The same one my father had sketched.
32
Jinky flung thecurtains wide open. “Rise and shine, Princess. It’s a big day!”
I groaned and threw my pillow over my head.
“Come on, today’s the rehearsal! Can’t be late.” She pulled the pillow off me.
All I wanted was sleep. My entire body ached from the day before. Plus Nix and I had stayed up half the night worrying about Fortunada’s whereabouts. I heard Nix moan from the couch in the sitting room, where she’d slept. “Too tired!” she shouted. Yesterday I’d told Nix she didn’t have to live alone on the outskirts of town; my rooms in the palace were big enough to accommodate both of us. I offered to ask the palace staff to set up a bedroom for her in the future. Nix insisted she wanted to stay where she was. She liked living on her own and didn’t want to exchange her father’s palace for mine, she explained. But since she was coming with me today to rehearsal, along with Lucas, she agreed to spend the night.
Jinky poured us some tea and then disappeared into the closet to prepare my rehearsal outfit. “Lucas will be here soon,” she called out.
That got me out of bed.
Once Nix and I were ready to go, we met Lucas out front at the calesa. “Hi-uh,” Lucas said, his greeting turning into a yawn. He was clearly just as exhausted as us. I was more than glad to see him; I was thrilled. I’d only asked him to join me for this the night before. I’d almost forgotten to ask, but he’d said yes right away.
He helped us climb in, and then we were on our way to the Council of the Courts, where the ceremony was scheduled to take place in three days.
Three days.Three short days until my coronation. My stomach turned. I was grateful to have two good friends supporting me, at least.
Lucas leaned forward. He was sitting across from me and Nix. “We need to tell Elias and alert the Royal Guard to the danger,” he said. “They’ll be able to capture Fortunada before we can. I’ve alerted my men to search for her, but they won’t have as much leeway as the palace does. Especially since I told them to keep it quiet.”
I was touched he’d already mobilized the situation, but I didn’t want to tell Elias what we’d discovered. “Not yet.”
Both of them looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “If we tell Elias and the guard, then they won’t let me go anywhere,” I explained. “I’ll be locked up in my rooms until I’m crowned.”
“So what? It’s only a couple days. Besides, they’re not wrong. It’s not safe for you to be out running around,” Lucas said, worry in his voice. “Fortunada could be anywhere.”
I was glad for his concern, but I didn’t much like the idea of being a prisoner, even for my own safety.
“We don’t really have a choice,” Nix said gently. “It’s for your own good.”
“It’s not just that.”
“Then what is it?” Lucas said.
The truth was, I couldn’t be locked up in the queen’s chambers or kept under watch, because I neededat leastone more night out in the garden. I needed some space so my magic would manifest.
“I have my reasons,” I said. They couldn’t possibly understand the pressure I was under. And I’d lost so much time as it was. Those last precious days could not be taken from me. If I was stuck inside with guards hovering, I’d never figure out my talent, and then it would all fall apart.
Lucas and Nix shared frustrated sighs. I ignored them. I was spooked, yes, but it was hard to feel scared of someone so timid as Fortunada. I didn’t even really believe she could be the mambabarang. What if she was being framed, too? Just like Althea? How could we be so sure she was behind all this? And what possible motive could she have? Elias had always suspected the insurgency was a Sigbin plot, a power grab for the throne, and that was the most logical explanation for all this. But a mousy student from Lambana? Why would she want to take down the king? It didn’t make sense.
“By the way, I did a little digging on Lady Elowina,” Lucas said.
“What did you find?” I asked.
“That’s the thing. There’s nothing about her anywhere. There’s no record even of what court she was from. It’s like she never existed.”
“Huh,” I said. Curiouser and curiouser. I leaned back in my seat and tried to put it out of my mind for now. I still had a coronation to prepare for.
The roads entering the city were packed. There was a line outside the bakery and a steady stream of customers leaving with parcels—bibingkas and mango cakes for their coronation parties.The boutiques were similarly crowded, as everyone rushed for last-minute outfits and accessories, and the taverns were stuffed with patrons. There were people on ladders, washing windows and putting finishing touches on decorations, and kids running up and down the walkways. They could feel the anticipation in the air.
All of this for me. And I was going to disappoint each and every one of them.
We didn’t talk much the rest of the way. I stared out the window instead, out at those foreboding storm clouds over the mountains, bigger by the day; the feeling of impending doom—and guilt—gnawed in my belly.
Elias was waiting for us at the Council of the Courts. He led us inside, past the room where the council meeting had been held, then past other rooms where official business was conducted.
