She shook her head. “I can’t stay long or I’ll be missed. It wouldn’t do for him to know I’ve come to you.”
So Pharishadn’tsent her.
Battling a sinking sense of disappointment, I took a chair and invited Kem to do the same.
“Very well. Tell me what’s going on.”
Kem nodded intently. “He’s in a bad way, my lady. He sleeps half the day and only gets up to drink more wine and pass out again. He hardly eats a morsel. He doesn’t leave his room. His temper’s as foul as a wild boar.”
I frowned in confusion. That didn’t sound like Pharis.
“I’m sorry to hear it, but I’m not sure what you thinkIcan do about it.”
“You mustcome home,” she said in a tone that said it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.
Home.Did she think of Stormcrest as being home for me?
“We’re all at our wits end.” she said. “Things can’t go on much longer like this. The servants talked about it, and we all agreed I should go to you and ask for your help. So while he was passed out, I snuck into the Prince’s chambers and used his charmed mirror. That’s how I knew where to find you. And then I used my Evanescing glamour to get here.”
“Myhelp,” I said, confused. “I’m not a healer. I don’t know what to do for overindulgence in wine, and you have Elanor there.”
“It’s not the wine he’s dependent on,” Kem said. “It’syou. Don’t you see? His heart is broken. None of us has ever seen him like this over anyone or anything. He needs you.”
For a second my own heart stopped. Then it resumed beating in a mad new pace that made it hard to catch my breath. I cleared my throat and swallowed, trying to alleviate the lump that had formed there.
“I… I’m not sure what to say.”
Kem wasn’t aware of all that had passed between Pharis and me, that I’dtriedto give myself to him, that he’d rejected me when I’d practically begged him to bond with me.
Immediately afterward, he’d taken me to Seaspire and urged me to marry his brother, even using his Compelling glamour to force the decision on me.
“Say you’ll return to him,” she urged.
It was obvious the young maid was sincere, that she and apparently the other staff members were worried about the man they served.
But contrary to their assumption, I wasn’t the answer.
“My family needs me. I have to stay here and take care of them,” I told her, although it was more than apparent they’d gotten on quite well without me.
“And I suspect that the Prince’s…melancholyhas less to do with me than you think,” I added.
Kem shook her head, but I went on with my assurances.
“Prince Pharis went through something very difficult in Merisola. His relationship with his brother is broken. But he is resilient. He has many… friends who value him and would come if you sent for them.”
And no doubt many women like Lady Glenna who’d be more than happy to fill the gap of female companionship. The thought sent a rush of bile up my throat.
“You don’t understand, my lady,” Kem said.
Her fingers twisted together in her lap, and her expression was deeply troubled.
“Elanor swore me to secrecy, but I hope that in this case, it’s not a sin to break a promise…”
“What is it?” I asked.
Looking like she was about to burst, Kem began speaking rapidly.
“When you first arrived at Stormcrest and you were so badly injured, Prince Pharis hardly left your room. He stayed at your bedside all day, talking to you, reading books to you. We’d find him sleeping on the floor of your room at night. After a few weeks when you still hadn’t awakened, he sent the chef out to find some fireweed and bring it back.”
