“Tell her I sent them,” he begged.
Izill just sighed down at him. “Someday...I’d like to have a pair of princes chasing afterme.”
She blessed him, took the books and the letter, and left the room.
It wasn’t until later that he caught her final words.A pair of princes.
Which meant...
Kinlear’s entire body went numb.
It meant, just like with Soraya...Arawnwas after her heart, too.
21
When he was a boy, it took him a day to recover.
When he was an adolescent, sometimes two or three.
This time, it took nearlytwo weeksfor Kinlear to return to the land of the living. It was a sign that he was closing in on his end. He could feel it sometimes...like the whisper of the wind at his back. Like a cold, clawed thing, just waiting to devour him whole.
But he would not die today.
It was like slowly being reborn, as Kinlear opened his eyes two weeks into his episode...
And he knew something was different. The pieces of him had clicked back into place. The magic treatments from Alaris had worked, though not enough to heal him. Nothing ever would.
But today?
Today...he would see Ezer.
And not just in his dreams.
He spent nearly an hour sorting through the clothing in his closet. It took up an entireroomin his chambers, and was full of every outlandish shade he could find. He’d taken to wearingsuch things in Touvre because he saw the way the Queen of Lordach practicallysnarledat the wild outfits of the wealthy in town, often sewn in every shade beneath the sun.
A Sacred Prince must wear all white so he can look, on the outside, as pure and pious as his soul beneath.
His mother used to bark that line at him all the time.
Kinlear hated it, and so he’d chosen to go wildbecausehe knew it would piss her off. And if people saw the outfit, perhaps they’d stop looking at his vial or his cane.
Perhaps...they’d stop looking at him entirely. They’d see only the things he carried, while the real him, the one that was burdened and broken, got to remain hidden safely beneath.
He was sweating by the time he left his closet, a pile of unworthy robes and tunics left on the floor. In the end, though, he’d chosen white. Not at all like his usual self, because he wanted to look...
Made new.
Safe.
Secure.
Ezer was mad at him for leaving her behind, for not caring to even check on his Raphonminder.
I would have if I could,Kinlear thought, looking at his reflection in the mirror, pleased that it was relatively normal.
His eyes were shadowed, his freckles standing out against his stark paleness. But that was to be expected, when he hadn’t seen the light of day inweeks.His hair was freshly washed, his curls more or less tame. His vial was full, his cane was in his gloved hand.
I am not dying,he told himself.I am simply a busy prince who had other places to be, other duties to attend to for the sake of his kingdom.
