Desperate Forest Page 15

  He pulled me down from his horse and led me into the largest tent in the encampment. My uncle was already there, seated on a small wooden chair.

  “Tie her up and gag her,” he said to Kartoff the moment we entered, sending me a cursory glance. I couldn’t help but think his pointed beard and beady eyes made him look particularly demonic in the dim light.

  Kartoff bound my hands tightly behind my back, then started on my feet. I struggled against my restraints, the rope cutting into my wrists, but it was hopeless. I wouldn’t be able to free myself.

  “What’s this?” Kartoff felt my boot. He pulled it off and the dagger slid out. Kartoff seized it, then ran his hands unabashedly over me, searching for any other hidden weapons.

  “Clever,” my uncle mused, assessing me. “Who’d have thought such a mouse of a girl could give me so much trouble. Far more than your father did.” He flashed a gloating smile.

  “You spineless, evil coward—” I shouted, but Abrax rose from his seat and backhanded me across my cheek.

  “Shut your mouth, girl! Your days are numbered.” He laughed. “Your precious Darius can’t save you now. His kingdom will be mine this time tomorrow.”

  I glared at him, unable to retort as Kartoff stuffed a coarse rag into my mouth and secured it tightly behind my head.

  My uncle had no idea how true his words were. Darius certainly couldn’t save me now.

  To finish my entrapment, Kartoff pulled me to a large stake stuck deep in the ground and coiled several layers of ropes around me. I was oddly reminded of when Jay had tied me up my first night at his camp. Only now, I was in far more danger.

  ✽✽✽

  I hardly slept at all that night. I was too uncomfortable from being lashed to the tent stake and much too worried about myself and my friends.

  In the early morning light, I looked around the tent for anything I could possibly use to help me escape. But of course, there was nothing. My uncle sat at his table, studying maps and what I assumed were other attack-strategy paraphernalia.

  Abrax was already dressed in his armor, and I could hear the commotion of the other knights outside preparing for battle.

  Time slipped by dangerously fast. I knew Abrax would leave me behind with a few of his dirty knights keeping guard. When they received the signal from him, they’d likely kill me and blame it on retaliation from Marcsnovia.

  The tent opened and a knight strode in carrying two plates of food.

  “It’s about time!” my uncle barked, barely looking up from his maps.

  “My apologies, Your Highness,” the knight said, somewhat muffled behind the armor covering his face.

  Abrax grunted as the knight put a plate piled high with food on his table. The knight strode over to me and placed a much more modest plate at my feet.

  “Permission to untie the girl so she can eat?”

  “Be quick about it,” my uncle grunted between mouthfuls.

  The knight cut through the ropes binding my body and hands, then kept his sword fixed on me as I reached for my food and began eating.

  As my uncle and I ate in silence, I glared at the knight. How many corrupt soldiers did my uncle have in his back pocket? This knight did not seem at all perturbed by seeing me tied up in my uncle’s tent like a prisoner.

  “Tie her up again when she’s finished, then tell the others we’ll be moving out in fifteen minutes,” my uncle commanded, pushing his now-empty plate off to the side.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” the knight said. I tried to eat slowly, hoping my uncle might leave the tent, giving me a chance to plead with this knight to help me, useless as it might be.

  However, my meal was so meager I soon finished every bite, and the knight grabbed my hands, binding them behind my back again. He was about to secure me to the stake again when my uncle coughed violently.

  Abrax clutched his throat as his coughing changed to wheezing. He clearly couldn’t breathe, and his face turned blue. He motioned for the knight to help him, his eyes bulging, but the knight didn’t move.

  My uncle collapsed, twitching viciously. I stared in shock. Within seconds, he fell still.

  I looked at the knight dumbfounded. He removed his facial armor and a long blond ponytail fell out from the back.

  “Laurel!” I cried.

  “Are you all right?” She walked to my uncle’s still body and kicked him roughly with her boot, turning him over. His vacant eyes stared back at us.

  “He’s dead,” I breathed, horrified at the sight of his corpse, but mainly relieved Abrax had finally been stopped.

  “Yes . . . he is.” Laurel stared at him, transfixed. Her face was blank, but I knew internally she was wrestling with a number of emotions, having finally avenged her sister’s death.

  “How?”

  She strode over and cut me free. “Thaddeus found Gavin’s armor among his things after your uncle captured everyone from the camp. He brought it when he came to find us, hoping it might give us an opportunity to sneak in and rescue them.” She looked at me accusingly. “Did you know Gavin was a Tover knight before he met Jay and me in the woods?”

  “Yes.”

  “I didn’t.”

  I could tell she was perturbed. I hoped she would be receptive to Gavin’s story when he told her the truth. She went on.

  “I snuck into the camp early this morning dressed in Gavin’s armor. I helped the knights prepare food and volunteered to take Abrax his breakfast.” She smiled grimly. “It didn’t seem like any of the other knights were too eager to bring it to him. He certainly didn’t have the love your father did. I slipped poison into his food . . . a much faster-acting one than what he used on your father.” She pulled me up now that my bonds were all removed.

  “Thank you,” I said, and Laurel nodded her acknowledgment.

  We left the tent. The morning sun was beginning to creep beyond the horizon, and I took a deep breath of fresh air. There was a part of me that had thought I’d never live to see another morning. Its beauty was especially stunning.

  “Listen, everyone!” I yelled across the camp, doing my best to sound authoritative. “We will not be attacking Marcsnovia today or ever!”

  The knights not wearing their masks stared at me, looking quite confused. Some of them seemed fearful, no doubt worried Abrax would charge out of his tent to silence me for my defiance.

  “King Abrax is dead!” I shouted, feeling more confident now. Relief spread across the faces of many of the knights. They gathered around me as I relayed my story, starting with my father’s murder at Abrax’s hand, not stopping until I reached my uncle’s death that morning.

  As I told my tale, I felt the presence of my father all around me. I imagined him standing next to me, proud of the way the knights were nodding and ready to serve a gracious leader again.

  I may not have had my father’s natural leadership qualities, but I had something Abrax never did. A genuine love for my people.

  And that is what will make you a great queen, my father’s voice whispered.

  Chapter 24

  Before I finished relaying my story, Thaddeus emerged from a tent, followed by Gavin, Gianna, Macie, and Pete. I paused briefly to give them a relieved smile.

  Laurel left my side and ran to Gavin. Immediately, he wrapped her in a tight embrace, but she shook him off. They stepped to the side, heads bent close, talking emotionally for several minutes. Gavin gestured with his hands, pleading with her.

  I was answering questions from the knights when I looked up again to see Laurel silence Gavin by pressing her finger to his lips. She pulled him in for a deep kiss.

  I tore my gaze away, smiling like a fool as I answered another question. The knights probably all thought I was insane, but I didn’t care.

  When everyone seemed satisfied with my answers, and the questions dwindled, I announced Gavin as the new head of the Tover knights.

  Not surprisingly, I later found out Kartoff and several other of my uncle’s loyal knights had fled after I an
nounced his death.

  Gavin left Laurel’s side and addressed the knights, many of whom were his old friends. He explained how we would return to Marcsnovia in peace.

  I walked toward Laurel, who was standing with Pete and Macie. On my way, Gianna pulled me into an emotional hug, then introduced me to her father, an older knight who had the same dark hair and bright smile as her.

  “You should have told me about Gavin.” Laurel shot me her familiar glare as I came closer, but for once, there was no ice behind it.

  “And have you yell at me like you were just yelling at him? No, thanks.” I paused, appreciating the smirk that appeared on her face. She no longer seemed anywhere near as frightening as she used to.

  “How’s Jay?” I asked, apprehension rising in my chest, scared of her answer.

  “He was awake by the time we left this morning. He was quite disoriented, but he asked about you. I left him in Nelly’s hands with healing balm and medicine.”

  “That’s good.” I nodded, relieved to hear his condition hadn’t gotten any worse overnight, but I knew he wasn’t out of danger yet.

  Looking around at the camp, I knew where I needed to be. “Gavin has this under control,” I said, “I’m heading back now.”

  ✽✽✽

  As I rode toward Marcsnovia, my thoughts swirled. There were many things I wanted to say to Jay, but I had no idea how I would say them.

  I owed so much to him. If it weren’t for him, I’d likely still be engaged to Darius, thinking I was in love with him, prepared to marry a man who cared nothing for me but my title.

  I shuddered, realizing I could have married Darius and lived the rest of my life with him, not knowing what type of man he was until it was too late. In some ways, the thought of being trapped in a marriage based on lies was more morbid than being trapped by my uncle.

  How foolish I’d been. Darius had told me everything I wanted to hear, and I eagerly believed him. Quite the opposite of Jay, who had told me everything I didn’t want to hear, so I refused to listen—even though it was the truth.

  My heart was heavy as I rode up to the castle gates. Only now did I truly realize where my heart lay—with the man who had risked everything for me, asking nothing in return.

  After so many days of lies and questions, now I knew the truth. That love had found me quite unexpectedly—not in flowery sentiments, grand promises, or the dizzying excitement of a spectacular ball. No, it had come slowly—upon horseback in a perilous forest, within the challenges of survival, and in the arms of a surprising ally.

  Only one question remained. Had I realized it too late?

  ✽✽✽

  Back at the castle, I headed straight for Jay’s room. His impatient voice floated down the hall. “Has there been any word yet?”

  “Not yet, Your Highness,” Nelly said from inside.

  “I told you to stop calling me that,” Jay grumbled as I pushed the door open. “Roselynn! You’re alive!” He moved to get out of bed, grimacing in pain.

  “Don’t you dare!” I rushed to his side and gently pushed him against the pillows. He looked pale and had large bandages spotted with blood wrapped around his bare chest.

  “Has there been any fever?” I asked Nelly, placing my hand to Jay’s forehead, relieved it felt cool.

  “No, Princess Roselynn,” she said.

  “Good.” I turned to Jay. “Have you eaten?”

  He shrugged.

  “Scarcely a bite,” Nelly said. “I’ll go fetch him a plate from the kitchen. He’s been in quite a state since he heard you left this morning.”

  “Well, of all the reckless things to do!” Jay said. “We spent the last few weeks keeping you out of Abrax’s hands and you go running into them. Did he hurt you?” Jay grabbed my chin, assessing the bruise on my cheek from where my uncle had hit me last night.

  “Barely.” My fingers met Jay’s hand. “I’m fine, really. Abrax is dead.”

  “He is?” Jay removed his hand from my face.

  “Yes, Laurel poisoned him. Gavin and the others are all safe. They should be here shortly.”

  “Laurel”—Jay shook his head—“she’s not someone you want to make angry, is she?”

  I laughed. “No, she isn’t.”

  Jay looked lost in thought while I struggled to decide what to say to him next. I still had so many questions.

  “Congratulations on getting your kingdom back, Princess,” Jay said with a crooked smile. “I don’t know why I ever doubted you’d do it.”

  “I’d say it was a group effort.” I returned his smile, then furrowed my brow. “So you’re really King Charles’s son . . . I just can’t wrap my head around it.”

  He nodded slowly as if he couldn’t really believe it either. “My mother worked here at the castle years ago. She and Charles fell in love, but he was betrothed to a princess—Darius’s mother. My mother became pregnant with me, and my grandfather sent her away. Charles never knew what happened to her, and eventually, he married Darius’s mother.”

  I recalled the story Jay had told me about his mother when we first met, and why she had given him his unusual name. I felt pity for this woman who’d tried to embrace a new beginning while still honoring her tragic past. She must have truly loved Charles.

  Jay rubbed his jaw. “Thaddeus was one of the knights who traveled with my mother when she was sent away. Apparently, he grew to care for her. They kept in contact and exchanged letters over the years—Thaddeus even visited her a few times. When my mother was sick, right before she died, she sent a letter to Thaddeus and asked him to take care of me.”

  “So that’s why he brought you to Marcsnovia?”

  He nodded. “Charles had become king at that point, so Thaddeus convinced him to take in orphans to work in the castle to help ease the losses from the fever outbreak. That’s how Thaddeus got me here. He didn’t tell Charles who I was until years later. He was afraid Charles would be angry with him—which, apparently, he was.”

  I recalled the conversation I’d overheard between King Charles and Thaddeus. It made sense now, Charles saying he could dismiss Thaddeus over what he’d done.

  “Thaddeus always watched out for me, and we grew close. He wanted me to have more opportunities than being a stable hand. When he told Charles who I was, he insisted Charles acknowledge me as his son. But Charles was afraid of a possible scandal over my birth, and he was worried about how Darius would react. He ended up agreeing to make me a knight, but Thaddeus still wasn’t satisfied. He never stopped pushing Charles to tell me the truth.”

  “And he finally did . . .”

  Jay sighed and rubbed his knuckles. “When Charles did tell me that night in the stable, I was angry with him at first, for keeping it from me for so long. Not because I wanted a stake in the kingdom, but because I wished I’d known he was my father. Charles begged me to forgive him . . . which I did.”

  “But then Darius came.”

  “Darius blamed me. He was so ambitious and furious at the thought of sharing what had been promised to him since birth.” Jay shook his head. “He hit me so hard I almost blacked out. We fought and knocked a lantern over in the process, starting the fire in the stable. I don’t think he ever wanted to hurt his father, but Charles tried to break up our fight, and Darius killed him by mistake. That’s the last thing I remember before collapsing from the smoke and my injuries . . . Darius must have fled, horrified by what he’d done, thinking the fire would finish me.”

  I nodded slowly, mentally filling in the rest of the story. Jay had woken up in time to save himself from the fire and run into the woods, completely delirious from shock, unable to remember the events that occurred that evening. Not until he’d returned to the place it all happened.

  “So what will you do now?” I asked.

  “If they ever let me out of this bed . . .” He sighed. “I guess I have a kingdom to run.”

  “You don’t seem happy about that.”

  “I’m a knight, Roselynn.” He raised
an eyebrow. “I was meant to explore and defend people, not sit in meetings with aristocrats all day and host grand balls.”

  I laughed as he scowled. “You can still do those things as a king.”

  “I suppose.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I don’t know the first thing about running a kingdom.”

  “Well, I’ll be learning too. Maybe we can learn together?”

  “I don’t know . . .” A hint of Jay’s familiar teasing smile formed on his lips. “Wait until I tell my people the Queen of Tover tried to poison me once. There’ll be a war for sure.”

  I laughed. “Especially when I tell my people you once caught their queen in a net and tied her to a tent post.”

  “Good point.” He flashed his familiar grin. “I guess we better call a truce then.”

  “I guess so.” I paused, turning serious. “About Darius . . .”

  Jay’s expression sobered. “He has quite the head injury from you and Thaddeus, I hear. Once he’s recovered, I’ll send him to work on a prison ship. Probably more than he deserves but . . . he is my brother.”

  I nodded, thinking it was a fitting punishment. It would be quite a change for Darius, who had enjoyed basking in the prominence of his title all his life.

  “I’m sorry.” Jay’s solemn voice broke my thoughts, and his gaze shifted away from me. “I know you were in love with him.”

  “I wasn’t . . . not truly. I was in love with the man I thought he was.” I looked at my hands. “The real Darius? I was never in love with him.”

  I took a deep breath. “With you, it was the opposite. I didn’t care much for the man I thought you were. But now . . . I love who you really are.” I braved a peek at him from under my lashes and he looked stunned. I shook my head. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

  “Roselynn, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Jay placed a gentle hand on mine. “Darius may have fooled you—and everyone—but you still believed in me when I needed it the most. You didn’t give up on me, and I’ll always be grateful for that. Besides . . . I lied to you.”