Chapter 22 - I’m not dead, see?

EMMA

My eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets when we arrive at the palace entrance. Somehow, my brother has climbed to the top of one of the marble pillars and is holding on with all his might. Justin is standing at the bottom with crossed arms and his focus on the guards. The guard who came to get me scowls at me like he expects me to fix this. He crosses his arms and I roll my eyes at him.

Another guard is standing at the bottom of the pillar. “Just come down buddy, You’re scaring the other guests.” His voice is cautious like he is talking to a child.

“Not before I speak to my sister,” Lucas shouts back. Way louder than necessary and it booms on the walls.

“Lucas? What are you doing?” I ask.

The guard at the bottom of the pillar turns to me.“ He refuses to come down, Your Highness.” He is stockier, with brown hair and green eyes. His face is rounder and there is something kind and happy about his eyes and that surprises me. He’s wearing the same black uniform with a golden stripe on his shoulder.

“Your Highness?” Lucas drawls from the top and he lets himself slide down the pillar. When he’s back on the ground he raises his hands. “Sorry, I didn’t know I was dealing with royalty now.” The sarcasm drips from his voice so much that he nearly chokes on it.

I ignore his remarks and walk up to him. “What were you doing up there? You could’ve hurt yourself.” I say as I smack his shoulder.

Lucas flinches away. “What am I doing? I was looking for you!” He directs a hand my way and points a thumb at the guard next to me. ”But Lieutenant Grumpy over here said you were *'unavailable'*." He uses his fingers as air quotes. “For all I know that is their code for saying that they killed you.” Lucas bites back as he throws his hands in the air. His chest is heaving and his eyes are frantic.

“Calm down. I’m not dead, see?”

“I told you she wasn’t dead. Your sister is tougher than you think.” Justin says next to him.

Lucas holds up a hand to shut him up. “Nope. I haven’t forgiven you yet.”

The halls aren’t quiet anymore. Guests around the palace start to linger at the entrance. The scrutiny in their eyes burns holes in my back. They whisper and their voices travel like wind gusting through the halls. I tell my brother that we should go to his room. I don’t want these people to hear what we're talking about. Luckily Lucas agrees and I follow him and Justin to the first floor.

The grumpy guard steps in front of us with crossed arms and that unwavering scowl. His hazel-red eyes are narrowed. “You still have to leave. Princess Morana wouldn’t like you overstaying your welcome.”

The other guard throws an arm over the grumpy guard and pushes him to the side with a smile and a twinkle in his green eyes. “Well, technically she said they have to be gone before noon. And it’s only eleven so they still have time.”

The guards are complete opposites of each other. If the one is grumpy then the other would be the sunshine in the equation.

The guards follow us and Justin walks behind them. I get his caution. I would do it too, if I were him. A werewolf got him once, they won’t be getting him again. I cannot see his daggers, but I know they must be there somewhere. He wouldn't have stepped into the kingdom without them.

Lucas however walks around like he has no worries in the world. They are a different kind of opposites of each other. They both lost people they loved, but their trauma affected them in different ways. Lucas has never witnessed the horrors in front of his eyes like Justin or me. It gives my brother that small amount of innocence. Something he believes I still have, but lost long ago.

“I thought you were going to just leave me yesterday,” I whisper to Lucas.

Lucas throws an arm over my shoulder. “I wasn’t going to throw you to the wolves like that.”

He turns his head to look at the guards. “Get it?”

The guards give him the same confused look and I start to wonder if they’re family. They stay silent and nobody laughs. I'm kind of waiting for someone to cough in the distance.

“Jeez, tough crowd.” My brother grumbles.

We walk into the guest room and the guards stay out the door. This room is in the opposite wing of where I was staying before they moved me to the royal wing. Lucas closes the door and places his ear against the wooden surface, listening to the other side. I have no doubt the guards can easily hear what we are saying. Werewolves are known for their ability to hear from a distance.

Justin walks up to the window and observes what is going on outside. The room has a view of the courtyard, where soldiers are training. I saw them train together a few times when I was walking along the corridor with Camilla. I will never admit out loud that I tripped that day, all because the prince took a sip of water and I was too distracted to walk in a straight line. *Nope, never.*

Lucas falls down on the bed and leans his head on his arm. “So, where is Prince Charming anyway?”

I frown. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since—“

“La, la, la, too much information, Sis.” Lucas covers his ears with his hands. “Just because I’m okay with you being, I don’t know, married to the guy, doesn’t mean I want to hear all the details.”

*Oh my God, I wasn’t going to tell him about that.*

“Wait, you’re okay with it? Since when?” My brother won’t even let me out of the town alone for five minutes and now he’s okay with me being the mate of a ruthless wolf?

Lucas sits up and rubs the back of his neck. “Well you know, I might’ve talked to the guy yesterday—“

“You did what?” I shriek.

“You know, to tell him to keep his hands off my little sister and all that brotherly duty.”

My eyes widen and the room feels stuffy and hot. My breaths get shorter at the idea of my brother being in close proximity to Prince Hadrian. I don’t trust the prince not to hurt my brother.

“Don’t worry, we didn’t hurt him.” Lucas says, like he is trying to calm me down and that tone only gets me more aggravated.

“Are you kidding me? He could’ve killed you.” I shout.

Lucas waves it away. “Nah, I didn’t get that vibe with him.”

I am gaping and I have to actively close my mouth. He talked to that ruthless monster and he didn’t get the vibe that the prince could kill him? Are we talking about the same ruthless monster here?

There is a loud beating against the door. “Time's up, let’s go.” The grumpy guard calls.

*What? That was hardly fifteen minutes.*

Lucas gives Justin a look and they nod at each other. Lucas gets up from the bed and walks over to me. “What are you going to do now?”

I wrap my arms around myself because I already feel the pang in my chest rip me apart. “I’ll be fine Lucas.” Letting go the first time was hard enough. I didn’t think I would do it a second time.

My brother pulls me into a bear hug and I gladly accept it. “Don’t let them oppress you, okay? Show them what we humans are capable of.” He whispers in my ear.

I nod and bite back the tears welling up in my eyes. I don't want to cry and give my brother a reason to stay. I expect them to leave immediately, but I’m surprised when Justin gives me a hug as well.

“Remember what we talked about.” He whispers and presses something cold in my hand.

When he lets go, I look down and find a metal key in my hand. The metal is old and fated with many scratches. I want to ask what this is for, but when I look up, they're gone and I’m alone in the room.

*Why would he give me a key and not tell me where it is for?*

I let myself fall on the soft bed and stare at the ceiling. The room has the same chandelier as the room I was in until yesterday. I sit up and look around the room. Actually, everything is the same as the room I stayed in yesterday. Exactly the same as the one I turned up and down to find my necklace. I start to look around, I think Justin wouldn’t make it that hard for me to solve. The room has the same bedside tables with drawers, but the keys are inside the lock. There is nothing under the bed or in the bathroom. There is nothing at the window where he stood just now.

I sink down to the floor by the bed. Where would I hide something if I was Justin? My eyes land on the bedside table next to me. It is slightly open, like somebody already moved it. I pry my fingers in the bottom drawer and it slides open. Inside lies an old wooden box. It doesn’t fit in with the shine of the rest of the room. Something shifts inside it when I pick it up. The key fits perfectly and the lock opens with a satisfying click.

There is a note and something wrapped in leather cloth.

*We're moving the girls to a secure location. Come find us in the dark forest when you find a chance to escape. 92 miles southwest of the south border.*

I gasp when I open the leather cloth. Inside are the two silver daggers.

I remember Justin’s words now.

*You need to get close to him and then kill him.*