Among the Beasts & Briars - Ashley Poston Page 0,2

through the baker’s garbage?” I scolded the little jerk as he slunk out from underneath the bench, a hunk of some sort of pastry in his mouth. “One of these days Mrs. Cavenshire’s going to catch you.”

The fox didn’t seem to care. He never cared. He just kept going through the baker’s trash, then would hide in our garden, hoping that I’d keep away the hounds when they came sniffing around. Now the fox hopped up on the bench beside me and gave me an unreadable look.

“Fine,” I muttered, and scratched him behind the ears. He began to purr—which was probably the most charming thing about him. “Today’s the day, you know. Anwen’s getting the crown. She’ll be Queen Anwen Sunder.”

The fox gave a lazy yawn.

A voice interrupted my morning solitude. “Queen sounds awfully pretentious.”

I glanced up toward the pergola on the other side of the garden as a gangly pale white boy in threadbare trousers that barely came down to his ankles, a wrinkled button-down shirt, and a brown vest came in. He had two fresh croissants in his hands from the bakery next door, and a wide smile on his face that made his cerulean eyes glimmer. A sliver of long golden hair escaped his newsboy hat, giving him away. As if his grace hadn’t already.

“Shouldn’t you be at the castle?” I asked the princess of Aloriya as she handed me a croissant.

“Shush and eat,” Anwen replied, lifting the fox up from his spot and putting him on her lap as she sat down.

I twirled a lock of her golden hair around my finger. “Your disguise is coming undone.”

“Again?” Wen made a disgruntled noise and took off her hat. Long golden hair spilled down her shoulders, reaching her lower back in soft curls. “It doesn’t matter. You’d recognize me anyway whether I was a boy or, I don’t know, a goat.”

I laughed. “I should hope so; we’ve been friends since we were six—”

“Five,” she corrected.

“Are you sure?”

“It was right after your father caught you cutting your own hair and you had bangs like—” And she angled her fingers slantwise across her forehead. “Do you think I’d forget something like that? My brother wouldn’t stop making fun of you for weeks.”

I shivered, remembering, and handed her the cup of coffee. “Well, I certainly forgot until this very moment. Your brother hated me.”

“I don’t think he did at all,” she replied, and took a sip of coffee to wash down a bite of croissant. “I miss him.”

“Me too.”

We sat and ate our breakfast quietly.

There was still so much to do before the coronation. I had to finish up the rose decorations and tend to the arrangements already in the store, all before I loaded up the wagon and made my way to the castle to help Papa set up for the rest of the afternoon. I felt exhausted just thinking about it. And I kinda didn’t want the coronation to come—ever. Because once Anwen was crowned, everything would change.

Anwen rubbed the fox behind his ears. “Cerys, do you think I’ll be a good ruler? As good as my brother would’ve been?”

I gave a start. “Why wouldn’t you be?”

She let the fox nibble on the rest of her croissant and gave a half-hearted shrug. “What if . . . what if the crown doesn’t take to me? Father died so suddenly, and he never gave me the chance to wear it. It keeps the curse and the creatures of the forest at bay, but how?” She outstretched her hand, and as she brushed her thumb and forefinger together, a flame bloomed in the air. It took my breath away every time she called her magic, the same magic that ran in her ancient bloodline. The same magic that razed the cursewood three hundred years ago. The flame flickered on the tips of her fingers. “Do I do something? I don’t know.”

“You’ll figure it out—you’re a Sunder, after all. It’s in your blood, in your magic,” I replied, and put my hand over hers to smother the flame. “And whenever you need me, I’m here. I’ll always be here for you.”

“Promise?”

I was the royal gardener’s daughter. There was nowhere else I was supposed to be. “I promise, Anwen Sunder.”

A small smile graced her lips. “Thank you.”

We shared the rest of the coffee as the cool morning mists that surrounded the Village-in-the-Valley slowly lifted. The sun was bright and golden, and the sky was blue, and spring grew warm and light in the