The king kissed his “daughter” on the cheek and moved to the side, sitting down next to the queen. My mother moved away from him, ever so slightly.
“Welcome, all, to the wedding of Prince Anders of Rothschan to Princess Jennica of Calia. Not only will we witness these two becoming united as one in matrimony, we will also bear witness to the union of two great kingdoms joining together as family and political allies.” As the priest continued his speech, my group began moving closer to the dais.
From where we now stood, I could see King Hendon’s face. At a quick glance, he looked like a doting father watching his only daughter as she embarked on a new life. But watching him closely, I could see his eyes were a little too bright. His attention was completely focused on her ruby crown. His hand wasn’t on his heart because he was overcome with emotion; he was surreptitiously touching his necklace, silently mouthing a spell. The circlet seemed to glow, brighter and brighter. I looked out at the sea of guests. All eyes were fixated on Taryn’s circlet as it sparkled in the sunlight. Even the priest’s words were slurring, as he started to become mesmerized by the jewels.
I was seeing red, but it wasn’t just the reflection from Taryn’s headpiece. How many people’s lives — including my own — had Hendon ruined with his selfishness? And how many more people would get hurt due to his ambition?
We had to stop him now, before he completed the spell.
I moved toward him, not sure what I would do, but just wanting to end this, somehow. Beyan reached for my arm to pull me back and just missed me. My slight movement caught the attention of Taryn. Her face flushed, as bright red as the rubies in her crown.
“You!”
Chapter Forty-Four
KING HENDON’S HEAD whipped toward me, his eyes snaring me in their grip. “How convenient! I’d wondered where you’d gone.”
He stood, drawing his sword. My mother gasped. “Hendon, no!”
He backhanded her. The smack of his slap echoed loudly. Joichan growled and stepped in front of me, drawing Hendon’s focus.
Hendon studied Joichan. “You... you seem familiar.”
“Let me help you remember.” Joichan transformed, faster than I’d ever seen before. His magnificent golden scales glittered in the sunlight, competing with Taryn’s jeweled circlet.
Hendon gripped his necklace and yelled something incoherently, his sword aloft, running at my father to attack. With his control on the crowd weakening, the hypnotizing hold on the wedding guests broke. Someone screamed at the dragon in their midst. Nobles and servants alike scattered. Some hid behind benches or barrels. Others ran into the castle or behind the castle walls. The Queen of Rothschan fainted. Her husband hurriedly tried to revive her, while fearfully eyeing the dragon. Prince Anders ran to check on his mother.
Guards ran to the aid of the king, and of the “princess” who was screaming orders on the dais.
“Arrest those people and kill that dragon! They’re ruining my wedding!”
Momentarily stung, I turned to my friends. “Do I really act like that?”
Farrah shrugged as she and Rhyss each drew swords, which had been cleverly hidden in their finery. “Like a spoiled brat? Not really. You’re more of a take-action type of princess.”
“Yeah, remember the bandits?” Rhyss grinned, turning the length of steel in his hands so it caught the light.
A quick glance at the items in their hands told me that these items weren’t my friends’ usual weapons; I wondered where Farrah and Rhyss had gotten them since we had all turned over our weapons to the guard at the entrance earlier in the day. Could none of my friends follow a simple edict? Although, as the wedding descended into chaos and we faced an infuriated King Hendon, an ensorcelled Taryn, and several heavily armed and well-trained soldiers, I was very glad that my friends had ignored the rules.
Rhyss tossed a short sword to Beyan, who had pulled his dagger out of his boot to fend off one of the guards.
“Where did you get the swords?” Beyan called to Rhyss, never taking his eyes off his opponent.
It was Rhyss’s turn to shrug, even while he was engaged with his own opponent. He called back, “We just found them, you know, laying around.”
I rushed to my mother. “Are you all right?”
A blotchy oblong bloom had formed under her left eye. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Take care of Taryn.”
I looked around wildly. “Farrah!”
She had knocked out a guard and was stepping back, avoiding his falling body. “What?”
“Come with me!” Together, we dodged the guards, the majority of whom were focused on the dragon.
As we dashed toward Taryn, I asked Farrah, “How long does it take for you to prepare a sleep spell? I don’t want to hurt Taryn if I don’t have to.”
“It’s kind of hard on the run, but...” Farrah began reciting the incantation.
If I had any doubts that Taryn was enchanted, watching her at the dais would have cinched it for me. Alternately crying, pouting, and shouting, she was in full spoiled princess mode. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she really was royalty.
“Taryn!” I approached her slowly, hands out.
“You’re that imposter from earlier!” She advanced on me. “Why are you trying to ruin my wedding? Do you want to marry the prince?”
“Believe me, no. You can have him. Taryn — ”
“That is not my name! Guards! Guards!” No one came to her aid. They were too busy trying to take down Joichan.
At that moment Prince Anders looked up from his mother and toward us. His eyes widened. “My lord, there’s two of you!” His mother woke up, saw us, shrieked, and fainted again.
The Queen of Rothschan’s scream pulled Taryn’s attention away from me. While Taryn was distracted, I leapt at
