Midnight in Everwood(79)

Pirlipata stepped forward and Marietta silently pleaded with her; this was not part of the plan. Marietta and Dellara had chosen to be the ones to descend into the ice chamber so that, if caught, Pirlipata would not share the cost. She was the best of them. ‘I have thought on the matter,’ Pirlipata continued, disregarding the king’s accusations, Marietta’s shake of her head, Dellara’s hand creeping for her concealed wand. ‘And my answer is now affirmative.’ Pirlipata’s head was as high as if her armour had never been stripped from her. ‘I shall accept your hand in marriage.’





Chapter Thirty-Nine


Marietta and Dellara were forgotten at once. King Gelum reached for Pirlipata, holding her hands in his. All the air rushed from Marietta’s lungs, deflating her. She had kept hold of the little key to another world to surprise them with. Now that foolhardy notion might cost Pirlipata everything.

Dellara’s eyes pooled into glistening, murderous black. ‘No.’ Her nails cut into her palms, bloodying them. She made to liberate her wand. Marietta snapped into action, making a bid for her hand before she could reveal it, but Dellara swept her aside, already striding for the king, her bloodlust writ upon her face. Then she stumbled. Legat had leapt forward and grasped her satin sash. ‘I would advise you reconsider,’ he said mildly, before leaning down to whisper at her. ‘—everything will have been for nothing,’ Marietta heard on the tail end of his utterance.

King Gelum escorted Pirlipata to the room behind the throne room. The guards dispersed a little.

Marietta wrung her hands. Captain Legat, having released Dellara, came to her. ‘He shall be wanting to discuss matters with her. Console yourself with the thought that no harm shall come to her now. Not now she has acquiesced to his demands,’ he said in a lowered voice.

Marietta gave a terse nod, not trusting herself to speak. Dellara had been the last to emerge from those rooms, marked with a flotilla of fresh scars.

Dellara caught her attention. ‘Tonight,’ she whispered. ‘We cannot afford to delay any longer.’

‘I’m of the same persuasion,’ Marietta said. Provided Pirlipata was returned to their suite. If she was relocated into quarters more suitable for the future queen of Everwood then they should have to liberate her first. Marietta refused to leave Pirlipata behind after she’d surrendered her freedom for them. After the king had laid bare his intentions towards Marietta, her heartbeats were measured. She glanced at Legat. His eyes lingered on her, his concern visible. A bolt of emotion fired through her. Perhaps this would be the final time she saw him.

After being escorted back to their suite by two sets of faceless guards, Marietta sat down, weary beyond her years.

Dellara wore deep tracks into the thick pile of the carpet as she paced from the frozen sugar wall back towards the centre of the suite, again and again. ‘I knew this entire scheme was a grave mistake,’ she muttered.

Marietta placed the golden key down on a table. ‘I found one.’ Dellara picked it up and examined it. ‘And if I had not thought to surprise you both with it, we would be free already and Pirlipata—’ She could not continue.

‘Would be freezing in the Endless Forest in a ballgown,’ Dellara said. ‘As would we. Think not of it again.’

As Dellara’s rage grew, so did Marietta’s nerves, climbing in intensity until she felt her skin might vibrate off her back with worry. In an effort to keep her darker, bloodier thoughts at bay, Marietta settled for disrobing. The little snow globe scenes snowed and danced as she hung her gown in one of the armoires, exchanging it for a simple cashmere dress in a soft charcoal shade. She unwound the coils from her hair until it spilled down her back in an unrecognisable mess of wild, twisting locks that released snaps of marzipan-scent each time she moved. Pulling on petal-white satin slippers, she wandered over to the sugar wall. Not for the first time, she stared into the blackness beyond its glow. When she’d first arrived in Everwood, it had enticed her. A world of enchantments sparkling beneath a midnight sky. Now, it was an impossible promise.

‘She ought to have returned by now.’ Dellara came to stand at her side, her creamy voice stripped raw. ‘Whyever did we abandon her to that monster? What if she isn’t as safe as we presumed she would be?’

‘Then we fight for her return.’ Marietta pressed her hand, a quick brush, butterfly-wing-soft. Dellara held onto her. They stood there, hands clasped in each other’s, the moment delicate as spun sugar.

The lock clicked, and Pirlipata strode through the door and opened her mouth to speak. Before she had tasted the first word, Dellara had crossed the suite and wrapped her in a fierce embrace.

‘There is no need to worry on my account; I assure you I’m perfectly fine.’ Pirlipata’s smile perished the moment it crossed her lips. ‘King Gelum has agreed to permit me one final night here as a favour to his future bride.’ Her mouth twisted like she’d bitten into something sour. ‘I need to forge my exit from this palace; I cannot, and will not, condemn myself to wedding that man.’

Dellara slid her wand out. ‘Then let’s make haste. I can ready us in a twitch of a moose’s tail. And Marietta found a golden key; we can exit the palace from this room now.’

Snow-bright panic hit Marietta. She hadn’t had the chance to return Legat’s diary, buried in the armoire. To secure one last moment with him, carving out a time and space just for them and them alone. She had known it was imminent and yet still the ferocity of her feelings stunned her. ‘I need to see him one last time,’ she whispered. ‘I need to say goodbye.’