A Captive of Wing and Feather

by Melanie Cellier

  “And what would he be planning to do with such an army?” I whispered, but it was a rhetorical question, and Gabe didn’t bother to answer.

  In a kingdom immobilized by fear, an army of wolves, dogs, and bears would wreak havoc and destruction. Breaking Leander’s enchantment had just become about a lot more than just my freedom.

  “We have to get into that Keep.” I sat up straighter, my aches and pains forgotten.

  “Let’s hope Audrey has had success,” Gabe said.

  My mind was still reeling from the day and the conversation, but I saw my opening.

  “Yes,” I said. “We must hope she has. It’s dark, but it’s not too late. You could stop in at the haven on your way back to the inn and find out.”

  Gabe frowned. “I already told you I’m not going to leave you alone out here.”

  “You’re not leaving me,” I said, my voice coming out sharper than I had intended, “I’m sending you away. We’ve discovered the wild animals you were concerned about—and they’re not so wild after all. They’re also connected to my swans somehow, so I’ll be fine.”

  Gabe’s brows drew together, his eyes focused on my face. “But—”

  “I’ll meet you at the haven in the morning.”

  Gabe’s face expressed his feelings on the matter, but he reluctantly rose to his feet.

  “Very well.” He paused. “Addie—”

  I shook my head quickly. “Not tonight. I’m exhausted. I just want to sleep.”

  He paused again before sighing and nodding. “Tomorrow, then.”

  He fashioned himself a makeshift torch from one of the thicker branches before heading for the trees. He didn’t look back, and I told myself that was a good thing. Hopefully he had received my message—we were both committed to stopping Leander, but that didn’t mean I needed his protection and company. Even if a large part of me desperately wanted it.

  The next morning I arrived earlier than usual at the haven. I had slept deeply, thanks to my exhaustion, but had woken early. I tossed and turned, unable to get back to sleep, until I eventually gave up trying. It turned out that knowing there were well-laid plans to ravage your kingdom with deadly animals—and that you were somehow caught up in them—wasn’t conducive to sleep.

  I stepped through the haven doors with trepidation. How had Audrey’s conversation with Wren gone the day before? Would she hate me now that she knew the truth? And would she help us even so, if she knew the kingdom was at stake?

  I hesitated inside the entryway, wondering where Audrey would be at this hour. Eventually I headed for the kitchen. It was still early enough that breakfast would be in swing.

  Sure enough, I found food and dishes everywhere. The cook didn’t arrive until lunch, so the capable residents took turns preparing the first meal of the day.

  Audrey leaped on me before I had even seen her.

  “You’re alive! Oh thank goodness! I’ve been so worried!”

  I frowned and signed out Gabe’s name.

  “Gabe? What about him? Is he all right?” Audrey asked.

  I nodded, and gestured around the room.

  “Oh, do you mean is he here?”

  I nodded, and Audrey shook her head.

  “I haven’t seen him since you two left yesterday. I’ve been worried sick.”

  So he had returned straight to the inn instead of coming to see Audrey without me. I tried to tamp down the warm feeling that evoked. A second thought—that something might have happened to him—easily quenched the sensation. Before I could think of any way to voice my concerns, however, another voice spoke.

  “Yes, worried so sick you only managed thirds at breakfast,” Wren said from the back of the kitchen.

  I turned to her, and she dropped into an awkward curtsy before I could get a good look at her face. “Your Highness.”

  I hurried toward her, shaking my head, and as she straightened, I winced. She might be giving me royal courtesies now, but she wasn’t happy with me.

  “I can’t believe you’re a princess.” She wouldn’t meet my eyes. “That you’ve been a princess this whole time.”

  So that was what was bothering her—not the curse, and the fact I hadn’t told her about it.

  “Personally, I was more surprised you can talk to swans,” said another voice from the doorway.

  I whirled around, my wide eyes flicking from Cora to Audrey.

  “Sorry, Lady,” Audrey said belatedly. “I had to tell Cora, too.”

  “I’m afraid I demanded answers after I saw you creeping off with my old sword,” Cora said, her expression hard to read.

  Sorry, I signed. I should have asked. I hurried forward and offered the weapon to her.

  She accepted it, placing it on a bench by the door. When she looked back at me, she chuckled, and the band around my heart eased a little.

  “No doubt you knew I would say no—since I prefer you avoid the kind of trouble that requires a sword to get out of.” Her voice softened. “I wish you’d told me, Lady. I might have been able to help you.”

  I glanced across at Audrey, and Cora nodded slowly.

  “That’s exactly what you were afraid of, wasn’t it? That we’d try to help you.”

  I nodded, glad for her ready understanding. If only that understanding was enough to remove the hurt from her eyes. Cora was the last person I wanted to hurt.

  “Never mind all that,” Audrey interjected. “What happened yesterday? What did you find in the forest?” She looked around the kitchen. “Where’s that paper of yours?”

  I pulled it out and placed it on the table.

 

  All three of them had drawn close to read my words, but they all pulled back again, shock and horror on their faces. I leaned over the paper a second time.

 

  “How can I refuse?” She met my eyes this time, although she looked reluctant.

  Did she mean because Gabe and I were royalty or because of Leander’s threat to the kingdom? I wished I could tell her not to help unless she wanted to—to show her I wasn’t that type of princess. But I didn’t have that luxury.

  This. This was why I had been happy to leave that life and all its luxuries behind. It was no easy burden bearing the responsibility for a kingdom, and I had seen firsthand what happened when that responsibility wasn’t respected.

  I’m sorry, I signed, but she had already turned away and hurried from the room.

  “Wren!” cried Audrey, hurrying after her with an apologetic look thrown over her shoulder at me.

  I turned to Cora, who sighed.

  “Give her time. I don’t know what else to say.”

  I hesitated. I wanted to ask her why Wren was so upset—or at least, why Cora wasn’t equally angry—but I didn’t quite know how to phrase it.

  Cora must have seen the questions on my face, though. “If you’re wondering about me, I’m far too old and tired to muster up the necessary righteous indignation.”

  I rolled my eyes at that, and she chuckled.

  “Or maybe I just have the wisdom not to waste my indignation on the foolishness of youth.” She gave me a sterner look. “And yes, I do consider it the foolishness of youth. Anyone with an ounce of experience would have foreseen that entrusting such a secret to Audrey—and Audrey alone—would lead to disaster. Wren is hurt because you let her believe for all those months that she was the one who drove Audrey to the Keep—but I think her pride is hurt a little also. You were always Audrey’s friend, but Wren considers you a friend as well. And I don’t think she likes that apparently you couldn’t see how different she is from her sister. She wouldn’t have run heedlessly into danger like Audrey. You could have trusted her.”

  I looked down into my lap. She was right about letting Wren believe she had driven Audrey away with their fight—that had been wrong of me. I would apologize again as soon as I had the opportunity.
r />   But as for everything else…the last six months of anxiety was more proof than I needed that I had been right to keep my curse to myself.

  Chapter 17

  When I went looking for Wren to reiterate my apology, she was nowhere in sight among the children. Audrey extricated herself from Juniper’s grip, however, and hurried over to me.

  “She’s already gone to speak to Ash. I’m watching the children until she gets back. But then we need to talk.” She peered over my shoulder. “Is Gabe here yet?”

  I shook my head at her casual way of addressing him and reminded myself to be grateful for it. The same attitude that led her to treat him as if he was another Brylee boy—rather than her crown prince—was the one that had kept her from reacting like Wren when she found out the truth about me. Still, she was fortunate she had never attempted to address my brother as she did Gabe.

  Or maybe I had that the wrong way around. Maybe discovering she had spent years living and working alongside a princess had reduced the awe and respect Audrey might otherwise have felt for royalty. I was only glad she seemed to have had the good sense to keep her head down at the Keep. I couldn’t imagine Leander would have appreciated her particular brand of irreverence.

  With nothing to do but wait for Wren’s return, I stayed to help Audrey with the children. The older ones clustered around Frank and Selena—no doubt well aware that Audrey didn’t have the patience to be of much use to them in their studies. The younger children, however, swarmed toward me, led by Juniper.

  I lifted Junie up and swung her wildly around while she screamed in delight. Naturally I then had to perform the same service for each of the others. And once they had all had a turn, I had to submit to being the villain in their latest imaginary game. My presence appeared to give great satisfaction, and Audrey whispered that before my arrival they had been involved in an argument over who was to play the unappealing role.

  I secured myself a comfortable seat and decreed that the villain watched over everything from the top of her mountain. The children seemed happy enough to accept my self-serving storytelling, and my poor, aching body appreciated the opportunity to rest.

  At least an hour disappeared while the children wove me into their fairly nonsensical story. At one point, part way in, I looked up and spotted Gabe lingering in the doorway. To my frustration, I flushed at the sight of him, but I couldn’t call out a greeting, and he had slipped away before I could gesture for him to come inside. And since Audrey had disappeared, I couldn’t follow him either. I was stuck until Wren returned.

  Thankfully she arrived not long later, pulling up short when she caught sight of me. I signed to her that Audrey had gone, and she gave a long-suffering sigh.

  “Why am I not surprised? She always did take advantage of your good nature, Lady.” She stiffened. “I mean, Your Highness.”

  Please, no, I signed, and then added, I’m sorry. About Audrey.

  She regarded me for a long moment while I held my breath. Finally, she sighed. Glancing at the children, she kept her voice low.

  “Audrey is…Audrey. No one knows better than me that she’s hard to control. I can’t blame you for failing to do what I have never really managed.” She gave me a hard look. “But you should have told me what happened.”

  I nodded my agreement, hoping my face sufficiently reflected my repentance, and her anger melted away. She glanced toward her daughter.

  “I know you just wanted to protect me. I’m familiar with the feeling—I would do anything to protect Junie. But, Lady, I’m not a four-year-old. I just wish you’d trusted me.”

  I looked away, not sure how to respond, and was suddenly enveloped in a hug. Tears pricked my eyes as Wren held me close. She was a good friend—better than I deserved.

  “Now get out of here,” she said. “I saw Audrey on my way in and gave her my report. And I think I spied Gabe as well. No doubt they’re waiting for you.”

  Although the children were busily occupied on the other side of the room, a cry went up from Junie when I moved toward the door.

  “No! You can’t go! The villain needs to stay on the mountain.”

  I hesitated, but Wren waved me on with a wry look.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll sort them out. You be off.”

  With a smile for her and a wave at the children, I took the offered opportunity and slipped away. I paused in the corridor. No one was in sight. I couldn’t hear anything either. So I did what I always did when in doubt and headed for the kitchen. The large room was the undeniable hub of the haven—its beating heart.

  Sure enough, I heard voices as I approached the kitchen door, but something made me hesitate. Catching my name, I lingered outside. It only took me a moment to place the two voices—Cora and Gabe. The strange combination was enough to keep me outside, out of view, as I heard my name again.

  “It’s like she’s two different people,” Gabe said. “When I see her with the residents here—the elderly or the children—she’s like the Addie of my childhood. Kind, gracious, gentle…But when she interacts with me—”

  Cora barked out a laugh. “Let me guess. She’s defensive, closed off, and generally prickly?”

  I peeked through the gap in the door and saw Gabe give her a rueful look.

  “It’s that obvious, huh?”

  “A number of things are obvious,” she told him dryly. “Lady doesn’t trust you—because she doesn’t trust most men.” She gave him an exaggerated look up and down, a smile tugging at her mouth. “And, given your unfortunate excess of charm and good looks, I’m guessing she doesn’t trust herself around you either.”

  I stiffened. Cora knew me far too well, apparently.

  “Doesn’t trust herself…” Gabe trailed off as he grasped Cora’s meaning, a surprising flush appearing on his cheeks. “Oh, I see.” His gaze grew thoughtful.

  “I’ve always assumed it had something to do with her past—and with how she turned up on my doorstep alone at thirteen. But it’s my policy not to ask questions of those in need—they know my ears are open when they’re ready to talk. And maybe Lady would have reached that point eventually—if her voice hadn’t been stripped away.”

  Cora paused, frowning. “Of course, now that I know who she really is…” She shook her head. “There have been all sorts of rumors about old King Nicolas and Prince Dominic—King Dominic, I should say—so I can only guess at what she went through.” She bent a piercing eye on Gabe. “You probably know more about that than me.”

  “I know something,” Gabe said. “But I’m not exactly one of Dominic’s confidants. I suspect he doesn’t have a great many of those. But I know he was far less at fault than his father, at least.”

  Cora sighed. “Which is not the same as being blameless, as I’ve no doubt Lady was. It’s a pity because it would be nice to think she had some family worth finding.”

  “Dominic has been tearing Palinar apart looking for her,” Gabe said. “Whatever his faults back then, he’s changed.”

  “Changed, eh?” Cora raised an eyebrow. “It’s not the most common thing, but I’ve seen it happen.”

  “To tell the truth,” Gabe said softly, “I was hoping to find her first in case she didn’t want to be found by him. But now that I’m here—and she doesn’t want him to know—I just keep hoping she’ll decide to give him a chance.”

  “And perhaps she still will,” Cora said.

  Footsteps down the hallway made me jerk away from the hinges, turning as Audrey came into view.

  “Lady!” she cried, in her usual enthusiastic way. Linking her arm into mine, she dragged me into the kitchen. “There you are at last, Gabe! We need to talk.”

  “You’ve found a way for us to get inside the Keep?” Gabe asked.

  She nodded excitedly. None of them seemed to notice I was doing my best not to meet anyone’s gaze.

  “Wren went round to visit Ash at the bakery and said she’d like to go and see his sample cakes before he sets off.” Audrey rolled her eyes. “A nons
ensical thing to want to do, but he’s more than happy to accommodate any visit from Wren. Once he’s shown her the cakes in the wagon, she’s going to distract him, and we’re going to sneak in.” She beamed around at us all. “Easy.”

  We weren’t quite as enthusiastic about the plan as she was, and it took some time before we could agree on the details. Cora wandered away not long into the conversation. She knew the whole kingdom might hang in the balance of our finding a way to defeat Leander, but she informed us tartly that she had better things to do than bear witness to our hare-brained scheming. Gabe looked slightly bemused, but Audrey and I knew it was just her way of expressing her worry for us.

  One thing Gabe and I agreed on was that we would be the only two hiding in the wagon. Not only was it too small for three, but it didn’t seem like a good idea for Audrey to return to the Keep in such a manner.

  I had expected her to fight us on that point vociferously, but she agreed with only a little coaxing. I didn’t like what that implied about the time she had already spent there, but nothing in her manner was pronounced enough for me to question her on it. Whatever trauma she had experienced, she was hiding it well.

  Despite her planned absence from the excursion, she seemed determined for us to succeed, and she would no doubt have continued the conversation all day if unchecked. She even suggested that we reconvene at my lake, but I vetoed that. I was physically and emotionally wrung out, and the last thing I needed was Gabe invading my space again.

  Eventually we had the plans straightened out. Audrey was downright enthusiastic, fully prepared for her role helping conceal us in the wagon. I think she was relieved there was still some way she could help.

  My refusal to have them accompany me home to my lake didn’t deter Gabe. He was waiting for me when I left the haven late that afternoon. For a brief moment I considered trying to send him away via a written message, but he looked determined, and I decided I didn’t have the energy for it.