stepped away from me and walked toward Viktor. Viktor tried to lunge at him, and Ridley countered by easily knocking the sword from him. Viktor stood before Ridley, with his head high, and began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Ridley asked.
"I should've killed you the second Helge brought you in," Viktor said through his laughter. "I could've split you in two, just like I did your idiot father."
And that was the last thing Viktor ever said, because Ridley stabbed him in the stomach. Viktor stumbled back and collapsed onto the throne. He let out a few more raspy breaths before expiring.
"And that was for my dad," Ridley said.
"He would be proud of you," I said, trying to comfort Ridley.
He turned back to face me, and I stood up as straight as I could, with my hand pressed against the wound Viktor had given me. Ridley's eyes were dark, and he put his hand gently on my face.
"You sure you're all right?" he asked.
"Yeah." I smiled up at him. "As long as you're okay, I'm okay."
Konstantin took his sword back from Ridley and wiped the blood off on his shirt, then turned toward Ridley and me. "Shall we move on? There's still plenty more enemies to take down."
SEVENTY-SIX
chambered
The fighting had moved into the main hall of the palace. As Ridley, Konstantin, and I ran down the narrow corridor from the throne room, we could already hear the clash of swords. Baltsar and Bekk were fighting alongside other Skojare and Trylle allies against twenty or so Kanin guards and Omte.
Before we left the throne room, I'd torn off a strip from the white curtains and tied it around my waist, putting pressure on my wound to stop the blood loss. That helped some, but I could still feel myself moving more slowly than I should have. But I pushed myself on, refusing to quit or fail now, not when we were so close to defeating Mina.
Ridley had grabbed a sword, and when we reached the main hall, he joined the fight without missing a beat. Nothing that Viktor or Mina had done to him slowed him down, and I wished I had the time to admire that about him. Or admire anything about him. I wanted to relish the fact that he was safe and alive again, but an Omte soldier was trying to stab me.
I started fighting beside Ridley, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Konstantin running. He raced down the hallway toward the private quarters. I dodged the attack from the Omte soldier, and then I took off after Konstantin, running as fast as I could to catch up to him.
So far, the private wing looked untouched. The pearlescent tile wasn't stained with blood. The ivory drywall covering the stone had no holes or dents. None of the furniture was broken and none of the paintings were torn.
Konstantin had stopped where the hallway T'd, looking in both directions, and that's when I reached him.
"Where are you going?"
"To find Mina." He looked down at me. "I should finish this on my own. You don't need to come with me."
"Of course I'm coming with you," I insisted. "I want her dead just as badly as you do, and you don't know what she's up to."
"Yes, I do. She knows she's losing now, and she's going to make an escape." He turned to the hallway to the left, jogging ahead, and I went after him. "She's in her room, gathering everything she needs to start over."
The Queen's chambers were in the top of the tower on the south side of the palace. On the stairwell just outside the landing were two dead Hogdragen soldiers, both with their throats slit. These were the first bodies we'd seen in the private wing so far.
"She killed them," Konstantin whispered. "They served their purpose, and she didn't want them taking her jewels."
He crept quietly across the landing, leading the way, and slowly pushed open the door. I peered in over his shoulder, and the room looked empty. Everything was in order--the satin bedding on the four-post bed was made, the lush white rugs were unruffled, and the sheer curtains were undisturbed over the windows.
I was about to ask if she was still here when I saw a small white rabbit hop across the floor. It was Vita, Mina's pet rabbit, and on every trip she'd ever gone on, she'd taken it with her. As far as I could tell, Vita seemed to be the only thing Mina really cared about. The rabbit scampered under the bed at the sight of Konstantin and me, hiding from us.
Then I heard a sound, reminding me almost of rain on a windshield, coming from the dressing room off the bedroom.
"She keeps her private safe in there," Konstantin whispered and pushed the door open farther. He crept into the room with his sword drawn, watching the half-open door to her dressing room warily.
I followed him inside, and he motioned for me to go toward a large armoire near one of the windows. It been painted white, but it was made out of wood, with an old legend carved into it with pictures--Odin gifting the Kanin people with the Gotland rabbits.
Konstantin came up beside me and quietly opened the armoire doors. From the dressing room, we could hear Mina softly singing an old Kanin war song to herself, and I heard the tinkling glass sound of jewelry and gemstones colliding with each other as she loaded up a bag.
"Get in," Konstantin whispered, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
I did as he commanded, stepping up into the armoire, thinking that he meant for us to hide in here until Mina came out of the dressing room. If she was packing up all her riches and planning to make a break from a kingdom at war, she had to have a weapon on her, and clearly she knew how to use a dagger, given that she'd left two guards dead on the steps.
The armoire was large enough that I could stand up in it, and with the lift at the bottom, it made me as tall as Konstantin. He looked at me for a moment, his eyes studying me.
Normally his eyes were cool like steel, even when he was vulnerable, but now there was a strange smokiness to them, masking his thoughts. His hair fell across his forehead, and I wanted to ask him what was going on, but he suddenly grabbed me. He put an arm around my waist, his hand strong and demanding on my back, and pulled me closer to him. Without waiting for my reaction, he kissed me roughly on the mouth.
His mouth was cold, but heat rushed through me anyway. Under his insistent desire, I felt something tender and passionate. I wasn't sure if I should embrace him or push him, and parts of me wanted to do both.
When he stopped kissing me, he kept his arm around my waist, and his eyes were filled with a yearning so strong, it took my breath away. Then he stepped back, and I still felt his touch lingering on my lips.
"I'm sorry, white rabbit," he whispered, and shut the doors. I heard a soft clicking sound, and I realized too late that he'd locked me inside the armoire. "I want you safe this time."
SEVENTY-SEVEN
white rabbit
"Konstantin," I hissed but didn't say more. I wanted to break down the doors and jump out, but I couldn't. Not if I didn't want
to risk giving away his position.
Through in the gap between the doors of the armoire, I watched Konstantin back away. He'd trapped me, knowing that I wouldn't try to break out because it would mean risking his life.
Then, slowly, as he stepped back, I saw his skin begin to change. Going from its normal deep tan to blend in with the stark white of the Queen's chambers. He slipped off his shirt, kicking it underneath the bed, and stood against the wall beside the four-post bed.
His daggers remained tucked in the back of his pants, and he stood so that from his waist down, he was mostly hidden behind the abundance of linens on the bed. He'd almost disappeared completely.
Mina came out of the dressing room a few moments later, dragging a large suitcase across the floor with great difficulty. All her gemstones must've weighed it down quite a bit. Still in "mourning" over Evert's death, she wore a long black gown.
The satin of the bottom of the gown clung to the curves of her hips before flaring out around her feet. The top of her bodice went up to her throat, but it was made of a thin, open lace so that her breasts were almost entirely visible through the fabric. The sleeves went down over her hands, ending in a long point. Since the openness of the dress could provide no warmth, she wore a black fur stole around her shoulders, and its effect reminded me almost of glamorous, oversized epaulets.
"Vita, darling," Mina said, calling to her pet rabbit, and I noted that her British accent had grown even stronger since the last time I'd heard her speak. She'd completely devolved into the character she'd created for herself. "It's time for us to go."
Leaving her bag, she began looking around for the rabbit. She put one hand on the bed, and I noticed that even her nail polish was black, as she leaned down to look underneath the bed. With her back to him, Konstantin started moving slowly toward her.
"Vita," Mina cooed to the rabbit. "Come here, love."
Konstantin pulled the dagger from his pants, and his skin began to shift back to its normal flesh tone. I held my breath, watching through the crack, as he came up behind her.
"I know you're there," Mina said, her voice sharper than it had been when she'd been speaking to Vita. "And I know that you're not going to kill me."