Philip paused. “Yes, well, I didn’t think it could give us problems. But now, with a troublemaker such as Marsor detained because of us, it might be better not to mention it. A lot of people bet money on him, and could pass on their anger over losing to us and our kingdoms.”
“I didn’t think of that,” Rose admitted. “Even if I think it is unlikely to happen. I’ll have Sophia pass along the message to keep it secret, just in case.”
“Thank you.”
The strain in his voice was obvious. “You have to admit, though,” Rose said, “it was a small price to pay for her dream to come true.”
“If it’s warranted. I can’t tell you how much Einish would be remiss if she turns out to be a terrible musician.”
Rose punched his shoulder. “She will not be terrible.” Rose looked back over at where Ethan was standing with Penelope and sighed. “Ethan is clearly taken with her.”
“Ethan has to grow up, just as we did, and let go of fantasy to find reality. Does even one of your romantic daydreams from thirteen still matter to you?”
Rose felt her face burn. It was her turn to answer with unfamiliar brusqueness. “No.”
A moment passed in silence. Then Philip realized the full gravity of her words, and his. “Oh, Rose, I’m sorry. I forgot with your curse—”
“I’ll be right back.” Rose got up and headed out the door. “I’m going to see if Sophia’s coming.”
She pushed past some of the crowd as the music started, hoping desperately she wasn’t accidentally skipping Ethan’s performance.
Rose found her way outside and ducked around the side of the building. She took a deep, steadying breath of the fresh night air. It had to be this prison of a place, she thought. It was just too stressful being on this island.
“Rose?”
She groaned as he came up beside her. “Not now, please, Theo.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing you want to discuss.”
Her eyes glared at him, sharp in the darkness. “Yes.”
“Did Philip make you mad?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I’m not always going to play safe with you, Rose,” Theo reminded her, coming to stand beside her. “You’ve been anxious lately.”
“It’s just the tournament.”
“No, it’s not.”
Rose said nothing. Theo had known her for the majority of her life. He was probably more right about such matters than she wanted him to be. Finally, she spoke. “What do you think’s wrong?”
He tweaked a lock of her hair. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, mimicking her.
“That’s so rude.”
“So what?” he asked. “You were rude to me earlier.”
“I didn’t want to be.”
“But you were.”
“So what?” This time it was her turn to repeat his words in a mocking tone.
He sighed and leaned back against the wall. “We have the money we need for passage. According to the scrolls the Abbess has given me, we need to book harbor into Poiyana, a port in the Romani territory close to the mountains. She says in the spine of the mountain’s highest tops, there’s a sliver of land guarded by Amalia, the Dragonkeeper.”
“Do we have a ship secured?”
“I’ll talk to Felise about it later. The Abbess might know something, too.”
“All right. So we just have Philip competing tomorrow, and we’ll have money for supplies.”
“Sophia has some, too, from working. We might be able to find work aboard the ship, too, to help offset the costs of travel, if needed.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time we needed to do that,” Rose agreed. “Sounds like we’re on track with our plans to get off this island.”
“Yes, thank God.”
She looked over at him as they sank into silence. His body was relaxed against the building, but she’d known him long enough to know he was mulling over something. As much as she wanted to press, she didn’t; she wasn’t sure if this was an attempt to discuss what happened earlier, or if they were silently agreeing to let it go.
“Once everything is over,” Theo finally said, “we should come back here. Maltia is very beautiful, don’t you think?”
“‘Once everything is over?’” Rose repeated.
“Once we break the curse, once we deal with Magdalina and Everon.”
“What if we don’t?” Rose asked quietly.
“And what if we do?” Theo hesitated briefly. “What if we break the curse? What would you want to do?”
“With the rest of my life, you mean?” Rose asked. “I don’t think about it. Thinking about such things only makes it harder to do what needs to be done.”
“Only sometimes.” Theo stepped closer to her. “But it wouldn’t hurt to have contingency plans.”
Rose laughed. “That what you’re calling it?”
“Come on. Just tell me one thing you’d like to do once the curse is broken,” he nudged.
“I want to clear my mother’s name, for one.”
“I meant something fun.”
“I already told you, I don’t know. I don’t think about it, so I don’t have to worry about missing something if I end up sleeping forever.” She frowned at his sigh. “What will you do? If you manage to kill Everon?”
“I’d be a knight in your court.” Theo put his hands behind his head, using them as a pillow against the stone. “But I’d find a way to keep traveling, like my father and uncle did.”
Her breath caught at the mention of his family; Theo rarely mentioned his family; she knew he did not like to talk about them.
Rose was relieved when he continued. “I think Thad would like this place. I was thinking about him earlier this week, while I was at the church.” He glanced over at her. “I might write down all your legends. I will bet I could get Thad to store them in the church, just like the rest of the letters and manuscripts my grandfather has in there. I can see it now; generations later, as the Rhonian subjects would find out all your acts of courage and daring.”
“There was nothing particularly courageous or daring about today’s work.” There, Rose thought, she brought it up.
“I didn’t do the courageous thing either, by not telling you what happened to Roderick.”
“I was mad about the other things more than that.”
“But not for your own self.” Theo shuffled his feet. “You weren’t upset at what he did to you. I noticed while you were screaming, you were more upset at Roderick’s injuries and your horse—Sophia has christened her ‘Lightning,’ before I forget to tell you—and his general dishonesty.”
“What does it matter?” Rose asked. “I still needed you to rein me in.”
“And I did,” Theo reminded her. “Temptation is nothing new, Rose. And temptation is not sin. You did not kill him in your battle. Yes, you fought with him, and he was maimed a bit here and there, and you fought with yourself, but you were defending yourself from his own treachery first.”
“I hate how I treated you.”
“I hate how I treated you.”
Rose finally looked at him. “Are we terrible friends?”
“Sometimes.”
“Does it bother you?”
He flashed her a grin. “I’ll take being your terrible friend over not being a friend at all any day, Rosary.”
She brightened. “I guess we need to work on that some before you write your book about it.”
Theo smirked. “That’s the nice thing about being a writer, I guess. No experience is wasted, and no experience needs to be presented in its raw format.”
“True.” Rose shook her head, resigned. “I never thought trying to get dragon’s blood would be this complicated.”
“We’ve had quite a few surprises along the way,” Theo agreed. When she only nodded, he continued. “For what it’s worth, I think you would make a good heroine. And since I’d be the writer, I’d get famous for
it, too.”
“You would not,” Rose huffed.
“Sure I would.”
“No one would believe it.”
“I would, and my kids would, and that would be enough.”
“Your kids?”
“Sure. Why not? It’s not like Thad’s going to have any kids; at least, not anytime soon, with the priestly vows he wants to take.” He chuckled. “Maybe after his retirement, right? In the meantime, I’m my family’s best hope for passing on the family name.”
There was nothing she wanted to think about less than Theo’s children. Especially if they would inherit their father’s ebony hair along with his piercing eyes, his sense of humor or his honorable graciousness.
“Is that something you would want? Children?” Theo asked.
“I told you, I don’t think about what happens if the curse is broken,” Rose snapped.
“Come on, Rose. Just one thing. One small, fun, frivolous thing.”
“No.”
“What about singing? Would you sing again?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not singing again, ever.”
“You did at the tavern in Rhone.”
“I did not.”
“You did too. It was the first time I’d ever heard you sing. I’m not likely to make that up.”
Rose was about to argue when she did recall, angrily, she had let herself sing in a rare moment.
“I’d like to hear you sing again,” Theo told her.
“I owe you nothing, especially after returning to Rhone for you.”
“That’s not fair, Rose,” Theo objected. There was a small scowl on his face. “Frankly, I thought you sang beauti—”
“Don’t even say it.” Her voice was tart and stripped of all warmth as she cut him off.
Theo raised his eyebrows in surprise, but his mouth closed in compliance.
She breathed out slowly for a long moment as silence stilled the night around them. Rose was ready to ask him to come inside when he spoke up again.
“You want to be free,” Theo told her. “But you don’t even allow yourself to dream of it, even with small things, like singing a song.”
A new wave of anger, both at him and at herself, washed over her. “If I am free, I am free to refuse,” she muttered.
“It’s not a matter of freedom, but fear.”
“I am not afraid!”
“Aren’t you?” Theo asked quietly.
“No.”
Rose waited to hear Theo argue with her. But he said nothing.
“I should go back in,” Rose said quietly. “Ethan’s counting on me to be there.”
“Do you want me to—”
“Rose, are you coming back inside?” Philip appeared behind them, all of a sudden. “Ethan and Penelope are going on next.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Rose called back.
“All right. I’ll be at the table,” Philip promised. “I’ll grab you a fresh drink, too.”
“Thanks.” She smiled and waved, before turning back to Theo. “What were you asking me?”
“Uh, nothing,” he replied. “I was just ... I wanted to know if you ... needed me to do anything for you.”
“I don’t.”
“Okay. Then I’ll see you back at the inn. Good night.”
Rose said nothing as she headed back inside the tavern.
*17*
҉
THEO CLENCHED HIS FISTS as he headed down the street. Rose might have dismissed him, he thought bitterly, but he did not have to go back to the inn right away.
He headed down the alleyways and made a few turns, finally arriving at the church.
The majestic cathedral was even more beautiful in the evening light. The strength found in its stained-glass windows and gothic arches welcomed Theo.
While mass was over, he knew the Abbess would be able to find him something to keep him preoccupied.
And there was always prayer, he reasoned, peeking into the chapel. He saw some of the priests had gathered at the front of the chapel. Must be some kind of meeting, he thought.
There was a sudden stirring on the back of his neck, and he stopped. Without another moment’s hesitation, he hurried forward into the large chapel, rushing past the pews. The closer he came to the group, the more the smell of healing herbs and blood sunk into him.
“What happened?” he called.
“Brother Theo, is that you?”
“Abbess?” Theo looked around, stalling, as he heard her voice echo in the large chamber.
“She’s over here,” one of the priests called.
Theo felt dread and confusion unite inside of him, producing an entirely new fear. He hurried toward the group. “Oh, Abbess.”
Aurelia was lying on the floor, her hands folded delicately over the large gash in her side. She sucked in her breath as he sat beside her.
“Get more bandages,” Theo ordered, scowling at the slow-moving priests. “We’ll need to stop the bleeding.”
“Don’t worry,” Aurelia told him softly. “I know whom I have believed, Theo.” She smiled bravely, even as she was shaking. “And the other sisters are coming with more bandages already. They should be here soon.”
“I want to know who did this.”
“It was a man who had been judged and condemned,” Aurelia said. “Your lady would know him as the man she defeated earlier.”
Theo’ closed his eyes in shameful disbelief. “Marsor.”
“Yes.” Her eyes flickered wanly. “The church sometimes holds prisoners, especially if we can arrange for a special ship to deport them.”
“Are there any others who need help?”
“I don’t know.”
“There are some who have already passed,” a monk spoke up softly from behind Theo. “We held him captive in the catacombs, beneath the church. He forced his way out and began attacking.”
“This is awful.” Theo shook his head in pain, recalling the people he’d met while helping out in the medical tent.
“You must hurry now, Theo,” Aurelia said quietly.
“Stay with me,” Theo said, arranging her skirts over her wound and pressing down into them.
“There’s no need for you to worry,” she said. “Felise will know where to take you and your friends.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He’s coming for her.” She eyed him carefully. “Your lady.”
“Rose is in trouble?” If I had only let Rose kill him earlier ...
“Yes.” Aurelia nodded. “You know as well as I do that he has contacts. Hurry and get her; take his ship and get her off the island. She’ll be safe that way.”
“But—”
“The sisters are coming for me,” Aurelia told him. “Go with God, Brother.”
Theo grabbed a priest beside him. “Hold this down,” he ordered, showing him how to dam the blood trickling out of Aurelia’s body.
With one last helpless look, Theo let Aurelia go. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“It’s not your fault,” Aurelia insisted, pushing him away as forcefully as she still could. “Please, Theo. Go and take care of your own. Felise may need your help, too.”
“Thank you,” Theo said. He bowed over her hand and squeezed it affectionately. “I will never forget you, Abbess.”
She smiled, and Theo watched as several other nuns came, carrying everything from bandages and medicine to food and rosary beads. Aurelia’s ashen face disappeared as a sea of nun headdresses and murmuring twitters pushed Theo back.
He threw a desperate glance at the crucifix hanging on the back wall of the chapel, praying Aurelia and Rose would both be saved, before hurrying out of the church.
Shock pulsed through him, giving him speed and strength as he headed toward the inn. He didn’t know how much time passed since Marsor’s escape.
His hope faded as he caught sight of the smoke. The inn was on fire.
As the flames consumed the inn, some people were running into the building wit
h buckets of water, while others were fighting in the streets.
The heart of the fire beat from inside of the inn. Theo could feel its power as he approached.
“Felise!” he called out. “Felise, where are you?”
Theo ducked inside a door, immediately placing his hand over his mouth, as he tasted smoke.
Hurriedly, he swiftly made his way through the rooms, many of which were already empty. Dread fueled his movements, as he made his way systematically through the building, searching for others.
“Theo!”
Theo jerked around to see Sophia hurrying toward him with a bucket. “Sophia, thank goodness you’re alive.”
“Felise is in the stables,” she said. “I put him there after Marsor showed up.” She nodded toward the barn and added, “Mary’s in there as well, trying to get Lightning healed up quickly so she’ll be able to move.”
“Good work. Rose will be happy to know her squire’s taken care of everything.”
“Thanks,” Sophia replied with a grin and then a grimace. It was then Theo noticed for the first time Sophia had a black eye. “He hit you, didn’t he?”
“I managed to get my own punches in quite well,” Sophia assured him with a rueful expression. “When Marsor didn’t find Rose, he set fire in the kitchens and had some of his men spread it. He said something about looking for her.”
“He wants revenge,” Theo agreed.
A creaking noise behind them made Theo shake his head. “I’m going to finish checking the rooms,” he told her. “You get out of here, now. Go and get Felise. I need to talk to him, and then we need to get out of here and find Rose.”
“Okay. Be careful!” Sophia called back as she tossed her bucket into a section of the fire and hurried away.
“I will.”
He made the promise to an empty audience, but Theo’s determination never wavered.
As the wooden structure creaked and heaved and hawed, Theo searched through the rooms and pulled a couple of people out of harm’s way. Among them was a drunk Lannister.
“What are you doing?” Theo cried. “You’re supposed to be on guard!”
“The princess is out for the night,” Lannister reasoned. “And she doesn’t care we’re here to guard her, anyway. She doesn’t need it.”
“She needed it tonight.”
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