“The king’s alchemists may too,” Amund finished.
* * *
The roadthat took Lex and Em to Em’s parents’ house was lined with hundreds of partially frozen allon trees. A caretaker stood on a ladder and blew on the branches of one of the trees they passed, melting the ice with his magic.
Freed from their cold prison, leaves fluttered happily from one branch to another, as though butterflies dashing through a eucalyptus field.
Thanks to Mertha, Lex remembered the magic of allon. The leaves were in shades of purple, blue, orange, and pink, shifting from one branch to another, and yet she missed the variety of plant-based food she’d grown used to in the Earth realm. And fast food. She’d kill for greasy fries right about now.
“We’re here,” Em said as they climbed slippery stone steps to a home that wasn’t quite a castle but far grander than most homes they’d passed.
If Mertha’s place was an Irish cottage, Em’s house was an Irish manor. Beneath snow and icicles, Lex could make out three stories of ornate stone walls, a dozen paned windows, and two massive chimneys bookending a pitched roof.
Em pushed open the ten-foot entry with her body and let out a sigh. She smiled at a liveried man rushing forward, wearing a red and black uniform. “Alaric, please bring us hot tea.”
“Certainly, miss.” He draped wool blankets over Lex and Em’s shoulders and handed their coat to another servant.
Em walked down a wide hallway, and Lex followed her to a parlor with walls covered in red damask wallpaper and gilded mirrors that stretched to ornate black and gold crown molding. Em’s house was filled with ornate antiques and decorated like the Dark Kingdom castle but on a smaller scale.
Lex sank into an upholstered wingback chair next to Em and a fireplace, and was soon handed a piping-hot cup of tea. She stared after the…footman? Servant? She didn’t know what to call the helpers, but there were a lot of them. “It almost seemed like they were expecting us,” she said to Em.
Em sipped her tea, shivering before she answered. “Mother trained the staff to be ready for any eventuality. Particularly if her cousin the king should stop by.”
Lex gripped her cup. “Cousin?” She half stood, the blanket slipping off her shoulders. “You said they were related by marriage. You didn’t mention anything about cousins. Your parents can’t hide this from family. I should leave.”
“Cousins by marriage.” Em blew on her tea and twisted her mouth to the side as though thinking. “The castle guards are likely using spells and magic and interrogating everyone to find out where you’ve gone.”
Lex wrapped her arms around her middle and paced in front of the windows, searching outside. “Why would you bring me here?” Fear lanced her chest. Had Em set her up?
Em quickly set her cup down. “It will be all right. They don’t know where we are. We can’t stay for long, but we can remain long enough to get nourishment and proper clothing.”
“What about your parents? What if others learn they helped me? And now you’re caught up in this too…”
“I pledged my oath to the prince. No one will question my loyalty after Garrin bade me care for you.”
“Don’t the king’s wishes trump Garrin’s?”
Em waggled her head. “In matters of war, certainly. But when it comes to court politics, it is more of a gray area.”
Lex might have hazy memories of Old Kingdom, but her knowledge of nobility was a giant blank. She remembered a small house, bland food, and playing with a couple of other children. She must have been poor in Dark Kingdom.
Something else Em said had caught Lex’s attention. “What does it mean for a woman to pledge an oath to Garrin? Is he essentially married to all of you?”
Em tipped her head back and laughed.
Lex crossed her arms. “I’m glad my ignorance amuses you.”
Em caught her breath and waved her hand. “It’s not the same as a marriage pledge, though there is commitment. Once the prince pledges himself to you as his wife, it will supersede all others, with the exception of his commitment to his people.”
But Lex and Garrin were never supposed to marry.
Regardless of what they were to each other, a court full of women pledging themselves to him made her ragey and possessive.
Lex continued pacing. “I shouldn’t stay. I should find my mother and try to help Garrin.”
Em stood too, glancing out the window. “The guards will double back and find us. We shouldn’t tarry too long. Come,” she said, and moved toward the door. “I’ll have someone bring us fresh clothes, while I find my parents and gather supplies—”
Before Em could reach the door, the air shimmered in front of her and she froze, forcing Lex to stop behind her or risk running into her.
