Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace #1)(118)

The prince’s footsteps slowly clip toward me. My pulse pounds faster. I lower my head. Elara, don’t let him recognize me.

“Pardon me, but are you new here?”

I stiffen, keeping my back to him. “Yes,” I squeak.

“What is your name?”

I could run. With my nighthawk speed, I could make it to the third level before Casimir had a chance to catch me. If only I knew which room Ailesse was in. By the time I find her, he will have the whole castle on alert. “Ginette,” I murmur, feigning to be shy.

“Ginette, I am your prince and future king.” Casimir’s voice is warm and carries the charm that made me lightheaded when we first met. “You need not be afraid of me. In this castle, I treat my servants with regard.”

A scoff rips out of my throat. “And how do you treat your prisoners?” My subterfuge is pointless. Whether I run or confront him now, he’s going to discover me. “You can’t win Ailesse with flowers and gold and false honor. She will always see you as her abductor.”

My jackal hearing catches his soft intake of breath. “Sabine?” he asks.

I lift my chin and turn to face him. Casimir gazes back at me with widened stone-blue eyes. I fight to keep the heat in my blazing stare. His restrained demeanor carries wisdom, depth, and strength. It makes it hard to remember he’s an entitled snake.

“Where are you keeping Ailesse?” I demand. I pull out my hidden necklace and let my grace-bones dangle, exposed over the bodice of my dress. Two guards at the edge of the room take a step forward, but Casimir holds up a hand to stall them.

“Ailesse isn’t my prisoner. I invited her to stay with me, and she agreed.”

Lies. Ailesse would never consent to that. “Then tell her I’d like to pay a visit.”

“You know I can’t do that.” His tone exudes a maddening level of calm. “You tried to kill me, Sabine. You are not welcome in this castle.”

The golden jackal in me snaps. I whip out the bone knife beneath my apron. Casimir quickly withdraws a jeweled dagger. Our blades meet each other’s throats at the same time. His sharp edge presses against the tendon of my neck.

My nostrils flare. “What would Ailesse think of you if you killed her sister?”

“No less than she’d think of you if you . . .”

An animalistic screech rings in my ears and drowns out the rest of his words. A small reflection appears in his pupils. A bird.

Somehow, as I’m staring at Casimir, the bird grows larger. I gasp. This is a vision. It has to be. I’m seeing the silver owl.

The owl grows full size and hovers in front of him with her wings unfurled. He can’t see her; he’s looking right through her at me. It’s like she’s protecting him.

Impossible. The silver owl wanted Casimir dead. She led me to kill the golden jackal, carve a flute from its bone, and use it to lure the prince during my proxy rite of passage for Ailesse.

The owl beats her wings once, and my surroundings change. I feel the castle floor beneath me, but see the cliffs overlooking the Nivous Sea above. It’s the night of the last new moon. Ailesse is playing the siren song on the bone flute, trying to open the Gates of the Beyond. She only failed because the land bridge was already sinking.

She keeps playing. The harrowing melody floats to my ears and burns through my mind. I’ve remembered snatches of it before, but not everything. Now it pulses so vividly inside me that it distills into pure and unforgettable knowledge.

What is happening? I came here to rescue Ailesse, not see a memory, not learn a song. I came here to help her kill Casimir.

The owl beats her wings again. Now Ailesse is in the underground cavern on the fragile soul bridge. She moves toward the Gates of the Underworld with headstrong determination. I hear myself shouting for her to stay back, but she won’t listen.

I blink and see Casimir again through the body of the owl. My bone knife shakes at his neck. Maybe the owl isn’t protecting him from me. Maybe she’s protecting Ailesse from me.

I could threaten Casimir, fight off his soldiers, find Ailesse, free her . . . but what if my sister shouldn’t lead the ferrying tonight? She barely resisted stepping through the Gates of the Underworld last time. The only thing that distracted her was Odiva stabbing Bastien.

Perhaps . . . perhaps my sister is safer in Beau Palais. For now.

My eyes blur with infuriating tears. Casimir’s brows hitch together. He doesn’t know what to make of my reaction. For the longest time, all I’ve been trying to do is save Ailesse. Why am I prevented at every turn?

I pull the bone knife away. The silver owl disappears. I curse the goddess’s messenger, but I’ve learned to trust her. She warned me about Odiva before I knew my mother’s crimes. She led me to Casimir, who helped me finally find Ailesse. She’ll help again when the time is right, when Ailesse’s freedom won’t lead to her death. She knows more than I do.

Casimir’s dagger holds steady at my neck. He opens his mouth like he wants to say something, but his expression is torn between anger and pity. I harden my glare on him, even while my tears fall. I still hate him. My actions don’t change that.

One of his soldiers clears his throat. “Shall we take her to the dungeons, Your Highness?”

The tip of Casimir’s blade slides to lift my chin as he deliberates. He swallows. “Yes.”