Princess of Silence, page 33
part #1 of When Kings Collide Series
A map of Gradenia covered the table Eleanora generally used to entertain the other noblewomen for tea. While there was a war room on the other side of Meadington, she had never used it, and the room had been locked up since her father had passed during the Great Heathen Invasion. It was no matter to her; this table and this map would do fine.
The courier had left over an hour ago, and yet she still stared at the map before her, having changed nothing since she’d received word that Katherine had been safely located. Still unclear how Caleb had accidentally sent the wrong woman, the queen had sent a message back to James asking for clarification, but the fact that her brother was with her sister, safe in Arteria, was a relief.
The guilt associated with having put Katherine in this position in the first place had become overwhelming after she’d received word of her sister’s abduction. Now, knowing she was safe, she vowed never to let Katherine’s life be endangered again. The agreement she’d made with Clovington was over, no question, and the fact that Leopold had attempted to steal the princess from Eleanora’s grasp meant he was a threat as well. She’d have to make sure it was clear where she stood on the issue.
Kenneth broke the silence, approaching her chair from behind and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Should we tell the commanders to stand down?”
Eleanora had overseen the preparations to attack Gradenia herself. It had been a long time since Nadoria had battled with anyone, but she knew her forces were strong and well trained. She had resolved long ago to always have an army prepared for war, on the off-chance that another legion of boogey-men should appear in the night. “No,” she said turning to face her husband. “Whether or not Leopold was able to take Katherine is irrelevant; the intention was still there. If Leopold wants to play in the shadows, let us teach him a lesson.”
Due to patrols from the Arterian Army, Rose had been in the back of the carriage, terrified for her life, for days. While she was initially told to stop her bellyaching, that they’d be in Gradenia by the next morning, that hadn’t happened. Not that she was in a hurry to get there. She imagined Philip would be furious when he saw her, but she’d come up with a plan to focus that anger on Caleb instead--if Philip would just give her a moment to explain. In the distance, Castle Graden came into view atop a majestic mountain; Rose’s shivering had nothing to do with the weather.
Night had fallen by the time the carriage made its way up the winding hill to the drawbridge. Several guards stood near the entrance, illuminated by torches and the moon’s glow, but she did not see Philip, nor did she see anyone who resembled King Leopold. Rose breathed a sigh of relief, hopeful that she would be able to spend at least one more night as Queen Katherine. As one of the guards pulled open the carriage door, her dream was shattered. Philip stormed out the castle door, scowling, and she knew the sight of her would only enrage him more. With hours of rehearsal, she hoped her words would be persuasive, and Caleb would soon be blamed.
“Where is she?” Philip demanded clambering down the few steps in her direction. Rose kept her face covered as best she could as she emerged, hoping he wouldn’t notice, but the ruse was short-lived. “What is this?” Philip proclaimed, closing the gap and grabbing her harshly by the chin, forcing her hair out of her face and her eyes to meet his. “Oh, bloody hell! This isn’t Princess Katherine you imbeciles!” he shouted at the guards. “This is that loud-mouth whore from Blackthorn!”
The soldiers exchanged glances, obviously confused. In a rage, Philip began to kick at the ground, the carriage, the soldiers who didn’t step back fast enough. He spewed obscenities for several moments before turning back to her and begging, “What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were dead or long gone!”
Rose kept her eyes wide and innocent as she began her rehearsed story. “I apologize, Your Excellence. It was not I who wished to deceive you. Rather, it was King Caleb. He intended to trick Queen Eleanora by returning me instead of her sister. He is an evil coward, Your Highness, and he wishes to keep the princess for himself.”
Philip’s eyes glowed in the dim light like two black coals in the fire. “You mean to tell me, Caleb intentionally sent you to Eleanora in Katherine’s place?”
“Yes. He has fallen in love with the princess, and he proclaimed he would do anything to keep her, even though he knows she rightfully belongs to you, my King.”
“Is that so?” Philip placed one hand on his hip and peered into her eyes. “Why would I believe you when you’ve never done anything but try to advance yourself by any means necessary?”
Despite the harshness of his words, she began to think perhaps he was buying her charade. Either way, she had no choice but to press on. “Because I have always been loyal to you, and you alone, Your Highness. Additionally, I was able to infiltrate his castle while I was staying there. I can supply you with much information about the layout of Castle Caine, how to penetrate the barriers, where the armies are being staged. We can work together to overthrow Caleb once and for all.” She kept her nose in the air, hoping to entice him with her knowledge, though none of it was actually true. She’d spent most of her time at Caine in the one room, alone, save her borrowed ladies.
Philip’s face contorted, and while Rose had thought perhaps she’d begun to make headway after her first speech, his expression now took on a look of disgust, as if the blood was boiling up inside of him. He pressed against his forehead as if he was trying to keep it from bursting, pursing his lips, his nostrils flaring.
In the back of her mind, a small voice warned that she should stop right then, but Rose persisted, hoping she could bring him back around. Stepping toward him, she lowered her voice. “Why don’t you take me to your bedchamber, and when I am finished pleasuring you, I will tell you all there is to know about Caleb’s castle?”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Philip snarled, his eyes piercing her skull. She forced a smile on her face, her legs beginning to shake beneath the flowing gown Caleb had gifted her. “You’d love for me to invite you into my bed so that you can pretend that you are queen, hmm?” He leaned forward and rubbed her cheek with his fingertips, but as he continued to speak, the pressure increased until she felt as if he were clawing at her face like an angry dragon. Rose took a step back, her hands trembling.
“Well, dear Rose,” Philip continued, moving his hand down so that he had a tight grip on her chin, “you may not be aware, but I’m no longer a king. I have no kingdom. I have no castle. I have nothing!” He moved toward her, forcing her back until she slammed into the carriage. His fingers dug into her chin and her head, pressed against the hard wood of the carriage door, began to ache. “No one has dared remind me of all of that these past weeks, no not until you arrived, my pet, and now that you are here, I have to ask myself, why? Why have I put up with your senseless jabber for all of these years? So, you want to be my queen then?” His grip increased until Rose thought her jawbone might snap. She couldn’t move her mouth or her head to answer his question, so she stared at him wide eyed, praying he’d let her go. “My queen must not tell me lies—must not make up stories about infiltrating impenetrable foreign castles. No, dear Rose, for my queen, I require a more silent partner.”
A glimmer of silver caught the moonlight as Philip pulled a dagger from the sheath beneath his cloak. Rose’s heart pounded in her chest as he examined the tip. “Perhaps,” he said, squeezing the sides of her mouth together so that she could no longer keep her mouth shut, “this will teach you a lesson about wagging your tongue in other people’s affairs!”
Rose let out a piercing scream as Philip lowered the knife while the soldiers standing nearby yanked her tongue out of her mouth and held her in place. The metal bit into the soft tissue, the taste of blood filling her mouth, and Rose’s eyes rolled back in her head, momentarily ending her agony.
A knock on his chamber door roused Leopold from a deep sleep. He knew it had to be important or else whomever had disturbed him wouldn’t have dared. The blonde on his left rolled out of the way, but he still had to climb over her to get to his trousers. Without opening her eyes, she slid across the bed, against the brunette, and he pulled on his slacks, thinking now that he was awake, if the news wasn’t too harsh, he’d be ready to wake them for another round.
With his trousers and tunic on, he crossed to the door, his bare feet frosty against the stone floor, an uncomfortable part of living in a large castle in the mountains he’d grown used to long ago. He opened the door to see one of his most trusted advisors, Etsil, staring at him wide eyed, his bushy eyebrows pinched together.
Leopold stepped into the antechamber, closing the door behind him. No need for the whores to hear whatever Etsil had to say. “Has she arrived?”
He nodded but quickly clarified. “It isn’t her.”
“What?” Leopold’s fingers immediately went to his mustache. He pulled at the end, trying to decipher what Etsil was telling him. “How is that possible?”
“It was the wrong girl. Philip recognized her, though. He called her Rose, I believe. Apparently, Caleb was attempting to pull some sort of scheme over on Eleanora. It makes little sense to me, but that’s what the woman reported.”
“Why would Caleb believe Eleanora wouldn’t recognize her own sister? Has the war caused the king to go daft?”
“I doubt that is the case, Your Majesty. Perhaps he was attempting to buy time. The woman said Caleb has fallen in love with the princess. Since he knows that Eleanora has promised her sister to Philip, he may have refused to return her, knowing she may be returned to your cousin, his enemy. At any rate, the princess is still in Caleb’s possession, and the woman delivered here will be of no use to us now.”
Leopold’s eyebrows came together. “Why is that? She’s been inside Castle Caine. She may have information for us.”
Etsil shook his head. “The idiot cut her tongue out moments after her arrival.”
Closing his eyes, Leopold raised a hand to his forehead, not able to believe how moronic his cousin truly was. No matter how tight of a leash Leopold put the former king on, he still managed to make matters worse. He was going to have to put an end to it, decisively, sooner rather than later. “Where is she now?”
“Headed below.”
He nodded. She may as well be dead now. It wasn’t as if she could help in that state. “Very well. Thank you for your report. We shall let Eleanora know she has our fullest cooperation in retrieving her sister from the tyrannical King Caleb who clearly has his best interests at heart and not what is best for Katherine or Nadoria. We see this act of treachery against our ally, Nadoria, as an equal threat to Gradenia and we will do all we can retrieve her.”
Etsil nodded. “Of course, Your Majesty. And what is ‘all we can do’?”
Leopold cleared his throat. Having Katherine in his possession, the woman Caleb allegedly loved, and the Queen of Nadoria’s sister, would put him in a position where all the other kingdoms must play by his rules. “Let me think on it,” Leopold replied, but a plan was already forming in the back of his mind. If it still seemed as solid by the light of day, he’d implement a strategy that would leave him on top—with a beautiful woman at his side.
Waking to the sound of chirping birds fluttering in the trees outside of the open balcony doors and a crisp breeze caressing her face, Katherine instantly recalled something was different. Before she even opened her eyes a smile parted her lips as she remembered the way her body felt when Caleb was intertwined with her, how he’d kissed her and sent her over the brink time and again until the late hours of the night. Awaking to the realization that she’d finally found a love she’d never known she needed made the promise of a new life exciting in ways she’d never imagined possible.
His arms were not around her, so Katherine assumed he must’ve gone off to check the state of affairs. Her smile faded a bit as she thought of Matthew, how he was missing, and Philip had joined forces with Leopold against Arteria. With a sigh she rolled onto her back, her eyes flickering open, meeting deep blue orbs that penetrated to her soul.
“Good morning, my love,” Caleb whispered, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand.
The sight of him took her breath away, and as if she’d been doing it her entire life, she opened her mouth to speak. Her voice was hoarse, but the words came out just the same. “Good morning.” Her fingers traced a line down the well-formed muscles of his chest, strumming the soft hair there as he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
Expressing herself with words should’ve seemed foreign to her, but it was becoming more natural. Caleb had given her this gift, inspired her to fight through the trauma of her past and grasp the future she wanted with both hands. While the blame she’d laid upon herself for years still formed a small hole in her heart, now, she felt the rest of her life was full of love and possibility, and it had been worth fighting for.
Pulling away from her, Caleb propped his head on his hand and brushed a curl from her face. “Thank you from preventing me from making a drastic mistake last night. If you hadn’t found the courage to speak up....” He paused, shaking his head, and Katherine smiled at him, knowing what he meant to say.
“My sister will understand,” she said, certain that she would find a way to ensure Eleanora would have no qualms with the order in which she and Caleb came together so long as they were properly wed. “Nadoria will be fortunate to have a partnership with Arteria.”
He smiled, and leaned toward her. Katherine closed her eyes in anticipation of another sweet kiss, but a knock on the door had both of them motionless for a moment before they turned toward the sound.
“Damn,” Caleb muttered. He kissed her quickly on the forehead and then climbed out of bed, grabbing a robe from a nearby chair. Katherine took him in, the form of his muscular physique on display for her in the bright morning sun, the way his muscles rippled with each movement. Her heart thundered, and her breath staggered as she sucked in air through her mouth.
He must’ve heard her gasp because he turned and grinned at her as he tied the robe, a rich chuckle escaping those perfect lips of his. Katherine’s face might’ve turned the same shade as her hair if she didn’t already feel confident in sharing her emotions with this man who had her heart.
The bed wasn’t visible from the door, thanks to the way the wall jutted out in the room, but Katherine could hear everything as Caleb opened the door. “David? What are you doing here?” he exclaimed. “What’s happened?”
David’s voice sounded somewhat familiar to Katherine when he spoke, but she could not quite place it. She heard the crinkle of parchment. “Leopold has Matthew.”
“What?” The shrillness in Caleb’s question was echoed in her own heart as Katherine’s hands covered her mouth, and she closed her eyes. Not again—poor Matthew! How would he ever survive in Castle Graden? It was far worse than Blackthorn, or so everyone said. Images of the king’s prisoners being tortured in cruel and inhumane devices flooded her mind as she held back tears and tried to stay focused on the conversation.
“This message just arrived via courier from Graden. But it gets worse. We have two days to trade Princess Katherine for Matthew or else he will be executed.”
At the sound of her name, Katherine’s heart leapt into her throat. What in the world would Leopold want with her? She’d never met the man, but tales of his evil nature had kept children up looking for shadows even as far as the western regions of Nadoria for as long as the princess could remember. The thought of leaving the warmth and safety of Castle Caine for the bleak, freezing cold castle in the mountains of Gradenia sent a shudder down her spine.
The sound of Caleb quickly reading the correspondence under his breath was muffled, but his volume increased when he got to the final lines. “If you do not comply fully with my wishes, you will receive your brother’s head in a box. Do not trifle with me, Caleb. You know what I am capable of. In the name of my beloved sister, Charlotte, King Leopold II of Gradenia.”
The sound of the parchment crumpling and hitting the floor mingled with the pounding of fists on the wall she could only assume were Caleb’s and the quiet sobs that began to form in her own throat. “Son of a bitch!” the king shouted. “How did this happen, David? How the hell did we lose him again?”
“Calm down, Caleb,” David said in the sort of familiar voice Katherine assumed only those closest to the king would use. “I apologize for our failures, and I take full responsibility. I will come up with a plan that lets us retrieve Matthew, whether we barter with the princess or not. Of course, I’m not sure how that is even an option. I’d received word yesterday that Leopold had Katherine himself. Do you know where the princess is?”
“Oh, yes, I know where the princess is.” Caleb’s voice never wavered. “And I will see Leopold in hell before I ever let him lay one crooked finger on her.”
Chapter 32
Eleanora’s white stallion, a strong beast with a silver mane she’d named Majesta, was eager to reach the front of the long line of Nadorian soldiers that stretched in front of them as far as Eleanora could see. Crisp blue and white uniforms shined in the morning sun, rays reflected off the flash of armor and swords as they marched in perfect step toward the Gradenian border. While she was presently far back of the main forces, where Kenneth thought she would be safe, she intended to take a position where she could oversee whatever unfolded on the battlefield once the armies collided. She may be a woman, but she knew as much about tactical strategy as most men, and she would not be content to sit idly by and watch others defeat the beast who had attempted to take her sister hostage.
A courier came flying in from the east. Eleanora spotted him in the distance, thanks to the red stripe on the arm of his uniform. She assumed the correspondence was from James, who had written her several times since Katherine had been located, her messages not even having had time to reach him before she’d receive another notice.
