Blinding Beauty (15 page)

“
Daughter?” Rafael held the three
apples out to the princess. She paled a bit, but took them and gave
a small curtsy before making her way down to the center of the
clearing. It might have been Isa’s heightened sense of suspicion,
but the look of fear on the princess’s face seemed no longer a
mask. Princess Olivia looked terrified.

When she reached the center of the
clearing, the princess just stopped and stood there. A tense,
uncomfortable silence blanketed the stands for a long moment. Then,
the ground began to quake. Women shrieked, and the men’s hands went
to their swords. The ground stretched, and with a sickening crack,
a bump in the land began to develop. Isa watched the princess,
wondering what insanity her father had bought into that would have
him send his daughter into the center of this chaos. Still, the
girl stood dutifully as the ground beneath her began to tear and
swell.

Before she could whisper to him,
to ask what was happening, a strange cold sensation crept through
her. Quickly, she recognized the same feeling as the one she’d felt
that morning when she’d touched the pane of glass.

The ground that should have
separated with such violent shaking began to twist and turn,
growing up, pushing the princess higher and higher with it. At
first it was only a little mound, but within seconds, the mound was
growing. As it moved upward and began to widen, the center began to
darken into a deep blue. The higher the hill rose, the wider the
blue spread, until nearly the entire mound was one solid heap. The
grinding and cracking continued until it came to rest, nearly as
high as the Fortress watch towers back at home. The mound had
become a solid hill.

The newly born hill was so wide
around that it nearly touched the lowest level of the stands. And
at the top, the princess now sat, clutching her three golden apples
to her chest.

“
Is that... glass?” Isa whispered.
Ever didn’t answer. For the first time since she’d met her husband,
he seemed just as confused as she was.

Rafael slapped Ever on the back
and the gleam returned to his eye.

“
You see, Everard. The Maker
blesses others with wonders and signs, too.” He walked to the edge
of the box once more and called out, hushing the fearful whispering
of the spectators. “This hill is our sign that whomever can make it
up to the top of the hill thrice will be our answer from the Maker,
a sure promise to bless their union.”

As he finished speaking, a flurry
of sparkling light fluttered down upon the stands. The crowd
exclaimed in delight as it floated down like little jewels in the
sky. Isa felt Ever put up a shield around the two of them as the
glitter came to rest on every surface, even the inside of their
covered platform.

“
You missed some,” she told him
wryly, brushing a few pieces out of his hair, only to realize she’d
gotten some in her own eyes. From the way he was blinking, it
appeared that Ever had done the same. Isa held her hand up when her
eyes were clear, and examined it in awe. The sparkles looked like
glass as well, but lacked the sharpness that Isa would have assumed
them to have.

Instead of brushing the sparkling
dust off like everyone else, the king was holding his arms out as
he raised his face towards the sun. A smile spread upon his lips as
he seemed to be whispering the words, thank you, thank you to the
sky.

Once the excitement over the
glitter dust had settled, the contest was begun. The contestants
were lined up outside of the arena, far enough away that their
horses could gather speed for their attempts to ride up the hill
towards the princess.

First up was a duke. He wore six
feathers atop his helm, and when Isa asked Ever about their
meaning, he scoffed.

“
That’s Duke Tareq. He’s young,
and after winning a few rounds of jousting in his own kingdom, has
become convinced he’s the Maker’s gift to the world. He reeks of
ale though, and would hardly give the princess a second look. He’s
usually too busy with the women from the back of the
alehouse.”

The duke’s ride was dramatic, his
feathers adding to the flare of his pose. For all the show he put
into his speed, however, his horse only made it up the hill a few
paces before sliding back down. It served him right though for all
that pomp and show.

As the contestants continued to
try their hands at winning the princess, it soon became evident
that the first duke’s fate would be the norm. One after another,
they raced forward like dogs to prey, only to fall back down after
a few steps. At least, Isa thought, Launce wouldn’t be alone in his
struggles here. He was a fair horseman. This time he might blend in
with the other competitors in skill.

The sun was close to setting by
the time Launce’s turn arrived. Isa wondered if his placement was
because he had come in last in everything else, or if he was simply
too nice to shove his way to the top. Or because he was a commoner.
Whatever the reason, Isa was glad it was nearly over. Her backside
smarted from sitting for so long, and her stomach rumbled. She’d
been too nervous to eat much when the midday meal had been brought
out on platters.

The copper clad rider sat astride
his horse with nearly a pose of confidence. Beside her, Ever leaned
forward in his chair as the signal was given, and just like the
others, Launce raced towards the hill. The crowd had long ago also
grown weary of watching riders. As the mysterious copper knight
approached the princess, however, a hush fell upon the
people.

As soon as the gigantic horse set
a hoof on the hill, a slight ringing hit Isa’s ears. The feeling of
foreign power hit her once again.

To everyone’s surprise, far beyond
the initial steps of the other competitors, Launce went. Isa felt
her mouth fall open as he ascended. Only when he was two thirds of
the way up did the copper rider pause. Somehow, the princess had
just enough time to snatch an apple from her lap and toss down it
to him. Launce caught the golden apple and began his
descent.

Instead of stopping at the bottom
and returning to claim his first victory, however, the copper
knight continued to race away from the hill, past the stables, and
into the forest at top speed. Knowing Launce’s aversion to crowds
and attention, Isa might have considered his strange behavior
understandable if it weren’t for the one thing that was bothering
her more by the second.

“
Ever?”

“
Yes?”

“
Did you feel that?”

“
Yes,” he turned to look her in
the eye. “Why?”

“
Because that’s the same power I
felt this morning when I touched the window.”

As soon as the words left her
mouth, Ever stood. His jaw flexed and his right hand twitched. “Are
you sure? It is exactly the same?”

“
Absolutely.” She paused, glancing
around as the people surrounding them gossiped and tried to surmise
who the mystery rider might be. “What do you think it
means?”

“
I don’t know, but I shall
certainly find out.”

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

Like My Father

After the
contest, Isa and Ever returned to their chambers to prepare for
that night’s banquet. Isa was strangely quiet as they readied,
hardly even talking to Cerise. That was never a good
sign.

To make matters worse, once they
arrived, still without speaking a word to one another, Rafael’s
banquet lasted much longer than Ever had hoped. The king was
clearly enjoying the talk brought on by the glass hill, and was
basking in the attention, answering the same questions over and
over again with vague, cryptic cackles that made Ever want to
strike the man unconscious.

Isa was looking lovely, but
miserable. Of course, that didn’t stop him from noticing her. The
dress she wore draped around her tall, slim frame like red wine
spilling down a steep, tightly curved staircase, and the gossamer
sleeves displayed her bare, lean muscled shoulders enticingly. On
much more than one occasion throughout the party he caught highborn
men staring unabashedly like unpolished village boys. One glare
from him though was enough to send most of them
scattering.

Isa seemed to notice little of it
though. She’d spent the whole evening at his side staring vacantly
out at the other guests as they laughed and gossiped and drank. She
plastered a smile on her face every time Ever introduced her to
someone new, but none of it was real. Even her dancing was
wooden.

“
Isa,” he finally leaned over to
whisper. “Are you feeling well?”

“
I’m fine,” she answered too
quickly. When he cocked his head, giving her a wry, knowing smile,
she caved. “I’m concerned about Launce.”

“
Would you like to return to our
room?”

Before she could reply, he could
see the eager answer in her eyes, so he quietly excused them and
escorted her back to their chambers, where he called her
lady-in-waiting to attend to her before he returned. Given her
distant mood all evening, she surprised him, however, with a
request just as he was ready to leave.

“
Can’t you stay?” The misery in
her plea was pitiful. Chagrin washing through him, he leaned down
and stroked her hair once before shaking his head. As he stared
into her eyes, simply retiring for the evening and spending it
quietly with Isa suddenly sounded enticing, and he had to fight his
own longing to do as she asked.

“
I need to see what else I can
learn about whatever strange power it is that’s using your
brother.” He tried to soften his words so she wouldn’t think he
actually wanted to leave her.

“
I thought we could do that
together.” Isa frowned. “That was actually what I had been
hoping...” She let her words trail off though as she studied him,
long and hard, and he wondered uneasily what conclusions her study
drew her to. “Well, if you must,” she finally finished, and with
that, she slipped into the bed. His hopes at being forgiven were
neatly dashed when she curled into a ball on the far side of the
bed. He did his best to noiselessly step out, but not before her
near silent sniffles reached his ears.

Hot shame started along his back
and arms and worked its way up his neck and face as he walked back
towards the raucous party. For all of his power and riches, he
couldn’t grant this one simple request. Or you won’t grant it, some
part of his mind nagged at him.

Ever could count on one hand the
number of times Isa had requested something of him since they’d
gotten married. And her last request had been granted grudgingly at
that, he thought with guilt, recalling how nervous she’d seemed as
she’d suggested bringing Launce along. A far cry from the way he’d
vowed to himself that he would keep her happy the day they were
wed. To make matters worse, he got absolutely nothing accomplished,
as Launce had returned to the stables before they had time to talk,
and Rafael was too drunk to talk at all. The whole night was a
waste.

If Ever hoped for anything
different that night after he’d finally gone to bed, he did a
fantastic job of dashing those hopes the next morning.

“
Where are you going this early?”
Isa stretched and yawned. It was hard not to see the dark circles
beneath her eyes, despite the early hour at which he’d dropped her
off the night before.

“
I have some business to attend
to.” He paused, wondering whether if he told her any more, she
would let him go without too many more questions. He decided it was
worth a try. “I’m meeting with an ally who might have some insight
into Launce’s position.”

“
You mean you’re going to meet
with her, aren’t you?” The way Isa’s eyes narrowed for a moment,
raking him up and down as though she could see through to his soul,
was slightly frightening. She surprised him, however, by then
hopping off the bed and moving to dress herself without even
ringing for her lady-in-waiting. “I’m coming with you then,” she
announced as she began to pin up her runaway locks.

Despite his rush, Ever had to
appreciate that Isa’s status as queen hadn’t ever gone to her head.
Like him, she preferred escaping her servants and dressing herself
as often as she could. Unfortunately, today was a day he couldn’t
afford the delay. Or the distraction.

“
I want to hear what she thinks
about this whole spectacle,” Isa continued as she went over to the
corner of the room and opened her wardrobe, staring at its
contents, tipping her head to the side as she did. At first she
chose a yellow dress, then a more practical brown one, perfect for
riding. Ever inwardly berated himself for what he had to do next,
particularly amid the stream of sweet and happy chatter she was
somehow conjuring.

“
I’m sorry, Isa.” He took the
dress from her hands gently and hung it back up in the wardrobe.
Her expression changed from amiable contentment immediately to
suspicion. “I need you to stay here where it’s safe.”

“
You’re just going to leave me
here?” Out of the corner of his eye, Ever noticed her knuckles
whitening as she held on to the mahogany wardrobe door. “No. No, I
thought about it last night, and I decided that I need to help you
with this. The Fortress didn’t make me queen to sit idly in my room
all day. Besides,” the blue flames that had risen up in her eyes
for just a moment, lessened as she said in a more pleading voice,
“I’ll be with you. You can keep me safe.”