Princess of the Midnight Ball - Jessica Day George [78]
“Not important?” The pale king raised his eyebrows. “To assure your father that his precious girls will be in good hands?” The king rubbed his hands together as if to illustrate, and the dry sound they made gave Galen chills.
Galen saw Poppy, Daisy, and Jonquil moving toward the doors of the ballroom. Rose had a fine dew of sweat on her forehead and was trembling harder than ever. Worrying about how to get her out of the ballroom, he felt cautiously in his satchel with his left hand until he found a particular silver twig.
One he had etched a name on, earlier that day.
“Pardon me, sire,” Violet said, coming to stand near Rose. Galen moved out of her way just before she ran into him. She had an arm around Hyacinth, and Lilac trailed behind them.
“What is it, dear Violet?”
“We only wondered if Rose was feeling well,” Violet said. “She looked flushed.” She put up her chin and bravely faced the king. “Hyacinth is not at her best, either, and I wondered if we might retire to our chambers soon.”
Hyacinth said nothing. She did lean closer to Violet, though, resting her head on the other’s shoulder. Lilac nodded and took Hyacinth’s free hand. Galen groaned silently, wishing they had just left without attracting the king’s notice.
“Now, my dears, surely you would not deny me the pleasure of watching you dance—” The king’s eyes narrowed, and he looked beyond the four princesses before him. “Where are the others?”
If Galen had found the King Under Stone’s appearance unsettling before, it was nothing compared to how he looked now. White face so pale with rage that it appeared carved from bone, the king seemed to grow ever taller, head and shoulders above even his sons.
“Now, Rose!” Galen shouted. He grabbed her arm and shoved her toward the door.
“You! Where are you?” the pale king screamed, searching for the source of Galen’s voice. “I can almost see you!”
Galen steeled himself for what he had to do, and then he cast his doubts away and acted.
Switching the silver twig to his right hand, he leaped onto the dais and stabbed the King Under Stone in the chest. Galen kept his hand locked around the shaft of the twig until he forced the immortal ruler back into the black throne.
A roar filled the air, and winds buffeted Galen. He held to the silver twig even tighter, not knowing what would happen if he let go. Ghostly hands seemed to squeeze Galen’s heart, his lungs, his skull, and he thought for a moment that he would die as the ancient magicians had died. But Under Stone was weaker now, and rather than exploding out to wreak havoc on the world, as the magicians had feared, his powers ebbed away into the vessel that waited at his side.
Illiken.
Illiken staggered, and the color leeched from his skin and hair. Galen let go of the silver needle piercing Under Stone’s heart, and reached for a pistol with shaking hands as the room exploded with screams.
The courtiers saw their king shudder and then slump against the back of his throne. Their screams were almost drowned out by Illiken’s howls as his father’s powers transformed him. Several of the other princes rushed onto the dais, their faces rigid with horror.
Galen glanced around quickly, and saw with relief that Rose and the last three princesses had slipped away during the commotion.
Unfortunately, Illiken saw the same thing.
“Rose!” Illiken shouted. “My bride, my brothers’ brides! They are escaping! Get them!”
The guards surged out the doors of the ballroom, with Under Stone’s hideous court following them. Galen jumped off the dais and pushed his way into the crowd, trying to get to the front, to reach the shore before …
He slowed for just a second, and then fought his way out of the rush with renewed anxiety. How to get all twelve princesses across the lake in one boat? Would Lily have been able to row the younger set across herself? He could only hope.
He was the first one out of the doors and onto the beach, but only by a few seconds. And there, to his