Blinding Beauty (23 page)

In order to distract them both, to
keep them from mulling over the problem day after day, Ever had
thrown them both into their duties with more vigor than ever.
Hardly a second was free for either one of them, always spent in
study, work, or exercise. This would keep her from worrying, he’d
convinced himself. But if he was honest, he had to wonder sometimes
if the distractions were more for her or for him.

Now, in the cold of night, as he
threw rocks into the waves, Ever wished that Garin were there.
Garin would know what to do. Garin always knew what to do, even
when there was nothing to be done. But he took a deep breath; as
Garin was not there, Ever would have to make do with what he had.
And at the moment, since he couldn’t imagine what Garin would
suggest, a piece of advice his father had given him long ago was
all he had.

“
Make a plan and stay the course,”
King Rodrigue had always said. “If you don’t, you will wander about
uselessly, solving problems for no one.”

That, Ever decided, was what he
would do. The greatest threat now was the enchanter. Ever might not
know how to help Isa, or how to fix the cruel words he’d hurt her
with, but he knew he could best this enchanter, and once it was
done, Ever would focus only on his wife. He would take her away and
dote on her until she hadn’t a piece of her left that could
question his need, his devotion to her. They would find a way to
heal her, and she would never be able to doubt his love
again.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE

Duty

Isa didn’t
even realize she had fallen asleep until she awakened the next
morning to see early purple filling the sky. It had been the
longest night she could ever recall, the kind that trapped her in
sleepless dreams, images and words that made no sense, but were
frightening all the same. Over and over again, she’d had to relive
the moment when Ever had walked out and slammed the door. The worst
part of it was that even after she woke up, Ever had never
returned, despite her tears and prayers. Shouting, Isa reasoned,
would have been better than contemplating the meaning of his
absence alone.

It was so early that Isa decided
not to ring for Cerise. She loved her friend, but was in no mood to
explain the dark circles beneath her eyes or where Ever was.
Instead, she washed her face in the porcelain basin and opened the
window. Ever had told her not to touch it, but she was suffocating.
After staring at the walls for two days, she needed to get
out.

Despite the hour, the street below
was bustling with the sounds of poultry clucking, horses’ hooves,
and merchants gabbing as they walked to the market to set up their
booths. The breeze had the chill of early winter, but Isa welcomed
it, leaning even farther out the window. The frozen bite made her
feel alive.

But it wasn’t enough. Isa needed
to do more than simply lean out of a window again to breathe. She
needed to escape. The cold water and crisp morning air had given
her courage, and suddenly, Kartek’s words came back to
her.

She was the queen of the Fortress,
and she would not sit idly by as she wasted away and Ever destroyed
himself.

Excitement thrumming through her
bones, Isa quickly dressed in a yellow long-sleeved dress, another
training outfit that hid a pair of trousers beneath it. Gigi had
ordered it in exasperation when she’d found out that Ever was
determined to train his wife in the ways of war not once in a
while, but every day. Isa hoped there would be no fight today, but
she wanted to be prepared. If Ever wasn’t going to tell her what
was going on, she would find out on her own.

And now for the hard part. Isa
needed to escape her well-intentioned guards, but as they had sworn
to Ever to protect her, there would be no talking her way past
them. She would have to use her powers. Whispering a silent plea to
the Fortress, Isa gingerly placed her hand against the rough wood
of the door. She inhaled, then gently pressed.

Nothing.

Again, she took a deep breath and
pushed. This time, her hand began to disappear, beginning with her
fingers, then traveling up her arm and down the rest of her body.
When she looked down, much to her satisfaction, she was completely
invisible. It was one of the first tricks she’d learned at the
Fortress.

Once more, she pressed into the
wood, and just as she’d hoped, began to melt through it. Pushing
through the door felt strange, like moving through a rough, wool
blanket. Just as she was halfway through, however, far enough to
see the other side, Norbert’s head jerked up. Though he didn’t seem
to see her, the distraction had done its damage, and Isa was now
stuck within the door. Panic seized her as she pulled and pulled,
but it was no use.

Calm, she struggled to focus, I
must be calm. More slowly this time, Isa tried pulling her right
leg from the door without bumping into him. The older man had seen
enough of the Fortress’s power to guess what she was up to if she
tipped him off. As though freeing herself from quicksand, Isa had
to be ridiculously patient. Finally, she was free from the door.
Thankful to be done with it, she ran silently down the hall, glad
to stretch her legs again. It was empowering to walk through the
halls alone. Isa felt strong and confident, though she hadn’t the
slightest idea as to how she would discover whatever her husband
was hiding from her.

Then it came to her. Launce.
Launce was grudgingly obeying Ever, but she was sure it wouldn’t
take much convincing to get him to share what he knew with her. Isa
felt a bit guilty about sneaking around her husband, but Kartek was
right. Whatever scheme Ever was so obsessed with would drive him to
distraction if he was left alone to it.

Besides, his words from the night
before still stung more than she wanted to admit, and his absence
even more. She would go to Launce’s final competition, then she
would explore on her own.

The final ceremony was one of
excitement and chatter, not to mention much earlier than the first
two contests. The roar of many voices reached her before Isa even
arrived at the arena. She was both relieved and saddened when she
saw that Ever sat in his usual post beside King Rafael. She would
have to find a new place from which to watch the contest. Others
couldn’t see her, but Ever would sense her presence if she was
nearby. Invisibility was one of the few skills Isa had ever had a
decent handle on with her powers, but if she became too upset or
flustered, it would fail her, too.

“
Presenting his Royal Highness,
King Rafael!” The trumpets blared and the crowd hushed as the king
walked to the front of his box.

“
My friends, it is the time at
last for us to see who the holy man, the architect of this feat,
has selected to marry my daughter and be the next king of Cobren.
Whosoever shall present the three apples to me today shall be our
next king!” Isa wondered if Launce would have a third suit today.
It still irked her that Ever had allowed Launce to continue in the
competition when he discovered that the holy man was using him. But
Launce had gone along with it, particularly after the first horse
and suit had shown up, and between the two men, there was no
stopping it. She only hoped her little brother wouldn’t get
hurt.

Isa found a spot just beneath the
raised benches, on the far right side of the arena. From there, she
could see the distant line of riders awaiting their signals to
ride. She tried to pick out Launce by the gleam of his armor, but
then she realized he might well have a new suit of armor today, if
he had fared as well as he’d done the two days before.

Once the final game was begun, as
usual, the other nobles, knights, kings, and princes attempted the
great hill. It was apparent, however, that their numbers were
dwindling. There were far fewer competing today than there had been
the day before. It didn’t seem to make a difference to the people,
however, as the whole arena seemed to be waiting for Launce. No one
even took notice when the hill lowered itself for the princess to
walk upon its summit, then raised itself up again with a grinding
creak to a height even greater than the day before.

“
Do you think the knight will ride
again today?” someone sitting above Isa asked.

“
Of course, why would he compete
in two and not the third?” someone else snorted.

“
I told you, it’s not one rider,
but two from the same kingdom. I’ll bet they are here to make a
fool of Rafael by showing him up and giving three different people
an apple so he’ll have to choose.”

“
But wouldn’t it make sense for
the riders to each compete? Wouldn’t they rather be kings than
servants?”

“
Unlike some people, not
everyone’s allegiance can be bought.”

Heavy hoof beats could be heard
fast approaching from outside the arena. Like the streak of a
shooting star, a golden blur of horse and man burst past Isa and
into the stadium. This horse seemed the largest of any he’d ridden
thus far. Isa couldn’t imagine how the monstrous creature could get
three feet off the ground, let alone climb the sleek hill, which
was now at least the three times the Fortress’s Tower of
Annals.

Gasps went up as the horse charged
up the hill without hesitation from horse or rider. Yesterday,
Launce had slowed, but tonight he rode as though demons chased him.
Somehow, he moved closer and closer to the princess as though the
hill were flat. Fear made Isa nearly sick as her brother neared the
summit. The crystalline blue beneath him let out a sharp cracking
sound. White veins splintered beneath the hooves, extending with
each successive touch. Isa gripped the edge of the platform above
her until her fingers hurt, praying desperately that she or Ever
would be able to save him if something happened.

Just when it seemed the entire
hill might shatter to pieces, Launce reached the top. Time seemed
to stand still as he held out his hand to the princess, who placed
the final golden apple in his hand, a look of amazement on her
young face. Then, he was down the hill as if he’d never reached the
top at all.

“
Halt!” the king
shouted.

It didn’t seem as though Launce
would be able to hear him, but the giant horse somehow slowed just
before reaching the edge of the arena, and Launce turned him to
face the king.

“
Come here,” Rafael
ordered.

Launce paused for a moment, the
gold of his magnificent suit nearly blinding in the light of the
early morning sun. Isa wondered what he would do. What would Rafael
do?

The horse began to slowly make its
way back to the king. Isa’s heart pounded as Launce neared the
royal box. Surely when the king saw who it was, he wouldn’t
announce Launce as his successor. Ever had said Rafael was a man of
honor, but that was before this strange holy man had filled his
head with vain dreams and grand schemes. Launce had never actually
expected to win, something he’d told Isa himself.

“
Show me how many apples you
possess,” Rafael said when Launce’s horse stood below the royal
family’s platform. “I have decreed that only the rider who
possesses all three apples shall have my daughter’s hand and
inherit the kingdom.”

Launce paused for a long moment
before slowly reaching into the horse’s golden saddlebags. A gasp
went up from the crowd when he produced all three
apples.

“
I told you the rider was only one
person,” Isa heard someone whisper behind her.

The king walked down the steps and
into the arena, where he held his hand out for the apples. “What is
your name? I cannot pledge my kingdom to a man whose identity I do
not know.”

When Launce removed the golden
helmet, the shock was palpable. Isa thought she heard a snicker
from Ever as Launce stared warily at the king, and the king gaped
back with his mouth open, clearly not pleased.

Surely, Isa thought, he would
postpone his announcement. There must be some way to keep the most
unwilling and unlikely candidate from being forced to take his
throne. But to her surprise, the king swallowed hard and grasped
Launce’s arm before raising it high.

“
I announce to you the chosen one
of the holy man, Launce Marchand, brother to Queen Isabelle of
Destin, future king of Cobren!”

Launce looked around wildly, and
Isa guessed he was searching for her, his mouth open in horror as
she felt him silently pleading for her to do something. But what
could she do? None of this was supposed to happen. And yet, there
they stood as Launce was declared inheritor of a kingdom he’d never
wanted.

The holy man wanted something with
her little brother, and Isa realized that if she didn’t find out
what, and very soon, that man just might get it.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR

Slipping
Through the Cracks

Isa felt
terrible for leaving Launce alone as he was ushered away with the
king. He would hate all of the court’s attention, but he would
survive. It was now or never, and Isa didn’t know when she would
get another chance to slip away. Launce would be free of it all if
she could discover whatever this strange holy man had in store for
him.

Isa hovered at the bottom of the
arena while the people began to pour out. The king had announced
that they would all have a break before their celebration luncheon
began. With chagrin and relief, she watched Ever join Rafael and
Launce as they made their way back to the palace. How she longed to
be with him. With both of them. But since Ever wouldn’t let her
help him, she would just have to do it on her own.