The Underground Witch (Incenaga Trilogy) (9 page)

She did not answer.

He moved his hand from the small of her back and pulled her closer. His hot breath assaulted her cheek as he bent his face close to hers. “Look at that woman over there on the terrace. She is so happy to be preparing for your special day. Now watch, Incenaga.” He held his hands near the window and his fingers made a series of movements.

Emmeline knew the woman.
She helped in the kitchen. Her name was Darce and she made the best chocolate sauce Emmeline had ever tasted. She looked so peaceful sitting on the bench, twirling a flower between two fingers. The flower spun in one direction, and then the other direction, and then it stopped.

Emmeline gasped.
Darce had an arrow protruding from the side of her neck. She collapsed onto the bench and the flower dropped to the ground. A second later, a strange man darted into the courtyard and dragged her body away. All without anyone noticing.

Tiergan placed his hand over Emmeline’s mouth again
and pulled her away from the window. “You aren’t going to scream, are you? Because I can see a small boy playing in the garden.”

Emmeline shook her head
.

Tiergan dropped his hand, grabbed her shoulders and whipped her around to face him.

“She was
innocent,” Emmeline whispered.

“And many, many more innocents will be used to demonstrate
the skill of my men, if you do not cooperate.”

“I can’t help you.” Emmeline whispered.

“You can’t or you won’t? There is quite a distinction between the two, although, I will settle for neither. Like I said, your obvious feelings for the prince will be useful to me. I couldn’t have hoped for a more enticing alternative to my original plan.”

“And what plan was that?”

“Let you watch as I slaughter your people one by one. At least, until you submit.”

Emmeline cringed.

“Any woman would break under such circumstances. You would have yielded to me eventually and we would have been on our way. But where is the satisfaction in that? They are only commoners, easily expendable.”

Emmeline opened her mouth in protest, but Tiergan
dug his fingers into the flesh of her left arm and, with his other hand, held a finger over her lips. She jerked her head away and glared at him.

Ti
ergan brought his hand back down to her other arm. “But you bring to light a much more enticing idea. Tell me, for the life of your lover, the last hope of Dolmerti, what would you be willing to do?”

“You wouldn’t.
” Emmeline said through her teeth. “Dolmerti would hunt you down. No rock would be left unturned. They would find you and you would die a miserable death.”

Tiergan smirked
. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure. You see, right now, each of my men has someone within the palace grounds in their sights. They will sacrifice each and every one of them should you prove too difficult. All they need is a signal from me.” He held up his hand.

“No!”
She choked on the word. “The people love Erick. They will cry for justice!”

He le
aned in to her and spoke with menacing softness. “Tell me, how long do you think your people will remain loyal when their loved ones are in danger? How long will they fight for their Crown Prince? Or their witch Princess?” He straightened and flashed a confident smile. “It wouldn’t take long for me to instill terror into the hearts of your people. They only need the proper incentive to obey.”

Emmeline’s stomach rolled.

“But, I’m no longer interested in killing off your pathetic people,” he continued. “One of my men is in the garden, near your husband-to-be, with a weapon of his choosing. He awaits my signal.”

Emmeline looked to the trees
again. Still, she saw nothing. And then she saw it, a flicker of movement at the top of a tree near the courtyard. She focused harder until she could make out a leg, then a torso, and finally a bow and arrow grasped by two strong arms.

Knowing where to
look and what to look for, it became very easy to see the others. Emmeline’s heart plummeted. They were everywhere, and yet the guards remained oblivious. She looked to the garden, searching near Erick. At first she saw nothing, but she searched harder, desperate to locate a threat. A small glint caught her eye, the flash of metal hidden behind a shrub. The man crouched low to the ground, an arm’s length away from Erick, his weapon posed for the kill. Unaware of the danger, Erick relaxed on the bench, while her father rambled about something. How could he not sense a threat so near?

She
pressed her lips into a hard line and faced Tiergan. “What do you want me to do?”

“Come with me to Griet,” Tiergan said.

Emmeline
stared ahead at nothing and responded in a tone that sounded flat, dead. “Erick will follow us.”

Tiergan’s voice
turned fierce. “You have to give him a reason not to. He must believe you don’t want him to follow you. He must think you don’t want him anymore.”

He shook her shoulders and Emmeline focused her gaze.

“He’ll never believe it,” she said. “He knows how much I love him. This is too sudden. He’ll suspect something is wrong.”

“Let me help you understand something,
Incenaga. If he suspects anything at all, he will have an arrow through his neck before he can raise a single question. I don’t care how you manage to get away, but it must be convincing. His life depends on it. If he follows, he’ll die. If he suspects anything, he’ll die. Am I getting through to you?”

Emmeline
nodded and stared out the window. Erick seemed so happy waiting for their special day to begin. He loved her, and yet she was about to walk away from him, from the life they could have shared. She knew she couldn’t face him. She couldn’t look into his the eyes and tell him she was leaving him. He would see right through her lies.

She also knew she couldn’t trust someone else to tell him.
The task was too great. His life depended on her ability to convince him to stay behind. Dolmerti was equipped to knock an army to its knees, but a shadow in the night? Tiergan and his men had proven their stealth and if Erick followed, they would kill him.

Emmeline pulled the velvet curtains over the window
, casting a dark shadow over the room. She brushed past Tiergan and grabbed a piece of her personal stationery from her desk drawer.

“I’ll write a letter
,” she said, her voice breaking. “It’s the best way, I think.” Or the worst.

She bent over the desk, pen in hand, yet
made no movement to write. No words came to her. Knowing how important her letter would be, her hand trembled against the paper. Eric’s life depended on her believability, and yet she couldn’t hurt him. She couldn’t be cruel.

A gentle knock sounded at the door
and Emmeline jerked up, the pen falling from her hand. Tiergan remained as still as a statue until the door handle turned, and with a flash, his sword was drawn.

“No!”
Emmeline cried out. “Don’t come in!”

The handle stopped mov
ing but Tiergan’s sword remained drawn, the steel glinting in preparation for an attack.

“Mila
dy?” Adelia squeaked.

Emmeline blinked.
Adelia had sworn to remain by her side for the duration of Erick’s absence. What was going to happen to her when he discovered she hadn’t lived up to her promise? It had been mere chance that she had rushed out to fetch Emmeline’s gown within minutes of Tiergan’s arrival. She shouldn’t be held responsible. And she shouldn’t be blamed for the guard’s inability to hold back one man.

“It’s just me
,” Adelia said. “I have your gown. It’s so beautiful! The seamstress added the red satin trim to the top, just like you wanted. You are going to love it.”

Composing herself, Emmelin
e walked to the door. “I’m not ready to get dressed yet. I need a few minutes alone.”

“
The Crown Prince doesn’t want you to be alone, milady. As it is, he’ll be furious if he finds out I left you long enough to fetch your dress. Where are your guards?”

Emmeline swallowed.
“I gave them leave. I need to be alone.”

“It isn’t safe, milady.”

“There is no cause for worry. Commander Benshi assured us that no army is even close to Dolmerti.” Emmeline glanced at Tiergan and then looked away.

After a brief silence, Adelia sighed.
“I suppose you are right, I’ll just wait out here for you. Call me when you are ready.”

“No!”
Emmeline cleared her throat and glanced at Tiergan again. She continued with a quieter tone, hoping the strain in her voice would be attributed to nerves. “I mean, don’t trouble yourself. I may be awhile. Please, if you would, gather more flowers for my bouquet. I don’t have enough.”

“I can send
someone else to fetch flowers. It shouldn’t take long. Everything is ready except the bride.” She sang the last word and Emmeline’s heart sunk. Adelia seemed just as excited about the wedding as everyone else.

“Yes, I know.
Please, just go double check everything.”

S
ilence permeated from the other side of the door and Emmeline’s shoulders sagged.

“Are you alright, milady?
You don’t sound like yourself.”

Tiergan stepped forward
and motioned with his sword for Emmeline to move. Emmeline thrust her hand onto his chest and pushed against him until he stopped his advance. He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow in warning.

Emmeline swallowed.
“Yes, I’m fine. Everything will be fine. I’m just nervous, I guess.”

“Oh, milady, there is nothing to be nervous about.
I have never seen such love between two people. He loves you. You have nothing to worry about.”

Emmeline leaned her for
ehead against the door, her hands caressing the smooth wood. “Yes, I know Adelia. Erick is a good man. He deserves a long, happy life.”

“Exactly!
You both deserve happy lives and you will bring that to each other every day. You have nothing to fear.”

Emmeline glanced at Tiergan out of the corner of her eye.
He stood ready for attack, sword in hand. “Yes, Adelia. Nothing to fear. Thank you. Give me ten minutes.”

“
I don’t know. What will the Crown Prince say? He was adamant I not leave you.”

Tiergan stepped forward.

Emmeline thrust out her hand toward Tiergan. “Adelia, as my lady-in-waiting you are my servant and I can tell you when to stay and when to leave. The Crown Prince is just outside my window. There is no need to worry. Now go!”

Emmeline could almost feel Adelia’s surprise through the solid door. She had never treated Adelia as anything less than a friend, despite her status as a servant.
She wanted to take back her harsh words, tell Adelia she was sorry, but she couldn’t. Adelia had to leave before Tiergan lost his patience.

“
Yes, milady,” Adelia whispered. “As you wish.”

Emmeline frowned.
She couldn’t leave this way.

“Adelia?”
she spoke before her chance was taken away from her.

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For all you do.”

“My pleasure.
Are you sure you are all right?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Very well, my lady. I’ll return in ten minutes.”

As soon as
Adelia’s footsteps faded down the corridor, Emmeline turned around and faced Tiergan. She set her jaw and narrowed her eyes, and knew a fierce shadow had blanketed her face. A flash of surprise gleamed in Tiergan’s eyes and Emmeline’s scowl deepened. What else did he expect from her? That she would fear him? Fury swelled inside her. He seemed just the sort of person to revel in the fear of others. The thought sickened her. She vowed to never let him see her fear, no matter the cost.

“Put the sword down, Tiergan
,” she said. “You will harm no one else today. I know your threats are real; however, I refuse to cower. I will do what I have to do to preserve the lives of my loved ones, but I am not afraid of you.”

She didn’t wait for a response, nor did she
care about the brief look of disappointment that clouded Tiergan’s face. She stood at her desk, shaking, knowing she had only a few short minutes before her resolve crumbled. She needed to be brief. She would never be able to hold herself together if she wrote more than a few words. And if she fell apart, it would show through her words. She grasped the pen and wrote a letter that tore her from the inside out.

Erick,

I can’t do this. Things have changed. I have to leave. Don’t come for me. We can no longer be together.

Emmeline

Her choppy letter held more truth than she thought it would, but only on a level she would understand. When Erick read it, he would think things had changed between them, not around them. He would think she left because she didn’t love him, not because she had no other choice. He would interpret her letter just as he had to, never knowing the truth. It would serve its purpose, but it would crush him. She crumbled the paper between her hands and tossed it aside. She wanted to start over and write something less abrupt, something with a little more respect for the love they had shared.