The door opened, and Marta, one of the serving girls, came in. “Oh, Miss Tariel,” she gasped, her hazel eyes growing wide. She rushed over to Tariel’s bedside and felt her forehead. “Are you allright?”
“It’s just a headache,” Tariel said through gritted teeth. Another wave of pain wracked her, and she shut her eyes, bearing down on it. “What do youneed?”
“Lady Tyrook sent me to fetch you,” Marta said in a worried voice. “Normally, I would go back and tell her you are indisposed, but she seemed quiteinsistent—”
“It’s fine,” Tariel managed. She sat up, and the room spun. “Just give me a moment or two, and I’ll bealong.”
“Are you sure?” Marta asked, wringing her hands. Tariel couldn’t blame her for worrying—if Marta were to open a window right now, the breeze that came through would likely lay Tariel flat against the bed again. “At least let me get you some bread and water. You missed the midday meal, didn’tyou?”
“All right,” Tariel said wearily. “Some food mighthelp.”
Marta shut the door behind her, and Tariel took a deep breath. Slowly, she rose from the bed, then took a few experimental steps. Magic screamed in her veins, and when she looked down at her hands, she was horrified to see purple energy crackling at herfingers.
“Stop that this instant!” she cried, thoroughly fed up. “Can’t you see we’ll die if you keep thisup?”
She slammed the flat of her hand against the wall, which was a mistake. The magic clinging to her fingers leapt eagerly from flesh to stone. Tariel cried out as the limestone began transforming into glass. She tried to stop it, but the magic would not be denied, and the next thing she knew, she had a new window in her towerroom.
“No, no, no,” she groaned, pressing her hand against the window pane. She tried to undo it, but the buildup of magic in her system had been released, and she had no more power to draw upon. It would take time to recharge, and by then, someone might come in and see thewindow.
“At least it’s a nice view,” she muttered. The castle gardens flourished, flowers blooming riotously, and beyond, the sprawling tundra, unusually green, led to snow-capped mountains in the distance. Fjordland was a cold, harsh place for most of the year, but during spring and summer, the snow and ice receded to reveal the beautifullandscape.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t risk someone realizing the window was out of place. She would have to find a tapestry to cover it up. There were some unused ones in the storage room that no one would miss, if she could just find a way to bring one upunseen…
“Miss Tariel?” Marta called from the hallway. Tariel spun around and rushed to open the door just as the doorknob wasturning.
“Thank you, Marta,” she said fervently, opening the door just wide enough for Marta to pass the serving tray through. She took the tray from her, which had a hunk of bread, some cheese, and a small cup of water. “I can take it fromhere.”
“Are you sure?” Marta asked. “You could barely stand when I leftyou—”
“I took a tonic, and I’m feeling much better now,” Tariel insisted. “Please, tell Lady Tyrook I’ll be along shortly. I don’t want her to think I’m ignoring hersummons.”
“Yes, that’s a good point, Miss,” Marta relented, stepping back. “I’ll tell her rightaway.”
Tariel shut the door behind her, then set the tray on top of her dressing table. Now that her headache was gone, her hunger returned with a roaring vengeance, and she quickly devoured the simple meal. Sated, she checked her hair in the small mirror and brushed away any lingering crumbs from her mouth. She locked the door behind her and made her way to Lady Tyrook’ssolar.
The solar was located on the south side of the castle, where plenty of light could filter through the windows during the summer months. Lady Tyrook often took her private meetings in this room, and Tariel had been called on the carpet there more than once. Her stomach tightened as she hurried down the corridor as fast as she could manage while still being ladylike, wondering what she had done now to merit the matriarch’sattention.
“Come in,” Lady Tyrook’s harsh voice called when she knocked on thedoor.
Tariel swallowed her nerves andentered.
Lady Tyrook sat near the bank of windows on the opposite end of the room, her long, thin fingers working deftly at some knitting project. She wore a high-collared dress with loose white sleeves that tightened into cuffs at her wrists, and a wide, embroidered skirt that flared out from the waist. The years had not been kind to her, carving lines in her once-beautiful face, adding silver to her dull blonde hair, and gravel to a voice that had probably been quite lovely in heryouth.
“You’re late,” Lady Tyrook said, putting her knitting aside. “I sent for you a half hourago.”
Marilla, seated next to her mother,smirked.
Tariel’s stomach plummeted at the triumphant look in Marilla’s eyes, but she did her best to ignore her. “My apologies,” Tariel said, dipping into a brief curtsy. “I am suffering from a terribleheadache.”
Lady Tyrook’s eyes snapped fire. “I thought you were taking a tonic for those headaches, girl,” she barked. “How am I supposed to marry you off if you’re an invalid? No man wants a wife who is laid up in bed day andnight.”
“That doesn’t seem to have stopped any of the suitors you’ve sent away,” Tariel pointed out before she could stop herself. She took offense at being called an invalid—aside from the headaches, which were not as frequent as Lady Tyrook made them out to be, she was in perfect health and never got so much as acold.
Lady Tyrook looked like she wanted to rebuke Tariel for her impertinence, but she let it go. “It is not my fault the queen has rejected every suit that has come your way,” she said stiffly. Her thin lips curled into a smile. “Luckily, Roisen has smiled upon me, for she has not made any reply regarding your latest. I can only assume that she finds no fault in the match, and as I can hardly keep Lord Sowell waiting, I have accepted on your behalf. You will wed him in eight days’time.”
“Lord Sowell of Thrimm?” Tariel gasped, recoiling in horror. She’d known about his suit, of course, but assumed the queen would reject him just as she had all the others. “No, this cannotbe!”
Marilla’s smirk widened. “Of course it can, and I don’t understand why you are so unhappy. You’ve been wanting to marry and leave the castle, haven’t you,Tariel?”
