A Forest of Wolves (22 page)

I
blinked. “What? The castle? Why?”

“Marc wants us to—”

“Sneak into the Treasury keep,” I said quietly. The moment Henrik mentioned the castle I knew exactly what Marc wanted us to do.

“Marc told me on the bridge if we could get away, we'd have to get to the castle. Everything is changed now. Radek essentially placed a bounty on your head by telling the kingdom you were the heir.”

“We have to safeguard the only proof I have to my claim to the throne,” I said.

“Before someone in the castle destroys it,” Henrik said. “The secret's out. They will torture Rudolf for information. If Matthias or Václav or anyone else finds out about the letter in the Treasury keep, they will destroy it.”

“And because everyone is fighting right now on the bridge...”

“It's the perfect time to sneak into the castle unnoticed,” Henrik finished.

My mother's voice reading her letter filled my ears:

I exhaled. “Let's go while it's still dark.”

Henrik pulled up his hood. “We'll leave the horse here and go back through town on foot. We have to find a way across the Vltava River—”

“And then figure out a way to get over the twelve-foot high gate and sneak into the main castle and into Rudolf's private wing. We have to locate King Rudolf and somehow get the key hanging around his neck so we can unlock the treasure box. Then we have to break into the heavily guarded Treasury keep where Bohemia has kept its hidden treasures safe for hundreds of years. But you and I are supposed to be able to slip in and out tonight.”

“You forgot to mention we have to do all that undetected.”

“And if we're caught, we are dead,” I added.

“That's a safe assumption.”

My hands were shaking. I squeezed them together to stop the trembling. It seemed impossible. Break into the Treasury keep? How could we do it? I glanced up at Henrik. “Do you think Marc will be all right?”

“I do. Marc is smart. He'll find a way to stay alive.”

This was my opportunity to make a difference in the revolution. I couldn't wield a sword like Marc and the other rebels, but I could help in other ways. I had to protect my legacy. It was exactly the sort of plan my mother would have been a part of. I was heir to the throne. I had to protect my kingdom, and proclaiming myself as a princess was the only way to do it.

“Let's go.” Henrik grabbed the remainder of the weapons and I followed him out of the blacksmith's shop. I pulled the cloak over my head. Henrik grabbed my hand and we slipped into the shadows, heading back toward the castle.

The fear I'd felt earlier turned to anticipation. I was eager to find the letter, but I was also committed to finding Václav once we were inside the castle. Visions of Branka's head on a spike exploded before my eyes.

I shook my head. Václav would pay for what he did to her.

We raced through the empty streets, ducking in and out of alleyways to avoid being seen. The clash of metal filled the air; the fighting had spilled over from the bridge into the city.

Henrik stopped near a two-story wooden building. “There.”

I poked my head around the corner.

We were on the edge of the city. The banks of the Vltava River were only a few feet away. To the right was the giant stone bridge where hundreds of men were fighting. There were so many of them it was hard to determine who were the rebels and who were the members of the Royal Army.

Dense smoke hovered above the red-tiled roofs and the steeples of the town. Prague was burning. Exactly as it had in my dream.

My eyes wandered over the bridge and up to Prague Castle, standing like a fortress high upon Hrad
any Hill. Somewhere deep inside was the king's proclamation attesting to my lineage and solidifying my claim to the throne.

“Are you ready?” Henrik asked.

“I'm ready.”

Chelsea Luna
received a Juris Doctor from New York Law School and a BA in sociology, with a concentration in criminal justice, from the University of Tennessee. Chelsea is also the author of the Amazon bestselling New England Witch Chronicles, a young adult paranormal romance series comprising four novels. Chelsea is an attorney and lives in Tennessee with her son. For more information, please visit:
www.chelsealunaauthor.com
.