We edged around the back of the buildings. We were hidden from those within, but not those outside. Only a narrow gold fence created a barrier between us and anyone beyond.

I followed the line of the fence towards the main path that led inside the palace—the one I had rode up in what felt like ages ago with Jourdon when I had arrived in Roche. A few men stood beside the gate, sentient shadows in the darkness. Only their quiet stillness gave away that they hadn't seen us yet.

Jourdon silently motioned for us to stay low as he moved back around the other side of the stables. Sabine and I waited. Where was Darren? Where was he meeting us? The dark of night would only conceal me so far, and it might have been quiet now but it was only a matter of time until word spread about my escape and...

I closed my eyes and slumped against the rough brick wall behind me. Sabine followed beside me. Everything that happened—what still had to happen, swirled in my mind. I was aware of the whispers rising around me, our stillness giving them new life as giggles tittered in my head, jumping from one ear to the other, floating and spinning and twisting until I thought I was going to be sick.

I needed to get home. We could already be too late. My eyes snapped open, and I made to move, but Sabine caught me, pulling me back to the wall. I opened my mouth ready to argue, ready to tell her why we couldn't wait, but then I saw it.

A man came down the main path on horseback. Calls broke out across the gate. Movement flickered along silver armor in the moonlight as a group of men gathered.

I pressed myself back to the wall, close to Sabine, hoping the shadows might swallow us. We waited, watching as the man on horseback yelled orders and the group of men organized themselves into three groups. One stayed at the gates, another moved outside.

And the last one, let by the man on horseback, started right towards us.

I gripped Sabine's hand in the dark. And we met each other's gaze. Where had Jourdon gone? Why wasn't he back yet. My skin prickled, my back burned.

We couldn't stay here.

Sabine, sharing my thoughts, tugged my hand, and led us back around the way we had come. The oil lamp still flickered on the other side of the stables, but it seemed quieter now. Like even the stable boy, too, had left.

She pulled us inside, pressed us to the wall, surprisingly light on her feet despite her injuries. We held close to the shadows as the soft rhythmic tread of boots crunched along the grass, growing nearer.

They rounded into view outside as we ducked across the stalls, past the now abandoned light of the lamp. With nowhere else to hide, we ducked into an empty stall and closed it behind us. Over the side a black stallion eyed us, flicking its ears. It let out a gentle huff but stayed blessedly silent.

"Dumas, check in there, you two, take the perimeter. Be thorough. Word is they had help from someone familiar with the grounds."

"You think is was—"

"On with you! The Rose Witch escapes as we speak."

Sabine and I hovered low, her warm fingers still clasped in mine, holding tight as if we might be able to will them away with the intensity of each other's touch. Boots rustled the hay lining the floor as the tall frame of a man's shadows disrupted the light.

"Hey, who's supposed to be minding the horses? There ain't no one here."

Curses broke out outside the door, and another heavy tread stomped inside.

"Bloody fool." Glass clanged as something—probably one of the stable boy's discarded wine bottles—rolled across the floor. "Couldn't go just one night with his wits about him."

"You think he stepped out to take a piss? Only got three horses in here to mind, most of them left this morning."

The other man, the leader, grunted. "Search every stall. We can't leave anything up to chance."

"Yes Sir."

A few stalls down a door was kicked open. I help my breath, a new wave of panic gripping me. Sabine's hand in mine was warm and slick with my sweat. She gripped it tighter, her dark gaze darting around the stall. But even she wasn't resourceful enough to get out of this.

Stall after stall. The other men moved in, moving faster. My heart raced. I didn't want to go back to the dungeons. But at this rate there was no way past us without them seeing us. There was no way out.

Not unless the guards either found nothing, or exactly what they were looking for. I didn't know where Jourdon had gone, but I doubted he had just abandoned us. Things were spiraling out of my control.

But there was one way I could still take that control back.

I slid my hand from Sabine's. She shot me a questioning glance.

"Once they have me, slip away. You need to warn my mother and my sister. Promise me you will."

Sabine's eyes, one dark and swollen, searched mine. Even with all the bruises, she was beautiful. Darkness swallowed one side of her face, all except for one line of gold painting a line over the sharp curve of her jaw.

I wasn't sure why it struck me then, in that moment, but an impulse gripped me. I was probably going to die. I wasn't ever going to escape. They had tried to get me out, both Jourdon and Sabine. It wasn't going to work, but that was okay. The whispers faded, and a lightness overtook me—like a pair of wings had sprouted from my back. They spread until I felt weightless.

For a brief second the soldiers banging through the stalls faded away. There was only Sabine, me, darkness, and the sweet curve of her lips.

I leaned forward, lifting my chin to match my mouth to hers. She tasted sweet, yet sharp, blood tanging our kiss. A rush spread through me, urging me to part my lips and she matched me, her hand rising to fist in my hair, one strong arm gripping me tightly around my waist.

Like she didn't want to let go.

As I pulled away, much too soon, she didn't argue. She didn't try to stop me or tell me what to do.

With that I had my answer. She would do as I asked. I knew it pained her, and I knew she hated it.

But it was the only way Rosailles stood a chance against what was to come.

"All this time, it was you I should have been falling for."

Despite the sadness in her eyes, a smile curled one side of her mouth. "I fell for you long before you knew my name, Ophelia."

Fire spread across my skin, and I took those words, and tucked them inside my heart. One shining light in an ever-growing darkness. I turned from her, knowing if I stayed, I would fall back into her arms and try and cling to the hope that her words held. A different life, a different path. One where political marriages and illicit affairs didn't taint what could have been between us.

Boots thudded outside the door. Behind me Sabine fell back into the shadows of the stall.

I opened the door and stepped outside. A Garnetti guard paused, eyes widening before fear flashed over his face and his hands fell to the sword at his hip, withdrawing it before I could speak. The words I had prepared sizzled on my tongue.

"One flick of your fingers, witch, and I'll take your head right here and now."

Hearing the commotion, the other guards approached, swords drawn. Behind them stood a tall man. His long hair was tied back tight, a scar running down his brow to draw a gnarled line over his cheek. He smiled a crooked smile. I stayed between the guards and the stall, praying to the Angels that they didn't think to look behind me.

"You all alone, Princess?"

I lifted my chin. The guard moved his blade closer to my throat. I didn't miss how it trembled slightly. This tall, battle trained soldier was afraid.

Of me.

Against my will, a laugh bubbled in my chest. I swallowed it down. Fine. Let them fear me. Let them believe I was some witch who would enchant them and turn them to dust after plucking their hearts from their chest, or whatever other monstrous tales the Garnetti wove into the nightmares of their children.

Monsters had power. Monsters had control. If I was to die, I wanted it to be on my terms.

"Yes."

Arms gripped me roughly from behind. I didn't struggle as rope was tied roughly around my wrists. The lead guard shrugged, looking anything but apologetic, only daring to move closer once I was safely bound.

"Sorry, Princess, can't go taking no risks with your kind."

I only smiled in response. I took pleasure in how his arrogant grin wavered. His expression sobered.

I need to get them away from the stall.

"Strange though, you out here, all on your own." He ducked down, breath foul. "Who helped ya?"

I stared back into his eyes. Then jerked forward, like I was going to do something, what he imagined, I had no idea. A blade wiped out, grazing my cheek. This time I really did smile, feeling hot blood drip down my chin. With the blood, I felt something release, something I hadn't known I had been holding in.

"Helped me?" I said, letting my voice rise. If they wanted a villain, I would play their part. "You think I need help? I was just biding my time, waiting until the Prince let down his guard." I fluttered my lashes. "He just couldn't resist me, none of them could."

"Witch," the man whispered, his face gone pale.

"What about that other one? That spy?" whispered one of his men.

My heart plummeted. "Gone," I said quickly. "I sent her ahead."

The men shared a glance. One of the guards—the one that had found me, swallowed thickly. "Well... why are you still waiting around here? Shouldn't you have gone with them?"

I panicked briefly, I hadn't planned an answer to that. But maybe I didn't need one. Something feathery prickled my skin, and I tilted my head, keeping up the same wide smile.

"Unfinished business I had to attend."

A shiver passed through the guards. A sharp point pressed into my back, and I stumbled forward I laughed again, a crazed thing. This time it wasn't forced.

"Let's go. I don't like being alone with her. The king waits." The scarred guard shook his head. "To think this creature has been walking among us, pretending to be like us." He spat on the ground at my feet. "Witch."

And I followed, back into the palace, to my execution. Away from the stables, away from Sabine.

But I smiled, because this was exactly what I wanted.

Sabine was free. It was all up to her now.

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Last few chapters have been a roller coaster!! Hope you have been enjoying so far. Please vote/comment!

Kat xx