I finished quickly and turned to face the door. I decided the quickest route into the courtroom and then took one final breath before throwing the bathroom door open, sprinting through the lobby and bursting through the double brass doors.

“Lilly Mason is innocent!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, adrenaline and nerves getting the best of me.

Chapter Forty

The courtroom was silent, all eyes turned towards me; mouths fell open, a pin drop could be heard. After my outburst, I found myself speechless; I was disoriented. This was not at all what I had expected.

I took in the unexpected sight quickly, unsure what to make of my surroundings. I didn’t know what I thought I would find, but the courtroom looked more like a cathedral than a place for judge and jury. The ceiling was vaulted all the way to the top of the castle spire; large stained glass windows extended two of the walls with elaborate and colorful designs reaching from floor to ceiling. The other wall, not containing the entrance doors was made of stone and practically bare, except for a large tapestry hanging in the center.

At the front of the room was a large imposing throne, at least twenty feet tall and made of what looked to be solid gold. An extremely good looking man of maybe thirty, sat straight edged, staring at me; his crown of more gold was slightly cockeyed on his head. The crown adorned with rubies and emeralds glistened on top of short golden locks, and matched his closely cropped goatee.

I stood there staring at him, wondering if I should bow or curtsy or continue with my testimony. He was obviously the King; unfortunately, I couldn’t remember anything I had practiced to say. He jumped up suddenly and I took a step back; his simple gesture frightened me. He wore a long crimson robe and swept it back as he moved to stand. The entire room of people sat silently, waiting for him to say something.

My eyes finally fell on Lilly who was positioned in the middle of the room, surrounded by rows and rows of people forming a type of octagon around her. She was wearing a simple black robe with a hood, and her vibrant red hair stood out in stark contrast. She was boxed in on every side by what looked like a witness box, sitting on a stool in the middle. Our eyes met for only a second, but the gratitude she relayed to me in those brief moments made my entire trip worth it.

“Excuse me,” Kiran’s familiar voice nearly shouted his apology and all at once he moved from his place next to his father and towards me.

I looked back over at the King, whose expression I couldn’t read; something like anger, or surprise or a mixture of the two, but then there was something much deeper in his eyes. Kiran practically ran to me from his throne that was barely a smaller version of his father’s. He too was wearing a golden crown adorned with colorful jewels and sitting crooked on his head. His longer locks, a little unruly underneath, gave him an almost wild appearance, but one I was infinitely attracted to.

“What are you doing here?” he whispered fiercely in my ear. He grabbed my arms firmly in his and shoved me forward to the base of the throne. “Curtsy,” he whispered again even harsher and half pushed me into the position. I was confused enough not to fight him, although this was not exactly what I had planned. “Excuse us,” he said loudly again, only this time he addressed the entire courtroom.

He turned to walk purposefully past the rows of people and through a side door, dragging me along with him. I tried to fight him off my arms, after all, I hadn’t finished my testimony, but his grip was so tight I realized there was no use. Once we were through the wide brass door, he threw me out of his arms roughly. I struggled to regain my balance and when I finally was able to stand strongly I turned directly to give him a piece of my mind.

“Don’t even start with me!” he spoke softly, but his voice was full of venom. “I told you not to come, I ordered you not to come. What the hell are you doing here?” he began to pace frantically, glancing at the door every several seconds.

“Somebody had to stand up for Lilly!” I felt like shouting, but I used the volume example he set instead, although I filled my voice with as much irritation as I could muster.

“Well you did that, didn’t you? And made a fool of yourself! And now you’ll probably be sentenced to a worse fate than she would ever have been! How could you be so reckless?” he continued to pace, and glance at the door, but eventually he added a nervous glance in my direction. His eyes were filled with fear and anxiety and the way he looked at me made my anger melt away despite the verbal lashing I was receiving.

“All because of a stupid interruption?” I asked, finally taking the situation seriously.

“Because of who your parents are and because you look exactly like your bloody mother!” he finally stopped pacing and walked over to me, bringing me into his arms. I let him, confused once again, but comforted by his affection.

The door opened and he pulled me tighter into him, shielding me from the intruder. I could feel him hold his breath and when I looked up at him his eyes were shut tight, but as soon as the door closed and it was clear the only person that entered the room was Amory, he relaxed and exhaled. I was so confused by his behavior; I had no idea what to feel.

“What are you doing here?” Amory whispered, clearly enraged. “It doesn’t even matter now. What are you going to do with her?” he turned his attention to Kiran, practically pleading with him.

“I can’t….” Kiran’s voice broke and I heard the emotion in his voice. Tears came to my eyes as my emotions were so tied up in his, I couldn’t bear to see him so upset. “You have to take her; you have to get her the hell out of here. You have to save her, Amory,” Amory stared, wide eyed and clearly in shock at Kiran’s demands. “You can’t let him take her. Please…. I can’t lose her,” his voice broke again and I saw that his eyes were full of tears.

“I don’t know what to…. I won’t. I won’t let him anywhere near her,” Amory’s confusion disappeared and I watched him mentally set his mind to a plan.

“Do whatever Amory says, Eden,” Kiran turned his attention back to me, gazing into my eyes and hugging my tighter. “You have to get as far away from here as possible.”

“No,” I said simply, unwilling to be as melodramatic as these two.

“Don’t you understand what he will do to you if he finds out who you really are? He is most likely already suspicious, you look just like her,” Kiran pulled me closer still, pressing my head against his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my forehead. I wondered at the “he” they referred to.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said softly, but firmly. “There is no way I am leaving Lilly! Do you know what I went through to get here?”

“I don’t care what you went through!” he pushed me away with his arms to look me in the face; but his hands never left my body. “He will kill you, Eden, do you understand that?” Kiran whispered fiercely to me, and I was physically taken aback. I looked over at Amory hoping for answers, but he simply nodded in agreement with Kiran.

“Then you save her,” I demanded, glaring at Kiran, firm in my solution.

“You can’t be serious! I will be lucky if I can explain you away. My father will never allow that!” his accent was thick and crisp and every bit of irritation and frustration was evident in it.

“I am completely serious. If you can’t protect Lilly, then I will stay and fight for her myself,” I struggled from his grasp and folded my arms stubbornly.

“No, you will absolutely not,” Kiran crossed his arms in an equally defiant pose.

A knock on the door leading to the courtroom startled Kiran and he once again took a defensive pose in front of me. Amory opened the door just enough to reveal a beautiful woman with long, dark auburn hair, adorned by a dainty golden crown. I watched as Kiran stiffened in front of me and I felt the surge of magic that flared beneath his skin.

“I’m sorry for the interruption,” the woman began, “But your father has requested that you join us once again,” she smiled congenially at him, never looking beyond him. Her eyes stared at the floor just before his feet.

“I’ll be there in a moment mother,” Kiran responded softly.

“Is that her?” the woman’s voice was strained and almost too soft to hear.

“Of course not.” Kiran’s voice was masked by cheerfulness but he took another step backwards in my direction, shielding me further from sight.

The woman’s eyes flickered once in my direction before she quietly shut the door and we were once again alone. Amory opened a wooden door parallel to the door leading to the courtroom and I saw that it led to a dim hallway. The floors and walls were made of the same stone as the courtroom.

“Take her to my room,” Kiran announced loudly and suddenly.

Amory began to pull me out of the room, and I understood that Kiran’s demand was only for show. Wherever Amory planned to take me would most likely not be Kiran's bedroom. I fought Amory, but only weakly, I knew I had no choice in the matter.

“Please, Kiran,” I begged. “Please save her.” Tears welled in my eyes and I wasn’t for sure if they were for Lilly or Kiran.

He let out a soft grunt of frustration, but I could see that his eyes were resigned. He would help her. He put his hand on the door handle opposite ours, but turned around quickly as if he forgot something. He took the length of the room in two long strides and suddenly I was wrapped in his arms and his lips were against mine.

Kiran pressed his mouth on mine desperately. He dipped me back so that I was fully in his embrace. I gave up all fight and let his lips melt into mine. Our magic mingled together in a fervent, passionate, overwhelming force that left me breathless and wild. His hand grasped at my hair, tangling his fist into my dark locks.

When he finally released me, the emotion in his face was indefinable but I understood it since it was the emotion mirrored in mine. He pushed me out of the room towards Amory and I found myself swept up in Amory’s tight grasp as I fought to return to him.

“Promise me nothing will happen to her,” Kiran commanded Amory, and when Amory hesitated out of confusion, Kiran demanded louder, “Promise me!”

“I promise,” Amory whispered quietly and with steady resolve.

Then the door was closed and I was running down a dark hallway, Amory practically pushing me to move faster. I was done asking questions. Nothing made sense; nothing was ever explained to me. For now I would do as I was told because Kiran asked me to, but there would come a time very, very soon when I would get my answers.

I glanced over my shoulder at the closed door and the room that only seconds ago housed the most intimate moment Kiran and I had ever shared. As I ran blindly in the dark, my feelings for Kiran were finally clarified. I loved him, with every breath I had, with all of my soul, I loved him. And I would do anything it took to be with him.

Chapter Forty-One

“Through here,” Amory ordered, pushing me through another darkened passageway.

We had been running through the bowels of the castle for at least twenty minutes. Amory seemed to know exactly where he was going and I tried to trust him, but remained skeptical. I was once again a sweaty mess and wished we could stop for a moment so I could remove my sweatshirt. My hair flew wildly about me, sticking to the perspiration running down my face.