Page 33 of Cursed Crowns
“So do I, Queen Rose. So do I.”
Rose had been sorely mistaken. Although they left the town of Millis to a boisterous crowd of well-wishers, the journey to Ellendale was dusty and quiet. There were few banners lining the road, and no sign at all that the southern town was expecting a royal tour.
When they approached the outer wall of Ellendale, Rose’s stomach twisted. She couldn’t hear any cheers. In fact, she couldn’t hear anything at all, save for the sound of clomping hooves and the grinding carriage wheels. She pulled back the privacy curtain to find Shen scowling at something over his shoulder.
“What is it?” she said anxiously.
“I think it’s that rider again,” he said, squinting at something in the distance.
“Forget about that,” said Rose urgently. “What’s going on in front? I can’t hear anyone.”
Shen turned around, rising in his seat to see over the regiment of soldiers. His frown only deepened. “That’s because there’s no one there.”
Rose flushed. Did the people of Ellendale truly not care to welcome her? Not even enough to wave from their windows? Unless, of course, Ellendale had got the timing wrong. Perhaps the royal tour was simply ahead of schedule...
“Something isn’t right,” muttered Shen. “The town isn’t just quiet. It’ssilent. We should wait out here. Find out what’s going on.”
Rose was inclined to agree. If nothing else, it would save her the embarrassment of parading through all those empty streets, waving at her own reflection in the shops’ windows. But Captain Davers was plowing ahead.
Shen bit off a curse. “What is that trumped-up buffoon doing?”
Before Rose could say another word, Shen nudged Storm out of line and cantered off toward Captain Davers. Rose flopped back in her seat. At her feet, Elske woke from her slumber and rose to all fours, her ears drawing back as though she sensed the strangeness, too. It wasn’t long before Rose heard the distant rumble of Shen’s argument with Captain Davers. When it stopped just as abruptly, she leaned out of her window, craning her neck to catch a glimpse of them. Shen was galloping ahead, through the empty streets of Ellendale—no doubt trying to figure out what was going on—while Captain Davers was leading the procession onward, entirely unperturbed by the ghost town.
“Well, I’m not waving just for the sake of it,” grumbled Rose. “I’ve got to retainsomedignity.”
Even so, she kept her curtain open, scanning the windows as they passed through the main street. Every now and then, she glimpsed a face behind one.
Rose’s stomach was so tight, she was starting to feel sick. What on earth was going on?
The procession slowed unexpectedly, the carriage grinding to a stop. Up ahead, Rose heard voices.Angryvoices. She tried to see out of her window, but there were horses in the way. There was no sign of Shen either.
She sat back and waited. And waited. Andwaited.
A ragged shout rang out, and Rose’s heart stuttered in her chest. What if Shen had got into another argument with Captain Davers? His smart mouth was bound to get him in trouble sooner or later, and Captain Davers had made no secret of his disdain for the warrior witch.
When another shout erupted, Rose hopped out of her carriage, ignoring the guards yelling at her as she marched to the front of theprocession. She would have to defend Shen before he argued himself into any more trouble, or indeed drew his sword on Captain Davers. That would be an unmitigated disaster, and she simply couldn’t allow such a thing to—
Rose stopped short, her heart leaping into her throat as she ducked behind a nearby horse. Shen and Captain Davers weren’t arguing at all. In fact, they were standing side by side, their swords drawn, as they faced off with what appeared to be an angry group of local townsfolk. Rose’s gaze darted, counting at least forty of them. Not enough to threaten the might of her army, but certainly enough to cause a stir. She noted, with growing dread, that they carried weapons, too. Swords, mostly, but a man on the end was holding a mace, and another was wielding a pair of battle axes.
Goodness.
It was then that she noticed where they had congregated—outside the local Vault, a place where followers of Rose’s long-dead ancestor, the Great Protector, still gathered in worship. A place that had been built on the hatred of the witches. Her hands trembled at the sight of the scrawled arrow on the door.
These men were Arrows. She might have got the jump on Barron back in Millis, but he had beaten her to Ellendale. Though she could glimpse no sign of him in the crowd.
“I’ll only say this one last time,” Captain Davers was saying. “You will stand aside at once or face the might of Anadawn’s army.”
“And the witches,” said Shen with a precise spin of his sword.
“It’s the witch we’ve come to see,” snarled a red-cheeked man near the front. He had a black thorny beard and cruel eyes that flickered like firelight. “We want to acquaint ourselves with your cursed queen.”
Rose didn’t miss the way he saidyour, notour.Nor the way he spat on the ground afterward. These people had already disowned her.
“I’ve got a better idea,” drawled Shen. “Why don’t you acquaint yourself with the sharp end of my sword instead?”
“Easy,” warned Davers.
“No,” hissed Shen. “Do your job, Davers.”