They shared a look, and Doran shrugged. “They’re all our enemies.”
“From time to time,” Sarosh added. “We’d fight over something, make peace, treaties for whatever, fight again…” He twirled a finger in a circle a few times.
“Sounds like where I’m from.” I was old enough to start seeing the pattern, and I really didn’t like that a fairytale place wasn’t any better off. “So, after years of doing that, now you’re just cut off from each other.”
They both nodded.
“And you really have no idea who did this? Not a single suspect?”
They shared another look, and I swore from the way they widened or squinted their eyes that they were having an entire silent conversation.
“Guys, I promise I’m just trying to understand.” I held my hands up. “I have no agenda here.”
They nodded at each other before Sarosh scooted a bit closer to me and leaned in.
“My cousin’s friend’s boyfriend’s great aunt,” he said quietly, “is a spellworker who swears the king did this to punish the princes for all the wars.”
I cocked my head, considering that. “I mean, okay, war is bad. I get that. But people could’ve died when Winter was closedoff and trapped in their season, right? And I assume there’s an Autumn Court?” I waited for them to nod before continuing. “Do they have a growing season at all? Like do you have to have spring to have apples in the fall?”
I looked at Doran, the gardener, with Sarosh. He shrugged. “I know decorative plants, not farming. The trees barely get new leaves before they fall off and start again. Same with the flowers.”
“Well, then it’s possible people are dying of starvation there, too.” I rolled up the sackcloth bag my lunch had been in and stuck it behind my belt, glad I hadn’t had much to eat after this revelation. “They must’ve been getting a whole hell of a lot of people killed with their wars for mass starvation to be better.”
Doran stood and brushed off his butt. “Can’t say the king was preferable to the princes most days. He started a few of the wars, too.”
“Incredible spellworker, though,” Sarosh said as he got up.
Nowthatcould make me believe the king was in on all of this since the ring that had brought me here was supposed to be very powerful magic. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to hear what the rumors were about me, but I did wonder what possible role I could have to play in this messed up place.
Just after wewere given leave to go clean up and have dinner, I came around a corner of the castle and nearly tripped over Hydris. His wings fluttered him out of the way, and I grabbed a lamppost to stop myself from squashing him. And then we stared at each other. Only when I heard the shuffling of feet onthe stones behind me did I look around to see everyone else stopping in their tracks to stare at their prince, too.
Hydris nodded at them, smiling shyly. “Please continue on your way. Have a pleasant evening.”
Each person went past him, echoing his salutation. A couple people paused to bow or curtsey. Hydris’s face got redder the longer it took for everyone to walk by. When they were finally gone, he put his hands on his cheeks and blew out a breath.
He’d abandoned me, but he was still damned adorable.
“Good evening, Your Highness,” I said before making to walk around him.
“No, wait!” He stepped in front of me, his hands out. “Please, I want to talk with you.”
“Okay.” I pointed back the way I’d come. “There’s a nice grove of?—”
“Actually, I’ve had dinner delivered to my quarters. I thought maybe you could join me.” He had his hands behind his back, one toe digging into the stones, and his face was getting pinker by the second.
He wanted to talk to me in private over dinner? I wasn’t usually a suspicious person, but that seemed a little fishy.
“I’m not allowed above the staff levels.”
I’d learned that when I’d tried to go up yesterday to see if Valborg had made any progress with the spell workers. A pair of guards had informed me I wasn’t permitted above stairs and promptly escorted me back down.
“Oh, well, um…” Hydris looked up, craning his neck as he stared at the wall above us. “That’s me,” he said and pointed to a window three stories up.
“Okay.” I wasn’t sure how knowing that would change anything. I wasn’t a climber and there wasn’t a tree or trellis nearby to help at all.
Suddenly, Hydris was behind me, his hands under my arms, and he was lifting me right off my feet! I wanted to flail and scream, but I also really didn’t want him to drop me, so I sucked in a breath and held it as we went up. Never would I have thought he’d be anywhere near strong enough to lift me an inch off the ground, let alone three stories.
He flew us forward and pressed me against the window. I got my feet on the stone ledge and tried to open the window, but it wouldn’t budge.
