Draper spoke up at this. “No, Rosie. You don’t have to.”
Madigan eyed Draper. “Aye. When you’re ready. If you’re Bastien’s lady and my fiancée, ye belong with the Untouchables. The sooner everyone sees ye marked, the less Bastien will have to worry about ye getting messed with by Morgan’s soldiers.”
I shivered when I recalled the red-haired soldier who’d grabbed me in the hallway at Morgan’s mansion. “I don’t think that’ll work on me. I don’t look like you, Link and Bastien. I can do some damage, but I’m not a trained fighter or anything. Being a princess didn’t keep me safe. I don’t think the mark will change things as much as you’re hoping.”
“Aye, but it will. People fear Morgan for her ruthlessness and her magic, but they revere us. The soldiers wish they could be us. It’s a fraternity thing. We fought alongside them, went through training together. They tried to murder each of us when we decided we’d had enough, and they carry that weight with them. Turning on their brothers in arms. The soldiers respect the code of the Untouchables above all other orders.”
I wanted to believe in the safety Mad was promising me, but there were a few too many too-good-to-be-true gems on the ring. Though my robe was cinched closed, I tightened it around me and backed into my pillow that had been propped up against the headboard. I saw red-hair guy in my imagination and felt his eyes combing my body, his sweaty breath filling my nose. “It’ll keep them from putting their hands all over me? Like, they’ll see that mark, and I won’t get cornered anymore?”
Madigan and Draper both stiffened. “Who put their hands on ye?”
I swallowed hard. “One of the soldiers in Morgan’s mansion. He was pissed I told on his buddy. They wanted to lock me in the stocks and, you know, do stuff.” I tugged the comforter up over my chest. “Then there’s the dudes who took my clothes before putting me in the well.”
Madigan’s jaw was tight. “Do ye know their names?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s done. But that inmunis mark will keep it from happening again? Like, no one’s going to molest me or try and take my clothes anymore if I have it?”
“Aye. And don’t be worrying about the ones who took your clothes. I’ll find them easy enough.”
A solitary tear formed in the corner of my eye, and in the back of my mind I was relieved to know I was on my way to getting hydrated again. “I know you don’t like to be touched, but just so you know, I’m hugging you in my mind. I don’t need the vengeance stuff, just the mark. Just something to keep the hands off me.”
Madigan nodded once. “As soon as you’re better, I’ll bring someone in to mark ye.”
I stroked Hamish’s tail idly. “How many other girls are there in the Brotherhood?”
“Katya’s the only one alive,” he stated flatly. “My Meara’s gone on into the mist now, but she still counts.” Then he shrugged at my questioning stare. “We don’t settle down easily. Not exactly a loveable bunch.”
Draper warned me with a quiet, “That means you should take some time to think about this first, Rosie. Talk it over with Lane.”
I met Draper’s eyes that were saying more than his mouth was, and nodded. “Okay.”
Mad waved his hand to clear it of our caution. “It’s done. I’ll not have my fiancée unprotected.”
I stared up at him, mouth agape. “You really care that much about me?”
Mad shook his head, as if “care” was a weird cuss word I shouldn’t be using. “It’s strategy, Rosie. It sends a message of weakness to Faîte if one of our women gets messed with. It’s bad enough they all saw ye when ye came out of the well. I don’t want anyone thinking it’s grand to go taking swings at our women.”
I fed myself a few more bites of my porridge, the passing minutes giving the room enough time for the tension to die down.
“Is it still raining?” Draper asked.
Madigan moved to the window, pulled back the beige curtain that had emerald swirly embellishments scattered across the fabric. He pushed open the glass, revealing gray clouds and fat raindrops pelting the earth. “Aye. Hasn’t stopped for weeks. Link and I were working with the soldiers to put sandbags around the mansion to keep the foundation sturdy.”
“Is this normal for Avalon? Raining for weeks?”
Mad looked over his shoulder at me. “No. If anything, it’s the other way around. Not enough water for the plants to grow as they should. Hope it lets up so people can see the plots of land they’re reclaiming.”
“Huh?”
Draper filled in the gaps for me. “People are catching wind of the outlying provinces merging and coming back to life, so they’re migrating back to their homes. Add Morgan throwing the Lost Princess into a well, and no one wants to be near her castle. Province 9 is coming back, but other provinces that Morgan absorbed are leaving her, too. They’re all coming here to start over. Now Lane’s got almost as much land as Morgan, and probably as many jewels to sustain us.”
“I guess that’s some silver lining in all of it. At least Morgan got exposed for the mom-ster she is. Good to know Avalon has a heart.” I dropped my spoon twice in the bowl before I managed another bite.
“Some of them do, yes, but it’s not that. They’re scared to be near her castle because you’re Master Kerdik’s…” He cast around for the right word. “Special friend?”
I scoffed, fingering my ring. “Kerdik doesn’t have any friends.”
“Well, whatever you are to him, you both made it clear at the coronation that he would move Avalon into the ocean if you asked him to. Morgan threw you into a well, and they all saw how broken down you looked coming out of there. Much of Avalon doesn’t want to be within a thousand miles of Morgan when Master Kerdik comes to avenge you.”
I pursed my lips, doing my best to keep my attitude to myself. “The hype will die down when they see that Kerdik isn’t coming.” I gave up when my hand shook too noticeably for me to work another bite of porridge into my mouth. My mind kept going in and out of focus, letting me listen to bits of conversation before my battery started to power down. It wasn’t sleepiness that weighted my smile into nonexistence, it was an utter break from reality, though I was desperate to cling to the small bits I could grasp.
“Draper?” I said, only realizing after I opened my mouth that I’d interrupted the two of them talking about… something.
Draper turned back to face me, his frown of concern fixed firmly on his features. “Yeah, Rosie?”
I couldn’t remember what I was going to say, only that I was glad he was around. I wasn’t sure how to tell him I’d always wanted a big brother, and that I was so glad he was it. I wanted to tell him how happy I was that he got to have Lane as a mom. She was the best mom in the world, and the universe was better off giving her another lost soul to watch over. I didn’t know how to say all of that, though, so I mumbled a confused, “I love you, man.”
Draper blinked twice, no doubt just as perplexed as I was that I’d interrupted the conversation to tell him what was perfectly obvious. He rested his hand atop mine, and didn’t give off any impression that I was an inconvenience for him. “Thanks, pumpkin. I love you, too. Always tell me that any time. Four in the morning, you wake up and it dawns on you that you love me? You come find me, and tell me exactly that.”
I wanted to tell him everything, but my mind drifted off again, my eyes moving to the window to stare out listlessly into the province that was now my new home.
Brother, Cousin, Uncle, Dad
I ate until I couldn’t stomach another bite, and then Draper sent out for some juice to perk me up. The fresh-squeezed orange juice did the trick, helping me to stay in a conversation for at least a few minutes before my mind wandered.
Draper and I sat in my bed and shot the breeze for a while. Madigan remained at the window, keeping himself on the outside of our conversation so he didn’t have to pretend like he enjoyed being around other people. “So, you’ve got a mom again. Prince Draper, in the flesh. H
ow’s that feel?”
“Like every day is my birthday. Like no matter how many messed up things happened along the way, Faîte somehow landed me somewhere good. Man, I bet old Duke Henri’s boiling right about now. He hates seeing me at all, much less when I’m happy. With all those people Damond brought over from Province 2?” Draper shook his head with raised eyebrows. “I feel sorry for Gwen being stuck there with him.”
“Not to be a jerk, but I don’t so much like your dad. That he was in bed with Morgan, forming plans and whatnot? It’s gross.”
Draper set down the empty bowl, his face twisting. “He wasn’t in bed with Morgan. He wouldn’t risk having an heir with her. She didn’t care for you from the start.”
I flinched at the blunt words. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s a saying in Common that means they’re in cahoots.”
“Oh. That makes more sense. I can’t imagine what he was thinking, putting his token in with your other suitors.”
I’d almost forgotten Madigan was there until he spoke, still staring out the window. “He wanted to put a baby in Rosie.”
I buried my face in my hands, wishing that little phrase wasn’t so common in Avalon. So caveman-ish. It made me blanch every time.
Draper let out a bray of disgust and slunk off the bed onto his knees, like he was melting or something. “Gross! Why would you say something like that?”
“Seriously, Mad. Say Uncle Henri wanted to ‘knock me up,’ like a gentleman.”
Draper covered his face with his hands and let out a tortured howl. “Oh, you’re making it worse, Rosie! That’s disgusting!”
Mad was unperturbed at Draper’s theatrics. “Duke Henri wants to align his kingdom with Morgan’s. Before the missing jewels were found, tha was the only way to guarantee his people’s safety. Ye should know tha.”
Draper looked like he was going to be sick. He reached up and gripped my fingers. “On behalf of my father, I’m sorry, Rosie. You’re not a pawn. You’re a person. What he did… unforgiveable.” Then Draper stood up and crossed the room, gripping Madigan in a tight hug that the gruff Untouchable pushed off one whole second into the embrace. The simple force moved Draper much farther than he’d been anticipating, but then again, Madigan was a big dude.
“What was tha for?” Madigan looked offended at the unwelcome affection.
Draper was unbothered that Madigan had shoved him away. “You stepped in so Rosie didn’t get handed over to Duke Henri. Even though you didn’t love her, you still saved her. She’s my sister, and you saved her from being raped by him.” I could almost see the bile rising in him as he choked out the words. He held his stomach as he made his way back to me. This time when he climbed into the bed, he sat next to me, his arm around my shoulders with a note of protection.
“Hug me again, and I’ll take it all back,” Madigan threatened. “She needs more juice. This is the longest she’s been able to pay attention to a conversation in a while. Tha’s the ticket.”
Draper refilled the cup with more orange juice from the pitcher and molded my fingers around the glass, so I could drink as much as my stomach could take.
I grimaced when I recalled the day Madigan fake proposed to me, how scared I’d been when it looked like I might be married off to Uncle Henri. I pinched the bridge of my nose, my chin lowering to my chest. “Mad, I’m sorry. At the coronation, I got a little carried away. I know you don’t like to be touched, and I was all over you. Part of me was trying to sell it for the crowd, but the other part of me was just plain terrified, and clinging to you so I didn’t fall to pieces up there. I wasn’t thinking about you, only my fear in all of it. Totally not cool of me.”
Mad turned back to the window to watch the rain. “You’ve no need to apologize for tha, Rosie. We had to sell it.”
A knock interrupted us, announcing Remy come to check on me with Lane. Lane looked like she had too much on her mind, her eyebrows bunched and her lips taut with tension. “How are you feeling, hun?”
I echoed her words back onto her. “How are you feeling, hun?”
Lane’s frown broke into a softer expression. “It’s been a long one.” She sat down on my other side, the three of us in the bed and snuggled like one weird, pieced-together family. It felt about nine kinds of wonderful. “Even though you’re here, I’ve been in worry mode for so long; I don’t think it’s dawned on me yet that you’re safe. I’m sure I woke you up too many times last night, coming to check on you.”
“Not at all,” I lied.
“Breaks my heart when you cry, kid. How’s my girl looking, Remy?”
“Well, if I could get to her, then maybe I could tell you.” Remy had to reach over Draper to examine me, but my brother made no attempt to move.
Something pinged in my brain, so I turned my head to look up curiously at Draper. “Are you my brother or my cousin?”
Draper leaned his cheek to my temple. Some might find his closeness and Lane’s fawning claustrophobic – those people have clearly never been in the bottom of a well before. “I guess that depends on who Lane is to you – your aunt or your mom.”
I answered without hesitation. “Lane’s my mom.” Though she’d fit both roles so seamlessly, I always knew who she was in my heart.
Draper’s grin spread wide across his face, and beamed itself onto Lane’s, as well. “Then I guess that makes me your brother.” He squeezed me with a gentle pressure that made my emotions rise in my throat. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Lane shooed the guys out once she realized Remy needed to check my infected cuts. She stayed with me the entire time, holding my hand, brushing my hair and trying unsuccessfully to pry out every last tidbit she could extract from me. “You need to talk about it, babe.”
“I really, really don’t. Especially not to you.”
Lane flinched like I’d slapped her. “Why would you say that? You’ve always been able to tell me anything. Did I do something?”
“Of course not. It was all just pretty awful, and you don’t need those thoughts in your head. I love you, and I know it hurts you to think about bad things happening to me.”
“You don’t need to protect me, Ro. That’s the thing about being a parent. It’s my job to protect you.”
I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes. “It’s too late. Damage is done.”
Lane swallowed whatever retort she wanted to make. Remy deemed me on the mend, and instructed me to keep up with lots of water and steady, small portioned food. My muscles were still a little shot and unstable from being cramped in the tub for over two weeks, so a massage was recommended, as well. “Best doctor ever, Remy. Seriously. No shots and a massage script? You’re the best.”
Remy held my hand to his heart before leaving, and I realized how out of practice I was at speaking to animals and healers. The simple exchanges between Remy and I during my examination, coupled with Hamish’s idle chatter were starting to wear me out, and it was barely noon.
Lane rubbed my arms, hands, legs and feet for me, trying to force circulation. Hamish did his part by pounding his tiny fists into the meat of my shoulder. It wasn’t all that effective, but I made sure to give him plenty of “that feels great” noises to boost his ego. He tired of the task quickly, and gave me a snuggle before scampering off after Remy, whom he’d taken a liking to. He told me that the two often went searching in the woods together – Remy for herbs, and Hamish for nuts.
“This robe isn’t warm enough. Let’s pick out something for you to wear.” Lane moved over to the corner of the large room, to the beige wood wardrobe with emerald borders. When she threw open the doors, there were dresses on one side and jeans and t-shirts on the other.
My eyes widened. “I get to wear jeans?”
Lane smirked at me over her shoulder. “You get to wear whatever you like. You’re a princess, Ro. You could wear a shoe on your head, and the next day everyone would be wearing one, like it was the height of fashion.”
I started singing to her, “‘D
id you ever know that you’re my hero?’”
Lane whirled around, her simple emerald dress belling out at the half-twirl. “You made a joke. You sang! Oh, baby. Sometimes a mother needs to hear her girl sing. Best sound in the world.”
I yodeled a little off-key just to make her laugh. Though truly, I wasn’t sure the difference between yodeling on-key and off.
She held up different matches, and we finally landed on jeans and a form-fitting tank top, with a sheer purple tunic over top. It would look cute, even in Common. I quickly realized I couldn’t stand when I tried the grand feat and fell in a heap on the wood floor. My knees jarred worse than when I played two soccer matches in one afternoon. My bones felt out of place, like a marionette puppet who hadn’t been given the proper strings.
Lane picked me up as she choked back her tears, and set me on the bed. “Slower, kid. We’ve got to take everything slower than you’re used to. This is the time to lay back and be glad we have servants here.”
I shook my head, resolute. “I don’t need men to help me get dressed. Bastien’s fine, but no one else.”
Lane quirked her eyebrow at me, but then threw her head back when realization dawned on her. “Right. Because Morgan only employs male servants. We don’t do that here. It’s a mix. And I don’t think Bastien would be cool if I had some dude in here buttoning you up.” She was hinting, but she didn’t need to. She could always just ask; I had no need to hide anything from her. “So, you and Bastien,” she said as she helped me into the clean clothes, so I didn’t have to risk the hazards that came with standing.
She was so bad at this, mainly, I realized, because this was uncharted territory for us both. I’d never had a boyfriend in Common, much less a man who I was living with. Granted, we were under her roof, but still. This wasn’t exactly Judah we were talking about. “Me and Bastien. Still pretty new. We’ve been on opposite pages too many times before. Now we’re finally on the same one. Hopefully it lasts.”
Stupid Girl Page 5