Princess of the Midnight Ball - Jessica Day George [80]
Galen whipped his musket off his shoulder and veered toward the sound. With a shout he thrust the bayonet forward, cutting off the triumphant cry of one of the princes as he broke out of the trees.
The bayonet stuck fast, and Galen left it to continue on. Holding his arms wide, he swept Rose and Lily before him through the gate. The other princesses waited at the foot of the golden stairs.
Illiken stopped his headlong run to step casually through the gate and smile at them. “Come to me, Rose.” He held out one hand, imperious.
Rose swayed beside Galen. Galen put out an arm and stopped her.
“Our mother’s bargain ends with your father’s death,” Rose said bravely, although her face was strained with the effort of resisting him.
“The bargain passes to me, even as it passed from your mother to you,” Illiken said with a sneer. “Now, come!”
Some of the princesses had ascended the steps, but others had lingered, to Galen’s mounting anxiety. A soft hand touched his wrist, and from behind him Lily whispered, “Here.” A pistol was pressed into his hand.
Galen took it, holding it down and slightly behind him. He edged a little away from Rose, so that he could bring the weapon up swiftly.
“Come now, Rose,” Illiken repeated. “Perhaps your punishment for trying to flee should be that you and I wed now, tonight.”
Galen brought the pistol up in a smooth movement and fired. The ball struck true, hitting Illiken square in the heart and throwing him back against the gate. He slumped to the ground, and Galen nudged Rose toward the golden stair. He had one last thing to do before he left.
Illiken groaned and got to his feet like a marionette being pulled upright. “A good effort, gardener,” he said, brushing off his jacket. “But mere iron can no longer slay me, for I am the King Under Stone now!” He raised his arms, smiling.
“We need another silver needle,” Rose whispered. She had put one foot on the bottom step, but now moved back. “Lily,” she said to her sister. “Take the others and go. Galen and I will stay to—” And without finishing her sentence, she lunged past Galen, running with her skirts high, past the startled Illiken and into the silver wood.
“No!” Illiken snarled as Rose grabbed the lowest branch of the first tree, dragging on it to break free a twig. He went after her, seizing her by the waist and hauling her down the path toward the lake.
The clasp of the invisibility cloak was still fastened. Galen pulled it on and disappeared, hurrying off the path and into the trees. He reached up and snapped off a twig, then another, as he followed Illiken and Rose.
When they reached the end of the forest, the remaining princes and courtiers met them, helping Illiken hustle Rose toward the waiting boats. Rose broke free, pushing aside the courtiers and running back toward the trees. Galen met her halfway, pulling her into his arms and covering her with the cloak as well. The court of the underworld gasped as the princess vanished.
“I can see you, gardener,” Illiken shouted. He came striding up the beach. Like his father, he was squinting at a spot near where Galen and Rose stood, as though he knew they were there but couldn’t quite make them out.
“What will we do?” Rose whispered.
“Wait,” he whispered back. Galen could feel her heart pounding against his chest. He dropped his arm from her waist, pulled a knife from his belt, and scratched blindly at the side of the silver twig.
“Aha!” Illiken reached out, his arms wide, as though to embrace them both, still squinting.
Galen’s right arm snapped up, and he pierced Illiken through the heart with the twig, on which he had just scrawled the prince’s name. Not waiting to see if it worked, Galen wheeled around, keeping Rose under the shelter of his left arm, and ran with her back into the trees. They kept to the shadows, avoiding the path where pale-faced guards searched for them.
“They daren’t spend too much time among the trees,” Rose whispered as they approached the gate.
They huddled under the spreading branches of the