Total pages in book: 218
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 205594 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1028(@200wpm)___ 822(@250wpm)___ 685(@300wpm)
“I would, but right now it’s filled with all the recipes Riza has been trying to get me to learn in the past day,” I joke half-heartedly. “What am I supposed to do with a knife? Is it for cooking?”
Erynne gives me an exasperated look. “Don’t be dense, Candra.”
“I’m not being dense. You’re the one giving me a knife!”
“Look.” She closes my fingers around it and pushes it towards me. “You’re going to be trapped in that tower with someone from the Darkfell bloodline. You must defend yourself if they try anything.”
My mouth goes dry and I stare down at the little knife in horror. There’s been so much going on that I haven’t given much thought to the fact that I’m going to be trapped in a tower for the next seven years with someone whose kingdom has sworn to destroy ours. Someone who Lionel will be declaring war against the moment I step foot inside the tower.
Suddenly a knife no longer seems like a silly gift. I clutch it tightly to my chest. The hilt can’t be more than the length of my finger, and the blade small and slightly curved. “It’s rather small for a murder weapon.”
“You’ll be locked in the tower,” Erynne says. “Figure out some poisons if you like, and rub them on the blade.” The look on her face is intense. “This is the dagger mother gave me when she was on her deathbed. It’s infused with magic.”
My jaw drops. “Magic?”
Also, I’m hurt that our mother gave Erynne a secret gift as she lay dying. All I got was a pat on the hand and instructions to “be good.” I wonder what else has gone on behind my back.
Erynne nods. “The magic of the gods is bound to this blade. It can answer true or false questions. When the answer is true, the knife will shiver in your hand. False, and it will have no response.”
That sounds strange. I flip the sheathed weapon over in my hand, eyeing it. It seems rather plain for a magical weapon. “And are you magical, blade?”
The thing positively shivers.
I yelp and drop it on the bed. For a moment, it felt alive.
Erynne picks it up again and holds it out to me. “I can’t be with you in the tower, but you can ask it questions about us back here. And you can ask it to give you advice about the other person in the tower with you. You might have to take drastic action, Candra. I know you joke that you’re a weak thing, but you’re strong, and you’re determined.” The look in her eyes is fervent as she leans in. “Both you and the Fellian must step across the threshold of the tower, and no one can enter or leave for seven years. Nothing says that both of you must be alive the entire time. Remember the stories of Old Eliza?”
Wordlessly, I take the knife from her again. I do remember. Old Eliza was of the Vestalin bloodline and served the tower two hundred years ago. She went in at the age of ninety and after seven years, she did not come out. They went in to find her and found a skeleton lying in bed, hands politely folded over her breast, and she had died of old age. Yet the kingdom had seen prosperity, because Eliza had never stepped foot outside the tower. “So you’re saying that I should go to the tower, murder the Darkfell sacrifice, and sit with the body for the next seven years?”
“If it’ll keep you alive.” Erynne’s gaze is hard. “Then yes, that is exactly what you should do.”
I shake my head, horrified at her suggestion. “I’m not a murderer.”
“Then you have two days to learn to become one,” my sister the queen says. “Because after you go into the tower, Lionel’s ships are going to sail for Darkfell. And if their Royal Offering has a way to get information from outside, they might come seeking revenge on you. Seven years is a very long time to be locked away with the enemy.”
Staring down at the knife in my hands, I clasp it to my breast and nod. I hate this. I hate all of it, and the situation seems to be getting worse by the moment. At least my sister wants me to go in prepared for anything.
If it’s as bad as she says it is, I might have to strike first, and the thought sends fear racing through me.
Chapter
Five
I’m awoken before dawn the next morning and dressed in a traveling gown. The court is not there to see me off, because my journey to the tower must be done in secret, lest we run into Darkfell assassins or even brigands from our own country. My sister and the king are there to wish me safe journey, but the goodbye is a tepid one. We hugged and wept (or at least Erynne did) last night. Today, she only touches my hands briefly and gives me words of encouragement for the sacrifice I am making for the kingdom.