“Silence!” the king yelled.
An unnatural hush fell over the room and the hairs on Nora’s arms stood up.
“Bishop, continue the ceremony,” King Pierre demanded.
“But her oath?”
“I will not ask again.”
“We gather before Pater . . .” the bishop began.
Nora glanced at Queen Maria, who still sat on her throne, her face solemn. She had saved Nora’s life last night, but she would not intervene for her again. The queen was nothing more than a puppet, and her husband pulled the strings.
“I will not marry him!” Nora yelled, turning to walk back down the aisle.
“You’d choose death, rather than marry my son?” King Pierre taunted.
She stopped. “If you kill me, King Pierre, you will die. Your wife will die. Your son will die. Every person in this room will die and many, many of your people. King Matteo is not a forgiving man . . . but if you let me go, I will guarantee your lives and the lives of your countrymen.”
King Pierre didn’t speak, but his eyes gleamed with hatred for her. His white-powdered cheeks were red underneath the powder. From anger or embarrassment, she couldn’t say.
Alexandre put a hand on his father’s arm. “Perhaps we’d better do as she says. We do not have the resources, Father, to fight a war on two fronts. Our navy, and most of our army, has already been dispatched to Urka, and we cannot recall them in time. If King Matteo attacks, we will be without adequate protection.”
The room exploded with whispers, the courtiers talking behind their fans.
Nora’s heart sank and she sighed. She hadn’t known that the Kaulish Navy had already begun to sail for Urka. They would reach it in less than a week, and she was too late to stop it. Or to help Elea fight them.
A small hope squeezed at her heart. They believed Matteo would come for her. Despite everything that had happened,shebelieved it.
“Give King Matteo Princess Nora,” Prince Alexandre said in a persuasive voice. “Let us sue for peace with Sania. We don’t need her to conquer the Urkans and take their gold.”
King Pierre brushed off his son’s hand. “How dare you question me? I am your father. I am the king. I am the absolute ruler in this land and I obey no one. I am not afraid of King Matteo or the Sanians. Let him come and he will see just how outmatched he is.”
“You’re a fool,” Nora whispered. “Matteo is not his father. He will never surrender to you. He will kill you all to the last man.”
“Take her to the dungeon and chain her up,” King Pierre said. “Perhaps a day or two without food or water will change her mind. Maybe then she’ll even consider marrying my sniveling, worthless son.”
The guards from the hall came into the chapel and surrounded Nora. She didn’t resist. There was no point. There were simply too many of them to take on alone, and it was better to reserve her strength. She allowed them to escort her out of the church and down three different halls until they reached a staircase that descended to a lower level. It was a dark and dank dungeon, with no windows. The floor was dirty and there was a line of cells. A guard opened the last one. With a quick glance behind her, she saw nearly fifty men crammed into the dark space. She could not win. So she entered the last cell and allowed the guard to place a collar chain around her throat. And a chain on each of her wrists and chains on her ankles. The manacles on her wrists were connected to the wall and so short that she could not even sit down. These chains were used for torture.
The guard locked the cell behind him, and she watched all but ten guards leave the dungeon. The remaining ten watched her with their swords ready, as if she could escape at any moment. She couldn’t. The chains already chaffed her skin, and when she moved even the slightest bit, they cut into her flesh. She felt blood trickle down her ankle and onto the beautiful golden sandal, pooling between her golden-painted toenails.
Nora hoped that Matteo was coming.
She prayed that Màthair would give her strength until he did.
12
MATTEO
“Do you know how to kill a general?” Nora asked.
Matteo raised an eyebrow. Was it a riddle or a joke? With Nora, he could never tell. “How?”
She mimicked shooting a long-range rifle. “Aim for the person with the most medals on their jacket.”
He glanced down at his ceremonial uniform, covered in medals and ribbons. His father had insisted that he wear it to the ball in the Urkan princesses’ honor. Nora laughed at him, and he couldn’t help but join in the mirth.
Matteo gave a wry smile at this memory. The blue uniform he was wearing was in no way distinguished. It had a double row of brass buttons, gold epaulettes, and a golden braid across the breast, like any other member of the cavalry. Nothing he wore proclaimed his title or position. No one knew war tactics better than Nora, and he would be a fool not to follow her advice. He rode in the first row of soldiers. General Alisa de Flores was on one side of him and Xavier on the other.