A loud scream echoed from the Northern tower of the castle, where the royal family slept, shattering the peace and quiet of the still autumn morning.
Nathan was sweeping dried leaves when the sound reverberated across the corridor by the courtyard. Dread filled him as he imagined the worst possible scenario. Sucking in a breath of fresh air, he tried to calm himself. Maybe someone saw a mouse? Perhaps someone was having a bad dream?
The scream was followed by more screams. A chorus.
Nathan dropped the broom and ran as fast as he could to the king and queen's royal chambers.
By the time he got there, a crowd had already gathered around the double doors leading into the royal chambers. Everyone either had tears blurring their vision or was too preoccupied to notice a dirty gardener watching from behind.
He heard a pair of light footsteps and turned to see Calla and her brother, Cade, running down a flight of stairs. Their eyes were wide and frantic. Their steps didn't slow as they approached the crowd.
"We have a traitor in our midst, Your Highnesses."
Two knights tried to stop the pair of siblings from entering the room. Nathan didn't have to see it to know that it was not a sight for a child or a woman to see.
The young boy tried to squirm out of the knight's tight hold. He clamped his jaw down on the knight's arm, causing the man to jump back in shock and to loosen his grip. Just as he was about to enter the room. Catherine appeared by the doorway and shoved him back. He landed on the ground with a painful thud.
Nathan turned and ran down the other corridor as fast as his legs would take him. He wanted to be out of earshot before the screams and tears started.
He was down two flights of stairs and three corridors but he could still hear the screaming and the sobbing. There was a loud crash of furniture and clangs of metal.
Where is Jase?
Nathan ran to the room where Jase was staying in for the ball. He should have known that Jase was going to get his revenge last night. It was the perfect opportunity. He was already inside the castle. He should have stopped him. He should have told him the truth.
He banged opened the door to the bed chamber, expecting to find it empty. But to his surprise, his cousin was lying in bed.
Is he dead?
A feeling of dread penetrated Nathan's chest as he ran over to shake Jase. The body was warm.
Three shakes later, Jase jerked upright in his bed, banging his forehead against Nathan's. His eyes were bloodshot. Wobbling unsteadily, he opened his mouth to swear but ended up puking all over Nathan's shoes.
"Why are you still here?"
"Why are you here?" Jase countered sharply despite his hungover state. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You should be gone! It will take them seconds to find out that you are the traitor. Do you want to die?"
Nathan's eyes widened as guilt consumed him. If he had told Jase that King Damian was innocent, none of this would have happened. "You want to die don't you?"
Jase puked again, draining the alcohol from his system. His eyes were unfocused, confused. "I'm dead aren't I?"
"You will be soon!"
"If I knew you were going to be here with me in Hell for eternity I would have tried harder to make it into heaven."
Nathan stared at his cousin incredulously. "I should just leave you here to die."
"Yes. Shoo," Jase waved Nathan away with one hand and massaged his throbbing forehead with his other.
"How could you have kill them?"
"What?"
"How could you have killed her parents?"
Jase paled. He was already as white as a sheet from puking but he paled even more. "I almost did. Last night. I was in their room. But I didn't. I couldn't."
Nathan's forehead furrowed.
Then unfurrowed.
Grabbing Jase by the collar of his shirt, he yanked the taller man to his feet with pure determination. Nathan led a staggering Jase out towards the stables through the side doors that the palace servants used. It took awhile for Jase to overcome the power of the alcohol and to regain focus. When he did, he planted his feet on the ground and refused to move.
"I didn't kill them."
"You said that already."
"Do you believe me?"
Nathan noticed that Jase was shaking. The mask was undone.
"She won't."
Jase closed his eyes. He felt the suffocation again.
"We have to go," Nathan urged. He was already saddling a horse. "I'll explain everything I know once we're in the woods."
There were too many questions and too few answers. Jase and Nathan stole a pair of horses and left Bellerania. The pair rode as fast as they could, trying to escape their haunting thoughts. But no matter how hard they rode, the guilt, the pain was there, behind them, hunting them down.
They finally stopped when the horses were too exhausted to continue. Jase enjoyed the numbness. It blocked out the pain.
"Who killed them?"
Nathan hesitated. He knew he should have told Jase the truth a long time ago. "The same person who killed your parents."
"You're telling me King Damian kill himself?" Jase growled fiercely.
Nathan wanted to cringe. But he stood his ground. He had made a decision to keep the truth from Jase. A decision that has now cost two innocent lives and ruined the lives of many. The Belleranians will mourn. Nathan knew he had to live with the consequences. He had to make things right again.
"King Damian didn't kill your parents, Jase."
Nathan forced himself to look Jase in the eye.
"Then who?"
"Who had the most to gain?"
Jase's eyes widened in realization. "Edward."
Jase's world was falling apart. He had wasted six years chasing after an innocent man. He handed his father's killer the one thing he wanted the most — the throne. Esyrians, his people, suffered and starved. He had failed his father. He failed as their leader.
He had so much to regret. But all Jase could think about was Catherine. "Why would Edward kill her parents?"
"I don't know. I think he intends to start another war." Nathan spat on the dirt, but the bitter taste lingered in his mouth. He had lied to protect a killer.
A sudden determination seized Nathan as he remembered Jase's determination to right the wrong. Jase had been misled but he worked toward his goal, never wavering. And he remembered Catherine's stubbornness, her desire to fight for what she cared about – Jase.
Nathan had made a serious mistake. He had lived a mistake. But he was going to fix it.
"Does Edward know I'm in Bellerania?" Jase's mind was racing.
"I don't know."
"What do you know?" Jase nearly shouted.
"We have a duty to our people."
Jase tensed. His parents loved their people. They were his people too. Under Edward's rule, the nation was in ruins. If he intends to start another war, more will suffer, more will die. In her current state, Bellerania would suffer as well. Catherine would be forced to declare war against her neighbors.
Catherine...
"Our people," Jase tested the word. He hadn't thought of them as his people. He had been so bent on revenge. He recalled the way Catherine cared for her people.
Catherine...
Jase yearned for the girl with the butterscotch eyes and the stubborn chin. Now more than ever he needed to believe in her strength.
Nathan saw the look of determination in Jase's eyes. They were alive, furious and in pain. "Let me help. You need me."
What Nathan really wanted to say was "I'm sorry."
There was palpable tension between them as Nathan awaited Jase's response — the acceptance of his apology.
Jase started riding again. "We need a plan to save our people."
"Where to?"
"Home."
Catherine... Jase's heart ached for her. But he had dealt with an aching heart for over six years. It was starting to grow numb.