“She’s poisoned you, but you can push her out,” Elaina said.
“You’re supposed to be dead!” The hoarse voice was Jaimin’s, but the words weren’t his.
The outburst sent Elaina’s heart racing. “I’m… I’m alive,” she said, composing herself. “I’ve beaten her. Now it’s your turn.”
“I hate you,” he blurted.
Elaina didn’t react. She just kept peering into his eyes, searching. Then, slowly, a smile broke across her face. “You’ve lost. give him back.”
“Never, you grubby peasant!” Jaimin snapped.
Across the bed, Nastasha reached to touch Jaimin’s arm, but she checked herself. “Jaimin, you don’t hate us,” Nastasha said. “Raquel does. Push her out. I know you can.”
“Go ahead and touch me, bitch,” barked the foul presence, in Jaimin’s gritty voice.
Nastasha pulled back her hand.
“Afraid, aren’t you? Well you should be. You all should be.”
“I’m not afraid,” Elaina said. She rested her hand firmly on Jaimin’s. Nastasha and Galen held their breath, expecting to hear bones shatter. Instead, in response to Elaina’s touch, the prince’s eyes rolled back, his lids closed, and his body and face slackened. He seemed to glow as waves of peace washed over him, snuffing out the evil that had been clenching his muscles and boiling his blood. His breathing became easy, regular.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. He glanced over at Alessa, then at the doctor, then at Nastasha, then at Elaina.
“Where are you, Jem?” Elaina asked. “Are you with us?” she asked.
“Yes.” His whisper was barely audible. “I’m… still here.”
“Close your eyes,” said Elaina. “Close your eyes and make sure there’s nothing left of her.” He closed his eyes and, after a few minutes, he began to softly snore.
Next, it was Elaina’s turn to donate. The king caught sight of her as he was getting up from his cot, and he looked angry. She bowed as low as she could in her seated position. When she lifted her head, the king was on his way out the door.
“What was that all about?” Nastasha whispered to Elaina.
“I don’t know,” Elaina said. “I’ve never met him.”
“Maybe you just don’t remember.”
Elaina was still dizzy from her head injury, and now blood was leaving her rapidly, so she wasn’t in much of a state to contemplate the king’s bitter attitude. She pressed her head back into the pillow and allowed her heavy lids to close. Soon, she was asleep.
Galen left Nastasha in charge. She undid Jaimin’s restraints, and he woke up.
“How did we do?” Nastasha whispered.
“I’ve never been so tired,” Jaimin said.
“Go back to sleep.”
“Will you explain it all to me in the morning?” Jaimin touched her cheek, unaware that he had broken her jaw earlier.
“I shall,” she said.
He turned and saw Elaina sleeping.
“She’s quite a girl,” Nastasha said.
He could only nod.
When Galen came back, Nastasha crept out to the main ward and fell asleep on her assigned bed.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Elaina had a dream that night. She dreamed she was flying high above a moonlit ocean, riding a warm, steady current of air.
Ahead was a shoreline—a broad beach lit by flickering flecks of flame. As she neared, she saw that the flames were torches, set out on tall stands in arcs, paths, and patterns. She touched down on the wet sand.
The place smelled of sea spray, oil smoke, and decomposing kelp. Several dozen people, in summery white garb, sat on the sand facing a broad platform—a stage of stone, on which six chairs of burled wood were set in an arc. The ground before the stage was rocky, and Elaina noticed a wide hole in the rock just an arm’s distance from the front lip of the stage. Elaina approached one of the spectators, a middle-aged fellow in a loose cotton tunic. “What’s going on?” she asked.
He said nothing, but he pointed to a nearby cluster of dunes. Everyone stood up. A group was approaching, cresting the nearest dune between two torch stands. What’s this? Elaina strained to see.
It was a parade! The procession was small in scale, yet abundant in joy. Beaming little girls in dresses of white gauze led the march, with ribbons of ivory, cobalt and rose fluttering from their hair, and garlands of wildflowers adorning their necks. They rapped on tambourines and sang, skipped and danced—as well as they could on sand—as they progressed toward the stone platform. Everyone in the crowd joined in the singing. Everyone except Elaina, that is, for she couldn’t understand a single word of the song.
Following the little girls, teen girls carried poles on which streamers of silver, white and gold fabric shimmered and flapped in the sea breeze. They waved to the crowd with their free hands.
Next came three middle-aged women with long, wavy brown hair streaked with silver, followed by two more teen girls, arm in arm. All five of these ladies wore simple crowns of braided silver, and white robes decorated with silver hems and silver appliqué spirals.
Elaina tried to worm through the crowd to get a better view. When the crowd abruptly sent up a cheer, she looked again and saw that a sixth crowned woman had arrived. She looked to be around the same age as Elaina, and she surpassed the other five in height and beauty. Her blouse was white, and her flounced skirt of white and cream fell so close to the raked sand she appeared to be hovering. A single tight curl hung to the outside of each of her eyes. In each arm she held a newborn baby—one wrapped in a gold blanket, the other in a blue blanket. She seemed detached from the celebration, gazing at the infants with such love that Elaina was sure she was their mother.
As the cheer died down, a new song began—this one slower and more passionate, like an anthem. Elaina still couldn’t make out the words.
All those in the procession ascended the stage, and although there wasn’t much space up there, everyone seemed determined to make room. The six crowned women stood in front of the wooden chairs, and the little girls and the teen celebrants crowded in the back.
The anthem ended. As the crowd watched silently, one of the crowned women took one of the newborns from her mother and carried it to the stage’s front edge, where she peeled away its gold blanket, balancing the naked infant on her forearm. Elaina could see now that it was a girl. Next, with her free hand, the woman pulled from her sash a necklace with a golden sea star pendant, raising it up for all to see before putting it around the baby girl’s neck. Finally, smiling broadly, she held the baby up—directly over the hole before the stage. The pendant dangled, spinning between the baby’s feet. Elaina panicked.
A human sacrifice? An innocent baby? Is she going to toss that helpless child into the hole? Nobody else seemed fazed by the woman’s actions, so Elaina knew it was up to her to act. She sprinted, sprung into the air and flew over the crowd toward the stage. Just before she could snatch the infant, salt water shot up from the hole, flipping Elaina upward and backward into the night’s void.
She awoke, her heart pounding.
The vivid dream was fresh in her mind—at first.
But as she peered around and found herself in an unfamiliar place, the dream faded from her memory.
It was still the middle of the night. She was no longer in the operating room—someone must have carried her elsewhere while she slept.
She lay neatly tucked into a grand bed in what looked to be a guest room. Orange light from torches outside diffused through gauzy curtains at the sole window. A single white flower stood in a vase on a bedside table.
Despite not knowing exactly where she was, Elaina felt warm and comfortable in these serene surroundings. She closed her eyes and quickly fell back to sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
At sunrise, Galen arranged for his colleague, Marcus, to run a battery of psychological tests on Jaimin. This couldn’t be done with the ladies present.
The queen invited Nastasha, Elaina, and
Alessa to breakfast in the royal family’s private dining hall, although she couldn’t join them. Through the airy room’s broad picture window, the diners took in a stunning view of the ocean and watched the cloudless sky turn from cooler to warmer shades as the sun rose somewhere behind the mountains.
On the eastern wall, opposite the window, magnificent gilded frames held oil portraits of the royal family. Every summer the king had a new painting commissioned, so there were quite a few of them displayed. Elaina felt lucky to get to see what Jaimin looked like at different ages. She kept staring at one picture in particular. In it, the queen had her hair down, and she could have been mistaken for Alessa.
The servers brought in the first course: sugar-glazed oat cakes with honey butter and strawberry spread, along with a service of white tea flavored with edible tropical flowers.
“Elaina,” said Nastasha, “Her Majesty told me you also survived an attack yesterday. If you don’t mind, what happened?”
“I’m sure we all have questions,” Alessa said. “Are we comfortable discussing these things over breakfast?”
“I am,” Elaina said.
“Then it’s fine with me.” Alessa took an oat cake.
“Well,” Elaina said, “a boy I lived with for much of my life all of a sudden tried to kill me. I’m sure he was under Raquel’s influence.”
“Oh, she is monstrous!” Nastasha said. “And you got away?”
“No, I killed him.”
Nastasha couldn’t picture Elaina killing anyone, but of course she believed her. “I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Anyway,” Elaina went on, “I won’t be living at the farm anymore. Devon put an end to that arrangement.”
“You know Devon is Raquel’s father, don’t you?”
“Wow! No, I didn’t know that,” Elaina said.
“Well, he’s been arrested. Please pass the fruit spread.”
“Arrested?”
“Long overdue,” Alessa remarked.
“It happened early this morning,” explained Nastasha. “Apparently, when Devon learned his daughter had been locked up, he confronted the king and tried to pull some of his nonsense on His Majesty. Fortunately, the queen was just coming in, and she knocked Devon out.”
“How did she knock him out?” Elaina asked, handing Nastasha the bowl of strawberry spread.
“She caused the blood pressure in his head to drop,” Nastasha explained.
“How?” Elaina asked.
“Well, you know how Celmareans have the ability to manipulate liquid…”
Elaina shook her head, confused.
“Actually, it’s water,” Alessa said. “We can manipulate water. The purer the water is, the easier it is. Blood is thicker and more difficult to move.”
“Celmareans?” Elaina turned to Alessa, who took a tremendous bite of oat cake.
“You mean you never told Elaina she was… I mean… about Celmarea?” Nastasha asked Alessa. “I’m sorry.”
Alessa took forever to finish chewing, then she leaned over the table, and whispered to Nastasha, but loud enough so Elaina could hear as well: “There are many things I’m forbidden from discussing with Elaina.”
Elaina was riveted.
“Who forbade you?” Nastasha whispered back.
“King Julian.”
“Honestly?” said Elaina.
“Honestly, Elaina,” Alessa said to her young friend, “you are the most patient person I know, and I love you dearly for that.”
“We’re Celmareans?”
Alessa could say nothing.
“We are, aren’t we? Was I there during the fighting?” Elaina asked. Alessa looked down.
“She’s not allowed to talk about it,” said Nastasha.
“I’m sorry,” said Elaina.
“I’m sorry, too,” Alessa said.
“Umm… how much do you know about your country?” Nastasha asked Elaina.
“My… Oh, not much. We skipped over quite a bit in our studies. I… I suppose that was on purpose?”
“Well, I haven’t been forbidden from saying anything.” Nastasha said. “I shall tell you all I know about Celmarea.”
Alessa seemed to be suppressing a smile.
“Would you?” Elaina said.
“Of course,” Nastasha replied. “And what I don’t know, I shall find out in the library.”
“That would be a good place to start,” said Alessa. “But for the most important details, you’ll need to look in the Royal Archives.”
“The archives? Of course!” Nastasha said.
“There’s a book there,” Alessa added, quietly, “that doesn’t want to be read.”
“What’s it called?” Nastasha asked.
“I’ve said too much.” Alessa glanced up at the upstairs landing that led to the private chambers of the royal family. Queen Alethea stood there, and none of them knew how long she’d been in the room.
“Alessa, dear,” the queen said sweetly, “would you please join me in my room?”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” said Alessa. She dabbed her mouth, set her napkin on the table, and ascended a stone staircase to meet the queen. The queen put her arm around Alessa and they walked off down the hall.
“Is she in trouble?” Nastasha whispered to Elaina. “Celmareans can feel when those close to them are in trouble.”
“I… don’t think so.” Elaina was still stunned by the news of her heritage.
“Are you okay?” Nastasha asked, studying Elaina. This was the first time they had been alone together.
“It’s just a lot to take in,” Elaina said.
“Don’t be mad at Alessa. If the king ordered her silence, she could be killed if she doesn’t obey. The king kept this from everyone. Jaimin didn’t know either. I didn’t know until I was asked to go find you.”
“Are you and Jem close?”
“Very close. We grew up together.”
Elaina had been so focused on who Jaimin was as an individual, she hadn’t really considered who else might be special to him. “What’s he told you about me?”
“He can’t stop going on about how wonderful you are. He thinks you’re perfect for him. I told him I’d have to meet you to make up my own mind on the matter.”
“Well, you’ve only just met me, so I can’t expect that you’ve made up your mind.”
“Right,” she said, “but you’ve impressed me so far.”
“Thanks,” Elaina said with a shy smile.
The two young ladies got to know each other better over the second course, which consisted of quail eggs on toast, creamed spinach, and fresh pear juice that had a touch of alcohol in it. Elaina tasted the pear juice and refused to drink any more. Nastasha explained that Celmareans always shun alcohol; why the queen had served it in the first place was a mystery. After a while, Alessa came back downstairs.
“Well, what did I miss?” said Alessa.
“What did we miss?” asked Elaina, referring to Alessa’s conference with the queen.
“You and I may stay in the castle through dinner, and then we must return home.”
“May we come to the castle again?” asked Elaina.
“No,” Alessa said.
“Never?”
“Never. His Majesty will not allow it.”
“He hates me, doesn’t he?” Elaina said.
No, Alessa said in her mind—and Elaina heard—he’s afraid of you.
“Don’t worry, Elaina,” Nastasha said. “I found a way for you and Jaimin to meet before, and I shall find another way. I shall also help you find answers to all of your questions—even the ones you don’t know to ask.”
“You’re very kind,” Elaina said.
“Now,” said Nastasha, “we should check on our prince.” She and Elaina headed off to the infirmary, and Alessa headed back upstairs.
When Elaina and Nastasha arrived in the infirmary, Galen told them that Jaimin had passed all the psychological tests, but that he was sleeping. He asked them to return a
fter noon.
Having been excused from her classes, Nastasha was free to show Elaina around the castle. They walked to the southern complex, home of the Glass Gardens, the royal court’s spectacular conservatory, but a sign was posted saying the site was closed for a private event, so they moved on to explore some of the castle’s other wonders: the concert hall, the offices, the craft market, the stables, the aviary, the apiary, and the armory. In the north wing, they visited the assembly halls, the dining halls, and the kitchens—whose pantries and cold storage rooms Elaina found positively thrilling. They took in views from the walls and towers. They also withstood a few seconds in the sub-basement’s “stinky room,” where wells brought up foul-smelling hot water to heat the castle complex.
Still full of energy, the two young ladies then toured the Royal Academy, and eventually wound up in the academy’s dining hall, where they caught the end of lunch. A few of Nastasha’s friends remained in the hall, and they approached to find out who the new girl was. “Elaina is a special guest from the islands,” Nastasha explained. “And I have the honor of giving her a tour.”
Nastasha found Elaina to be a sophisticated intellectual peer—feminine, friendly and fun. She lowered her defenses and shared with Elaina some of her honest feelings and opinions, much more so than she normally would have on meeting someone for the first time. And, for a while, she managed to ignore that they were both in love with the same boy.
They stayed behind after the last of the students went off to class. Nastasha pointed out a series of frescoes high on the walls. Four scenes were packed with images and symbols—one scene for each of the academy’s core disciplines: physical sciences, social sciences, mathematics, and the arts. “As you probably know, we Arrans practically worship science,” she explained, admiring the physical sciences panel. “But we’re slow at putting our discoveries to practical use.”
“Why do you think that is?” Elaina asked.
“We just don’t have enough people to apply our knowledge. We have to focus on the innovations most important for our survival. Our medical instruments are the finest anywhere. We have the safest mines in the world. We know all the inner workings of the mountain range behind us, and we can predict what the weather will be like next week. But, even after a century of research into geothermal electricity, most of us are still lighting lamps.”
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