Our arrival in the infirmary caused something of a stir. The mother who had been rescued from the fire jumped up to thank me and had to be coaxed back to her bed by a nurse. Jon also hurried over to greet us, proving more resistant to the nurses’ disapproval than the mother.
Two doctors were also present, including the one I had spoken to the night before, and they wanted to know more about what I had done.
“And how did you know to do it?” added Jon. “I’ve never seen such a thing.”
“Some of the sailors claim to do a similar thing when they rescue one of their number from the sea,” said the second doctor. “There has been some debate on the topic amongst the doctors here, and some of us have begun to train in the technique, but I have never seen it done on one so young.”
“It is widely used in the Four Kingdoms for drownings and other such accidents,” I said. “According to the stories, it originated with a woodcutter’s third son, who decided to leave his family to seek his fortune. He found it as a doctor and introduced many new life-saving treatments. I suppose godmothers can give practical assistance as well as magical.”
“If only our godmothers had not left us,” muttered Jon.
I ignored him since I had no reply to that. “We have a family friend who is a doctor, and he taught me the method. Time is critical, and I wanted to be equipped in case no doctor was nearby.”
“We would like to hear more details, and an exact description of the process, if you would be willing,” said the doctor from the fire.
He was looking at me, but I had insisted Sophie learn the technique as well, so she stepped forward to answer their questions, giving me a slight nudge in Jon’s direction as she did so. Against my better judgment, I stepped toward him, eager to see for myself that he was truly unharmed.
“So, once again you’re the hero, Princess Lily,” he said quietly.
“No. This time that title belongs to you.” I looked up at him, the newfound intensity of my emotions making me shy. “You were very brave to run into that building like you did.”
He shrugged. “I acted on instinct.” He grinned down at me. “Just like someone else once told me, if I recall correctly.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “What a modest pair we are! Think of all the accolades we’re missing out on.”
“There’s only one accolade I want,” he said, his voice low and his eyes gazing at me with a shade of his wonder from the night before.
I shivered. “You wanted to talk to me…” I whispered.
He blinked. “Right. Yes. The doctors had been pestering me with questions which I’ve been entirely unable to answer. I thought it would be better if you answered them yourself.”
I deflated. Had this been how he felt when I met him in the garden and started talking about possible treason? “Oh, of course. Sophie and I are happy to answer any questions they may have. Perhaps we can organize a medical exchange at some point. I’m sure there would be a lot to learn on both sides. And for the guards as well. I’ve never seen such impressive firefighting efforts.”
“Thank you.” Jon grinned. “I’m the official head of the Fire Squad, so I’ll take the compliment.”
“The Fire Squad?”
“Given that Marin is one giant city, we take the threat of fire extremely seriously. We have a squad of specially trained guards who direct all firefighting efforts. They’re the ones you saw in action last night.”
“They certainly seemed well-trained and capable. I’m sure my parents would love to speak with some of them about their methods.”
“We’re always seeking to improve.” Jon grimaced. “And after last night, it’s clear we need to add a couple of doctors to our number. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”
The nurse interrupted us then to insist that Jon needed to rest. He grumbled, but this time he complied, and Sophie and I left to give all the patients some peace and quiet.
I didn’t see Jon again until the next ball when his appearance shocked me. He looked like a different person, grim and with shadowed eyes.
“What’s the matter?” I asked as we danced, trying not to focus on the feeling of his hand on my waist. “Between us and your squad, we managed to save everyone. And with the help of all those volunteers, only two houses were lost along with that warehouse. You should be feeling proud of your city right now.”
He shook his head. “My squad are experts on fire. They’ve examined the site in the daylight, and the news isn’t good. We won’t make the findings public, because we don’t want to incite panic, but that fire was deliberately lit.”
I gasped. “Arson? But why? And who would do such a thing?”
Jon’s mouth hardened into an angry line. “Excellent questions. We haven’t had an arsonist in the city for over a generation. So, I keep asking myself who stands to gain from such a disaster. And the answer is all too clear. That warehouse belonged to my father’s most loyal adherent amongst the merchants, and Oswald’s biggest rival. And it was being used to store grain and other necessities.”
I gasped again. “You’re saying he deliberately burned some of the city’s supplies? But people could die.” I paused. “People nearly did die!”
He sighed, and his shoulders slumped. “Oswald has just become the richest merchant in Marin. And with those supplies gone, the city will only last until the end of the summer. Without much hope of the usual harvest trading coming through, the whole duchy will be in hardship after that. I’m already hearing rumors, now that I know what to listen for. Since this disaster, Oswald has already won some of the previously reluctant nobles and merchants to his cause. The number of loyalists grows smaller by the hour.”
“A masterful move, then. He has achieved several goals with one blow.”
Jon spoke almost in my ear, so that no one would overhear us, but now his voice dropped even lower. “I haven’t mentioned this to anyone, but I’ve been thinking. Oswald bought his position in the nobility here. Everyone knows that. He was originally from Palinar. When the kingdom was cursed, many people congratulated him on escaping well before the disaster. But I’m starting to wonder. All this time I’ve been concerned about the darkness creeping toward us on every side. But maybe it’s already here, festering in the heart of the duchy.”
My eyes flew up to Jon’s as I tried to process his words. “You mean you think the darkness has taken over Oswald’s heart? His actions with the fire certainly seem evil enough.”
“I can only imagine it found fertile ground there,” he said, bitterness in his voice. “The man has always been greedy and proud.”
A sudden memory surfaced. “And remember what Corinna said? She asked how your father would feed the people once the summer was over. They were already counting on destroying those supplies.” My stomach churned, and I fought the urge to be sick. “Perhaps you will need to accept her proposal, after all.”
Chapter 25
I barely saw Jon in the two weeks that followed. And when we did cross paths, at the Tourney balls or in the corridors of the palace, he looked withdrawn and desperate. His haunted eyes always followed me, and I could feel their burning force, but he rarely approached me.
When I asked him questions he turned them aside, except to tell me that I had been right about his father. He knew of the conspiracy but had yet to devise a way to counter it. Some of his nobles and merchants remained loyal, however, so while Sir Oswald worked to gather more support, a delicate balance held, everyone pretending to devote their attention to the Tourney and the stalled alliance negotiations.
Occasionally I saw Jon’s eyes following Corinna, and I feared that he was steeling himself to accept her offer. I couldn’t bear the thought and now spent most of my time in the library, searching desperately for a solution. If I could only find something of value that Marin could offer the Four Kingdoms other than itself.
Millie, Teddy and Gabe couldn’t understand my obsession and had just about given up on me. Sophie remained loyal, of
course, but even she often chose to join our friends in the gardens instead. She had a greater love for books than I did, but she didn’t believe we would find a solution for Marin within their pages. I was content to let her go, encouraged it even, because I had another purpose in the library. I studied in the hope that I would gain enough knowledge to pull ahead of my sister in the Tourney.
I studied mainly in solitude, undisturbed by the silent Keepers of the Library who flitted in and out. They had perfected the art of moving soundlessly around the room so as not to disturb visitors. With beautiful spring weather outside, I saw few others.
Celine had been wrong about the repeated events being due to tied scores. Rather it seemed that the Tourney liked to operate in threes. Three cooperative events. Three treasure hunts. The hunts were followed by three purely physical endurance events that left us all exhausted but favored Sophie and me as the oldest, excluding the injured Celine. I might have stopped visiting the library during those events, except that I still hoped to help Marin, and I had a lurking suspicion that puzzles and riddles would reappear in later events.
And sure enough, the next set of three were the least physically demanding events of the Tourney so far, involving a series of logic and number puzzles. My study gave me some small advantage, but I received an even greater one when Sophie succumbed to summer fever before the twelfth event. Her whole body ached, poor thing, and she struggled to sleep or think clearly.
Seeing her sick brought back a rush of my old fears, as it always did, and I longed to take my usual position at her bedside as nurse. But this time I forced myself to stay carefully away, in quarantine, even sleeping on a pallet in Celine’s room. I could tell that both Celine and Sophie were concerned for me and my strange behavior, but I offered no explanation.
When the next ball and event arrived, I easily pulled ahead, catapulting myself to the top of the scores. When we saw the results on the parchment, Sophie peering over my shoulder, she looked green. I couldn’t be sure if it was exhaustion from having to compete while sick, or guilt over falling behind. I didn’t ask.
I had always tried to protect her, but I had never tried to separate myself from her like this. I kept waiting for her to demand answers, but the illness must have exhausted her too much to press me.
And after being forced to compete she had a relapse. I felt drained as I watched her suffer from afar, anxiety eating at me. I desperately wanted to be by her side, cheering her up and nursing her through it, but I kept reminding myself that I was staying away for her sake. She had properly trained nurses with her, so it was really only my company she lacked. And better she lose my company now, than be forced to marry the Beast. The slightly lost expression in her eyes when she looked at me only confirmed my resolution. My feelings for Jon didn’t matter next to my need to protect my sister and the younger girls.
Yet, every time I saw him, my traitorous heart still leaped. And I did feel like a traitor. I had only known him a matter of weeks, but his distance felt almost as painful as my own forced withdrawal from Sophie. It made no sense. But my heart refused to listen to reason and continued in its erratic course.
The day after the twelfth trial, Jon’s mother, Duchess Aurelia, threw a garden party for all the visiting royalty and nobles. The spring sun shone brightly, a light breeze keeping the day from becoming too hot, and Helena dragged me out of the library to attend.
“I don’t know what has taken hold of you,” she said, eyeing me suspiciously. “You were never one to hole yourself up in the library.” She cracked a smile. “Not that Alyssa wouldn’t be proud, but Sophie is sick and you must represent Arcadia. We’re here to make a good impression and form alliances, remember?”
I agreed because I knew she was right. Between the Tourney and the impending coup, I had almost forgotten our original purpose in Marin. An hour later, I entered the garden in my favorite afternoon gown. I knew I looked elegant, but I still felt half-naked. I never attended social functions without Sophie. I reached out to her in my mind but could tell she was asleep.
I looked around for Millie, instead, but could see no sign of her. Lilac, Snow, and the others were similarly absent from sight, with the exception of Emmeline and Giselle, who only made me turn hurriedly the other way, hoping to avoid a stilted conversation.
Taking a drink from one of the tables that had been carried out onto the lawns, I wandered through the flowers alone. I knew I was getting further and further away from the party, but I couldn’t make myself care. It felt too nice to stop thinking and stop trying, and just walk and enjoy the beauty. Of course, that only lasted for about twenty minutes, until I turned a corner and almost ran into Corinna and two of her friends.
“My apologies.” I stepped back hurriedly.
She sneered at me. “Just because you’re a princess, doesn’t mean you can walk all over us.”
I said nothing, since such a comment clearly didn’t warrant a response. But my silence seemed to infuriate her. She stepped up to stand directly in front of me, her face so twisted with anger, I feared she meant to physically attack me.
“You think you’re so much better than me?” she whispered. “Well you’re not going to have him. He’s mine, do you understand? Mine!”
I stepped back, my eyes widening. “I…I don’t know what you mean.” My eyes flicked over her shoulder to her two friends who both looked bemused.
The slight movement seemed to remind her we weren’t alone. She stepped back, taking a deep breath and regaining some calm. “Prince Jonathan will never choose some worthless foreign girl like you.”
Rage boiled through me, but I kept my face still. I refused to let her know that she had succeeded in upsetting me. Especially when her comment was only a trigger rather than the cause of my true pain. The pain I had been denying for the past two weeks, shut up in the library.
Because it didn’t matter if Jon would have chosen me or not. I was going to win the Tourney and marry a prince more beast than man. And all my efforts to save Jon from Corinna were only going to free him to inherit his throne and marry some other princess. It was still worth it, of course, to save him. But that didn’t stop it hurting more than I had thought such a thing could.
Then, almost as if she could read my mind, one of the other girls spoke up. “Don’t worry, Corinna. Haven’t you seen the latest results? Princess Liliana is going to end up betrothed to the Beast.”
She and the second girl both shuddered, but I could tell from their shining eyes and smiles that they rather enjoyed the second-hand fear. It didn’t touch them, not really. I felt like I watched them from a great distance, so far separated by situation that we didn’t really inhabit the same location.
Corinna, on the other hand, felt all too real. The venom in her eyes stung because she was playing the same high-stakes game as me. And she wasn’t satisfied to see me dragged away involuntarily. She couldn’t bear the idea that Jon might have chosen me if we were both free. I could read it on her face as clearly as if she had spoken aloud. But she couldn’t say the words. Not now, anyway.
“It’s a good thing you’ll be going to Palinar,” she said instead. “Because you’ll never be welcome here in Marin.”
“Corinna!” The second girl’s shocked reprimand was undermined by her giggles.
I drew myself up to my full height, wishing it were more impressive, but hesitated. Did Arcadia’s honor and good name require me to defend myself, or to leave before I insulted someone? Naturally I didn’t care about insulting Corinna, but I didn’t even know who the other girls were. Instinctively I reached out to ask Sophie, before remembering she was asleep.
“I think you must be confused, Corinna,” an unexpected voice joined the conversation, and his tone sent a delicious shiver racing down my spine. I had never heard him sound so dangerous. “I decide who’s welcome in Marin, not you.”
She paled and fell back several steps as if driven by an invisible source. “P...Prince Jonathan. I…I just…”
“Yes?” He stepped into view, stopping just in front of me as if shielding me from her. “You just what?”
Corinna gaped at him, clearly shocked at his presence and his attitude. When the silence lengthened, she seemed to remember their earlier interaction, and her eyes narrowed into a glare. “Really, Jonathan. Is that whose side you want to take? Are you sure?”
Her friends gasped, but she ignored them, taking a step toward him. Jon didn’t back down, stepping forward, instead, to meet her halfway.
“Let me make one thing clear.” His words were low but clear, spoken slowly and with dangerous intent. “It doesn’t matter what you do or say. I will always choose her. Every. Single. Time.”
I swayed, unable to believe what was happening. Unable to take it in. I could read the rage and the warning in Corinna’s eyes, and I knew Jon could, too, but he didn’t falter for even a second.
The tense silence lengthened and then suddenly snapped. “Fine!” Corinna spun around and gestured for her friends to follow. “Have your foreign princess. But don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.”
She stormed off, but her two friends hesitated. They glanced at each other and then dropped quick curtsies to Jon and me before scurrying after Corinna. We watched them go without moving. And then we were alone.
“Jon.” His name came out half-breath, half-whisper.
He spun around and strode over, jerking me into his arms. His eyes devoured my face, hungry and tortured. “I don’t care about consequences. I don’t care about responsibility. I’m going half out of my mind.” His low voice throbbed with passion. “All I want is you.”
A small voice in the back of my mind told me that I, at least, couldn’t abandon consequences and responsibility. My ailing sister was relying on me, even if she didn’t know it. But the rest of my thoughts had fastened on the feel of his strong arms around me, the glow in his eyes and the shape of his mouth, so close to my own.
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