Blinding Beauty (52 page)

“
For our world to move on from
these wars and disagreements,” Bronkendol continued, his voice
quieter once more, “we must learn unity. I pray to the Maker that
you choose rightly.” He snapped his fingers, and two guards
appeared. Each took one of Isa’s arms, and though she fought them,
they managed to wrestle her back into the giant sack once again. As
they began lowering her into the pit once more, Bronkendol’s curly
head appeared over the hole’s mouth. “I am ready to make difficult
decisions. The question is, are you?”

Isa didn’t answer as she went
deeper, only watched until the light disappeared again. Once she
was at the bottom, she folded herself up in the most comfortable
position she could find and buried her head in her
hands.

Was there a chance the Fortress
might accept Launce? He had a good heart, and he’d spent enough
time around the Fortress with her that he wasn’t a complete
stranger to its strange ways. Perhaps it would overlook the
insubordination of those who were pushing him to accept the
position, and focus only on the young man himself.

But what about Ever?

Bronkendol was too much of a
schemer to have killed Ever yet. By using her to ensure his
cooperation, the enchanter had a great deal of power at his hands,
even more than usual. Of course, the enchanter could work the other
way, too, threatening Ever to gain Isa’s cooperation. And as much
as she hated to admit it, the tactic would probably reap
significant results. She knew better than to make any deals, but a
tiny voice inside of her wondered all the same whether she would be
strong enough to withstand his threats.

Was there a chance that her
agreement to help Bronkendol might ensure her husband’s freedom? He
would hate that so much. But Isa had lost him too many times
already. She really didn’t think she could lose him
again.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as
she pressed her face against the cold metal beneath her.

“
Why are You allowing this?” she
sobbed softly. “What are you telling us that we just can’t
hear?”

But no one answered. There was no
friendly breeze ruffling her hair. There wasn’t the slightest bit
of a whisper. But the truth already in her soul was nearly
deafening inside.

If the boy hadn’t pushed her, she
never would have fallen in front of Ever’s horse. If Ever hadn’t
injured her, she would have married Raoul instead of Ever. If the
curse hadn’t been cast, she never would have known the strength the
Fortress had given her at birth. If the enchanter hadn’t given Ever
the slivers of glass, they never would have moved past the
brokenness that had been haunting their marriage from the start. If
she had conceived as early as all of the other Fortress queens did,
her baby would be in grave danger now.

As Isa lay huddled at the bottom
of the dungeon, she didn’t feel strong, nor did she feel brave. And
yet, she knew what she had to do.

CHAPTER
FIFTY-TWO

Letting Go

Isa awoke to the scraping of the metal cover being removed
from her pit. As usual, the light was low, though she was getting
used to it now. A rope with knots and a loop at the end was lowered
until it hit the bottom of her pit with a soft thud.

“
Get on,” a man ordered from
above.

Isa obeyed, not caring who waited
for her at the top. Whether it was friend or foe, she would be out
of the pit. Staring into the darkness, wondering whether or not she
would die there, feeling helpless to save the ones she loved, had
been maddening. Once she held on tightly and had her foot through
the loop, the rope began to rise.

Still, she wondered, who was
pulling her out? Her heart leaped before she could quell the hope.
Had Everard somehow escaped? Could Garin have staged an escape? As
the circle of light neared, she strained to see who was awaiting
her. Disappointment set in though when the enchanter was the one
who appeared over the edge.

“
How did you sleep?” he asked, as
though he was the host and she were his guest. Isa decided not to
answer, but he carried on as if she had. “Have you thought about my
proposition?”

Isa glowered at him in response,
and he nodded.

“
I see. Well, your mother will be
disappointed.”

Even if Isa had wanted to talk
after that, it would have been impossible. She was too busy trying
not to imagine her mother’s face. Traitorous tears rolled down
anyway.

The guard who had pulled her up
took his torch from the wall and set off to their left. It was the
direction opposite from which they’d entered the first time. Or at
least, that’s what Isa thought. She wasn’t able to recall just
where they had come from or how much time had passed since she’d
been imprisoned. All she knew was that any time spent in this hell
had been too much time. And amidst all the more important worries,
what she wouldn’t have given for a bath.

Her legs felt wobbly after so many
hours of sitting in the cramped, bowl-shaped pit. Walking quickly
was impossible, so she was forced several times to stop and stretch
her legs. Bronkendol waited patiently each time, though the guard
sounded a bit irritated. She wondered where they were going through
such a maze of tunnels, but she refused to ask and give Bronkendol
the satisfaction of having the answers. So she simply walked. And
stopped. And walked again.

On and on they went, through the
halls, and up more flights of winding stairs than Isa could count.
Finally, they came to a door, and the enchanter removed a golden
key from his sleeve. Isa recognized it immediately as one that Ever
never let out of his sight. He’d even worn it to bed each night.
The only person it had ever been entrusted it to was Garin,
whenever Ever left the Fortress.

So if Bronkendol had the key,
where was Garin? This thought brought her more apprehension than
she’d thought possible.

“
Are you quite sure?” Bronkendol
paused, his hand on the door and the key in the lock. “Even if it
meant possibly saving your husband?” This time, Isa couldn’t help
but meet his eyes. Even in the dim light, she could feel them
probing her, hoping. And with good reason. Was there a chance that
she could save him? It had been five months ago, but Isa remembered
how her heart had torn as she watched him breathe his last to save
her. The Fortress had brought him back then. But what about now?
Isa knew the response she should give, and yet, she couldn’t get
her tongue to utter the words.

What would Everard say?

The whisper floated through the
air. But even without the Fortress’s prompting, Isa knew the
answer.

“
I have nothing more to say to
you.”

“
You don’t know how sorry I am to
hear that. I’m also sorry that I must do this then as well.” He
passed his hand over her face, and in turn, something cold and hard
began to grow over her eyes.

Isa rubbed her eyes until they
hurt. She could still see, but it felt as if she were looking at
things from a distance, as though there was a window between
herself and the world.

“
I thought you said you were not
going to give me the slivers!” she protested.

“
I didn’t. But if you refuse to be
a part of this new world, I can’t have you confusing those who need
to enter it as well.” He reached into his cloak and removed a
large, round glass pendant. It was a deep red, the color of wine,
and he placed its gold chain around her neck. Bright flashes of
light emanated from the glass, but Isa couldn’t feel any deep power
from it. It was just a trick. But what for?

Before she had time to wonder too
much, Bronkendol had also removed a knife from his robe. He stepped
back and studied her for a moment before grabbing her messy braid
and cutting it off just below her shoulders. Then he gave her one
more thorough look up and down before turning the key and opening
the door.

Isa gaped at the length of braid
in the enchanter’s hand as she stepped into the sunlight. The locks
that had reached nearly to her knees when loose and unbraided, now
swung carelessly from the enchanter’s hand, glinting copper in the
sun’s rays. Ever had always loved her hair. He’d even admitted once
that though he had first hated her while they were under the
Fortress’s curse, he had always thought her hair was beautiful. A
new anger heated her cheeks along with the morning sun,
strengthening her resolve all the more.

She would die before Bronkendol
had her allegiance.

***

Once they
were outside, two more guards joined them. Bronkendol handed Isa
off to them before taking his leave, and Isa was herded through
another gate that led onto the northern lawn of the Fortress, and
then into the Fortress through a side door. She could tell that
careful attention was being paid to keep her hidden from sight,
which meant someone was here that wasn’t under the enchanter’s
thumb.

As the guards pushed her along,
Isa spotted a mirror hanging on one of the walls ahead. She managed
to stumble just in time to pause before the mirror as she stood
back up, and when she did, she understood what Bronkendol had done
in the dungeons. Her eyes were no longer a deep blue, but blood
red. He must have placed colored glass inside of her eyes to alter
her appearance. Even her own mother would have been
frightened.

She didn’t have time to dwell on
the change in her eyes, because her escorts didn’t let her rest
until they were standing just outside the throne room’s main doors.
Before she could get too comfortable, something passed over her
head, and Isa’s throat tightened as she reached up to find a rope,
nearly as thick as her braid had been, that now sat loosely around
her neck. She turned her head just enough to see a hooded guard
holding the end of the rope in one of his hands, and a tremor
snaked through her as she recognized the executioner’s hood.
Another guard, who was also hooded, roughly slipped another,
thinner rope around her wrists.

Where are you? she thought to the
Fortress. But the only sound she heard came from inside the throne
room doors. Hundreds of voices drifted in and out, and Isa wondered
exactly who the enchanter had invited to witness this horrendous
occasion.

How she wished for her
sword!

A ruckus drew her attention as a
clump of guards approached from her left. Surely they weren’t for
her. But when she saw the terrifying figure they led, Isa
understood her own noose and bindings.

Ever had never looked more like an
animal than he did now. His eyes had been made blood red as well.
He wore a thick black cloak with a heavy hood, and an even larger
red glass amulet around his neck. Thick black lines had been traced
with charcoal around his eyes, the way dark sorcerers blackened
theirs for incantations.

He had been walking along with the
guards submissively until he saw her. His eyes widened as he took
in her noose, and Isa could see him struggling with himself. She
knew he could have taken those guards in a fight without question.
Why didn’t he?

Before Isa could say anything,
however, she winced as the rope tightened just slightly around her
throat.

That was why he didn’t fight.
Again, they were using her as a safeguard to make sure Ever
cooperated. Isa wished more than ever that she, too, could have
colossal strength. Then neither of them could be used against the
other. But she had little time to wish, for the crowd on the other
side of the throne room doors hushed, and the herald began to
speak.

“
Presenting King Rafael of
Cobren.” The herald interrupted her thoughts.

“
Welcome,” Rafael’s voice boomed.
“Most of you know who I am by title, but I doubt most of you know
that I considered your king as a part of my own family. He and the
late King Rodrigue, may the Maker eternally guide his soul, came to
our assistance many times, and for that, I will always be
grateful.” Then Rafael sighed so deeply that Isa wondered if he
truly thought Ever was dead. When he spoke again, his voice was
gentle.

“
Everard was just and fair and
good. And he loved your queen with the tenacity of a thousand men.”
A sob broke through, and Isa glanced at Everard. To her surprise,
however, he wasn’t looking towards the door, or even at the guards
surrounding them.

He was looking at her. And despite
the frightening intensity of the ghoulish red in his eyes, the
tenderness in Ever’s face was unmistakable, deeper than she had
ever seen. Unable to look away, Isa drank it in like a soul dying
slowly in the desert. Never had she needed him more. Never had she
loved him so much. If given the chance, she would do it all over
again. Every single day. Every single hour, Isa would love Ever
until the last breath had left her body.

“
Only the most unrighteous of
souls could have stolen two such gems from our world,” Rafael
continued, his voice growing steadier and more determined with each
word. “And I take it upon myself to see them brought to justice!
Bring in the impostors!”

Gasps broke out as the doors were
opened, and Isa and Ever were prodded down the aisle like cattle
ready for the slaughter. The fear in the room was palpable, and Isa
wondered how many would see through the impostors’ work, if any. If
the glass amulets that hung about their necks didn’t convince, and
neither did her shorn hair, the terrifying, crimson-eyed man beside
her would surely do the job of convincing everyone in that room
that they were indeed impostors.