As they parted ways, Elowen looked back over her shoulder. Theo was doing the same, and their eyes met, silent acknowledgment of their interrupted moment passing between them. Her lips tingled with the memory of how close they’d come to knowing what his would feel like.
Along with the regret, and her fear for Simeon, something else was sprouting in her heart. Hope. She didn’t understand Theo’s hesitation, but she no longer feared that he was indifferent to her. If they could navigate through whatever had gone wrong with Simeon and the magic-induced disasters, she might find herself faced not with a prison sentence, but with a future she wanted to run toward.
Chapter
Eighteen
Theo lay on his side, confused by the pressure on his head. He raised a hand, wincing as he felt the heavy rock resting against his temple. No wonder his head felt like it was being slowly crushed. He tried to move the stone, but it wouldn’t budge. Wind whipped around his face, and he shivered under its icy touch. He realized that his cheek lay against soft grass, and opened his eyes to see a moonlit scene, cliffs falling away right beside him, with an ocean crashing against their base.
It was a place he hadn’t seen in a long time, but it was horribly familiar. From his vantage point, he could see the side of the cliff where it curved around not far away. It wasn’t just a sheer drop. There were layers of stone, climbable by someone sure-footed. As Theo’s eyes frantically scanned the cliffside, his eyes caught on a strange movement, and a moment later, moonlight glinted on the creature’s forehead.
“I see it!” The clear voice reached Theo’s ears as the turf beneath his head reverberated with hoofbeats.
Sluggishly, he turned his obstructed head to see Ochre riding at a breakneck speed toward the cliff’s edge. The horse was galloping too fast, on the edge of losing control, just like when ithad run alongside the flood from the dam. But this time its rider wasn’t afraid.
Elowen sat astride the mare, her hair flowing freely behind her with the moonlight tangling in it and making it glow as strangely as a carbuncle’s brow. She wore a golden gown to match her hair, and a thin scarf was around her neck. Skirts and scarf fanned out behind her as she rode, whipped by the wind.
“I see it, Theo!” she cried again, her eyes alight with excitement as she thundered toward the carbuncle.
“No!” Theo cried. “Elowen, stop!”
She didn’t seem to hear him. He struggled to get up from the ground, his limbs shaky and weak as they tried to lift his body. Terror gripped him, his arms stretching uselessly out as the horse veered toward the cliff’s edge and suddenly shied.
Elowen was thrown from the saddle, falling down, over the edge, into nothing, endlessly falling.
“NO!”
Theo woke with a ragged gasp, trapped energy still coursing through his veins.
A smaller gasp answered his own, and he opened his eyes to see a servant scurrying from the room, clutching flint. It took Theo’s sluggish mind a moment to comprehend that he was looking at his suite in the Torrenese royal castle, and that the cliffside disaster had been a dream. It was no wonder it was hard to think straight, given how his head was pounding. The rock from the dream no longer sat on his temple, but the sensation of pressure on his head remained.
Theo sat slowly up, grimacing at the potency of his dream. The weakness in his limbs was lingering still. The servant he’d startled must have been lighting the fire, and it was a good thing. The room felt freezing, almost as cold as the wind-whipped cliffside his imagination had taken him back to in sleep.
He washed his face with the fresh water that had been left by his basin. It was harder than it should have been to shake off the stupor of the dream. His mind felt like it was underwater, the thickness and pressure in his head refusing to disappear.
Theo was surprised to learn how late he’d slept, and he made his way to breakfast as quickly as his unresponsive body would allow. When he entered the smaller dining hall the family used for non-tournament meals, he stopped short.
Elowen was there, as he’d expected, looking resplendent in a sky-blue gown, her hair partly pulled back at the top, with the rest flowing past her shoulders. The king, queen, and prince were also present. But it wasn’t them who made Theo pause in the doorway, staring stupidly. Was he still asleep after all?
“Theo.” The interloper rose, grinning. “Finally! Everyone’s almost finished, when did you become such a sluggard?”
“Xavier?” Theo said the name cautiously, as if fearing some trick. The pounding in his head was a dull roar, and his mind was struggling to keep up. “But…you’re not in Toledda.”
There was a strange look in Xavier’s eyes as he laughed in response to Theo’s words. “I am, actually. But if you meant I’m not expected, you’re right, of course.” He bowed gallantly in the direction of the Torrenese royals. “I’m grateful for the generosity of Their Majesties in receiving me.”
“We’re delighted to host you, Your Highness,” Queen Lisbeth assured him, although something about the line of her lips told Theo that she didn’t fully appreciate the irregularity of Siqual’s crown prince showing up unannounced.
Theo didn’t blame her. It was absurd and inconsiderate and, frankly, just like Xavier. It must really be happening.
“When did you get here?Whyare you here?” he demanded.
Dazed, he moved forward and took a seat beside Xavier. His brother, he noticed, had taken the seat next to Elowen. Of course he had.
“I arrived late last night,” Xavier said. “I thought I might have to find an inn, but the castle was still bustling with a gala, my good luck.” He quirked one eyebrow in a way that gave his already appealing face a rakishly handsome air—as he was well aware, Theo knew from experience. “I was told that you’d retired hours before, however, which is why I didn’t come bursting into your rooms at once. Theo, you’ve always been a dull dog, but retiring early from your own victory feast is a sad case even for you. What of Siqual’s honor, little brother?”
A flash of anger went over Theo at these words, and he knew it showed in his face. Xavier’s winning smile wavered, his brows puckering slightly in confusion as he searched Theo’s face. Theo raised a hand to his throbbing head, trying to regain his equilibrium. He usually met Xavier’s outrageousness with either long-suffering or laughter, depending on his mood. Anger wasn’t a normal reaction, and Xavier knew it.
“You all right?” Xavier asked, more quietly.
