Bridging the Ancient ✓

Chapter 53

When the guards open the looming castle gates, the metal whining on its rusted hinges, the last person I expect to see standing there is Binx. He watches us arrive, one hand on the pommel of his sword and no wound in his shoulder. The last time I saw him, he was grasping onto a similar wound that plagued Renit when the rebels attacked.

I haven't thought about him in the weeks since we've been gone, he's merely an afterthought that slithered his way into the king's life—another person I try not to think about on a daily basis. But that's all I've been able to think about; what he might have planned for his sons and the future of the kingdom.

Binx raises a gloved hand in greeting, decorated with the royal emblem over the back of the fabric. I nod my greetings and out of the corner of my eye, catch the slight movement of Renit's lifted hand. This can only mean one thing: Binx is still at the king's side and was instructed to greet us when we arrived.

Renit had sent out the letter to the king days ago when we ran into a messenger on our way out of Lona. The king knew we would arrive any day and that way; he didn't have to send out a search team to find the truth of our locations, and more importantly, the boxes he seeks.

I still can't bring myself to look at them without worrying about what will come of their power. The crystals can be used by ancient witches and the king himself since he carries that royal blood within him. And with a crystal available to stop the ancient witches from ending the king's efforts...we're in the hands of the enemy. His hands are wrapped so tightly around our throats that one more squeeze and our necks will snap. Those boxes will be the final squeeze.

Binx takes the reins of our horses and forces them to a stop. Already, the stable boys are standing nearby and waiting for their orders on where to take the annoying beasts that ate throughout the night, taking out a large chunk of the forest with them. I recognize one of the stable boys to be the poor soul bullied by Darius, the cause for the destruction of the courtyard weeks ago.

Tearing my attention away from the saddle and sliding down onto the stone below, I examine the courtyard. There are no remnants of the destruction left, everything planted by the witches of gardens is growing tall and strong, each flower brighter than those in the meadows and each bush trimmed to perfection, contained compared to the wild nature of the forest.

"How was the trip?" Binx asks. He directs the question at me, not the prince. There's joy in his eyes at seeing me again, especially so as he takes the reins and barely bothers giving directions to the stable boys as he's too busy waiting for my answer.

"We're both still alive," I joke.

Binx laughs. "That should tell me enough about your troubles, shouldn't it?" When Renit comes around the horses and hands over the satchel to me, Binx's attention finally goes elsewhere. He clears his throat, nods at the prince, and says, "I'll notify the king of your arrival."

The prince nods his thanks, sliding an arm around my shoulders, and turns me in the castle's direction. I feel Binx's eyes watching that contact, so much so I slip my arm around Renit's waist as we walk away—the king's personal guard will not get in the middle of us, whether he has certain feelings or not. I'm beginning to believe that's what the problem is, why he's so cheery around me and why he shuts down around Renit.

A squeal erupts from deep inside the gardens, a shrill sound I've recognized since I was a child, and I don't have to bother looking for a flash of auburn hair before Celestine is running around a hedge with her long, pale arms stretched out towards me and a white smile so large it takes up the entire bottom half of her face.

The skirts of her dress catch in the breeze at the heels of her laced leather boots, and the same goes for the handkerchief on her head, protecting her scalp from the sun.