Page 36 of Once Written in Gilded Blood

I don’t need to lift my head to know who it is. There’s only one maid in my palace who would talk to me like this.

“Nina, leave me be,” I mutter, drunk from the few glasses of ale I had. I never thought I’d use the alcohol I stored here in the lower cabinets. But here I am.

She stomps across the room over the mess I’ve made from destroying my apothecary, broken glass and books be damned, and stops before me. The sound of her breaths are filled with rage. I tilt my jaw up and look at her. Before I can take in how truly furious she is, Nina slaps me across the face so hard that it knocks me over onto my side.

“How could you let them take Alira? She’s your wife! She’s no monster. You are supposed to love her and keep her safe. The only monster that ever lived in this palace was you!” she screams and tries to slap me again. This time, someone catches her hand.

Nikolai grips her wrist tightly, wearing a deadly calm expression. “Nina, please gather your emotions and go home,” he murmurs, and the softness in his voice brings tears to her eyes.

“How can you serve under such a cruel man? You’re just as guilty as he is. Her blood is on your hands too.” Nina glares at him before giving me one more disdainful look. She tears her hand from Nikolai’s hold and storms out, running and breaking into a sob once she reaches the hallway.

Nikolai keeps his head toward the door until we can no longer hear her footsteps. Then he drops his shoulders and sighs, giving me a sad look.

“How could you let this happen to Alira?” he says through gritted teeth.

I drag a hand down my face, still a little dizzy from the ale. “Tessa is the one who told⁠—”

Nikolai decks me across the face. It’s much stronger than Nina’s slap. Pain blooms over my cheek, and I struggle to sit back up straight. I lean against the wall and tilt my head back against it. A few strangled laughs escape my torn lips, and the taste of copper spreads across my tongue.

“Tessa did what she thought was right for our kingdom and her family. Did you know this was going to happen before the festival even started, Kalel? Why didn’t you take her outside of the veil? Why didn’t you do anything?” Nik’s hands are in tight fists at his sides, trembling with rage. I know he cares about her in the same way I do. It must be unbearable to see me let her down in so many ways.

“Because a part of me believes that if she knew the truth of everything that we are…she would bring the war right to us. But I swear I didn’t know King Achill was going to act tonight… I thought I had more time.”

Nikolai pauses, just staring at me like he can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“You were hesitant because you had suspicions of her too.”

“If the demigods get in, which side will she be forced to choose? Have you asked yourself this? What about you? You would let your friends and comrades die right before your eyes?”

That hits him. He opens his mouth before twisting his expression with guilt.

“She speaks with the gods, Nik. The dragons.…” My eyes fall to the shattered mirror on the floor, where shards show me fractured reflections of myself, of what a broken man I’ve become.

“Perhaps Alira has these gifts because she has the ability to unite our kingdoms, old friend. Not tear them apart.” He extends his hand down to me. “Tessa is the only one guarding the dungeon right now. We can get her out if we hurry. We can still make this right. I can’t speak to the war, but I know I will never forgive myself if we let Alira down like this.”

I glance up at him, tired and hopeless. His gaze leaves no room for debate. I relent and grab his hand. Nikolai pulls me up with little effort and dusts some broken shards of glass from my pants.

I’ve been wanting to tell Nikolai for a long time now about the curse I put on Alira. The reason I haven’t is that I know it’s too awful. It’s the worst thing, next to the flowers. But the fault of the curse belongs solely to me. I’m not sure he will understand the heartache behind it. I swallow thickly as I take an unsteady stride forward.

Nikolai catches me and sighs. “Let’s get you some water first. Then straight to the castle. We’ll get her out of the kingdom before King Achill knows anything is amiss.”

Chapter 14

Alira

Tessa is at the top of the stairs on the other side of the old wooden door. I can hear her as she gives orders to some knights who are passing through. Sounds echo awfully down here. Even the scurrying of mice travels like they are right beneath my bed.

How many hours have already passed? I wonder as I stare at the stone ceiling.

My eyes lower to my hands. If only I had my sword or… No. Not even a sword would be able to cut through these bars. They aren’t made with typical metal; they’ve been reinforced with fragments of devilstones, I think. That would explain why I feel so drained of energy the longer I sit here. I would need magic to break out of here, and lots of it, more than any demigod could hold.

The only other time I’ve encountered the devilstone has been on the journey here, when a few rogue knights attacked me, and when the woman attacked me at the wedding ceremony…but it’s a common theme that the demons aren’t lacking in their supply of it. At least not as much as the demigods believe to be the case.

I stand and walk across the cell, wrapping both of my hands around the bars to see if I can get a glimpse of whether there are any guards down the corridor.

Both sides are clear, but I hear a faint sound. Footsteps.

I press my face against the steel, and within a few seconds, I see the same goddess with raven hair from the vision, except in the flesh this time.