Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace #1)(117)

Bastien waves Jules and me forward. The three of us advance to the end of the tunnel. I reach the wall first and climb the rubble. Through the blasted four-foot hole, I stare inside a dry castle well lined with river rock. Its construction isn’t yet complete. King Durand, Casimir’s father, commissioned it to replace a more vulnerable well outside the castle keep.

While Bastien and Jules have been spying in Dovré and gleaning these facts about Beau Palais, I’ve been forced to spend most of my time at Chateau Creux with my famille. The Leurress are shaken by the news of Odiva’s death. All I told them is our matrone died ferrying alongside Ailesse on an ancient bridge in an underground cavern. If they knew what she really did, it might spark anarchy. Once Ailesse comes back and rightfully replaces me as matrone, I’ll let her decide what to reveal about our mother, and I’ll retreat to the comfort of her shadow once more.

I leap to the opposite side of the well, grab an iron rung, and climb a ladder built for the well diggers. They’re not at the castle today. No one labors during La Liaison except entertainers and those preparing food for the three-day festival.

We’d hoped to sneak in through the main entrance, but King Durand isn’t holding a public celebration. According to rumor, he’s too ill. But he was ill before Ailesse was taken captive, and the castle gates have only been locked since Prince Casimir brought her here.

Jules leaps onto the ladder after me. I envy the leather leggings she’s wearing. My shoes keep tangling on the hem of my dress.

Bastien follows last, and the three of us rise sixty feet to the top of the well. It’s covered by an iron grate that scrapes loudly as we slide it off. A clap of thunder muffles the sound. For now, the rainfall doesn’t reach us. We’re in the tight quarters of the castle well tower.

I creep to the tower door and peek through a small window on top. I can’t see much of the castle courtyard beyond the pelting rain, even with my nighthawk vision, but I make out the blue and gold striped awnings that line the perimeter. They provide shelter for a few servants who scurry across the wet cobblestones to reach the other side. One awning caps an arched passageway that leads inside the castle—the entrance we’ll use.

Bastien removes his dusty cloak and tosses it over to Jules. Beneath it, he’s dressed in the simple garb of a castle dungeons soldier. I also throw off my cloak and tuck a few stray black curls into my servant’s cap. I slip my grace-bone necklace beneath the neckline of my dress and hide my bone knife in its sheath under my apron.

Bastien turns to Jules. “See you soon.”

She sits on the rim of the well, still a little breathless from climbing. “Promise to keep your head, all right? If you can’t pull this off today, don’t be reckless. We’ll figure out something else. We still have ten-and-a-half months before—”

“This will work.” He flexes his jaw muscle. “Come on, Sabine.” He slips out the door before Jules can say any more.

I’m quick to follow. I don’t wish to discuss the soul-bond between Ailesse and Casimir either. Bastien and I head through the rain for the arched passageway. We’ve committed to memory the map of Beau Palais he pieced together after conversing with a retired castle servant. “After three cups of tavern ale, the man was an open book,” Bastien told me.

We shake off the rain once we’re inside the castle. We’re standing in a stone foyer that intercepts a long hallway running left and right. Straight ahead is a great room. Servants mill about setting gold plates and goblets on a few gathered tables. Garlands of vibrant late-summer flowers twirl around towering columns that support a vaulted ceiling. Blue banners embroidered with the gold sun-symbol of Dovré—an homage to the sun god, Belin—hang alongside green banners with the tree symbol of the earth goddess, Ga?lle. I’m told La Liaison is held to invoke their joint blessing on the upcoming harvest.

Bastien and I share a quick glance and nod before we part ways. He heads left, and I head right. His direction leads toward the dungeons entrance, and mine accesses the staircase to the third level. Ailesse could also be locked up in one of the royal apartments there.

I’ve only taken a few steps when a handsome boy with strawberry hair walks around a column in the great room, fifteen feet away. My body goes rigid, my blood cold—then scorching hot.

Prince Casimir.

He’s wearing a burgundy doublet over a loose linen shirt and fitted breeches. A simple crown made from a thin band of gold wraps across the middle of his forehead.

He hasn’t laid eyes on me yet, but I still can’t force myself to move.

“Can you add more wildflowers?” Casimir asks a female servant while surveying the garland draped around the column. “Ailesse is fond of them.”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“I want everything perfect for when she meets my father tonight.”

My mind snags on his words. Flowers for Ailesse? A meeting with the king? I glance at Bastien. He’s taken cover behind a potted tree at the corner of the great room and adjoining hallway. From his deeply furrowed brow, he’s just as confused as I am. How can Ailesse attend a dinner with Casimir’s father? Isn’t she locked away?

“I understand, Your Highness.” The servant bows, and Casimir starts to turn in my direction. I jerk around, shuffle to the nearest table, and fuss with a place setting. I itch to hold the bone knife. If I could stab him right now, I would. But that would kill Ailesse. Their lives are woven together. She must be the one to wield the ritual blade and kill her amouré.