Her heart in her throat, Elowen followed. Darkness was falling in earnest now, and she could barely make out the place some distance away where Bertrand had pulled up his horse in front of Sophia, Simeon, and Prince Xavier. Simeon’s formsagged visibly from his magical efforts, but he stood boldly by Sophia’s side.
The Siqualian guards clustered near their crown prince, with the exception of Theo’s personal guard, Paulson, who’d been waiting by the carriage. As he stepped into position beside his charge, Elowen let out a cry of relief. Bertrand wasn’t alone.
“Elowen!” Patrick was more furious than she’d ever seen him, but Elowen still felt her tension drop away. Bertrand couldn’t attack anyone in front of Patrick and the pair of Torrenese royal guards who flanked him.
“Patrick, I’m so glad you came!” Elowen hurried forward to meet her brother as he and Bertrand dismounted.
“I can imagine,” he said angrily. “How you were going to extricate yourself from this mess without my intervention, I can’t guess.” His eyes slid to Theo behind her, and he stilled, surprise crossing his face. “Prince Theodore! I’m delighted to see you so much improved.” He gave his sister a meaningful look. “It seems fears regarding your illness were overblown.”
“No, Patrick.” Elowen shook her head. “He didn’t just recover by himself. Simeon used magic to save him. That’s why we—”
“We can discuss the matter later,” Patrick rapped out through clenched teeth. He glanced around, clearly not wishing to lay out the situation in front of the various witnesses.
Bertrand didn’t share this hesitation. “Don’t be angry with her, Your Highness,” he said to Patrick. “It’s my fault. She can’t be expected to know better, but I should have. When I heard that the prisoner had escaped, I knew at once that I was to blame. When Elowen came to me with her frenzied accusations that I’d somehow attacked Prince Theodore and caused his illness, I spoke my mind without thinking.”
“What are you talking about?” Elowen demanded. “Patrick, he’s lying to you.”
“On the contrary, what he told me has turned out to be exactly true,” Patrick said curtly. “I was called once again from the council to learn that our prisoner had escaped from the dungeons. You can imagine my agitation. When Lord Bertrand came to me and asked if your whereabouts were known, I was mortified to be unable to find you. He told me that he’d confided his concern to you, that if someonehadattacked Prince Theodore, it was most likely that the servant in the dungeons had orchestrated the attack before his arrest.”
“When I speculated to the princess that the servant might also know how to reverse it,” Bertrand interjected, “I never imagined she would do something so dangerous as break him out of the dungeons in a desperate attempt to force him to help.” His voice was full of self-reproach.
“No one would imagine it,” Patrick said crisply. “Elowen, what were you thinking?”
Elowen ignored him, anger toward Bertrand burning through her. “A clever lie,” she said. “Just enough truth to make it particularly dangerous, but the heart of it still completely false. That’s your area of special skill, isn’t it, Bertrand?”
“I don’t know or care who you are,” Prince Xavier said to Bertrand in a cold voice. He looked at Patrick. “But I assure you that my brother was not recovering naturally. I was more afraid for his life than ever until the princess and her companions arrived. I didn’t personally see what this servant did, but the improvement in Theo is miraculous.”
“Convenient that no one saw what you did, Simeon,” Bertrand said sternly.
“Isaw,” Elowen contradicted, moving to stand by Simeon’s side in a silent show of solidarity. As if connected by a string, Theo moved with her, his presence bolstering her as she added, “And I know what you did, Bertrand.”
“You haven’t shown your judgment to be worth consideration by anyone of sense, Elowen,” Patrick said harshly.
“Don’t speak to her that way.” Theo put a supportive hand on Elowen’s shoulder, his eyes fixed on the Torrenese prince. “I won’t tolerate disrespect toward my wife, not even from you, Patrick.”
The words sent heat flaring through her, and with it came the heightened awareness of Dust that emotions seemed to unlock for her. Ochre was nearby, her reins held by one of the guards, and Elowen could feel the magic released by her movements as she stamped uneasily and flicked her tail. The horse was a familiar, comforting presence, and the magic shared that same flavor in her mind. Without a clear plan for why, Elowen found herself reaching out to harness the Dust. She caught the glance from Simeon that said he’d noticed it, but no one else appeared to.
Meanwhile Patrick was silent, looking taken aback at Theo’s rebuke, even a little offended. But it was Bertrand’s reaction Elowen was interested in. She hadn’t missed the angry spark in his eyes at Theo’s words.
“She’s not your wife yet, Your Highness,” the viscount said smoothly, the emotion carefully hidden now. “And you might be wise not to speak of that event with such certainty. You’re not quite up to date with the state of affairs in Toledda.”
His words ignited Elowen’s anger, but also her fear. If her father bowed to the council and dissolved her betrothal, would she be powerless to stop Theo from leaving again? The Dust she’d been gathering from Ochre’s movements clamored at her, and without thinking much, she sent it toward Theo, giving shape to her desire not to be parted from him. She could feel an invisible strand stretch between them, thin and weak in line with her limited abilities, but still comforting in her mind. Itwasn’t a difficult enchantment for the magic, given its essence of attachment and affection that came from her bond with Ochre.
“You speak out of turn, Bertrand,” Patrick was saying curtly. “More than enough discussion has happened here on the open road.”
“You’re right, Your Highness.” Bertrand bent in a half-bow. “We should all return to the capital to unravel this—”
He cut himself off, his eyes suddenly widening, although Elowen couldn’t see in the growing darkness what had caught his attention.
“Simeon, stop!”
Bertrand’s words had Elowen looking around in bemusement. She barely caught a glimpse of the servant’s confused face before another shout from Bertrand was drowned out by a sudden, rushing wind.
“Simeon, I command you to STOP!” Bertrand lunged forward as he yelled, and Elowen realized with a thrill of fear that his eyes weren’t on Simeon, but on her.
She heard Sophia’s scream and Patrick’s shout. There was a flash of movement in the corner of her eye, then she felt Theo’s arm snake around her, pushing her back behind his body as dust and gravel rose from the road in a blinding wall.
Chapter
