Beauty In Darkness

7

Four

Rose

W

e were dismissed from the throne room so that the two kings could discuss the details of their alliance further.

As soon as the doors shut, Lily grabbed my arm and dragged me into a chamber off to the side, while our other sisters followed at our heels. “Rose, what have you done?” she asked.

“What I had to do.” I turned toward the rest of them. “We all know it had to be me.”

Jasmine took my hand in hers. “I’d be happy to take your place. You don’t need to do this.”

Her face was so kind, and it broke my heart knowing I wouldn’t see it every day anymore. I gave her hand a squeeze. “Yes, I do.”

“Maybe he’ll teach you magic,” Iris piped up.

I smiled at her youthful exuberance, which I was truly going to miss. “Perhaps he will.”

“He is rather handsome,” Violet said, though her tone was entirely practical. “You could certainly do worse, as political marriages go. Your children will be attractive, at least.”

Children? I hadn’t considered them when I’d struck this bargain. Or that Raith and I would soon be consummating our marriage. The thought sent a rush of heat through me, not entirely unwanted.

“Not to mention, you’ll be queen of one of the Six Kingdoms,” Camellia said, and I noticed a sword hidden on her back under her dress. “You’ll have King Raith’s ear, and Ilidan’s entire army at your command.”

“Assuming my future husband listens to me at all,” I said. “He seems rather…unchangeable.”

“You’re the most stubborn girl I know,” Lily said, with a proud smile. “You’ll make sure to get your way.”

I laughed. “You may be right about that.”

“Besides, it’s a good sign he wants to end the war,” she continued, her smile dropping. “Our people can’t last much longer. Especially with the threat from Mesner rising.”

“Enough of that,” Dahlia said, as she stepped from the shadows. “We have a wedding to plan in only a few hours and we’re all going to have to work together to make sure it’s a celebration to remember. Jasmine, you’re on flowers and decorations. Camellia, you’ll oversee the guards and security for the event. Violet, research wedding traditions in Ilidan and help organize the ceremony. Iris, you’re in charge of food for the wedding feast. And Lily and Rose, you’re with me.” She glanced between the six of us and clapped her hands. “Let’s get to work.”

The others rushed off to attend to their tasks, which were each perfect for their personalities. When they were out of earshot, Dahlia turned to me with an enigmatic smile. “Now then. There’s something I need to give you. Lily should see it as well.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Follow me.”

She led us through the cold stone halls of the castle, deep into an underground passage that smelled of mold and flickered with fading torchlight. I wasn’t sure where we were going until Dahlia stopped to touch a random spot on the wall, which opened a secret tunnel with a groan of stone and steel. It seemed she knew of places in the castle that even the King didn’t.

“What is this room?” Lily asked, as we followed our aunt inside, ducking to avoid hitting our heads on the low entrance.

Dahlia took us through the cramped tunnel, then produced a key and unlocked an old wooden door at the end. “A place where I keep things I don’t want anyone else to find.”

The door creaked open and we stepped into a hidden room full of treasures. Dusty chests, weathered books, and other assorted objects filled the small space and looked as though they hadn’t been disturbed in some time. I spotted an old sword inlaid with a star ruby, a bow etched with silver runes, and a small cobweb-covered box that faintly glowed.

“This is where I kept your mother’s spellbook all those years, so your father would never find it,” Dahlia said, as she moved toward a large bronze chest in the corner. “Fellina instructed me to give it to you when you turned fifteen. But that wasn’t all she left you.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, as I glanced around the strange room. “Why would she do that?”

Dahlia opened the chest with a loud creak. “Fellina was a powerful wizard, as you know, but one thing that is rarely spoken of anymore is that she had an affinity for fortune runes.”

“Fortune runes,” Lily said, at my side. “As in, magic that predicts the future?”

“Indeed. Your mother saw her fate long before it came to pass, as well as both of yours.” Dahlia got a distant look in her eyes, but then shook it off. “She saw mine as well.”

“If that’s true, then she knew…” My voice trailed off as emotion filled my chest.

She rested a hand on my shoulder. “Yes. She knew she would die giving birth to you.”

“Why didn’t she do anything to stop it? Or prevent it?” I’d lived my entire life with the guilt of killing my mother and the sadness over never knowing her, along with the hatred in my father’s eyes whenever he looked at me. He blamed me for her death, and the absence of her presence had always weighed heavily on my shoulders. If she’d known it would happen, wouldn’t she want to spare me from that, and from growing up without a mother? “She didn’t want to risk altering your future,” Dahlia said. “Believe me, I pleaded with her for months. Fellina was my best friend and I begged her to change her fate when she told me she was going to die in childbirth. But she refused, and in her last breath she was content. She considered it her greatest honor to give birth to two smart, capable daughters she’d seen would both become queens one day. And she told me it was my duty to raise you and your sisters as best I could.”