“Asked him!” She choked. “What sin.”
Willem’s breath was rampant, but his face was still. He righted his posture, fueling to look directly into her venomous gaze. I was shocked he did not turn to stone.
“Your eyes do not deceive you, Miss Hellveig,” he said. “I kissed her, but I promise it will not happen again. I remember my place.”
“Do not backtalk me, buck!” she bit. “I’ve heard your lies before. No. No, I have no doubt you’ll remember this time.”
She started to drag him outside. I hurried after, nearly crashing into one of the troughs.
“Stop it!” I yelled. I pulled my skirt from where it’d snagged with a loud rip. “Stop it! Let him go! Icommandyou to let him go!”
“Son?”another voice emerged.
“Mr. Ólason!” I felt a tear sting at the corner of my eye. “You must stop her!”
“Father!”Willem called after him, completely diverting the ostler from my command.
“Unhand him, Miss Hellveig!” I called. “It’s my fault!”
“Willem?” Will’s father cried.
He tried grabbing his son, but my governess parried his attempt. She swung around to scold him, and he stepped back.
“What’s happened?” he asked. “What is it, please?”
Hellveig hid Willem behind her.
“Where is the ironsmith, Mr. Ólason?” she asked. When he did not answer, she called to the gathering crowd of servants. “The first person to fetch the blacksmith for me wins my good favor.”
No one moved.
Suddenly, it dawned on me,“...Father,”first, as a whisper, “Father!” then louder.
I tore from the yard, past the roses and brilliant stone mares, then through the Castle’s front door. My shoes slipped in the foyer, but I did not fall. One of the suits of armor crashed into the marble path as I cast myself into the large wooden door of His Majesty’s bedchamber, and with the loudest roar I could manage, I heaved, “Father!” nearly out of breath.
“God in Heaven, what is this about?” he asked. He scrambled from the sheets as a dark-haired, unclothed woman fled from his arms and vanished into the adjoining room. Father shieldedhis body with a robe. “What is it, Svana? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“Hell–” I panted, squeezing my dress. “Hellv–! She’s going to hurthim!”
“Who? Who is going to hurt who?” he asked.
Ser Elías appeared at the door. “Your Majesty?” he asked. We met eyes. “Miss Svana? Are you hurt?”
“She’s going to hurt him!” I whined. “Hellveig will hurt him. It was me. It was my fault. Let her hurt me instead! I can take it!”
“Show me,” my father said. He tightened his belt, following as I took off back to the scene.
“There!” I yelled, running and collapsing to my knees in fury and angst.
“Svana!” Elías steadied my frame. “Breathe.”
“There.”I gestured. “Tell her, Father. Tell her she is wrong. Tell her to stop. Willem is my friend.”
“What is this?” the King asked.
His voice carried across the lawn. As he arrived, his eyes traveled the faces who had come to help hold Willem down at the iron’s block and those who simply watched.
Miss Hellveig smiled grimly at me before fussing with the head of her cane.
