BTS: A Court of Embers

5: A Thief's Heart

Following the Prince's advisor from her room felt like leaving the arms of one beast to jump into the maw of another. She turned into a corridor filled with sunlight, yet her looming destiny snatched the warmth from her body. There was nothing but dread in anticipation of he whom waited ahead.

As she walked, she took note of the ways that she turned, which stairways she passed, their respective doors, any images that hung on the wall that could function as a marker. Once she secured her bounty, getting lost would not be an option. Neither would getting caught by someone that knew this castle like the back of his hand.

Maren glanced at Namjoon's back, the ring sitting snug on her finger. Though his demeanor was polished, unbothered, one did not secure the position of advisor to any royal without a quick eye and quicker wit. She could not recall how many times she showed her hands at the ball, but there were at least three situations where he had the chance to spot it. Her stomach dropped at the frequency. The recklessness. Juniper may have been correct in her judgment. You're failing before you've even begun.

Damn her inability to see into a future past Nathaniel. Damn her desire to linger in the past and still pray for the ghosts of memories long passed on. Either way, the Prince was not hers to entertain, neither was his invitation hers to accept. The only thing ordained in her path were two glittering objects to carry with her through the night; currency to purchase her name back. All of her wildest dreams guaranteed if she did not need to beg for mercy from the future King first.

Until the Crown Prince noticed her discrepancy, demanded blood, and let his own flames collect it, she would behave as a young woman bound by no name, no land, no title, but a promise to what she lost.

Looking forward to that with all her heart, she raised her chin and said, "You are the Prince's advisor?"

"I am many things," Namjoon answered. She wondered if he ever let anyone walk next to him. This formation resembled a reserved pace for mortals, a subtle show of dominance if not pity for allowing weaker guests to be led like lost pups.

"What is he like?"

The advisor turned a sharp right, his cloak billowing in the warm draft as he faced a series of open glass doors to the lush courtyard. Maren recognized it as the garden that could be seen from the dining room's window. Even from here it smelled like apples and fresh water.

"He is a good man," said Namjoon.

He brought her outdoors, down to the base of a painted stone staircase. The dining room windows would never capture how vast and serene this view could be. The garden was expansive. A long water fountain extended through tall bushes of multicolored flowers to a second staircase that ended near the mouth of the hedge maze. Alabaster statues of winged maidens dotted the path's lining, tall trees growing through the brush ripe with apples of different sizes and colors. Not every inch of the foliage was green. There were spindly branches coated with red, orange, and dandelion-tinted leaves up above. Under her slippers were pale petals that scented the soil. Combined with the warmth and the blue of the sky, she had stepped into a world encased in summer and fall all at once.

"Your Highness," Namjoon said, bowing to the man standing aside with his back turned.

Maren tore her gaze from the seasonal eclipse to the Prince. His blond hair was nearly white in the sun, broad shoulders flexed as he squatted by a patch of grass. His Highness mumbled his thanks, not even glancing up as Namjoon retired to the palace. Maren craned her neck to see what had him so focused.

His thin fingers cupped the bottom of a rose that grew from a silver bush. As Maren looked closer, the inside of the flower's bud blazed with tiny ribbons of fire, similar to weak candlelight. Though it sparkled, it did not burn.