“Tell that to Clemmy. She’ll be over the moon to have a foreign prince praise her baking.” I wish his little sounds—the way he licks the cream—stirred something inside me, but instead I force a smile. Nothing. Why can’t I feel more for this man than a friendly indifference?
“I think I will. She has an openheartedness that so many of us lost a long time ago,” he continues before taking another bite and letting out a soft groan of pleasure. The way he eats his pastry is utterly improper, and I wonder if he’s doing it on purpose.
I take a bite of my own pastry, trying to ignore my wayward thoughts. It really is delicious. “I don’t think I’ve seen you not want to make someone smile yet. Tell me, is there anyone you don’t like?”
A shadow crosses his handsome face. “You know what it’s like to have a gift that controls others’ emotions. My gift—bringing peace and reducing conflict—has made me naturally more inclined to bring happiness to others.”
“So it’s not always what you’d prefer to do?”
He meets my gaze and shrugs, as if he too struggles with the weight of his gift. “It limits my own natural responses at times. I find that, over time, I’ve accepted my role as the one in the room who can bring a sense of calm, or a slight smile to someone sad.”
“Does your gift work through touch?” I ask, curious if that’s why I’ve felt instantly comfortable around Leland while also feeling nothing romantic.
“It’s more potent that way, but no. Just my presence can bring about feelings of well-being and peace in others. I think my sister—and possibly your mother—may be the only ones immune to its powers.And Mr. Blackwell, for that matter. The man is unflappable, especially for a redblood.”
I let out a small, strangled cough at the mention of Kieran. There’s a fearlessness in him that wasn’t there when he was younger, as though very little can stir him now.
Clemmy sets down the teapot and pours us both cups of stoutly brewed black tea into delicate porcelain cups before she smiles and walks away. She’s no blueblood, but she doesn’t need a gift to recognize when her customers are deep in conversation.
“I wonder if it has something to do with their own willpower,” I muse, curious about what happened to Kieran to give him such a resolute disposition.
Leland takes a sip of his tea and studies me thoughtfully. “Most likely it does. My sister has closed herself off emotionally to everyone—including me. But what about your gift? You never wrote about it, although I have to admit, I’ve heard rumors.”
A twisting sensation settles in my stomach. Mother’s words come back to me, urging me not to allow Leland to experience my gift before our wedding.
“It’s—it’s something I prefer to avoid. After I realized how powerful my gift is, it became more like a curse.”
Leland reaches for my gloved hand, taking it in his. “I understand. Of course, I’ve had similar effects with my own gift. I wonder—would you allow me to experience it before our wedding night?”
My body stiffens, and I have to work not to pull away. What does he expect me to say? Then I take a deep breath. This is fine. We need to work through our differences, and the guilt of keeping so much from him weighs on me.
“Perhaps,” I reply, taking a drink of my tea to clear my mind. “I think it would be best if we continued to get to know one anotherbetter first. There’s a park nearby with some beautiful gardens. Shall we make our way there?”
10
Kieran
I’d rather be back in the mines than sitting in this parlor with Queen Penelope, King Hugo, and Gabriel—oh, and the council breathing down my neck. I knew sitting in this room with the people I blame for my father’s death wouldn’t be easy, but I need to do this if I’m going to get my revenge on Gen. Only, she’s not even here. Instead, she’s off entertaining Leland.
Damn, I wish I didn’t have to involve Leland in all this mess. He’s been nothing but courteous to me. Hell, he even believed in me when no one else thought my idea for a railway system would work. He listened as I explained my theory about using the veins of helachite, along with processed helachite rails and wheels, to power the locomotive. And here I am, allowing him to marry into this pit of vipers. At least Queen Kalise is here to witness the lack of integrity she’s agreeing to. Her two white foxes lie at her feet, quietly sleeping. The creatures hardly leave her side, but from Queen Penelope’s expression, I can tell she doesn’t share Kalise’s affection for them.
The Ashcrofts don’t even understand that they’re the source of all that’s wrong with this country. That valuing blood over people, a damned mineral over lives, is the true rot in Naseria.
“Can I see the most up-to-date maps of the helachite deposits in Naseria? The ones I reviewed last night were rather dated, and my surveyors will be arriving in the next few days.”
“Of course,” Gabe says, giving me a piercing stare. Does he recognize me? I thought that was impossible. These bluebloods don’t really understand the impact helachite can have on a person. They think the initial exposure three generations ago was all it took to make them a superior class of people to redbloods, but what’s their long-term plan as the tides turn? Gabe himself is a walking example of a blueblood—someone whose ancestors were exposed to helachite at dangerous levels—who lacks the gift. Despite the indigo color of his blood, he doesn’t have any special power the queen seems to value so much.
I wonder if it’s strained their relationship. She’s always had an odd level of disinterest in her children’s lives. I study the way they look at each other—Gabe’s face pinched, her icy glare. There’s never been affection between the queen and her children, but does she still have favorites?
A footman provides the map in question, spreading it on the table, and my eyes immediately drift to the far corner along the coast where Naseria stands between Icelantica and the Beral Sea—a place where my worst nightmares and all my current success were forged. A place so rich in helachite that its levels are easily destabilized when disturbed. Add in over a century of mining, and the entire area is crumbling. Now I get the honor of owning that whole fucking mess. Better me than someone who doesn’t understand what’s at stake—what’s happening to the people trapped in inhumane conditions that have gone on forfar too long. At least I can be the change the region needs, even if it should be the government doing it.
“Tell me, who from the council or government has checked on the mines in the north?”
Queen Penelope gives me a puzzled look. “We have a liaison who visits twice a year, but you should know that, Mr. Blackwell, since they’ve been incorporated into Blackwell Industries.”
“That’s why I’m curiouswho’srepresenting your interests in my mines. Since taking possession, I haven’t heard from a single council member or royal. It’s a sharp contrast to how Queen Kalise and her council have handled the transition to Blackwell Industries ownership in Icelantica.”
Kalise studies me with cool, knowing eyes. She’s a cold bitch and terrible bore, but she’s a shrewd leader and serves her people in a way I can’t help but admire.
