Blood for her Crown

Chapter Thirty

Grace

It was dawn.

Harriet and Tanner were still gone, causing chaos. The horses were hidden in an old barn near the tower, and Harriet's father had agreed to look after them if anything happened.

After everything, he had been happy to see her again. She'd been wrapped in his arms as soon as he walked up the staircase. It was the kind of hug that fathers were expected to give their daughters. Of course, she wouldn't know, but she'd seen strangers with their children on the streets before.

She had introduced him to her friends, and he had said he was thrilled that she was surrounded by good people. Especially when she had introduced Jamie, whom Juan had never met but had heard a lot about. Jamie had meant to shake his hand but was instead overwhelmed by an embrace.

Juan was the only person in her life who had a truly good heart, with no dark or hidden corners. He was the most open and warm person she had ever come across.

Jamie and he spent the next half hour talking about irrelevant topics, probably in an attempt to lighten the mood. It had worked.

For a few minutes, Grace was genuinely laughing and forgetting about everything while Jay and Juan shared embarrassing stories as if this were an ordinary family dinner. It felt good to feel that light. As if nothing else mattered at that moment.

At some point, Jamie felt like too many stupid parts of his life had been revealed at once, so he'd begun telling everyone about her. Of course, he'd had to start with the time she'd wanted to prove to him that she was just as skilled as he was at stealing from people and failed miserably.

She'd been thirteen at the time, and they were sitting around near the market, undecided about what to do. He'd reminded her of the first time they'd met and how he'd stolen her ring. He'd been joking that she'd never be as good as him at stealing from rich people. She'd gladly accepted the challenge. They'd gone to the market, and she'd jumped right into the crowd. After a while of searching, she found a man in his thirties carrying a basket for his wife. There was jewelry in there, lying loosely in an open package. Grace had sneaked up on them and, when the couple turned away, just grabbed the basket, attempting to steal a beautiful silver necklace. It turned out that the jewelry had not been carelessly put into the basket but had been secured around the handle. She ended up ripping the entire basket from the man's grasp. As she sat on the ground, trying to come up with a plausible explanation, she saw Jamie laughing at her from a safe distance. After noticing she couldn't talk herself out of it, he distracted the pair so she could vanish into the crowd. It had been a complete and total disaster.

Harriet had never heard this story before and found it absolutely hilarious. Grace's skills have fortunately improved with time.

After Jamie had humiliated her, he and Aderah went to work on the poison. Grace had no idea what they'd done since this was Jay's area of expertise.

The mixture was finished by the time the sky turned orange and crimson, which she had to admit was a fairly comforting sight.

Harriet and Tanner would return soon, and then they would have to leave. They were going on foot in order to remain undetected. It would be some time before they arrived there, so everything would be quiet in the palace.

Grace waited at the wall, looking out onto the city. She could already see the guards roaming the area, searching homes and questioning residents. That meant Tanner had been convincing enough. Hopefully, nothing had gone wrong, and they'd be there any minute.