Twenty-Four

The last rays of the setting sun paint the palace grounds honeysuckle pink as Marion and I ride across the lush lawns. I glance down at my horse, who follows Marion’s with slow, measured steps, her ears twitching at the sound of birdsong. The gentle sway of the animal beneath me is almost comforting, but it’s impossible not to think about Shadow. And thinking of Shadow will always lead to thoughts of Kane.

My bottom lip quivers, and I let out a shaky breath as I squeeze the leather reins, determined not to cry again.

Marion slows her horse and glances over her shoulder, a soft half smile tilting her lips. “Are you ready to speak of it?”

I hesitate, the words stuck in my throat. Finally, I nod. “I caught Ashwood and Ivy together.”

Marion’s eyes widen slightly. “I didn’t expect this, but I can’t say that I’m shocked.” She clicks her tongue and turns back to face the path ahead.

We’re quiet for a while. The rhythmic clomp of the horses’ hooves on the grassy path fills the space between us.

“I am sorry, Hannah. I wish there were more I could say, something I could do.”

“Calling for the horses, this ride…” I breathe in the last bits of sunlight and look out on the rolling hills that stretch into a horizon of mossy-green trees. Up ahead, the Tower pulls me, calms me. I can’t explain its magnetic allure, but right now, I don’t want to. Right now, I’m okay. “I feel a little bit better.”

“Good. I’m more skilled at fun than I am with grief.” She smiles, the breeze lifting her curls. “However, if you go to battle against Ivy, count me firmly on your side. I’ve never much cared for her. And, contrary to popular belief, it’s not because she was a lowly maid who caught the eye of our kingdom’s most dedicated warrior.”

“Four is the kingdom’s most dedicated warrior?” I ask, trying to untangle the web of relationships and politics within Pentacles. Once again, my thoughts drift to Kane—protector of the Kingdom of Pentacles and every body within its lands.

The possibility that she’s talking about him drops my stomach into my toes.

Marion snorts. “Before Four’s sudden rise, he was hardly worth discussing, much less calling out by name. A middle-tier advisor at best, and I do think that’s giving him too much credit. And then, seemingly overnight, he’s arm in arm with the king, whispering in his ear like some long-lost brother found at sea.

“And it’s not just simple advice he’s giving. Rumors swirl that Four pushes for war to boost the palace’s riches. Of course, if you take him at his word, he’ll say it’s all to do with strategy and kingdom politics . Although, you will never convince me that sending young men off to die will help with strategy or politics.”

She sighs. “No matter what anyone says, I will never believe he earned the king’s ear through merit alone. I’ve always thought King Lockhart was desperate for friendship after losing Kane and simply chose the first person he came across.”

Kane. His name is a promise and a question all at once.

No matter how I feel, no matter how painful it might be, I need to know the truth.

“And who’s Kane?”

“Kane Blackthorne, the very warrior whose eye Ivy caught and used to elevate her status.”

My heart skips a beat as Marion continues, her words sinking in like lead weights.

“It’s said that Four and Ivy convinced King Lockhart that Kane was dabbling in magick, which ultimately led to his banishment. A cruel fate for such a beautiful man. It is, however, much improved over the standard beheading. Can you imagine plotting against your very own fiancé knowing it could end with his death?”

The pieces of the puzzle finally fall into place with cruel clarity.

A cold wave of nausea surges in my stomach, and I grip the reins, struggling to keep my balance.

Fiancé. Kane and Ivy were…engaged.

Marion’s voice fades into the background as my thoughts spiral. All I see are Kane and Ivy together in our room, the memory of her hands on him searing my mind like a brand.

I was right. Kane was protecting her—protecting the relationship they used to share.

He wanted to defeat Four, save his friend, and regain his position in the palace. He wanted his old life back. He wanted Ivy.

My chest tightens, and I struggle to draw in a full breath. How could I have been so naive? How could I have let myself fall for him, believe in him, when all along he told me not to trust him?

My eyes sting with unshed tears, and I swallow hard, trying to maintain my composure.

Every shared moment, every whispered confession, every heated touch—they could never mean as much to him as they did to me. Kane kept secrets and played games while what I felt—what I still feel—was real and deep and more than a passing fling or whirlwind crush.

It was more than falling for him.

It was love.

I’m in love with Kane.

I blink away my tears and force myself to meet Marion’s gaze. She continues on, and I nod as if learning the truth about the man I love hasn’t broken me apart.

“And after Kane was banished, Ivy was with Four immediately. Didn’t even wait for her bed to get cold. Although, with Ivy, I don’t think it ever is. Not that I’m one to judge. But I am certain Kane knew nothing of her duplicity.”

The landscape changes as we near the Tower, the clipped grass giving way to wildflowers, blackberry brambles, and a copse of trees with branches like gnarled fingers reaching toward the sky.

The Tower stretches tall, a bleached stone sentinel against the setting sun. Vines snake up the cracked and worn facade, wrapping around the crumbling stonework like a living bandage. It’s a far cry from the polished image hanging in the palace’s gallery, but its rugged beauty tugs at something deep within me.

Charged air tingles against my skin, bringing with it a sense of calm I hadn’t expected. I can’t help but feel drawn to the Tower, as if an invisible thread pulls at my heart, reeling me in toward the answers to questions I haven’t yet asked.

Marion dismounts first, looping her horse’s reins over a low branch. “It’s not much to look at, but you so enjoyed the painting. I thought it might lift your spirits to visit it in person.”

“Why?” I ask, dismounting and stepping closer to the tower.

“Because we’re friends. I want you to be happy and—”

“No, not ‘why did you bring me?’ Why is it in such bad shape?”

She shrugs, peering up at it as if it’s just another pile of rock. “It hasn’t been tended to in generations. Most have forgotten it stands.”

“Why let something so important fall to ruin?”

I gaze up at the Tower, the faint outline of windows just visible against the orange wisps of fading light. As I approach, it swallows me in a cocoon of cool shadow and the scents of moss, damp stone, and earth after the rain. I trace my hand along its cracks and pits, the faults rough beneath my fingertips. A spark of electricity bites me, and I snatch my hand back.

“It is only important if you’re to believe the legend—that it was once a beacon of knowledge and power and magick. Even if you were to truly believe such folly, any magicks it had are now long gone, banished and forgotten with the rest.”

Marion tilts her chin, her gaze following me. “Hannah,” she starts, her voice soft and cautious, “I’ve been meaning to ask you about your bag of things—”

“Can we go inside?” I ask, not ready to talk about the secrets I’ve been keeping and the purse I hid behind a bale of hay when the stable hands weren’t looking.

“Inside?” She shakes her head, her curls brushing against her cheeks. “There’s no going inside. That was all part of the legend, in which people could enter the Tower in one kingdom and pass through one of its doors into another kingdom or realm entirely. Such a silly, fanciful story.” She clucks.

“Yeah, silly,” I repeat, feeling a connection to the legend I know is more fact than fiction. There’s a sense of familiarity here I can’t quite place. Like falling asleep on a long car ride and waking up, recognizing the moment the car turns into the driveway.

The breeze rustles through the grove of trees, carrying the soft whispers of leaves and the distant call of a bird as our horses graze.

Here, in this forgotten place, I feel so close to being found.

Marion’s voice pulls me from my trance. “Back to your items—”

“Do you and Highgate have an open relationship?” I blurt out, needing to shift the conversation away from myself, away from the things I don’t want to face and the possibility that I did not land in this kingdom by mistake.

“Open?” She tilts her head, her brow furrowing.

“You’ve mentioned having lovers. Does your husband…do the same?” I bite my bottom lip, nerves twisting my stomach into knots. I wanted a distraction, but this is not the one I should have chosen.

“Absolutely not,” Marion says, emphatically swatting the air with both hands. “I could not abide him bedding another person. He is well aware of my moonlighting , shall we say, but only if I recount the experience in explicit detail afterward.”

“Oh…”

“‘Oh’?”

“Yeah.” I grimace. “Oh.”

“Oh? Honestly, Hannah, you have me sounding like one of those talking birds. Out with it.”

I tuck loose strands of hair behind my ears and fidget with the collar of my dress. “I don’t think he’s exactly following the rules you two put in place.”

“What do you mean?”

I stumble over my response, the words coming out in a rush. “He hit on me, sniffed my hair, told me he wanted me to punish him and that he revels in my disdain. At one point, I didn’t think I was going to get back inside without him following me. I ended up pepper—”

“Did you offer yourself to my husband?” Marion bites out.

“What? No! He wanted me to…to…” I stammer, trying to find the words. “Well, I’m not exactly sure, but—”

“I thought you were my friend.”

“I am your friend,” I say, confusion squeezing my lungs. “That’s why I’m telling you—”

“With how easily Ashwood fell for Ivy, gods know I could have had him in my bed, but I wouldn’t dare.”

Her piercing words hit me like an arrow. The burn of tears pricks the corners of my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “I don’t want your gross stalker husband. I thought you’d be happy—”

“Happy? Happy? ” she squawks, her voice going up an octave. Her cheeks flush, and her hands clench into fists. “Why would I be happy that you wish to destroy my marriage?”

“I must really be in a different realm, because it’s super fucked that you’re mad at me for telling you that your husband is going around practically mauling any woman who puts him in his place.”

“Not any woman , Hannah. Just you ,” she says through gritted teeth.

The sound of hooves beating the ground breaks the tension, and we both turn as a figure rides up. For a moment I’m pulled from time, and my heart leaps at the thought that it might be Kane.

The figure grows closer, clearer, and the illusion shatters.

Highgate dismounts smoothly, pausing as he takes in the scene. “Is there a problem, my love?”

Marion’s eyes narrow. “Hannah has informed me of your…advances,” she says, her voice quaking with barely contained anger. “Is it true?”

Highgate won’t meet my gaze as he frowns and scrubs his hand over his face. “Yes, however—”

“How could you? How could either of you?” Marion’s voice rises to a shout, her hands trembling at her sides. “And I suppose you’re here now to what? Finish what you started?”

“I’m here to get you, Lady Ashwood.” He rubs his chest, his eyes finally meeting mine. “Four has apprehended your husband.”

I go completely still, my heart plummeting into my stomach.

“You’re here to be her knight in shining armor?” Marion snaps, her voice cutting through my shock.

“As a favor to Ashwood,” he says, shaking his head. “I suspect I encouraged him a bit too much in his words against Four, and I know you are but a woman, Lady Ashwood, here for the pleasure of man, and I am not that man. I cannot help but feel I have overstepped. This is my way of trying to make amends.”

Marion scoffs and inhales for another biting retort, but I don’t give her the chance.

“He knows the truth,” I say, my voice wavering. “Four knows.”

Marion snaps her mouth shut and trades a frowning, befuddled look with her husband.

They may not know the secret, but this is one Ivy didn’t keep from Four.

“Take me to him!” I shout.

The sun dips below the horizon, casting long shadows across the lawns as Highgate mounts his horse and pulls me up into the saddle. I don’t want to be this close to him, but I know it’s the fastest and safest way to return to the palace.

I clutch the saddle with a white-knuckle grip as the horse lunges into motion. Marion follows, and we gallop away from the Tower in a cloud of dust, the golden light fading, and the world plunging into darkness.