“Oh, you wound me.” He plunged a fake dagger into his heart and staggered. Then he stood up straight, his smile falling from his face. “Till tomorrow,” he promised. He leaned, and I wanted him to kiss me like before, but he hadn’t. I think he was waiting to earn back my trust.
“Till tomorrow.”
I wanted to keep talking, I wanted to spend every minute of moonlight we had left by his side, but Kash closed the door, signaling that it was time for me to sleep. I headed to my bed, and sunk into the mattress, passing out before my head hit the pillow.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“She did it!” Gail cried out as she opened the balcony doors to my room. Light streamed in and with it, a bitter wind. I shivered and crawled further under the blankets to escape the winter’s icy fingers.
Gail saw my attempt at burrowing under the covers and she sighed. “I guess you don’t care that another girl has outdone you?”
“Huh?” I mumbled into my pillow, still half asleep.
“That Velora girl has turned straw into gold! The entire palace is talking about it.”
“Really?” I rolled over and looked at her groggily. “Good for her.”
Gail grabbed the bedding and yanked, pulling it off my body. I cringed and curled up in a ball, tucking my feet under my dress.
“Why is your fire out? In fact, every room I’ve been to is like this. It’s as if the salamanders were too busy to tend to the fires.”
“Or they’re too full,” I added.
Gail frowned. “Now, that’s silly. How could they get full? But never mind. Today is a day of celebrations. It’s the first day of our Winter Festival. Fireworks, delicious food, reindeer races, and a carnival. It’s the one night a year we don’t sleep.”
“But what about the curfew?”
“There’s no curfew on Winter Festival because it’s held at the Winter Village.”
“Where?” I asked.
“Halfway down the mountain. Near the soldier garrison. As soon as the storm ended two days ago, they began putting up the festival tents and building the ice rink. I’ve heard that a Magical Menagerie has already arrived.”
“Surely, the king doesn’t mean for all of us to attend?”
“I do, in fact,” King Goddrick said from the hall.
Gail curtseyed and quickly left the room, leaving me to address the feared king in wrinkled clothes. At least I had fallen asleep in my dress and wasn’t in a nightdress.
The king stepped into the room wearing a golden crown upon his head, and a dark red jacket trimmed in speckled Avrin fur, lined with gold buttons. He was in full royal regalia, and he unconsciously rubbed a thick gold ring on his middle finger.
I slipped out of the bed and curtseyed. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your benevolence.”
“I am surprised that your friend succeeded. I half expected her to fail.”
“You’d be surprised what a determined woman can do when cornered,” I said.
“No doubt.” The king moved to stand on the balcony and look out over the mountain into the valley. “Today, thousands of my people will gather to celebrate midwinter in the palace's shadow. The Winter Festival is not to be missed, and it’s the greatest spectacle in the seven kingdoms. People travel far and wide to see the wealth my kingdom provides. I shall spare no expense. Velora has guaranteed us a fruitful winter.”
He was boasting. What will he do when the golden spindle has dried up and can no longer turn items into gold? One problem at a time, I told myself.
King Goddrick confronted me, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “There also seems to be a problem with my blades. I assign one to you, yet find that all three are frequently missing.”
“The blades obey no one but yourself, King Goddrick. Maybe they are taking their guard duties seriously.”
“Maybe,” King Goddrick turned his gaze upon me, his eyes narrowing in distrust. “With all your experiments and potion brewing in the Gilded Hall, I thought maybe you’ve figured out their secret.”
“I have.” I licked my lips and steadied my breathing, looking the king dead in the eyes. “The blades aren’t human but are rather an entity that can neither be harmed nor destroyed.”
The king’s face morphed into one of absolute smugness. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked, taking pleasure because he believed he still held their true secret over me.
I played the red herring because I knew I was going to ask a particular question. “The gold in your palace. Where did it come from?”
King Goddrick’s lips pinched together. “From my personal mines in my mountains.” He rubbed the gold ring on his finger.
“What about your ring?” I asked.
“This is a family heirloom,” he rushed out.
“During my experiments, I tested some of the gold items in your palace.”
“A little presumptuous, don’t you think?” Those hawk-like eyes narrowed even further.
“There are pieces here from the cursed hoard,” I blurted out, staring right at his hand and the ring he was running his thumb under.
King Goddrick grinned knowingly. “And?”
“I just thought you would like to know, considering that it’s had adverse effects on—”
King Goddrick cut me off. “Be careful how far you dig into my affairs. You may not like what you find.” The king snapped his fingers and the dragon blade entered. His eyes especially clouded today, his armor rattling heavily as he marched in to hover over me. The king snapped a second time and Kash drew his knife, the blade arcing through the air to point at my neck.
I couldn’t help but take a step back in fear, not knowing who was staring back at me.
The king laughed. “You were correct. They’re my blades, and they obey me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” I bowed my head as far as I could without the blade nicking me.
“I’ll leave this one with you.” King Goddrick turned on his heel, his red cape billowing after him. As soon as he left, the knife in Kash’s hand didn’t lower. I still stood there trembling, unable to force myself to move. Unable to look into the dragon’s helm for fear of who or what was looking back.
“Please, Kash,” I whispered, trying to break through to his consciousness. “I know you’re in there.” His hand trembled, and the knife lowered. It was as if he was fighting to keep control. But Kash did finally retreat to the outer hall.
Gail sidestepped him before entering. “That one’s trouble.”
“No doubt,” I said, rubbing my neck. I could almost feel the blade against my skin, and an echo of emotion still followed me.
“Come, you’ll need clothes for the outdoor festivals. I’m so excited. I haven’t ice skated in years.”
As Gail laid out winter clothes, I was grateful for the thick wool dress with antler buttons and black fur-lined boots. She even provided cream woolen gloves with golden snowflakes sewn onto the cuffs.
Freya was waiting for me in the hall. I opened my mouth to thank her for leaving my room unlocked, but she shook her head, warning me from speaking. Looking up, I saw the others were also in the hall. Velora wore a vibrant green wool dress with silver accents. She was being showered with even more extravagant gifts than the rest of us. I didn’t care, but it was obvious the same couldn’t be said for Shannon and Annette. Their faces were dark with envy, their lips pinched in displeasure. Their hearts had been poisoned with jealousy. Benton stood next to Brenna, her arm threaded through his, her cheeks rosy already from blushing.