Dividing Eden (Dividing Eden #1)(10)

His mother sighed. “Fine. But we shall talk again soon, and I expect to hear that you have done what you must for the good of the realm.”

When he turned toward the door she added, “I love you, you know.”

“I know.” He felt the same tug at his heart as always when she said those words. For all his mother’s faults, she did love him. The fact that he was still here in this castle, threatening all of their futures, proved it. “I love you, too, Mother.”

As soon as Oben closed the doors behind him, Andreus stopped and sagged against the wall.

Seduce Imogen.

He’d like nothing better. That night had played over and over again in his mind. The wind howling through the night. Her gentle hand on his as he coaxed a rare laugh from her. That touch was like fire that burned away the rest of the world until there was only the beating of the blades, the cranking of the gears, and her.

She was a seeress. One of the fakes that threatened his very life because of made-up predictions. Just days before she’d agreed to marry his brother.

And Andreus hadn’t cared.

Her mouth.

Her skin.

Her shy voice and downcast eyes that seemed only to come alive when she stood on the battlements and looked up at the sky. Or at him.

But she was marrying Micah because Micah wanted her and what Micah wanted, he got. Andreus had wanted to hate the seeress the day she told him that Micah had instructed her not to spend time alone with him again. He’d tried to hate her. But whenever he saw Imogen standing on the battlements alone or cringing as his brother barked commands at her, he felt the same tug of desire to take her in his arms and protect her from harm.

With the Queen’s sights set on her, acceptance would not be easy to come by for Imogen. If his mother didn’t get what she wanted from him, then she’d employ others. Maybe she already had.

He didn’t care.

He wasn’t about to get involved. Imogen was just a girl. And he had lots of those. Wasn’t one waiting for him right now in the stables, ready to say yes to whatever he wanted?

Andreus cast one last look at the double doors of his parents’ rooms and headed for the stairs. He’d wash, change, and bring Mirabella a present so she wouldn’t sulk over his tardiness. Sulking took away from—

Andreus stopped.

The lights flickered—

and suddenly everything went black.





3


Carys sucked in air as the lights at the top of the enormous white stone staircase flickered once . . . twice . . . and then went out. For a second everything was still. Then people began to scream.

Spinning, she looked down at Garden City spread far below her and watched as the wall surrounding it, too, plunged into blackness.

“Highness, you have to get inside the castle,” the most experienced of her two guards yelled as the other stood frozen at the top of the stairs. “We might be under attack. You have to go.”

Attack? She squinted into the dimness as people screamed. No bells tolled to signal that the guard had spotted a foe. But if they were under attack, she had to find her brother. She had to get to Andreus.

Now.

Since she hadn’t carried her stilettos with her into the city, Carys turned toward the young guard who was standing still as stone. She reached out and yanked free the knife the guard wore at his belt.

“Your Highness—”

“I have need of this. Tell no one that I took it or you will find yourself on the front lines of the war without anyone willing to watch your back.”

“The knife is yours, Princess. I will tell no one. But shouldn’t I go with you now and guard you?”

She doubted the boy was capable of defeating one of the stable chipmunks let alone whatever he worried was lurking in the gloom. But she admired his commitment to his duty despite his fear—of the dark and of her. “You should join the rest of the guard and check the status of the wall. Stand for Garden City as you have sworn to do and I promise you will be rewarded.” The boy gaped at her as she turned and over her shoulder ordered, “Go.” Then, picking up her skirts, she raced through the shadows bathing the arched entrance of the castle.

“Get inside,” someone yelled as Carys shoved through dozens who were racing toward the entrance of the castle.

“Ow.” She stumbled as something struck her ankle. “I order you to get out of my way,” she yelled. At the sound of her voice everyone around her scattered—a distinct benefit of being a pariah—and she fought free of the crowd and headed for the stairs. A boy with a torch was in the hallway. Grabbing him by the shoulder, she led him to an alcove down the hall, took the torch, and said, “Stay here until the lights go back on. If anyone questions you, tell them you are acting on orders of Princess Carys.”

Then she turned and ran through the halls that had never gone this dark in all of her years. Even when some of the lights fell in the city, the castle always continued to shine. Not today. Why?

Andreus would be asking the same thing. He would be trying to fix the problem. If he could get to the battlements, he would. That’s where she’d find him. The stress and the exertion could trigger an attack he wouldn’t heed until it was too advanced to hide. If that happened, it wouldn’t matter if all the Xhelozi in the mountains were at the gates—they would be doomed before the Xhelozi struck the first blow.