The Golden Princess (#4 in the GOLDEN series) ✔

•F I F T Y - O N E•

"Julia, us, a few dozen guards. Two carriages, one filled with luggage; that is the one the King and I hid in." Céleste's lips pinched, showing how she tried to conceal her amusement. "His idea."

Prudence rolled her eyes. "Naturally. A stupid plan, but one he would have hoped Romain would overlook, thinking him to be wiser."

Céleste snorted. "It was a bit last minute, as we left hours after Charlotte and Jules' wedding."

Prudence halted her climb, winded. Her soul ached as she imagined the fickle, flirtatious Jules uniting with the prim, overly proper, and ever secretive Charlotte.

"No invitation for me?" Her shoulders drooped as she remembered she was no longer a member of their family.

Will I be permitted to attend Céleste's wedding, at least?

"You missed little," said Céleste, taking every step with caution, and tugging Prudence upwards, urging her to continue. "Charlotte sported a huge dress, Prince Jules seemed happy, and the groomsmen wore yellow."

They reached the final round of steps faster than Prudence had expected despite their reduced pace—their bulky gowns slowed them down.

When they arrived at the landing, Prudence signaled the small staircase leading to the trap door. They trudged up, and she pulled the lever Derek had showed her when she'd first entered the tunnel.

The door creaked open, but smoke and fog hit their faces. Céleste coughed, and Prudence stumbled backwards.

"What on earth—" Prudence jerked her cloak over her nose. "Why is it worse up here? Did the fire spread to the castle?" Her tone was muffled by the stale-smelling cloth over her mouth, but she slid outside and took in the scenery.

She couldn't see much ahead of her, in the courtyard. When she spun to check the other way, more smoky clouds blocked her vision. She brushed off her skirts, and someone—appearing out of nowhere—almost hurled into her.

"Hey! You—"

They stumbled into the castle wall, and the person—a woman, from the outline of breasts and an hourglass-like figure under her black cloak—grunted. After adjusting the gray mask over her features, she regained her balance and hastened off before Prudence could grab her.

Céleste began to flutter after her, but Prudence caught her sleeve and held her back. "Did you see her mask?" Prudence cleared her throat. "How are the fumes reaching us up here?"

As the two women linked arms, they waded down the path, towards the courtyard—where everyone else seemed to run to. Several other individuals shimmied past them, all wearing the same charcoal-colored masks and barely paying them any heed.

We are incognito with our hoods up—they have no clue they are slamming into their Princess!

Once they broke into the courtyard, the smoke cleared enough for Prudence to see people darting out the building and jumping into carriages, or atop horses, or hurrying down the bridge on foot. All were riled up and rowdy, shouting, barking orders, screaming senseless sentences that curdled Prudence's blood.

"Get going, fast!"

"We must leave now!"

"What is the matter with everyone?" Prudence perched up on her tiptoes, scanning through the foggy crowd. It was like earlier, when she left with Derek, and yet the situation had shifted, becoming worse. An uncomfortable heat saturated the air, and the fumes, though not as abundant here, were more toxic to her lungs.

What sort of crazy rumor had prompted the nobles and staff to act so irrationally, and why was it so hot?

She braved forward to take a gander at the bridge, and what she viewed chilled her to the core, despite the heat surrounding her.