Heartless Hette by M. L. Farb

Author:M. L. Farb
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: M. L. Farb

TOWER

My heart ticked erratically, as if one of the gears was loose and would soon fly out of my chest. The thorn walls around me pressed closer, and the tower leered beyond them. The sorcerer’s voice and sandalwood perfume wound around me like a fog.

“Remember,” Konrad said in a low voice. “Your part is to distract him. Don’t try to attack him or even let him get close to you. And don’t enter the tower. Just keep him looking at you. I will take care of the rest.”

“What if I’m not strong enough to resist him? What if I see him, and I can’t stop myself from going to him?”

He laid his hand on my shoulder. “You are strong enough. And—” he smiled grimly, “I’ll stop him with my throwing knives before I let him hurt you again.”

My legs trembled. “Kill him as soon as he’s visible. I don’t need my heart back, just to not have him influence it.”

“We’ll get your heart back, too.”

“Are you certain that saying his true name will put him in your power?” I asked.

He looked at the ground and then back at me. “It should. Names give great power over those who work magic. But it isn’t certain. I will force his hand another way if the name doesn’t work. Or—” His jaw hardened. “I will kill him. You should go, before it gets dark.”

Demuth squeezed my hand. In her other hand she held Konrad’s bow. It was part of the plan. If the sorcerer overpowered Konrad, she’d shoot the sorcerer. Not that gentle Demuth was likely to shoot anyone. No. Our whole plan rested on my ability to distract the sorcerer and Konrad’s skill, and the hope that the name would work against the man who stole my heart.

There was too much uncertainty, but I knew of no better plan.

I squared my shoulders and stepped toward the tower without looking behind me. If I looked back I could lose my courage. The belled cap—Konrad’s cap—jingled as I stepped from the shelter of thorns into the bare open land. I could have worn a scarf or kerchief over my shorn head, or even gone bare headed. But the belled cap, with its little sounds, was a comfort even as I walked alone.

The sorcerer won’t hurt me. He has my heart. He wants me to agree to marry him. He’s trying to win me over with cursed emotions.

The dust puffed with my steps. All I have to do is distract him until Konrad can touch him and say his name.

The dark archway glared like a hooded eye. Whispers of scents and a voice twined around me, like vines of the curse. But the sorcerer didn’t appear, either in ghostly or solid form. Fear shimmered under the curse, and I pushed against both. I am strong enough. He has no control over me. I am of royal blood. I am a ruler, not a slave.

I’d crossed half the space. The sun dipped low in the sky and reflected red off a door inside the archway.

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