“Emrys should be the sole heir, as he is older than me, though not by much.” Nisien gave a tight chuckle. The way his guilt pulsed with the admission solved some of the mystery of Nisien—and it had been so freely given.
“I understand you’ve been tasked with resolving certaindifficultieswithin our kingdom,” he continued. “Know that I need Emrys. And I think, in some ways, he still needs me too. The Assembly doesn’t yet understand that. So, I will apologize in advance for making your work more difficult.”
If anything, his being so forthright would make it easier, but I still caught his meaning.
“I will confess,” I said slowly, “Prince Emrys is a rather intimidating figure. I’ve felt the darkness inside him, and it nearly brought me to my knees. I have a challenging task ahead of me. Though now, after hearing you speak so highly of him, I am eager to make his acquaintance properly.”
Those weren’t just pretty words to indulge royalty. I meant it. I could be terrified of Emrys, but I wouldn’t let that stop me trying to help him.
Nisien rose and came around the table. I turned to face him, expecting him to bid me goodnight from a polite distance. Instead, he reached for my hand and bowed low over it.
His lips, warm and soft, brushed the back of my knuckles, lingering this time, sending shivers down my spine. For a heartbeat, I imagined another prince there. One whose touch would surely sear me on contact. I was left breathless by the contrast and by the dawning realization that I already thought of Emrys in that way.
On my arm’s descent back to earth, the gown’s embroidery scraped my wrists with a reminder:You don’t belong here.
When Nisien met my gaze, his smile held a sort of softness I’d never seen directed at me by a man. “You carry more grace than most women I have met, Lady Isca.”
Had my gift not been reading him furiously, I wouldn’t have believed him. Yet, he was sincere. I couldn’t find my voice to reply before he straightened and stepped back.
“Sleep well,” he said. “You’ll need your strength if you’re going to fix my brother and me. Gods know we both need all the help we can get.”
Then he was gone, and I was left with the glow of candlelight and my swirling thoughts. I stood, and by the time my feet reached the door I’d entered through, Catrin was there waiting for me. She ushered me back to my room, helped me undress, and let my hair down for bed.
The fur robe she gave me to wear over my dressing gown felt wonderfully soft and warm. “It’ll be such a comfort in your apartment,” she said, noting the persistent coolness of the nights and mornings.
I was still a stranger in this world, so I accepted her word for it.
Not even five minutes after I’d settled under the furs, just as I was drifting off to sleep, a prickling sensation flooded across my skin like a wave carrying a million jagged pieces of ice during a snowstorm.
It wasn’t like the magic Nisien had used to create a shield in front of me, and it wasn’t like my own magic. It was unmistakably the wild sort that had surged out of Emrys when he’d shattered the door upon my arrival.
Having lived mainly among mundane humans for my entire life, feeling magic like this was still strange to me. Leaving the warmth of my bed, I secured my robe, mindful of my long hair, and debated grabbing the candle placed next to my bed left there for just this purpose. Deciding against bringing extra attention to myself by carrying a light, I cautiously opened my door to see what was going on.
The hall was half-lit and silent, the few still-flickering torches casting long shadows on the floors between the rooms. The direction the magic was coming from was unmistakable—just down the hall where Catrin had said the prince’s apartments were. I crept on bare, silent feet out into the hallway to see if I could hear or feel anything else.
The back of my neck prickled as if I were being watched. Maybe this was a test. Or maybe I was overthinking everything. I shook my head, suddenlyfeeling silly. Hadn’t Nisien just told me that Emrys had trouble escaping his violent episodes? Maybe he needed my help.
When I reached the door from where the magic was emanating, I tried to listen in. Pressing my ear to the wood, I heard nothing. Feeling silly all over again, I turned to head back to my room when a small noise stopped me.
The sound was perilously close to a stifled sob. Gods above and below, it had to be Emrys in there. Maybe he was stuck in a dream like Nisien had hinted at.
My caution and good sense battled with my conscience.
In the end, my conscience won. My caution remained, however.
I placed my hand on the door, the smooth wood cool against my skin. With the way Nisien had talked about him, Emrys couldn’t be that terrible,right?
I wasn’t even sure it would work. I’d never sent magic through the wood of a door, never used it to calm someone I couldn’t see. Still, I reached for the spark inside me, the one that soothed crying babes and angry drunks alike, and let it pour out through my fingers in a slow, invisible wave.
A morning of riding and a full day settling into my new home had already worn me out, so it didn’t take much more to exhaust me. I continued for another thirty seconds before the exertion of using so much magic made my knees wobble.
My fingers had already curled around the edge of my robe to retreat when the quiet click of a latch shifting stopped me cold.
Time slowed as the door behind me creaked open inch by inch.
I froze.
I’d been caught.
