Prologue
“Come on.” Theodore shook his brother impatiently. “Wake up, Xavier, it’s time.”
The older boy groaned, rolling over and tugging his covers with him.
“Xavier.” Theo’s whisper was more a hiss, and he flicked his brother’s ear hard enough to elicit a protest.
Xavier rocketed up, making a grab at Theo’s wrist. But Theo was faster. His brother had fooled him with that trick too many times in former years.
“Xavier, it’s almost the hour of the solstice! We have to go now.”
The older prince’s eyes flew wide, awareness fully returning as he threw off his blanket and slipped his feet into boots. “Why didn’t you say so to start with? How did I fall asleep?”
“You fell asleep because you stayed up half the night last night flirting with the viscount’s daughter,” Theodore said disdainfully.
“Oh, her.” Xavier yawned as he pulled on the overcoat he’d left by his bed. Theodore was already swathed in his. “Her laugh sounds like metal scraping against rock.”
“Why did you flirt like that if you don’t even like her?” Theo demanded, unable to keep the distaste from his voice as he remembered how he’d caught Xavier actually kissing their host’s daughter—while she giggled foolishly—in the manor’s garden. He couldn’t see the appeal in the pastime, himself.
Xavier just laughed, ruffling Theo’s hair in a condescending manner. “Because Father can’t stand it, that’s why. Plus, there’s not much else for a prince to do, is there? I guess it’s more than a twelve-year-old can understand, but you’ll get there one day, little brother.”
Theo grumbled to himself, irked by the airs his brother was putting on, as if he was an adult instead of being only two years older than Theo himself. But it wasn’t worth arguing about. If they didn’t hurry, they’d miss the hour of the solstice, and it would all be for nothing. His heart hammered in his chest as he slid the window up and climbed carefully onto the grass below. They had to succeed. Hehadto get that carbuncle favor.
“It’s such a stroke of luck, isn’t it?” he said excitedly, as the pair of them crept through the manor’s garden. The air was cold, but there was no snow here at the southern tip of the Peninsula, not even in the dead of winter. Even the biting wind from the ocean couldn’t cool his excitement. “Father never lets us all accompany him on these trips. The fact that he said yes the one time he’s traveling over the solstice is so lucky, it’s almost like we’ve got the carbuncle favor already.”
“Don’t count your anzu chicks before they show their powers,” Xavier warned him. “I agree it’s good luck that we’re at the southern coast just at the right time, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. The creatures are highly sought after for a reason. Sightings are rare.”
Theo shook his head stubbornly. “We’re going to find one. I can feel it. Good luck is just around the corner.”
They were almost at the stables, and he dropped his voice, the two of them slipping into the building as silently as shadows. There was no one there but a solitary stable boy, fast asleep on a mound of hay. He was no doubt supposed to be keeping watch.
Theo’s eyes lit up as he caught sight of the beautiful bay stallion sleeping peacefully in one of the stalls.
“There he is,” he whispered. “He’s a beauty, isn’t he?”
“You’re still on about that horse?” Xavier’s voice was also a murmur as they moved down the moonlit aisle of the stable.
Theo nodded. “If we find a carbuncle, and get the favor, that’s what I’m going to use it for,” he said fervently. “The good luck should be enough for me to convince Father to buy it from the viscount.”
“That’s what you’ll use your luck for?” Xavier sounded incredulous. “For some horse?”
“It’s not just some horse,” Theo contradicted. “It’s the most beautiful specimen I’ve ever seen.” He stroked the stallion’s nose, watching eagerly as the creature emerged from sleep and accepted the sugar cube he was offering it. “I’m going to ride it to the shore.”
“Suit yourself.” Xavier was already easing out the next horse over. “Father will have your hide if he finds out you rode it after he expressly forbade it, but I’m not about to try to talk you out of angering him.”
Theo puffed out his chest as he saddled the stallion as quietly as he could. He was proud of how well he could manage the process, even on such a big horse.
“He won’t forbid it if he sees how well I can handle myself. I want this horse, Xavier,” Theo confided. “I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
His task complete, he led the horse out alongside his brother. Once they were clear of the stables, they used a low brick wallto help them mount their rides. Only then did he risk speaking again.
“Don’t you think he’d be impressed if he saw how cleanly I can get up into the saddle?”
Xavier snorted. “If your heart’s desire is to prove yourself to Father, you’d best give up before you begin. He’s not likely to be impressed by anything either of us does. Nothing’s ever good enough for him, trust me.”
Theo said nothing. He was determined to prove his brother wrong, but he knew that saying so would just earn him more cutting words from Xavier. He didn’t really understand the tension that had recently arisen between his brother and his father, but it had become all-consuming for the crown prince. Defying the king seemed to be all Xavier thought about.
“Stop!”
