Both of them were looking at me like I was some sort of magical creature, which to be fair, I supposed I was.
Krew’s mouth was even slightly ajar.
“What even just happened?” Keir asked more to Krew than to me. “Did she ju—”
“Yep,” Owen provided while crossing his arms.
“I—” Krew’s eyes were on mine as he said, “I have never been more attracted to you in my life.”
I smirked. “I will have to admit that itisa little fun. I can see why you do that so often.” I turned toward Keir with a smile. “Are you all right? You looked as if you had an epiphany earlier today.”
Keir gave his head a shake. “No, but yes. I think we should use the wedding distractions and plan a way to get the sword.”
“What?!” He couldn’t be serious.
Keir looked to Krew and back to me. “He will not expect us to be organized on that day of all days. It has been on his person since just after the throne room. We can hire out a group of men to steal it right off his belt.”
“During the wedding?”
Keir gave his head a shake. “No. After. During the rather large banquet at the castle. And hopefully he will be slightly inebriated by the time it happens too.”
“He will know it was us,” I offered. “He knows we are after an object. There is no way he won’t figure that out.”
Keir shook his head. “But if we pull it off and have the sword in hand, does it matter? He can try to punish us or get back at us, but between the three of us, we can easily take care of him.”
“That gives you less time to make a decision,” Krew said gently to his brother. “You have one week to decide what you will do.”
Keir gave him a half of a smile. “I already have a fairly good idea of what I’ll do.”
I wanted to ask, I wanted to demand to know who he was choosing. Not just because I was being nosy, but because whomever he chose may very well be queen within a fortnight.
Owen’s eyes flew to mine and then to Krew’s. “So we do this? The night of the wedding we create a diversion and make a move after the sword?” He paused and looked to Krew and me. “Knowing that your wedding night could end in blood, one way or another?”
Krew’s eyes were on mine as he stated, “I hate how much potential I see in this plot and how much I wish it never had to occur as well.”
“But he will not kill us in front of all of Savaryn,” Keir said, grinning as he gestured with his head in the direction of the meadow. “He can’t. And not only can’t he, but he also won’t. He needs this wedding to go off picture perfect right now after the stunt he pulled with the gauntlets. That’s why he has been playing nice with Jorah. He knows his approval with the people is at risk.”
Owen sucked in a breath. “He has a point.”
The rest of the walk to the meadow, the princes discussed if a plan could be made to get the sword off the king the night of our wedding banquet. They would have to hire someone else to then hire a well-known crew of ruffians from Rallis to sneak into Kavan Keep and steal the sword. It would work best if the king was bumped, the sword taken, and then passed around in the crowd and out of sight before the king could pinpoint where it was.
It was madness. It was absolute madness planning something like this within the crowd of Enchanted. And yet the crowd of Enchanted surrounding the king may just be the thing that kept our heads on.
As the night wore on, no magic was being used other than my sound barrier. A plan was hatched instead.
A plan to get the sword. And possibly end the king. On my wedding night.
Though I’d been cherishing every moment that I could, living out every single day like it could be my last, spending my days with the people I loved most and the place I loved most in the forest, all while spending my nights wrapped up in Krew, time had finally caught up with me. I was rapidly running out of it.
I no longer had a month; I had a week.
One week, one royal wedding, and one extremely reckless plan.
CHAPTER33
“You look absolutely—” My mother cut off, wiping at an eye.
“Mother!” I scolded. I was getting married the following day. And with everything on the line, with everything I loved dangling by a thread, I needed her to not make me any more emotional than I already was. And she didn’t even know yet that Krew had fully intended to give his life for his honorable cause.
