“Long live Prince Xander!” Tipper followed.
Casting a smaller mage light was difficult, as my hands trembled from the exertion, but I began to make my way through the woods and back to the inn. Happily humming as I did so, I clasped my cloak and then froze as I felt the cool touch of the rose pin Prince Xander had given me that I had attached for safekeeping. No, not me—Rose.
Did he see it?
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I missed the dark shadows that separated from the trees.
“You’re coming with us, witch,” a gruff voice demanded from behind me as a knife was pressed against my exposed throat.
Blinking in surprise, I glanced up at the kidnapper who dared accost me. His clothes were fine, black to blend into the shadows, and a mask covered his nose and mouth.
“No,” I said coolly. I was not in the mood to be trifled with, nor waylaid at this hour. I had lost sight of Xander, and now I was irritated.
“You will obey or die.” A second man stepped from the shadows and came up to face me. Dressed similarly as the first, his hat brim hid his features, all but for a small mole on his neck.
Ever since the knife had touched my skin, I hadn’t moved, barely breathed. Anger rolled through my body, and I felt a growl low in my throat, a challenge.
“Remove the knife at once,” I snapped.
“Or what?” The first man pressed the blade closer to my throat. “You’ll scream?”
“No,” I threatened. “You will.”
A fine powder was flung into my face, and I tried to fight the effects of the sleeping drug. A haze came over my mind, and I could feel myself slipping, losing consciousness.
A deep throaty growl surrounded us, and then their screams rent the night air.
Chapter Fifteen
Come morning, I found myself back in my locked room in the inn, with no memories of crawling back through the window or how I had escaped the men in the woods. Prudence was lying on a mat near the door fast asleep, her hand over her eyes. Her chest was moving, and a slight snore could be heard.
I was still wearing my red dress from the night before. My head pounding, I struggled to walk to the table without falling over; the floor seemed to move like waves beneath my feet as I grabbed the wall for support. Making my way to the table with a washbasin and pitcher of water, I wet my hands and splashed my face.
Looking down, I gasped—the water was tinged with red.
My hands shook as I brought them up to my face. There were specks of dried blood all over them. Whose blood? Mine? Panicking, I checked my neck in the mirror, but there was only a small scratch across my throat from the thief’s knife, no other significant cut.
Then I saw the dark patch of red on my skirt. The fold of my red dress had hidden it, but there was no mistaking the blood.
Fear raced through me as I clawed my dress, trying to rid myself of the bloody shroud.
“What’s the matter?” Pru asked as she awoke and rushed to my aid.
“Get this off me,” I cried out. Her fingers made swift work of the laces where mine had fumbled, and then the dress was off.
It landed in a pile on the floor as I crawled into my bed, pulling my knees to my chest and rocking back and forth as I tried to piece together what had happened.
A loud snore came from the trunk, and I knew if Gobbersnot was comfortable enough to sleep and not worry, then I could be as well. But I didn’t.
“When did I come in last night?” I asked anxiously, my eyes wandering around the room, searching for clues.
“I don’t know. I fell asleep a few hours after the troll attack and didn’t hear you return.”
“And what time was that?”
“A little after the tenth mark?”
Closing my eyes, I tried to push down my fears. It was okay—my curse had just reared its ugly head, and I had another episode of memory loss. But I would need to double or triple my dose of wolfsbane to keep it at bay so it wouldn’t happen again. Maybe I was weakened from using so much magic away from the ley lines that it left me vulnerable to the episodes.
“Miss, are you okay?” Her words comforted me. She seemed to actually care about my well-being.
“I will be, I hope.” My voice lost its hard edge, one born of defense, and my tone changed around her. I was warming up, becoming a softer person.
Pru went downstairs and came back with hot water, and I dropped my special tea bag in, letting it steep longer than usual. I would need to make a more concentrated dose, but this would do for now. When it was ready, I took a sip.
I wasn’t sure anything had happened, aside from the blood. It didn’t mean anything. My head was throbbing, and I rubbed my temples, blaming it on using too much power yesterday.
A loud knock came at the door.
I hadn’t dressed yet because I didn’t want to disturb Gobbersnot, so I grabbed the quilt, wrapping it around my body and rushing to stand behind the door as Pru opened it.
“Are you and the… the princess all right?” I recognized Gaven’s voice and didn’t miss as he struggled over the word “princess.”
“Yes, why wouldn’t we be?” Pru asked.
“Because two men were found dead in the woods early this morning.”
My heart froze, and I couldn’t help but imagine the crumpled red dress that was tossed in the middle of the floor as a blood pool. From my spot I could clearly see the red stain, but I prayed he didn’t notice or suspect.
“That’s horrible,” Prudence exclaimed, not needing to act. “Those poor souls.”
“I wouldn’t call them poor souls. It looks like they were bandits and tangled with the wrong mark, except….”
“Except what?” she pressed.
“I inspected the bodies, and I’m not so sure a man killed them.”
“A woman? You think a woman could have killed them?”
“No, not a—” Gaven paused and scanned the room. Then he took a step back and looked between the open crack of the door, and our eyes met.
Mine opened in surprise; his narrowed. I was still in a manner of undress, so I did what any woman would do who’d been caught half naked—I slammed the door closed in his face.
A knock followed, and I pressed myself against the door to hold it closed. “You cannot enter. I am not in a suitable state of dress,” I called out.
“Understood,” he said from the other side. “But you didn’t happen to hear or see anything in the middle of the night, did you? Your window overlooks the woods.”
“No,” I answered hastily.
My wardrobe door swung open, and I heard the loud snoring from inside. Could it have been Gobbersnot?
“Very well.” Nothing further came forth, so I assumed he left.
“What would you like me to do with the dress?” Pru asked.
“Burn it.” I was saddened because now I was only left with my black somber dress.
Pru went over to the fireplace and tossed in the rolled-up dress and bloody cloak. The embers that had died down in the night picked up again at the new source of fuel.
It wasn’t until the dress was engulfed in flames that I remembered the token, the pin Xander had given me.
“No!” I rushed to the fireplace and grabbed the dress with my bare hand, pulling it out and trying to smother the flames. When it was doused, I searched the dress and the burnt ashes for a glint of the pin. Soot and smoke poured out from the fabric ball, and I coughed as I searched.