Briar Rose (29 page)

Absolutely nothing happened.

‘But I was sure . . .’ Ruric began.

‘Man, that’s a sincere kick in the ego,’ Joshua said, grinning. ‘My turn.’

Before he could move, Aurora stirred, her lashes fluttering open to reveal deep sapphire-blue eyes. She blinked a couple of times, then sat up, laying the rose aside. When she spied Ruric, she
smiled. It was the kind of smile that ruled both men and kingdoms.

He beamed and went down on one knee. ‘My princess.’

‘My one true prince,’ she said, as if there was no question.

Huh?

That wouldn’t have been Briar’s first thought after dozing for ten years. Wouldn’t Aurora want to know what had happened to her, or how long she’d slept? Or why her
parents weren’t here?

Not: ‘My one true prince.’

‘Umm . . . this doesn’t feel right. I think we’d better leave,’ Briar urged.

‘I have no intention of doing any such a thing,’ Ruric said, his eyes only for the princess. ‘I have found the most beautiful woman in the world and she is mine.’

Still deploying that dazzling smile, the petite royal rose from her bed and placed her delicate arms around Ruric’s neck. Eager, he leaned into the embrace, his arms encircling her
waist.

‘Better get ’em a room,’ Joshua grumbled.

As they grew closer, the soft flesh on the princess’s hands began to melt away, the creamy skin turning brown as aged brass appeared in its place.

‘Ruric!’ Briar cried. ‘Look out!’

The moment she called out the warning, Aurora’s entire body became solid metal, from her hair to her dainty shoes. It was as if she’d been dipped in brass, every fine detail
preserved. Not an automaton, but a moving statue.

‘How dare you wake me?’ the princess demanded, tightening her hands round Ruric’s throat. ‘Who do you think you are?’

If this had been the real princess, he could have easily escaped, but this version had him in a death grip, and continued to tighten it the more he struggled. The creature did not seem to care
that they shared the same metal – or the same mistress – she only saw an enemy that must be destroyed.

Joshua dived to his rescue, hacking at the thing with his knife, but it did no good.

‘The guard’s sword. Get it!’ he cried.

It took some shoving and rolling of the man’s sleeping weight for Briar to release the sword from its scabbard. By the time she raced forward, Ruric had been hefted above his captor, his
boots barely brushing the floor. His face, at least the skin that remained, was a dusky purple as he fought for each breath. Kicking out, he tried to break her grip.

The metal princess laughed at his feeble efforts.

‘They are all the same,’ she said. ‘None are worthy. All must die.’

Briar hefted the sword and then nearly dropped it. It was amazingly heavy. The second time she put her back into it and got the blade into the air, then let gravity do its worst on the
outstretched arm. The sword bounced off the metal, doing it no harm.

‘Give it to me,’ Joshua ordered. When his blow struck the creature, she broke her grip and staggered back.

As if somehow she’d forgotten her desire to kill now that she’d lost contact with the prince, Aurora sank on to the bed. Without a word, she calmly reclaimed the flower and resumed
her resting pose. Metal swiftly yielded to pale skin and golden hair, with no evidence of any injuries.

Stepping closer, for a fraction of a second Briar saw her eyes, pure blue and totally human. Totally afraid.

Then the princess fell asleep once again as the trap was reset.

Once Ruric had regained his breath, he croaked, ‘Destroy it. It is an unholy monster. Cut off its head.’

‘I can’t do that, not when she looks like that,’ Joshua said, stepping back.

‘It will keep killing if we do not stop it,’ Ruric insisted, then began to cough again. His colour was returning, but Briar could see the near miss had struck him deeply.

His chance at a kingdom is gone. All that he’s hoped for, his only dream.

Would he still want to overthrow the regent?

Briar glanced over her shoulder at the sleeping form. Did she dare tell them what she’d seen in Aurora’s eyes?
Not
until I understand what it means.

Joshua gave her a quizzical look and when she shook her head, he laid the sword aside.

‘Then if you do not have the courage I shall do the deed, once I have . . . rested,’ Ruric replied, slumping down on to the dusty floor. As he leaned himself up against the wall, his
quaking hand moved to his throat.

‘The metal, it’s growing worse,’ he said, his words slurring. ‘You must leave me while you have the chance.’

‘No, you’re coming with us,’ Briar insisted.

‘Briar . . .’ Joshua began.

‘I’m losing the battle,’ Ruric replied soberly, his tormented eyes meeting hers now. ‘Soon I will be all metal and the regent will own me. I may harm you, Briar, though I
would have no wish to do so.’

No you won’t.

He cleared his throat to little effect. ‘The princess is dead and the regent has replaced her with this . . . horror. All my plans are for naught.’

‘Do you still want to overthrow the regent?’ she asked.

‘Yes, but only Aurora could have roused her people to war.’

Unless . . .
‘If you had a substitute princess,’ Briar said before she could stop herself, ‘we can take out the regent and then you’ll stop turning all
metal.’

He studied her for some time before replying. ‘Think long on that offer. If you assume the princess’s place, you may well have to remain here. The people will not accept me as their
king if Aurora does not share the throne.’

Which means she and Ruric would have to rule together and maybe . . .
get married? Was this what the fortune teller meant?

‘Briar,’ Joshua said, the one word laden with abundant warning.

If she ignored the Ruric complications for the moment, it came down to whether she had the guts to pull it off.
Could I do it?
Maybe, once she got the dye out of her hair. In many ways,
she’d been rehearsing for the role all her life.

Something must have shown on her face as Joshua exploded. ‘Oh, hell no! This is not happening! You’re not staying here to play princess with this guy.’

Briar wheeled on him. ‘Why not? I can do it.’

‘For how long? Once the regent’s gone, what’s to keep him from turning on you?’

‘What do I have to go home to? Boring old Bliss? A bunch of sick rumours about why I was cursed? Mike and his lies? At least here I’ll be—’

‘This
isn’t
your life, Briar. You belong with your family and your friends. Not here. Not with . . .’ He trailed off, glowering at Ruric now. ‘There’s no
guarantee that if you defeat the regent, that her magic is going to just vanish. You could get stuck with a . . . tin-can prince.’

Now he was just being an ass. ‘There are worse things,’ she said, glaring. ‘At least he won’t put a curse on me.’

‘You cursed her?’ Ruric demanded, his eyes flaring. ‘Why in heaven’s name would you do that, you fool?’

‘I didn’t mean to,’ Joshua replied. ‘It was an accident.’

Ruric eyed the pair of them. ‘I give you my word that if Briar assumes the role of princess, I will not harm her in any fashion,’ he said, his voice steady. ‘If she does not
wish to wed, I will not force her to do so. We will find a way around that.’

‘Like I believe you,’ Joshua snarled. ‘She goes home. With me.’

‘The decision is mine,’ Briar cut in. ‘Don’t even think you can bully me, Joshua Quinn.’

The prince looked up at her, hopeful. ‘Then you will remain, at least long enough to help us overthrow the regent?’

‘Long enough for that, yes,’ she said, kneeling before him. ‘Then we’ll find some way to have the people to accept you as their ruler.’

But, even then, would the curse let her go?

Ruric caught her hand and was about to kiss it, when he paused. ‘What is this on your fingers?’

Briar looked down. ‘Oh, it’s some sort of powdery dust one of the fata gave me.’
Oh, crap, what if . . . ?

She was on her in feet in a flash.

‘Briar?’ Ruric asked. ‘What is troubling you?’

She pulled out the leaf pouch and held it up for her companions. ‘The fata said this stuff was “for all things metal”. What if this dust affects it some way?’

‘Why would you think that?’ Joshua said, his brows furrowed.

‘Remember I had some of this on my fingers when we were in the pit? I hit one of the centipedes with my fist and it began to fall apart. That’s why I kept staring at it. I was trying
to figure out what had happened to it.’

‘You didn’t mention this . . . why?’ Joshua demanded.

‘I wasn’t sure what was going on.’

‘Then if that is the case, you must test it upon me,’ Ruric insisted. ‘That way we will know if the fata have given us a potent weapon for our battle.’

‘Or a really good way to kill you,’ Briar cautioned.

‘I will take the risk. Put some upon me, and let us determine what this magic is about,’ he said, drawing up a sleeve.

‘I thought you didn’t like the fata.’

‘I’m not sure I do, but they are the regent’s enemies, and that may serve our purpose well.’

With a gulp, Briar dipped three fingers in the glittering dust and then handed the pouch over to Joshua so he could close it.

‘You sure?’ she asked.

Ruric nodded. ‘I trust you not to harm me, though others do not deem me worthy of that same gesture,’ he said, his flinty gaze on Joshua now.

Briar knelt next to him and then gently wiped her fingers down his arm. They watched it for a few moments, but nothing happened.

‘Ohhh, I was wrong. I’m sorry. I thought—’

A shudder rolled through Ruric’s body. His face contorted and he collapsed on his side, writhing in agony on the dusty floor, as if he were fighting some mighty battle inside himself.

Briar looked on, hopeless.
Don’t let him die, please!

After some time, Ruric ceased thrashing and he took a long, tortured gasp of air.

With her help, he sat up. ‘Your face,’ she said, the tears forming in her eyes. ‘It’s . . . it’s . . .’ It was red and dotted with sweat that ran down his
cheeks in rivulets. ‘The metal’s gone.’

Ruric extended his once silver-clad arm. It was normal now. ‘By heavens, it is true.’

‘We have a weapon now,’ she exclaimed.

‘Not entirely,’ the prince replied. ‘Her spell is still inside me. I can feel it there. I suspect it will be until the regent is no more.’

Briar looked over at the sleeping princess. ‘Are you willing to kiss her again?’

Ruric started at the question. ‘Are you mad? I have no intention of going anywhere near that monstrosity. I am not suicidal.’

Maybe that was the point.
‘The regent can encase people in metal, so what if this
is
the real princess?’ she posed. ‘What if she did that to
Aurora?’

‘It’s possible, I guess,’ Joshua allowed, wiping his nose on a sleeve after a sneeze. ‘But the others stay metal all the time – they don’t change back and
forth. At least, I’ve not seen them do that.’

Briar worked that out in her head. ‘What if the spell is set up so that she’s Aurora
until
someone kisses her? Then she goes full metal and kills the clueless sucker, then
reverts back to herself.’

‘Why would the regent do such a thing?’ Ruric asked.

‘Because it’s her style,’ Briar said, warming to the idea. ‘The princess kills anyone who tries to free her. That’s really twisted.’

Joshua gave a grudging nod. ‘I like it. It has a certain cruelty to it. So give her another kiss, and if she tries to kill you we’ll hit her with the dust and see what happens. Worst
comes to worst, she turns into a pile of cogs and screws.’

Ruric shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest now, adopting the
I’m so not going there
posture. Briar knew it well – she’d used it off and on over the
years.

‘I am not willing to risk it,’ he said flatly.

‘How about if we used the dust
before
you kiss her?’ Briar offered.

There was less doubt in his eyes now.

‘You’ve waited all this time to free her, Ruric. We have to give it a shot. If this isn’t her, I’ll try to get the dye out of my hair, put on some of her clothes and play
princess to your prince.’

A low growl came from Joshua, signalling his displeasure.

‘We have to try,’ she urged.

The prince sighed as he looked heavenward in supplication. She knew she’d won the argument when his arms dropped to his sides in resignation.

‘Then you had best prepare yourselves lest this go wrong. Because it shall, I swear,’ he said.

Once they were assured they were as ready as possible, the prince stepped closer to the sleeping figure. ‘I am such a fool,’ he muttered.

‘At least you’re a brave one,’ Briar said, and that earned her a smile.

At his nod, Briar sprinkled the dust over the sleeping form, a very light coat from blonde head to those shoes. The stuff shimmered, almost as if it had movement, changing colours from blue to
orange and then back.