The Last Witch (Incenaga Trilogy) (30 page)

She was lost.

Despite her inability to see anything at all, even what was right in front of her, Emmeline continued to push forward. She placed her feet on the ground one step at a time as she reached with her hands, pushing the branches away from her face. She stumbled several times, but she didn’t give up. She would not resign herself to being lost in the jungle all night. The darkness would not slow her down. If nothing else, the creatures lurking in the shadows would keep her moving forward.

Rain began to sprinkle
into the trees, the water pooling in the broad leaves. But as the leaves grew heavy and the rain increased, streams of water assaulted Emmeline from every direction. Soaked from head to toe, she was certain she would never be warm again. It wasn't just the rain that chilled her to the core, but the uniting forces of wind and rain that threatened her resolve.

The moon rose in the sky, and Emmeline still wandered, on the brink of collapse. She
stumbled into a tree and slid to the ground, her fingers and toes numb with cold. The sound of rushing water called out to her, saving her from the overwhelming desire to curl up and let the weariness take her.

Empowered
with relief and desperate to find shelter, Emmeline peeled herself from the ground and rushed toward the roar. Anticipation of a small meal consumed her thoughts. She didn’t care about the branches whipping across her face and scratching her neck. She didn’t care that her numb legs moved like stumps of wood. She only cared about reaching the river and following it to the cavern.

In her desperation
, however, her steps became rushed and unstable. Her foot caught on a vine and she fell hard, and kept falling, tumbling over and over. Her legs and arms slapped against branches as she attempted to slow her fall. But she couldn’t stop. The ground was too steep, the ivy too wet to grasp.

No longer sure which way was up and which way was down, her head and shoulde
rs crashed into rocks too small to slow her momentum, but not so small they didn’t inflict pain. Her body rolled and twisted its way down until one last crack to her head brought her to a painful stop.

Lights flashed behind her
eyes. She reached up to touch the wetness oozing from a gash behind her ear. Her entire body throbbed. She tried to push herself up but excruciating pain shot up her arm from her wrist. She dropped back down and cried out, holding her arm to her chest. It had to be broken.

Bitter shame
flushed her face. She was foolish to think she could set out on her own to rescue her father from prison. Now
she
was the one who needed rescuing. Using her other arm, Emmeline tried to get up, but the throbbing in her head weighed her down and her aching legs refused to move.

She had failed
. Even if she survived the night, she would never be able to find her way out of the jungle with her injuries. And who would think to look for her so far from the palace?

It was cold and her body was shutting down
. “I’m so sorry,” she said to no one.

H
er mind retreated from the pain as the blackness of the night seeped into her mind and took control.

Lights flashed against Emmeline’s eyelids. She squeezed them tighter and groaned from the ache over her whole body.

“I’ve found her!” someone shouted. “She’s over here!”

Rushing feet closed in on her and Emmeline pried her eyes open. Her vision was blurry. Dark shapes stood against streaks of light, but nothing solidified.

“She’s alive,” another man called out. “Come quick.”

One of the dark shapes reached down toward her and lifted her. She tried to recoil away, but her body would not respond. The shape was a man, she could tell, but her mind couldn’t seem to comprehend anymore than that. He pulled her close to his chest and wrapped a blanket around her injured body. His warmth bit into her skin and she groaned a second time.

The man’s grip tightened. “Just close your eyes and rest,” he said. “I’ll take care of you.”

She mumbled, unaware even herself of what she was trying to say.

The man
whispered in reassuring tones but she couldn’t understand him. His words jumbled together, turning into a distant hum. Her vision darkened and her breathing slowed. She leaned into his chest and sunk into blackness once again.

Emmeline
woke to a woman humming. She didn't dare open her eyes. Nothing made sense. She was supposed to be dead. She didn't know where she was or how she got there so she focused on the woman’s song. It sounded familiar to her, but she couldn’t remember why.

As she lay motionless
, Emmeline’s senses awakened bit by bit. It was as though a dozen heavy blankets had been thrown over her and were being removed one by one. She felt pain in her legs first, followed by stinging in her arms, and then throbbing in her head. Her wrist hurt the worst, its sharp pain seeming to clear her mind a little faster than the other aches, the blankets of her imagination coming off in twos and threes.

She remembered being in a forest. She remembered
being cold and hearing water. She remembered snagging her foot on a vine and tumbling through the trees and bushes.

The woman’s humming filled her ears again.
The melody was soothing, the phrases resolving with a gentle lowering of her voice. The last heavy blanket lifted from Emmeline’s mind and she knew who was singing the sweet melody.

“Adelia,” she
said with a voice barely above a whisper.

“You’re awake!
Oh, My Lady, I am so relieved.”

“How did I get here?”

“They brought you in last night. I did my best to clean you up and dress your wounds. Where did you go? We were all so scared for you.”

“I needed to find my father. I
got lost. I failed.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry,
My Lady. Everything will work out. The Crown Prince has returned!”

Emmeline sat up,
and regretting the motion at once, she fell back onto her pillow. “The Crown Prince? He’s here?”

Adelia’s
head bobbed up and down. “He requested to see you before granting an audience with anyone else. When you were nowhere to be found, he ordered a search party. He was pretty torn up about your disappearance, My Lady.”

Emmeline g
rimaced. “What about Mahlon and Prince Weldon? Are they here?”

“Oh yes, they returned last night. They were out searching for you as well. Among the first to leave. In fact, they were gone before the rest of us even knew you were missing.”

“Who found me?”

Adelia opened her mouth to speak but the door burst open
, interrupting her. Prince Weldon marched in, with Mahlon close behind. Mahlon pushed his way ahead and pointed a finger at Emmeline.

“What is wrong with you, you wretched woman
. How dare you run off? How dare you defy my commands?”

Emmeline didn't cower
. She didn't move to run away, nor avert her eyes from his murderous stare. Instead she forced herself to stand and match his steady gaze, her chin jut out in defiance.

“Mahlon,” she
said. “You never ordered me to follow you around like a lost puppy. I had every right to leave.”

Mahlon’s eyes grew wide in prideful shock.
“I won’t make that same mistake twice.”

Mahlon
raised his hand and brought it down hard against her cheek. The skin broke, but she refused to shrink away. No more, she thought. He raised his hand for a second blow, but Prince Weldon caught his forearm before he could strike, fury in his eyes.

“Mahlon,” he said with a low, steady voice. “I can take care of this situation. You may leave.”

“But she has defied us, Your Highness. She must suffer for her actions! Her father must suffer!”

“I said
I can handle this. Adelia, you are dismissed. Speak of this to no one.”

Eyes wide,
Adelia scurried out of the room. Mahlon shook with uncontrolled rage.

“Relinquish your power ove
r Emmeline,” Prince Weldon said to him.

“What!” Mahlon
said. “Do you know how long it took me to get control of her?”

“Don’t tempt me, old man. This is what we agreed upon from the beginning.”

“I could make her kill you right now.”

Prince Weldon’s eyes narrowed. “
You are on thin ground. Who would rule Dolmerti if she killed me? My brother? My father? You must keep Dolmerti’s best interest in mind. Relinquish your control.”

Mahlon hung his head
. With pure hatred oozing from his eyes, he turned to Emmeline. “I free you, Incenaga,” he said.

Emmeline felt an invisible
chain break between them. The air became lighter and her strength returned. She took a deep breath and smiled. She was free again.

Mahlon
turned on his heels and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Are you feeling better, Emmeline?” Prince Weldon asked.
“I’m so glad you were found.”

Emmeline’s smile turned to a
glare. How could a brother deceive his family? How could a prince deceive his country? Prince Weldon had been the mastermind behind all the sinister plans against the Kingdom. In her mind, he was worse than Mahlon. He had used Mahlon’s desire for a better Dolmerti to put himself on the throne.

Prince Weldon paced
around Emmeline. He came up from behind and whispered in her ear. “I must let you in on a little secret. You know only part of it.”

“
I thought I could trust you.” Emmeline said.

“You can, but you can’t expect me to step aside and watch my brother send o
ur country into poverty. He is confident that an open trade agreement with Pamizak will satisfy our people, but he is wrong. He is weak. I will bring our people the war they crave and the prosperity they deserve.”

Emmeline shook her head.
“I won’t do it. I won’t kill your brother for you.”

“Yes, you will. I have sent for your father.
Once you see him again, I trust you’ll come around.”

Emmeline
opened her mouth to protest, but Prince Weldon’s hand stifled her words. “Listen! I haven’t made Mahlon aware of this yet, but I have altered my plans. You were going to be exposed as the heathen who fueled Pamizak’s anger and the murderer of Dolmerti’s Crown Prince. Our people would call for your death and you would be publically hung. It would make me tremendously popular among the people, to avenge their beloved Prince’s death. Of course we would have waited to expose you until your gifts as the last Incenaga insured our victory in any war our people called for. We even talked about postponing your hanging until you bore me a daughter, one that I could mold into my own, loyal, Incenaga."

Emmeline yanked her face from his grip.
"Never."

Prince Weldon ignored her
and pressed his hand over her mouth again. "Another year wouldn’t be too long for the people to wait for your hanging.”

He paused and Emmeline squirmed in his grip. He
lowered his voice to a whisper. “And then I watched you play the harp. Your beauty exceeded all the pathetic descriptions I had heard and I knew in that moment that I had to have you. All the more reason to kill my brother, of course. I could make you fall in love with me. And with your love I would have your loyalty and your power.”

Emmeline pulled away from
him. He released her mouth from his grasp only to move his arm around her waist.

“You understand, don’t you?” he asked. “After you
kill the Crown Prince and my father regretfully passes, I will take you as my
Queen. We’ll blame someone else for their deaths and those of the Pamizakian soldiers. Mahlon, perhaps. He’s an idiot.”

“I won't
have you.”

Prince Weldon turned her around to face him
. “You won’t have a choice, my lovely Emmeline. Mahlon has relinquished control over you and now I will take it.”

“I won’t
let you.”

He drew her close
and his voice became tender. “Are you afraid? I won’t harm you.”

Emmeline shook her head
and pulled away. “I don’t trust you.”

“You have nothing to fear. After
the carriage crashed and I saw what happened to you, I vowed that when I controlled you, I would never let you become so weak.”

“
You’ll never control me.”

Prince Weldon’s nostril’s flared
, and like a hundred times before, his mood flipped.

“Shine your eyes
for me!” he shouted. He gathered her hands into his and held them securely. “Let me see the light of a thousand fires!”

“No.” Emmeline
moaned. She couldn’t go through another round of someone trying to become her master. She didn’t have the strength.