The Queen of Stones

Chapter 17

The guards take me to the palace prison and throw me in the last cell, placed at the end of a long bright corridor. My prison cell has about five meters, containing a small bed, a toilet with a sink, and no windows. I sit on the bed and cry with my head down, telling myself I should start getting familiarized with this room of the palace since I have no idea how to leave this place. A million questions run through my mind, but I come to the realization that I don't have the answer for any of them. I can't believe I let this happen. To me, to my family name, even to Davi. I fear for our lives. It has reached a point in which someone has to die for this to be over. And I hope it is neither me nor Davi.

I walk to the tiny sink and throw water on my face. I shouldn't be thinking about the worst that can happen, I should be cooking up a plan to leave this place and take my throne back. I look around the cell block for the second time, this time, trying to find a way of escaping. I search for air ducts or any type of hole that I can crawl through or something, but only find hard concrete; I analyze the walls and ceiling and, again, only see concrete. I sigh.

Standing up, I walk to the prison grid. The metal bars are fixed in their place, not moving a bit when I shake them with all the strength I've got. I try to use some tree branches to widen the grid already knowing that it would fail since every prison cell is made to make people's powers obsolete. This is a waste of time.

But I have time to waste.

I look through the keyhole and remember the key to the secret passage in my room, searching for it in my pocket, only to recall that I left it inside the safe, lying on the ground. I feel my eyes watering again but hold the tears inside. There is no use for crying. I need to get out of here.

I search under the sink and the bed. Nothing. I look around the cell, wondering if there is any place that I haven't checked. There isn't. I can't believe I spent my entire life studying to be a queen and somehow have no idea what to do right now. I place my hands on my face and scream as loud as I can. I have no idea what to do.

"Someone is angry." Bonavich's recognizable voice enters my ears and I quickly fix my dress and wipe my tears, refusing to give him the pleasure of seeing me like this.

"Leave," I say as soon as he appears in front of the cellblock and I can lay my eyes on his cocky expression.

"No, no, no. You don't get to tell me what to do anymore," he says with a jubilant voice. "I'm the king now."

"What do you want?"

"Saw you tried to escape," he says walking closer to the bar and running his fingers through it. "Did you like the key thing? I had the lock switched weeks ago."

"What do you want?" I repeat, this time crossing my arms.

He stops moving. "I came to make an agreement."

I take a step forward. "What kind of agreement?"

"You tell me where Steinmor is, and I let your husband live."

"What about me?"

"I execute you in front of the population like you were going to do with me," he says with a calming voice and a smile.

I give an ironic smile. "I don't like this agreement."

He raises his eyebrows. "Both of you die then?"

I can recognize a game when I see one and this is nothing else but a game of chess. He feels like he is winning because I am locked in a cell, but I still hold the most powerful piece in the game; Steinmor. Even though I have never had it, it is my leverage at the moment. I walk closer to him, making the bars the only thing separating us.

"You are not going to kill us." I raise my head and look straight into his eyes. "Do you want to know why?"

"Why?" He smiles.

"Because if you execute us, with my last words, I'll tell people that you don't have Steinmor because I hid it in the palace." I hold the bars while trying to maintain a calming voice. "Good luck being accepted as a king then. In fact, good luck keeping the population away from the palace." I laugh. "As you know, who owns Steinmor rules Asteria."

A small grin appears on the left side of his face. "Then maybe I will just kill you here," he whispers to me. "Tell people you died of an illness and, in your last moments, gave Steinmor to the Bonavich family."

I take a step back. "You can't do that."

"Why not?" He lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. "People would never find out."

"The nobles who live in the palace would know."

"Indeed." He wipes some invisible dust from his sleeves. "But do you think they would care?"

My shoulders sag and I look down. I know they wouldn't. For so long in my life I have avoided the thought that if I was a man, things would be different, telling myself that if I worked hard enough, I would be able to reach the same place in power, no matter my gender. But, now, it is impossible to ignore. Every nobleman in this palace believes that things would be better if a man sat on the throne. So, if Bonavich were to present himself as the new king, I am pretty sure that no one would question him, mostly because they respect him. Something they never had for me.

"I honestly thought you were going to save Davi. I know I would choose to save the ones I love," Bonavich says with an intrigued tone in his voice. "But maybe you don't love him."

"You know nothing about me."

"I know that you should consider my proposal." He starts to walk away. "Because there is no way you are making out of here alive."

I hear as the sound of his steps become more and more distant. I know I couldn't consider his offer even if I wanted; there is no way for me to save Davi's life. I wonder how long he will wait for my answer, how long will he keep us locked away while he waits for me to give him Steinmor. I wonder if I'll spend the rest of my life here. I wonder if I will die tomorrow.

I lay on the bed, placing my head on the lonely pillow and curling into a fetal position. For the first time, I understand Davi's worries. The unsureness of my fate is a heavy weight to carry.