Legacy of the Curse

by Deborah Grace White

  “I am, Your Majesty,” Kincaid confirmed.

  “And how do you come to be traveling with Jocelyn?” the king asked, his tone making the question an accusation.

  “He followed me when I went to meet Elddreki,” Jocelyn answered for him. “After I accidentally broke the mountain people’s ancient ancestral dance.”

  “You broke the…what?”

  All three members of Jocelyn’s family were staring at her with identical expressions of confusion. At least she had succeeded in distracting her father from probing too deeply into her very poorly chaperoned travels with Kincaid.

  “To explain that, I need to go way further back,” she said seriously. She locked eyes with her twin. “It’s time, Eamon. It’s way, way, way past time.”

  He held her gaze for a long moment before giving a tight nod. “I don’t mind. It was at your request I always kept it to myself.”

  Jocelyn nodded. “I know. And I’m grateful you did, but I was wrong about needing to keep it so secret. I was wrong about almost everything.”

  “Needing to keep what a secret?” asked their mother sharply.

  Jocelyn took a deep breath, looking between her parents. “There’s something we should have told you a very long time ago.” She glanced again at her brother. “Eamon and I were born with something…something we’ve never known how to explain. And I still wouldn’t know if Elddreki hadn’t helped me figure it out.”

  “So you really were with Elddreki all this time,” said her father, shaking his head. “I hardly knew whether to believe it.”

  But her mother was not to be sidetracked. “What were you born with?” she asked. She had clearly grasped much more quickly than her husband the gravity of whatever revelation Jocelyn was about to make.

  Without further encouragement, Jocelyn launched into the tale of her power, her caged existence before leaving Kynton, and her travels since she set out from home. She talked for a long time, and by the end her mind felt as weary as her body. But she persisted through her exhaustion, knowing she needed to get it all out. Eamon interjected a few times as she talked about their childhood, but he fell silent once she began her account of what had befallen her from the time she set foot in the mountains.

  Her father’s eyes were round with horror from the moment she described her first near miss in the town where Kincaid had caught up with her at last, and they didn’t relax from then on. But Jocelyn did notice a softening in the glances the king kept throwing at Kincaid after she described him coming to her rescue. Wanting to encourage this friendlier attitude, she skated over certain parts of the story. She could feel Kincaid’s eyes on her as she described Dragoncave, failing to mention that the two of them had been stranded in there overnight.

  It was all she could do to keep a flush from her face, and she pushed on quickly to the part where Kincaid had run into a hail of deadly arrows to shield her with his pack. Her father looked ready to embrace the Valorian prince by this point, and she had a feeling the battle was half won. If she was changing his mind about Kincaid as much with her power as with her words, it wasn’t intentional, and she found she didn’t care.

  Eamon’s fascination with all Elddreki had revealed about the nature of their power pulled him temporarily from his dejection, and he asked a number of eager questions. Her parents were both absolutely astonished—and at least in her mother’s case, more than a little amused—by her description of Elddreki’s almost-tragic romance. But all of them were stunned into silence when she explained how she had used her power to change the dragon’s very nature.

  Her parents had been so captivated by her story they had almost seemed to move past their initial shock and distress at discovering their children had secret magic power they’d never told them about. But this revelation clearly brought it all back to the fore.

  Jocelyn didn’t linger over that part of the tale, uncomfortable with the looks on their faces. As soon as Scanlon entered her retelling, Eamon once again fell silent, his expression anguished. And her father became so furious at her account of her abduction and imprisonment by the Balenan lord that he seemed unable to take in anything else. But her mother continued to watch Jocelyn with an expression that told her the queen would not quickly forget the extent to which her daughter had withheld herself from her own parents. Jocelyn felt a surge of guilt at the sadness in her mother’s eyes, but it was soon eclipsed by her anxiety for her brother as the story turned toward Scanlon’s—and by extension Eamon’s—actions in Kyona.

  She was relieved that her parents accepted her story about Scanlon and his warped magic without question. Just like Uncle Jonan and Aunt Scarlett, they had enough out of the ordinary experiences of their own not to discount something just because it sounded far-fetched. And they knew their son well enough to find the idea that he would knowingly come up with such a scheme even more impossible to believe than a tale of magic.

  But although they were quick to forgive Eamon, it was clear the young prince would not so easily forgive himself. Jocelyn’s heart was heavy as she watched her brother’s face. Lucy wasn’t the only one who would carry the scars of this incident for a long time to come.

  But still…Kyona was safe, Eamon’s mind was his own again, Scanlon had gone where he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again, and Kincaid was by her side. Considering all she had feared only a matter of hours before, it was hard not to feel elated.

  “So I suppose you’ll be returning to Bryford now,” King Calinnae said suddenly to Kincaid. Jocelyn frowned at her father, but he wasn’t looking at her, his eyes trained on the young Valorian prince. Clearly her story hadn’t warmed him to Kincaid quite as completely as she’d hoped.

  “Well, yes, Your Majesty,” said Kincaid slowly. “I must do so soon, of course. But I would be very reluctant to leave without first…” He hesitated, glancing at Jocelyn then clearing his throat. All at once he broke into a sheepish grin.

  “I think maybe I’ll do best to just be upfront, Your Majesties. I know my parents implied in their invitation that they would be pleased for Jocelyn to form an attachment with my brother Ormond. But as you’ve heard, I met her first, quite by chance. And once I knew her, it took very little time for me to realize I would regret it forever if I didn’t do my very best to convince her—and you—to take a different offer. If you’re willing to enter discussions with my parents, I think you’ll find they’re more than open to the alliance our marriage would represent. And as for myself…” He looked at Jocelyn, and she felt heat rush through her at the warmth in his eyes. “I can promise I would treasure your daughter forever.”

  The queen was smiling warmly at him by the end of this speech, but King Calinnae just looked alarmed. And Eamon seemed as stunned as his father by this forthright declaration.

  “I’m not sure you met entirely by chance,” said Jocelyn’s mother with a touch of humor.

  “It truly wasn’t by design that I met Jocelyn in Montego, Your Majesty,” said Kincaid earnestly, but the queen just shook her head, a smile playing around her lips.

  “Not by your design, maybe. But Elddreki told us once that chance is just the name humans give to any purpose they don’t understand.”

  Kincaid chuckled. “That sounds like something he would say.”

  Jocelyn’s father cleared his throat, his eyes still slightly narrowed as they rested on the Valorian prince. “You want to marry Jocelyn?” Apparently he was not in the mood to bond over tales of their shared dragon acquaintance.

  “I do, Your Majesty,” Kincaid said evenly.

  “But she’s only seventeen!” King Calinnae protested.

  “Eighteen, Father,” Jocelyn reminded him, a bit anxiously. His eyes flew to her.

  “Is this what you want, Jocelyn?”

  “It is,” she said, coloring faintly. “Most definitely.”

  “But you promised to dislike everyone and everything in Valoria,” her father protested.

  Eamon gave a hastily choked snort of laughter, and Kincaid looked s
tartled by the king’s announcement. But this lapse in formality told Jocelyn that her father had already accepted Kincaid, whether he realized it or not. She chuckled.

  “I tried, Father, I really did. But Kincaid won me over in spite of myself.” Her voice grew more serious. “When I left home, I didn’t want to live in Valoria because it seemed like too big a change from everything I knew, and it frightened me. And then when I convinced myself it was my duty to marry Ormond no matter what I felt about it, I was just worrying about what the impact would be on Kyona if I made another unpolitical marriage.”

  She cast her mother an apologetic look. “I thought the kingdom couldn’t handle the change it’s seen, but it was me who couldn’t handle change. I know you encouraged me to go away this summer because you wanted me to come out of myself. Well, I did, and it’s mainly thanks to Kincaid. He’s the one who could see from the start that my power wasn’t something to be afraid of. He’s the one who encouraged me to stop hiding, and the one who called me out on my fear.”

  “You don’t have to convince me, Joss,” the queen said quietly. “I could tell from the moment you greeted me that something was different, that you were free of your shackles.” She nodded toward Kincaid. “And if this is the person responsible for it, he has my support.”

  Jocelyn’s eyes were full of warmth as she looked at her mother, but she couldn’t resist sending a grin Kincaid’s way.

  “We’re clear, Kincaid. If Mother is convinced, there’s no way Father can hold out much longer.”

  Her father sighed. “She’s right, I’m afraid.” He looked at his wife with an endearing mix of affection and exasperation. “No matter how stubborn I try to be, this one can always change my mind, no dragon magic required.”

  Despite his admission that he needed to return to Bryford imminently, it was several days before Kincaid actually allowed Henrik to pull him away. Not that Jocelyn was complaining about the delay. They had all agreed it would just be ridiculous at this point for her to attempt to resume her twice interrupted state visit to the Valorian capital, and consequently she would stay behind in Kynton when he left.

  Kincaid hoped and expected to secure a formal invitation for all of the Kyonan royals in the near future, to negotiate the proposed marriage alliance in its new form. Jocelyn could hardly bear to let him go until then, because she knew it would be some time before her father would be free to leave Kynton again, after the recent upheavals. But she wanted to be there to help smooth over the near disaster that had visited them all.

  After her prolonged tale, she had fallen into her own bed with exhausted relief and slept for the rest of the day and all through that night. Reunited with her comfortable suite, she had slept well every night and soon felt greatly restored. The day after her arrival, she had readily abandoned Kincaid for the entire morning when her mother sought her out for a private discussion. The two women had spent hours talking over the past, both recent and further back, with many tears and more than a little laughter.

  Jocelyn had never felt so close to her mother, and she could only wonder at her own foolishness in thinking she had to withhold her secret even from her own parents. Of course it was easy to think that way now, when she knew how to control her power, and wasn’t afraid it would burst destructively from her when she least expected it.

  But other than that morning, Jocelyn had been shamelessly letting Kincaid monopolize her attention. On the morning of Kincaid’s departure, she sought her brother out, feeling a bit guilty for having neglected him. It had been clear that Eamon was still struggling to come to terms with what he had been involved in.

  “Are you going to come see Kincaid and Henrik off?” she asked, having found him skulking in a corridor with windows facing east, toward the Forest of Rune.

  He drew his gaze from the distant trees with a sigh. “Yes, of course I am.”

  “Eamon.” Jocelyn laid her hand on his arm.

  She didn’t need him to say it aloud to know what he was thinking about. Uncle Jonan had come to Kynton as promised the day after the incident at Raldon. He had spent a long time shut up in conversation with the king, and Jocelyn had been relieved that there seemed to be no loss of goodwill between them. Uncle Jonan had treated Jocelyn like a conquering hero, and had even greeted Eamon very kindly. But when Jocelyn had inquired after Lucy, expressing the wish that she’d come with her father, Uncle Jonan’s eyes had flicked unmistakably to Eamon as he said that she’d been quite adamant that she didn’t wish to visit the capital at the moment.

  “She’ll come around, Eamon,” said Jocelyn softly now. “She saw you come out from under Scanlon’s enchantment, like everyone else did. Just give her time.”

  He just nodded gloomily, but she could see in his eyes that he didn’t believe her. And a worried part in the back of Jocelyn’s mind wasn’t sure she believed it herself. Not when she remembered the look in Lucy’s eyes after she’d killed her uncle.

  “There’s something that worries me,” she said absently, as her thoughts dwelt on the deceased Balenan. “Scanlon said he placed conditions on the dragon who forfeited its power to him. He made it sound like he bargained for more than just the power we know about. But he wouldn’t tell me what he meant.”

  Eamon sighed. “He’s dead now, Joss. It doesn’t matter what else he bargained for. He can’t make use of it anymore.”

  Jocelyn remained silent. She couldn’t dismiss the nobleman’s words quite so easily, but with no idea what had been behind them, she didn’t see what she could do about it.

  “Will you really be happy in Valoria, Joss?” Eamon asked suddenly. “You’ll be so far away. I thought you didn’t want to get married off to a Valorian prince.”

  Jocelyn smiled. “That was before I met Kincaid.” She looked up to find Eamon frowning down at her, and she gave him a nudge. “It won’t be so bad, Eamon. He’s not the heir like Ormond is, so it will be much easier for us to visit Kyona regularly. We could probably spend every summer here if we wanted to. And you can come and visit us in Bryford.” She shook her head, talking half to herself. “If Princess Sarai could be happy there, I certainly can.”

  Eamon put an arm around her shoulder. “I’m going to miss you, you know. I’ll feel like half of a whole with you so far away.” His voice was only half joking. “How will Kyona cope with all stability and no change?”

  Jocelyn rolled her eyes. “You don’t need me around to have change.” She grinned. “But we certainly are a potent combination, aren’t we?”

  For a moment her eyes blurred, her thoughts drifting back to Princess Sarai. If she could embrace change after her harrowing experiences, Eamon surely could. Jocelyn closed her eyes, trying to recall all the details of the visions she’d seen. She was eager to search the records at Bryford for any mention of the princess’s later life. Now she knew Princess Sarai had been happy in her new home instead of perpetually lonely, she no longer shied away from the thought of delving into her history. She would quite like to know more of how that previous royal couple had fared after their momentous decision to give their hearts to their marriage.

  She remembered how Raqisa had seemed to think Jocelyn would be able to access Princess Sarai’s memories at will. The dragon had suggested Jocelyn’s power might not be enough on its own. Could she draw on Eamon’s as well? The thought had barely occurred to her when her vision began to blur, and she felt herself dipping into the now-familiar mind. It wasn’t as potent or as clear as before, but it was definitely there, and she found herself straining toward it.

  “He’s perfect, Sarai.”

  Sarai could hear the emotion in her husband’s voice, and it brought the tears to her own eyes. She couldn’t agree more. She looked down at her newborn son, her heart swelling with satisfaction. And not just because she had fulfilled her most important duty in the eyes of the court, and provided Valoria with an heir. More to the point, he was truly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

  “He looks like you,” said Sarai, smi
ling mistily at her husband. “I hope he’ll be just like you, Germain.”

  Germain touched the infant’s cheek, his fingers as light as a feather. “He has your eyes. He’s perfect,” he repeated.

  “And now the succession is secure,” Sarai said proudly.

  “And now,” Germain said, “Kyona’s royal house is forever mingled with Valoria’s.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “Your father’s bloodline continues with you Sarai, and with this most perfect son of ours. And I am proud to be a part of it.”

  Sarai looked up at him, her heart in her eyes. “Just as I am proud to be a princess of Valoria.”

  Jocelyn inhaled sharply as she returned to the corridor, Eamon’s arm still around her shoulder. He didn’t seem to have even noticed her moment of detachment, and she didn’t tell him about it. But he was part of it, somehow. Stability and change, a potent combination. Princess Sarai’s arrival in the Valorian court had certainly been a point of great change, for her new kingdom as well as for herself. But her legacy, as evidenced by Kincaid and all the rest of his family, was stability. She and Eamon would just have to each find ways to cultivate both strengths within their respective kingdoms.

  Jocelyn might feel sad at the thought of one day moving away from her brother, but the wrench of parting from Kincaid, mere minutes later, was much more immediate and therefore much more acute. She made no protest as he pulled her behind his horse, making the most of the inadequate shield the animal provided between them and her watching family to press his lips briefly to hers.

  “I will miss you every minute,” he said sincerely, his eyes roaming over her face, as if trying to memorize her features.

  Jocelyn looked up at him, trying herself to soak in every detail of his familiar, outrageously handsome face. Was it her imagination he had those same eyes, the eyes Princess Sarai had passed to her son?