Now this was totally awkward, Mirabella thought.

  “Come with me and I’ll show you to your quarters.” Callie glanced at the dragon in the courtyard and Persephonice. “You too.”

  “I’m returning to Dracolin and the king. We’ll see you later,” Persephonice said.

  “Be careful,” Mirabella told her. “And thank you for bringing me here.”

  “It’s my pleasure. We’ll see you soon.” Then Persephonice climbed onto the dragon and flew off.

  “You and the king were planning to marry?” Mirabella asked, as Callie escorted her into the castle with two other ladies-in-waiting.

  “Uh, well, if there hadn’t been anyone else, but”—Callie smiled broadly—“I’m so excited to meet you.”

  Mirabella explained about her uncle.

  “Oh.” Callie looked horror stricken. But before she could say anything further, Mirabella saw her uncle coming toward them in the castle and her heart took a dive on the spot.

  Rina told Dracolin all about Mirabella’s uncle and what the princess had told them.

  Dracolin glanced at her. “And you believe her?”

  “I do, just as much as I believe that Vladek is evil.”

  “I can’t believe you got yourself into this mess,” Dracolin said. Then he smiled at her. “Then again, I can.”

  It was true she could be rather impulsive at times, but she always had good outcomes on her missions even if it seemed she’d had to make a detour to help her solve them.

  They continued to travel toward the Castle Grande, but they weren’t attacked any longer. Rina wondered why Vladek had a change in plans. Except that the princess was no longer with them, so possibly Vladek’s elven knights had gone to King Leogane’s castle instead. She voiced her opinion to her cousin.

  “I hope not,” Dracolin said.

  Then they saw the dragon carrying Persephonice. Rina hoped that it meant the princess was safely within the walls of Castle Grande.

  The dragon finally landed in front of the group of knights and Persephonice said, “I saw no sign of campfires or anyone in the vicinity.”

  So she had helped to scout for them too. That was good.

  “Could they have made their way to Castle Grande?” Rina asked.

  “I came from there. If they did, they were well hidden in the woods,” Persephonice said.

  “Will we make it there today?” Rina asked, wondering just how far away it was.

  “Aye,” the king said.

  Dracolin dismounted the dark arts knight’s horse and climbed onto the dragon with Persephonice. “We’ll scout for them further. Rina, will you come with us?”

  Rina figured he worried about her on the ground with the other knights, which was ridiculous because she had so much backup when she didn’t normally.

  “You can help us look for them,” Dracolin said, as if appealing to her need to help others, when she was sure he just wanted to protect her.

  “Thanks, but I’ll stay with the king and his men.” Artur especially, Rina was thinking. She hadn’t meant to look back at Artur and reveal how she felt about being with him and helping to protect him and the others in the party.

  Then Dracolin smiled a little and the dragon rose up into the air and flew high above, swooping over the woods.

  Rina hoped he would find the knights and the druids. She was afraid they might have headed for the king’s castle instead.

  “I’m glad you stayed with us,” Artur told her.

  “To protect you? I needed to stay with my horse.”

  Artur smiled.

  She hoped he didn’t think she had stayed because of him. With no sign of any of Vladek’s knights, they finally reached the Castle Grande. She wasn’t sure what to do now. Eat here? Sleep here, but then leave? The princess would safely be with the king and as long as she was happy here, Rina figured she wasn’t needed.

  She wasn’t sure why, but she felt something wasn’t right. She’d never been here before, so it wasn’t like she would know if anything had changed. She turned to Artur, “Do you feel like something isn’t right?” If anyone should know, it would be the people who lived here.

  “Yeah. I hear a lot of activity within the castle walls, which seems strange when the king isn’t there.”

  “Then maybe they are gathered to see the princess?”

  “Inside the castle, certainly, but not out in the inner courtyard.”

  The portcullis had been closed, but it opened for the king and his escort. But inside, another force was waiting for them. Not the dark arts knights, thankfully, but—She glanced at Artur to learn who these men were.

  “King Inari’s men.” Artur shook his head.

  “Oh, this is so not good,” Rina said.

  “I agree. It’s not good at all if Princess Mirabella told us the truth about her uncle.”

  Mirabella had never expected her uncle to arrive at Leogane’s castle. But before she had to deal with him, she was glad she had told Callie all the trouble they’d had and of course Callie was at once concerned about her father, Erlig.

  “When I left them, Erlig was fine.” But Mirabella was surprised Callie hadn’t asked about King Leogane, if she’d wanted to marry him. Maybe she was angry with him for going to see her and then bringing Mirabella back here, which would indicate he would wed her.

  “I’m so sorry that King Inari arrived just before you did and wishes to speak with you.”

  Mirabella couldn’t believe her uncle had Leogane fetch her from Castle Mayden and then come here. Why not just meet them there? If he thought he would be here to ensure she didn’t tell Leogane what she knew was true about her uncle, he would have met her at Castle Mayden and made sure she didn’t say anything to Leogane, or if she had, he would have contradicted her.

  Callie had escorted the two of them to a sitting room to speak with each other while servants brought them mead to drink. Mirabella thought Callie was so sweet and perfect for the king. She was great at making her feel comfortable and she seemed to know just what it took to make the perfect hostess. Callie left them alone to speak, but she also had a couple of servants standing by in case they needed any other refreshments.

  Mirabella jumped in right away with questioning her uncle about Vladek and his men. “Count Vladek has sent druid-created dark arts knights to kill King Leogane and his men.”

  Her uncle’s gray eyes smiled without humor. “Even this is wilder than any story you’ve ever made up before.”

  “Aye, well, once you speak with Leogane and the others he will confirm my wild story.” And she prayed Leogane would realize she had told him the truth about her uncle. “Why are you here, Uncle?”

  “This is my business, not yours.”

  Then Mirabella assumed Inari was there to speak with Leogane. Most likely to see if she’d behaved herself enough that Leogane planned to marry her. Goddess, she hoped Leogane would take her up on her offer to remove her uncle from the throne.

  Callie suddenly appeared at the entryway to the room. “King Leogane has just arrived at the castle.” She was all smiles like she was happy for Mirabella.

  Mirabella just didn’t understand her. She had even worried that if she married the king, Callie would create drama for her or even be his mistress. Maybe Callie was pretending to be fine with the situation because she knew she didn’t have any choice in the matter.

  Mirabella felt apprehensive about seeing Leogane now, and the way he would interact with her uncle and even with Callie. If Leogane treated him with respect, she was afraid she’d blow her top. She realized then she had to get Leogane in her court, at least while her uncle was here. She had to, or she could be in real trouble. What if Leogane said no to marrying her—and her uncle turned her over to Vladek? She knew he would too because he’d still want an alliance. She didn’t trust her uncle would do what was right after Leogane told him what Vladek had done, or that he employed druids to make some kind of undead knights or whatever they were.

  Her uncle took hold of Mirabella’s arm as they walked to the great hall behind Callie, holding her arm so tightly in his grip, he had to have bruised her for sure, controlling as ever, and she hated him for it. But when Mirabella saw Leogane and their gazes connected, she saw something there, real feeling for her and he didn’t even give Callie a glance. Callie hurried to hug her father, looking thrilled to see him back safely.

  Rina and Artur were eyeing Inari with Mirabella, looking like they were ready to fight him. She figured they believed her about what her uncle had done.

  King Leogane’s gaze shifted immediately to Inari’s grip on her arm, and he didn’t appear to like it. “Come, join me at the table for a feast.” He quickly joined Mirabella and her uncle and took hold of Mirabella’s hand as if he’d decided he was going to marry her and pulled her away from her uncle.

  Mirabella was so shocked, she hadn’t expected anyone to do that for her. Her uncle planned to sit on the other side of Mirabella at the high table, but Leogane made him sit on the other side of him instead. It was the place of power, but she knew her uncle wanted to make sure she didn’t say anything to Leogane that would ruin his reputation. It was a little too late for that. Rina and Artur sat next to Mirabella as if to protect her from her uncle and his men and she was grateful for that. For the first time since her father had died, she actually felt others cared about her welfare.

  After toasting King Inari’s unexpected visit, Leogane said to him, “I agree to wed Mirabella.”

  Mirabella’s mouth gaped. She hadn’t really expected Leogane to offer to marry her.

  “Did you know about Vladek and his men?” Leogane asked Inari.

  “Mirabella gave me some wild version of some fight you had, but like usual, she is full of wild tales.”

  “All she said was true,” Leogane said, then ate some of the wild boar his people had prepared for them.

  Mirabella looked at the king, wondering if he meant he believed everything she had said, even about her uncle killing her father?

  Leogane leaned over and kissed her cheek, shocking her.

  “I’ve decided to take Mirabella home with me to await your big wedding day,” Inari said.

  She couldn’t go home with him. What if he beat her? Killed her? Her heart was racing; she felt panicked.

  Leogane reached over and took her hand and squeezed. “We marry today. There is no need to wait.”

  “I insist,” Inari said, glancing at Mirabella, telling her in no uncertain terms to tell Leogane she wanted to do as her uncle said.

  But she wasn’t that dumb. It appeared, if nothing else, she had a safe haven here.

  Erlig and his daughter were seated on the other side of Inari and Callie didn’t seem to be upset about Leogane’s declaration of marriage to Mirabella. Mirabella still didn’t know how to feel about all this.

  If Mirabella married Leogane, would he go against her uncle then like she wanted him to?

  “I’ll gladly wed King Leogane,” Mirabella said, figuring she truly had no choice if she didn’t want to return with her uncle. What if he wanted to hand her over to Vladek instead of allowing her to marry Leogane? She wouldn’t put it past her uncle. Vladek might not believe her or even care about what her uncle had done to her father. She doubted her father would have ever forced her to marry Vladek, given what she’d learned about him.

  “I withdraw the offer of my niece in marriage to you,” Inari said. “I’ve made a mistake.”

  “You would give Mirabella to the man who has druids working for him? And those druids that create creatures to fight us that turn to dust when dead?” Leogane asked Inari.

  “It’s my business what I do with my niece.”

  “You didn’t have anything to do with—” Leogane said and Mirabella held her breath. She thought he was going to mention her uncle having her father killed. But then he continued, “Vladek’s men fighting us, did you?”

  “Why would I do that?” Inari sounded shocked that Leogane would come to that conclusion.

  “Because you are now planning to offer her to Vladek.” Leogane drank some of his mead.

  Inari cleared his throat. “I didn’t say I would.”

  “There is no one else for you to ally with,” Leogane said. “If the princess’s father had still been alive, he would have allowed the marriage with me to go through.”

  Inari glanced at Mirabella with hatred in his eyes. She couldn’t eat. She was just too upset about everything.

  “Callie, Rina, will you take Mirabella to her chamber? We will meet in the chapel as soon as Mirabella has dressed for the wedding.” Leogane rose from the table.

  Inari’s face was red, and she’d never seen him so red faced when he hadn’t gotten his way. “You will regret this,” Inari said.

  “You don’t wish an alliance between us?” Leogane asked and Mirabella was afraid Leogane would change his mind about marrying her if her uncle didn’t agree to it.

  Rina took hold of her hand and squeezed it, reassuring her that Mirabella wouldn’t return with her uncle no matter what happened between her and Leogane.

  14

  When the ladies arrived at the chamber assigned to Mirabella, it was just beautiful. Gold fabrics were draped over the window, tapestries of women and men dancing hung on the walls, a large bed with a canopy covered in gold sheers, and hand-carved, oak furniture covered in blue velvet cushions, so soft to sit on made up her chamber. It was such a drastic change from the tower room she had been confined to and she loved it here. She already felt welcomed and at home, something she had worried about. But truly, anything would have been better than where she’d been living.

  All smiles, Callie said, “I’m so excited for you and the king. I’ll be right back with your wedding gown.” Then Callie left her alone.

  “Are you all right with marrying the king?” Rina asked, while Callie was gone. She sounded concerned. “Is this what you want?”

  “Aye. I know now he’ll protect me from my uncle. After seeing my uncle again, which nearly made my heart stop, and the way he forced me to walk with him, his grip telling me to mind what I said to the king, though it was already too late for that, I suspected he had a change of plans for me. The only way to thwart him would be to marry Leogane and I truly want to do this. I believe he will be good for me. I do care about him already. He is a handsome man and protective. I just worry whether I will be able to fill the shoes of his queen. I’ve never been trained to take care of a staff or any other duties a queen might have.” Mirabella truly worried about that. What if she couldn’t manage? He would believe he’d made a mistake in marrying her.

  “He’s a good man,” Callie said, returning with a dark-haired and eyed maid, who appeared a little overwhelmed, her eyes lowered, her hands clutched around the gown. “This is Franny. She’ll help you also. You have me to help you with learning our protocols here and the king will be understanding. He’s good that way.”

  Franny held out the beautiful pale blue gown covered in pearls.

  Mirabella loved the gown. She had never seen anything more beautiful in her life. “Where is Justina?” She suddenly wondered what had become of the woman.

  “She wasn’t invited to eat at the great hall or to attend to you that I know of. I believe she ate with the servants in the kitchen. Would you like me to get her for you?” Callie asked.

  “No,” Rina quickly said. “She works for the princess’s uncle. She isn’t to be trusted.”

  Callie looked a little surprised that the warrior elf would answer for Mirabella, but already Mirabella had found a friend in Rina. All along, Rina had wanted to protect her, once she had learned her story about how she had been locked in the tower and needed rescuing, and Rina had believed Mirabella about her uncle.

  “Don’t you love the king, Callie?” Mirabella asked as they helped her out of her dusty traveling clothes.

  Servants brought bathwater for her to bathe in and poured it into a tub, then left the chamber.

  “I love another man. You might have met him on your trip here. Jeremka? But of course I would have married the king if he’d wished it. It would have been my duty,” Callie said. “But I knew he didn’t love me any more than I did him.”

  Mirabella sighed. She was so glad she wasn’t destroying a love match. She hadn’t wanted to do that.

  When the maid lifted the tunic over Mirabella’s head and they saw her back, Rina, Callie, and the maid gasped.

  “Who has done this to you?” Rina asked, sounding as though she was ready to kill the person who had whipped her and scarred her back.

  “My uncle.” Mirabella no longer felt any pain there. She had forgotten about the scars that had long since healed, but she could not see them herself. She hoped Leogane didn’t reject her for the ugly scars on her back.

  “He doesn’t deserve to live,” Callie said. “I saw the way he held your arm with a death grip. King Leogane will not like seeing the bruises there.”

  “They are battle scars,” Rina said. “You have been put into the most dangerous situations without a way to fight for yourself and have survived. The king will appreciate you even more for it.”

  Mirabella hoped Rina was right about it and loved that she was attempting to make her feel better about it. But any scars that Rina carried would truly have been due to fighting a battle so Mirabella didn’t feel it was the same at all.

  Rina couldn’t believe Mirabella’s uncle had beaten her like that. Wouldn’t the man who wed her realize her uncle was evil then? Then again, some men would do anything for more power, and they might even be as abusive as her uncle toward her if she didn’t do as he expected of her.

  Rina didn’t believe Leogane would be that sort of man. She thought he would be good to her. Mirabella needed someone that was good for her after all these years of abandonment and threats. She suspected Leogane would be shocked to see that her uncle had hurt the princess like that.

  After Franny washed Mirabella, Callie and Franny dried her off and dressed her. Rina was watching out the window, wondering what Vladek and his druids and their knights were doing. And what King Inari and his men were doing. Would Inari attend the wedding even though he had taken back his offer to have an alliance with Leogane when he wed Princess Mirabella? Not to mention Rina wondered what Artur was doing now too. She should have been with him and her cousin. She wasn’t a lady’s maid, but she had gone with her to her chamber, needing to know if Mirabella really wanted to marry King Leogane. Besides, the king had asked her to go with her, maybe even to protect her.