I shuddered, and felt Luc tense beside me. Down a side aisle, Jack stood suspended between two guards.

I blinked through the veil, itching to yank it off. I couldn’t do it yet. If I was going to have any chance, I had to choose the right moment.

A priest stepped forward and took my hands and Luc’s. He bound them with rope, then produced a knife. “Rule by blood,” he said, and I remembered the saying from the books I’d seen that first day. He made a shallow slice across each of our palms. I hissed at the sharp sting but tried to stay still, not fight, lull the guards into backing off farther.

The priest pressed our two palms together and tied the rope tighter. Then he held up a candle. “Light in the dark,” he said, and passed the flame under our hands, searing the knot shut. Luc laced his fingers through mine and squeezed, and I squeezed back. This wasn’t his fault.

The priest leaned over our hands and began an incantation in a language I didn’t know. As he did, another priest approached and, to my surprise, pulled my veil off my back so my shoulders were exposed. And then, there was a snipping sound, and I felt the priest touch my head. He held up one wide, dark ringlet.

My free hand flew to my head. They’d cut part of my hair?

“In the gamos ceremony, the blood ritual and the offering of a lock of hair symbolize purity and commitment to the marriage,” the priest continued, switching to English when he’d finished his prayer. “And now, the marriage vows.”

The timing still wasn’t right, but this was the last chance I’d have.

With my free hand, I ripped the veil off my head and tossed it in a pile on the floor. “Do you realize what the Dauphins are trying to do?” I yelled. “Look at my eyes!”

A murmur rippled through the crowd; a few people in the back rows stood to get a better look. Monsieur Dauphin rose from his chair.

“I have purple eyes,” I said. I yanked as hard as I could, and my hand came free from Luc’s with a spatter of blood across my white dress and the bite of rope burn on my wrist. Luc’s mouth fell open, but he didn’t stop me. “I’m Alistair Saxon’s daughter, and the Dauphins were going to marry me into their family without telling you.”

The room burst into an uproar. Monsieur Dauphin lunged for me, but I leapt off the altar and ducked behind the huge gold cross. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw guards surge between Monsieur Dauphin and the crowd.

In the chaos, I managed to slip into an alcove, where I worked the knife out of my dress. I’d gotten as lucky as I could have hoped—the whole crowd seemed to be turning on Monsieur Dauphin. Only a few people, and fewer guards, were headed my way. I waited a few more seconds, then ducked out the side of the altar area and ran toward Jack. I steeled myself to fight off the guards, but as I approached from behind, they shoved him against a wall and joined in the fray.

Jack’s eyes widened when he saw me. “No, Avery,” he said. “You might be able to get away. Just leave me!”

“Are you insane?” I dropped to my knees and started cutting through the rope around his ankles, the knife slippery from the blood on my hand. “I’m not leaving you.” I sawed harder, but I wasn’t going fast enough.

Someone else fell to the ground beside me, and I whirled, knife in hand.

Luc had his own dagger ready. Instead of reaching toward me, he sliced through the ropes. “Hurry,” he said.

I gave his arm a quick squeeze, and Jack hauled me to my feet.

We turned around, but stopped when we almost ran into a dark-skinned little girl. She must have been about eight, and stared up at me with huge, awestruck eyes. Her mom dashed up and grabbed her shoulder—and then she noticed me, too, and stopped short. She dropped to her knees.

“My lady,” she said in a heavy accent, and raised her hands to her forehead, palms out. “Blood save you.”

I glanced at Jack. He looked as surprised as I felt. I took a step back from the woman, but then a man dropped to his knees next to her, and made the same sign with his hands. “May I offer my son,” he said reverently. “To raise up the Circle. To save us all.”

“What the—” I breathed as another man in a nearby pew noticed us and hurried over.

He didn’t fall into the same position. “Guards!” he yelled. “Seize her!”

I backed up another step. Blood dripped from my palm onto the marble floor.

I had forgotten Luc was there until he stepped in front of me. “Friends. Brothers,” he said with a quick glance at me and a nod of his head toward the back of the church. “We know this is a miraculous time.” He circled the people smoothly until they were all facing away from me. Behind his back, he made a subtle hand gesture. Go.

I pulled on Jack’s hand, and we backed away, toward a wide column. “Look!” Luc said. I saw him gesture toward the altar. “There she goes.”

I yanked Jack fully behind the pillar. With a flurry of exclamations, the people noticed I was no longer behind them, and jumped up to follow Luc.

“What was that?” I whispered. Jack just shook his head. We rushed toward where I remembered seeing a side exit yesterday.

Halfway there, Stellan stepped into our path.

I almost screamed in frustration. Jack tried to dodge him, but Stellan caught my arm and pulled me behind another pillar that hid us completely from the rest of the church.

“You promise me you were telling the truth?” Stellan murmured. I yanked Jack to a stop.

“What—”

“And you’ll stand behind me as the thirteenth, if we’re right. Whatever we end up having to do.”

I gaped at him. Beside me, Jack did the same.

“She cries herself to sleep every night I’m not there.” Stellan squeezed my arm. “Every single night.”

I thought of the pretty little blond girl. Anya.

“And you can’t say a thing about me to the Order. Make something up,” Stellan said. “Promise me.”

“Yes,” I said. “Yes!”

A shout came from the other side of the pillar. Guards. They hadn’t seen us yet, but they would soon.

Stellan cursed under his breath. “I’ll stall them. Second door on your left. It leads up, but all the exits on this level are locked. I’ll find you later.”

“How—”

“Hurt me. Hurry. Make it look convincing or they’ll know I let you go.”

Tags: Maggie Hall The Conspiracy of Us Mystery
Source: readsnovelonline.net