Banished: Book 1 of The Grimm Laws (28 page)

He briefly considered concealing his identity but decided against it. After all, it was his identity that was keeping him alive. “Rushton Porter, First Squire to the Crown Prince.”

“Ah, a squire to Prince Edward.” He motioned at the surroundings. “And you have been sent here, to the outer forest … on a suicide mission?” He laughed. “Someone is trying to get rid of you.”

“I prefer to see it as a rescue mission,” Rushton said evenly. He’d come with the express purpose of saving the kingdom from the likes of this man and his band of bloodthirsty thieves. And while he’d failed in his attempt to strengthen the protective shield, there was still a chance that he might be able to warn the camp of the impending attack.

A strange expression came over Ruben’s face as he peered down at Rushton. “Porter? Son of the Lady Wisteria Avalonia Porter of Florentine?”

Rushton looked Ruben in the eye. “Aye.”

The rain was slacking off, but it was now dusk, making it harder to read Ruben’s expression. He crossed his massive arms over his chest. “Interesting. How is the Lady Wisteria?”

“My mother is well.”

His eyes went hard. “Still in collusion with the King?”

Rushton shook his head. “I don’t understand the meaning of thy words.”

Ruben smirked and gave him a knowing look. His voice grew menacing. “Don’t lie to me, Squire.”

“I assure thee, I’m not,” Rushton said, hoping his tone was convincing.

“And thy sole purpose in coming here was to protect the King’s Road from my thieves?”

“Aye.”

The slap across the face caught him off guard, and he tasted blood as a thin trickle ran from his lips.

Rueben yanked him to his feet. “Where is the stone?”

“I don’t understand—”

This time, the blow was a fist. White lights exploded in Rushton’s head as he stumbled backward. “The stone!” Ruben said, a feverish excitement in his voice. “We are looking for a blood-red stone,” he said to the men. He motioned at Huntsden. “Search him.”

As Huntsden began methodically searching him, all Rushton could feel was relief. He didn’t dare look over at the stone face for fear they would follow the trail of his eyes. Ruben didn’t realize that the stone only glowed red when the words were spoken while holding it. Then he remembered the parchment. He felt a wave of panic. He’d dropped it when the thieves first surrounded him. For the first time, he was grateful for the rain and approaching darkness.

“Over here,” one of the men said. Rushton’s heart dropped when he saw him hold up the parchment. Ruben snatched the parchment out of the man’s hand and began reading the words. Nothing happened. As Rushton had learned earlier, the stone only glowed red when the words were spoken. Ruben got up in Rushton’s face. “You will tell me how this works … one way or another. Where is the stone?”

“I don’t have it!”

Ruben unsheathed his sword and ran the tip down the length of Rushton’s arm. “I won’t kill thee, but that won’t stop me from taking thy hand.”

A cold fear seized Rushton. Telling Ruben about the stone would be detrimental to the kingdom, but he didn’t want to lose a hand. He frantically searched for a lie that he could tell Ruben, something to pacify him.

The screech came out of nowhere, the screams of a thousand tortured women all rolled into one. The screech came again, but this time louder. The men went to the ground, holding their ears. Rushton fought the urge to do the same. He looked up in the air and saw a ball of fire flying toward them.

“Dragon!” one of the men yelled as panic ensued. The men on the ground scattered in all directions, forgetting about Rushton entirely. Rushton had never before seen a dragon, but he’d heard plenty of tales about them. Two things registered simultaneously in his mind as he scurried for cover—the dragon was larger and more horrific than he could have ever imagined and he needed to escape while he could. First, he had to get the stone. As he ran for the face, a river of fire blazed in front of him. He looked up, shielding his eyes, as the dragon swooped down, breathing out another line of fire behind him. Fearing that the dragon would take him, he braced himself, but instead it clutched the frantic man beside him in its talons and tore him in half as easily as if it were breaking bread. Then it let out another shriek that shook the ground, causing loose boulders from the terrace above to come tumbling down. He dodged one that narrowly missed him before it pummeled the man to his right, knocking him to the ground where he began writhing in pain. Rushton ran to the face and reached in the hole, but there was no stone. He looked down at the ground, but it was too dark to see anything. Then the dragon breathed out another burst of fire, lighting the night sky momentarily. That’s when he saw it laying on the ground. He grabbed it, shoved it into his pouch, and began running. He might have gotten away had something from behind not flattened him to the ground. He rolled and tried in vain to fight off the attacker, but it was no use. The attacker rolled him on his back.

“Ruben,” he breathed as a feeling of despair overtook him. He tried to reach for his dagger, but Ruben pinned him so that he couldn’t move.

“Where is the stone?”

“I do not know.”

Ruben pulled him to his feet and pointed a sword at his chest. “My patience is fading, Squire. Tell me now, or I will kill thee.”

As he looked into those merciless eyes, Rushton knew it was true. “The face! The stone is in the eye socket of the face!”

“What face?”

He motioned with his head. “The stone face over there by the terrace.”

Ruben grunted and clutched his neck with his massive hands. He began to squeeze. Rushton sputtered and tried to fight back, but it was no use. “Dost thou not see the face?” he managed to say.

“Nay, ’tis no face. Only rocks. I am growing weary of thy lies.”

Everything was starting to fade as Rushton struggled for breath. His eyes closed, and he seemed to be floating far away. An image of Cinderella, smiling, flashed before his eyes. He wished there had been more time—time to hold her in his arms once more. Time to let her know how much he loved her.

Then came another ear-splitting shriek. The hands around his neck loosened, and he was able to draw in a sliver of blessed air. He coughed and breathed again as his clarity returned. He looked to his side and saw that Ruben had been tossed aside where he lay in a crumpled heap. He sat up to run but then looked up in horror, for coming straight at him, was the dragon. Eyes glowing yellow, putrid breath, paralyzing terror. He shielded his face from the onslaught. He felt himself being raised and then yelped in agony as the dragon lifted him in the air, its jagged talons piercing through his chainmail and into his flesh. He tried to wiggle free, but the dragon squeezed harder. Intense pain such as he’d never felt before racked his body as his insides crushed together. He heard the sickening cracking of his own bones, and then he blacked out.

C
inderella winced
as a stab of pain shot through her ankle as she stepped into the boat. The sprain was healing, but her ankle was still tender. Prince Edward immediately put a protective arm around her waist.

“Careful,” he warned as he helped her get seated. He sat down and turned to face her, his expression concerned. “Your ankle? Is it hurting?”

She reassured him with a smile. “It’s fine. Thank you.”

Relief settled over his features, and he took her hands in his and brought them to his lips where he planted a gentle kiss. “My love, I seek only to make thee happy.”

Why did he have to be so good?
Guilt stabbed at her as she looked into his golden eyes. He was so sincere … so kind … so handsome. She could almost convince herself that she could live the lie and be the doting maiden that he thought her to be. He was a prince, destined to be a king. How easy it would be to simply accept his love. Even as she thought the words, her heart cried out
traitor
! And she knew that she could never escape her innermost desires, for it was not the fair-haired Prince with his genteel manners but the dark-haired rogue with the sharp tongue and the stormy blue eyes that tormented her dreams. If Edward was the sun then Rushton was the shadow that was forever crossing over her heart. She loved Rushton—loved him with a passion that consumed all else. At that moment, she longed to be far away from the complex life of the castle. She longed to be a simple peasant girl again—a girl who’d long ago given her heart to an impulsive, hot-tempered squire.

She and Prince Edward were alone, except for the servant who pushed the boat off from the shore and began rowing it into the placid water that was glistening silver in the moonlight.

Cinderella looked out across the water and drew in a quick breath. There must’ve been hundreds of floating candles flickering around them. Each had a ring of delicate ivory-colored flowers nestled around it. Edward had gone to a great deal of trouble to ensure that this night was perfect. She looked up at the luminous moon that shone above them. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” she murmured.

“Aye, ‘tis indeed beautiful,” he said, looking into her eyes.

He leaned in closer, and she could tell from his hopeful expression and the way his lips parted that he was going to kiss her. Startled, she jerked back. He gave her a questioning look, but she only smiled and looked past him, out at the water. It lay on her tongue to tell him the truth. Why had she let Wisteria talk her into deceiving him? Prince Edward was a good person. Surely he would understand the situation and her feelings for Rushton. Her relationship with Rushton had begun when she was scarcely more than a child. Edward began rubbing circles over her hand with his thumb. A wave of nausea covered her. “Edward,” she began, “there’s something I need—”

A loud pop broke the still of the night, and she jumped. A ribbon of colors rippled against the night sky. “Fireworks,” she said, wonderment tingeing her voice. Bursts of silver, red, and blue streaked across the sky.

Edward stood and lifted his arms to the sky. “For thee, Cinderella.” He reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet. The boat rocked, sending her into his arms.

As she looked up at him, her eyes grew misty. “You did all of this for me?”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for thee,” he said earnestly. He looked into her eyes. “My darling Cinderella, from the moment I saw thee in The Parade of Maidens, I could scarcely take my eyes off of you. And then when I rescued you in the marketplace …” His voice went husky. “Fate has brought us together.” His eyes took on a faraway look. “I have lived all of my life knowing that I would one day be king—and with that knowledge came the sobering realization that I would be required to put the interest of my kingdom above my own feelings and desires.” A shadow fell over his features, and he seemed to shudder slightly. “For so long, I feared that I was doomed to marry the Princess Helsin—a dreadful maiden who happens to be the daughter of a king. The borders of our kingdom are constantly coming under attack by bloodthirsty bandits and marauders.”

An icy shiver went down Cinderella spine. Rushton was out there with those bloodthirsty bandits and marauders. Would he be safe? She had to squelch the urge to grab hold of Edward and demand this instant that he go and bring Rushton back. She fought to remain calm as tentacles of apprehension clutched at her. Then she realized that Edward was still speaking. She forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying.

“My father needs the power of King Felipe and his armies to help protect our kingdom. He knew that a marriage between his son and King Felipe’s daughter would form a blood alliance that would keep King Felipe forever in his debt. Consequently, I was auctioned off like a horse to the highest bidder … for the good of the kingdom.” His eyes flashed with indignation.

Compassion welled in Cinderella’s breast. She had always thought that as Crown Prince, Edward could marry whom he pleased. She had never considered that his position as Prince would shackle him into marrying a woman he did not love. The ironic part was that the only reason she was out here, on this boat with Edward, was because she was forced into it. When all was said and done, she and Edward weren’t all that different.

“Everything changed the moment I met you. I convinced my mother and father that I would be a much better king with a maiden that I adore by my side. I feared that I would never find you, my love.” He got down on one knee, clasping her hand in his. He looked up at her, happiness radiating from his face.

Panic raced through her veins.
This couldn’t be happening! Not now!
Rushton, where are you?
she cried inwardly, suddenly angry with him for leaving her all alone to deal with this sordid mess.

“Cinderella, my beautiful Cinderella, wouldst thou do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She swallowed hard, searching for an answer that would appease him when she saw the servant on the shore, frantically waving his arms. “Edward.”

“Yes?” he answered dreamily.

“Edward,” she said more firmly. “Look!”

He turned and saw the man. He was waving a torch methodically back and forth. Reluctantly, Edward got to his feet and peered at the shore. “Something ‘tis wrong,” he finally said, looking at the servant in the back of the boat. “Take us to the shore,” he ordered. “Quickly.”

When they reached the shore, Edward stepped out of the boat and then helped Cinderella onto dry land. The servant ran up to them. There was a panicked expression on his face.

“What is it?” Prince Edward demanded.

“Your highness, the King and Queen bade me to summon thee. The band of men that were sent to strengthen the King’s Road …”

“Aye, the knights and squires that were sent to deal with the bandits,” Edward said.

“Aye, Mi’ Lord, the very ones.”

“Have they returned?” Edward asked eagerly. “One of my closest friends, Squire Rushton Porter, is amongst the group.”

A thrill ran through Cinderella.
Rushton!
Had he returned?

The servant shook his head, his eyes darting nervously.

Edward frowned. “Has something happened? Speak now, servant!”

Cinderella clutched her gown in her fist.

“I’m sorry to inform you, Mi’ Lord, but the men were attacked by the dragon on the outskirts of Briarbane Forrest. There were no survivors.”

Edward jerked like he had been punched. “Lord, have mercy,” he uttered.

“No!” Cinderella shrieked. She stumbled forward and then collapsed. Edward barely managed to catch her before she tumbled to the ground.