“Alletois.”
He sighed thoughtfully. “Never heard of it. It’s strange, though. I feel as if I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
I studied him, wondering if somewhere inside he did remember that little girl from Rouxbouillet. I nearly opened my mouth, ready to remind him exactly how our first meeting had played out, but something stopped me, holding me in check.
That had been just one moment in both our lives.
It had happened and time had moved on, and it suddenly felt wrong to hold this grieving young man accountable for the mistakes he’d made as a boy.
I wasn’t that girl any longer. I’d changed and grown in ways that she’d never have dared to guess possible.
Perhaps the same could be said of Leopold.
With a shrug, he returned the unsmoked cigarette to his case and flicked his fingers, causing it to disappear in midair. I was certain he’d hidden it away in an inner pocket, a clever trick used to dazzle and delight pretty young courtiers, but smiled all the same.
“Surely the Shivers can’t be so very rare. We’ve had four cases of it at the palace alone, in just a fortnight.”
“Four?” I repeated. “Aloysius only mentioned three.”
Leopold nodded, furrowing his brow as he dredged up the details. “It started with one of Father’s holy men. A priest or a postulant, I think. For, you know…” He waved one hand in the air, gesturing toward the ceiling. “One of them.”
I frowned at this turn of the story. “Do you know which god?”
Leopold shrugged. “Does it matter? When he grew sick, he went back to whatever temple he was from and we never saw him again.”
“It could be helpful to talk with any of the other priests who took care of him.”
“Took care of him?” He snorted. “They didn’t nurse him back to health, they burned him at the stake.”
My mouth fell open. “For what?”
“Breaking his vows, I imagine.” He leaned in, dropping his voice warm and deep. “You know how mad about vows all those religious types are.”
A laugh sputtered out of me before I could stop it. Surely he was joking. “That’s absurd. What vows say you can’t get sick?”
Leopold cocked his head, clearly amused. “You don’t know yet, do you?”
“Know what?”
“What the Brilliance means. What the Brillianceis.”
“Your father said there are people who believe it’s a person’s sins coming out.” I suddenly understood the priest’s demise. “Oh.”
Leopold nodded earnestly.
“Is that what you think?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think.You’rethe healer.”
“That’s true….” I sighed, beginning to formulate my next steps. I very much needed to see the king, to touch his face, but even with his door barred to me, there were other things I could do. “I need to examine others who’ve had it, see if I can—” The prince cut me off with a bark of laughter. “What?”
“There are no survivors to examine. Once you get the Shivers, you’re done for.”
I twisted my fingers together. “There must besomeonethere who’s lived through it. No disease kills with that much efficiency. I heard it came from the north. Perhaps if we send out a search party, they’ll find someone….”
Leopold made a face I couldn’t identify. “No one goes north these days. Not voluntarily, at least.”
The king’s inquiries on my knowledge of the skirmishes floated back to me, but before I could ask Leopold more about them, he went on.
