Page 71

Then the servers began carrying away the platters, and suddenly, the only other ears in the garden belonged to the birds and insects … and the uniformed guard that appeared out of nowhere and stood at attention at the end of the garden. I didn’t need my five-second talent to know an assault was on its way. I could feel the heat of rage around the woman as she leaned in closer. I mirrored her movements but went backward, out of her circle of anger.

“You must know that I would have picked any woman in the entire region over a tri-mix like yourself.” She added in a tiny nose crinkle to show her disgust at my lineage. “Yes, your mother was daughter of the king and queen, but that does not improve your standing in my mind.”

I absorbed her insults for a moment, finding myself in retreat, in my shell, the one that I got good at growing after years of verbal abuse at the office. But living in Norvale had given me far more confidence. I decided to move forward back into her circle of heated anger, so she could feel mine.

“Do you think I would have chosen this for myself?” My laugh had a slightly hysterical edge to it because the answer to that was such a giant, resounding no. “Do you think I want to be stuck in a castle with someone like you?” That one got her good. She even dropped back a few inches. “Do you think I want to be married to your son? I’ll answer all those for you. Only takes one simple response. No. I don’t want any of this. I don’t want him, and I most certainly don’t want to be tied to you by a marriage vow.”

I’d taken her down a few notches, but she was a pro. She straightened and her nostrils flared ever so slightly. “Then we are in agreement that this is a terrible match and proposition.”

“Yes, on that we agree. So, I will leave Solamere and⁠—”

She snatched my hand roughly. I tried to pull it free, but she had an iron grip. Her long nails dug into my skin. Her eyes turned a shade of dark gray, and it felt like the air around us had grown stale and cold. “You will marry my son. Your only other choice is death.” She said it so blithely, as if it wasn’t a big deal to threaten someone with certain death.

Suddenly, a shadow flew overhead, and my feathered secret service bird landed on a low branch a few feet from the table. Jonier scowled up at the raven. “Is that bird here for you? Kerris, kill that bird,” she ordered before I could answer. The guard pulled his sword from its sheath.

“No!” I waved at Omni with my free hand. “Go, I’m fine. Please, go now!” The raven took off, but I had no doubt he wouldn’t go far.

The guard retreated, and I faced the horrid woman across from me.

“I do have a choice. I’m going to Regnamoor. Maybe I’ll be treated better there.”

She finally released my hand. It was white from where she held it tightly, and there were moon-shaped crescents in my skin from her nails. “You will not marry that foul beast, because that will mean my family gives up the throne.” She leaned closer again. Her eyes still looked like a tempest at sea, dark and gray. “I will do anything to keep our place in this castle, and as I’ve made clear, your life means nothing to me.”

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you. But the sorcerers have made sure of my safety, so either way, you’ll lose your throne.” My heart was pumping with a charge of adrenaline, and my face and hands felt hot with anger. “I get to make the choice, and you might just have messed it all up for your precious son by being a first-class bitch.”

She gasped. “How dare you! I am Princess Jonier.”

“And I’m just little ole Raphael, and it seems the fate of your royal status lies in my hands.” I leaned forward. “Guess I get to have the last word, no matter how this conversation ends.” I pushed the chair out, stood up and walked back toward the blasted castle, the big stupid blasted castle. I was certain I’d break down in sobs once I got to my bedchamber, but as I marched through the fabulous gardens, I was wearing a triumphant grin.

Twenty-Five

When the Solamere gates snapped shut behind me, I released a chirp of joy and took off at a full run. The hillside back to the trail was steep, but I kept up my pace and was breathing hard by the time I reached the top. Austri was already in view. He wiggled the reins for the donkey to pick up its pace. I ran to meet him. The wagon lurched side to side and came to a creaky stop as I reached it.

Austri leaned over and his stubby hand reached for mine. He pulled me onto the box seat, and I sat with a loud sigh. “I survived, but just barely.”

Austri’s face shot my direction. “Did they hurt ya? Did they threaten ya?”

“No, no, I was treated very well, but Princess Jonier is a snake in elegant clothing.”

The tension flowed out of Austri’s body, and I was sorry for my first hyperbolic words. “Yeah, I’ve heard she’s poisonous. But she didn’t try anything?”

“Nope, she just played the part of the evil mother-in-law. It’s fine.” I didn’t feel the need to repeat her threats. It would only upset Austri. I let my defensive posture crumple for possibly the first time since I’d entered the glitzy gates of Solamere. A long sigh escaped with the crumpling. “I can’t believe I have to do this again, and I have a feeling this will be a very different experience. Not a better one, just different.”

“That it will be.” Austri’s jaw was set tightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just I don’t like the idea of sending you into Fenrick’s lair alone.”

I smiled. “I won’t be. Omni always seems to be around. Speaking of Omni …” My words trailed off, but Austri knew exactly what I wanted to ask.

His expression dimmed beneath the pile of fiery red hair. “He’s in a bad way, our Revel. Since you left, he’s been miserable to be around—angry, growling and downing more ale than me—and that’s saying a lot.” Austri’s deep chortle sent a few small brown birds skittering from the trees. “Funny thing is, yesterday afternoon, he took a dark turn. Don’t know what triggered it, and he refused to talk, but he’s been holed up in his house ever since. Didn’t even take Kya out for a ride.”

I thought back to my moment of extreme vulnerability when I’d bared my breasts and told Revel, through Omni’s eyes, that I belonged with him. I instantly shook off the notion that my embarrassing little display had caused his turn in mood. My whole body ached to see him again.

Our conversation quieted as the rickety wagon rolled westward toward towering cliffs of charcoal gray shale. They were much like the cliffs at Dante Fell, only these rock formations were taller, denser and somehow looked more menacing than the ones at the Fell. Like the Avion Mountains north of Norvale, they formed an impassable border along the entire western edge of Troikana. The energizing, warm sunshine shrouding Solamere had degraded into a cold, dreary sky. It was hard to know which way to look to find the sun, but it sure wasn’t hanging out over the southwestern corner of Troikana.

I pulled my cloak closer around me and yanked the hood up. I’d been dressed in finery at the castle, but I was given back my own shabby but comfortable clothes for the visit to Regnamoor.