Blinding Beauty (28 page)

“
Meet me in the throne room in ten
minutes. I will let you know what I find out then. But I must warn
you, I expect you to keep control of yourself in my palace,
Everard. I will not allow such blatant disregard for order in my
kingdom.”

“
You will do as you promised,”
Everard growled, “or I will kill you myself.”

Launce let out a small sigh of
relief as the older king paled and disappeared, if for no other
reason than that the princess would keep her father for another
night.

“
What was his name?”

Launce looked up to find Everard’s
glare in his direction. Launce stared back stupidly. “Whose
name?”

“
The servant!” Everard shouted.
“The one who nearly killed us just moments ago! You were friends
with him! What was his name?”

“
Brokk,” Launce stuttered.
Everard’s gray eyes hardened into granite, and the blue flames
nearly engulfed them.

“
Bronkendol,” he whispered.
Without another word, he turned and stormed back out the door, and
it was all Launce could do to keep up. Norbert stood outside, but
looked more distraught than Launce could have imagined the old
soldier capable of. “Prepare my horses!” Everard called behind him
as they walked. “I want you to bring the servants back to the
Fortress as quickly as they can move, but Launce and I will be gone
as soon as the horses are ready.”

Still shaking off the effects of
the sweet drink, Launce was breathing hard by the time they made it
to the throne room. He felt clumsy and dull as he stood before the
king, Queen Monica, Princess Olivia, and a number of Rafael’s
advisers. Still, he didn’t miss the way the princess’s shrewd eyes
continued to flick towards him throughout the hearing.

“
I’m glad to see you’ve regained
control of yourself, Everard,” Rafael began.

Launce blanched as the words left
the king’s mouth. Even Queen Monica looked at her husband in shock.
Was he really going to provoke the king of Destin after his wife
had been stolen? Still, Rafael continued on, suddenly a very
different man than the one Launce had seen shaking in his boots
just ten minutes before.

“
Where is he?” Ever’s voice was
cold and smooth, like a polished slab of stone.

“
My servants do not know where he
has gone at this present time. He is not a dog on a
leash.”

“
Do you know exactly who you have
been housing?” Everard asked. “And if you reply that he is just a
holy man, I will cut your tongue from your mouth.” Rafael looked as
though he wanted to snap, but the queen leaned forward and spoke
first.

“
Who is he, Everard?” Her voice
trembled just a bit, and Launce was suddenly impressed by the
queen’s self-control.

“
The same day your invitation
reached the Fortress,” Everard said, “I also received a message
from the Lingean king that ten holy men had been murdered in a
field.”

The queen went pale, and Olivia’s
eyes grew wide, but Everard continued to speak.

“
I received word this morning from
my own healers that the holy men had been cut with glass shards...
from the inside.”

“
Just what are you implying,
Everard?” Rafael crossed his arms as though he were talking to an
impertinent courtier.

“
I imply nothing! I am telling you
that in your pride, your greedy desire for power and strength, you
have opened your doors for none other than Bronkendol
himself.”

Gasps and whispers erupted from
those surrounding them, but Everard ignored them, keeping his eyes
bored into Rafael’s.

“
Nonsense! He’s been dead for
nearly three thousand years.”

But Queen Monica’s hand flew up to
her mouth. Slowly, she stood, as though in a daze.

“
Everard, how do you
know?”

“
Could you not see the signs?”
Everard’s words weren’t as sharp for the queen, but he was still
just as frank. “A glass hill? Gifts of glass?” He paused, his
shouts finally over. “No one truly ever saw him die.”

Rafael continued to glower, but
everyone else stood frozen in silence. Finally it was the queen who
first roused herself from the fear that seemed to paralyze them
all. Launce was dying to know what Everard was talking about. He’d
never heard the name before, and it obviously meant something
significant, but he would feel much better if they were already on
their way to search for Isa.

“
What will you do? What should we
do?” the queen asked.

“
I am going to search for her,”
Everard said. “We will be riding fast, but if I were you, I would
gather my horses and the court as quickly as possible, anyone who
wants to come, whether it be peasant or noble. Take shelter in my
kingdom while I hunt him down. The Fortress will protect you
there.”

“
We will do no such thing!” Rafael
slammed his palm down on the arm of his ebony throne with a smack.
“You come into my home and threaten me, then blaspheme a man sent
by the Maker to help us! I am warning you, Everard—”

But Everard had already turned to
go. A strange sense of division filled Launce as he began to follow
Everard. He wanted to go find his sister. And yet, he had the
sudden desire to talk to the princess before they departed,
although he didn’t know what possessed him to think she would want
to bid him farewell. The game was off, and he was no longer
competing for the hand of the princess. He was still just a
merchant’s son, and would likely never return to her country
again.

With regret churning in the pit of
his stomach, Launce finally tore his gaze away from Olivia, and
began walking towards the hall. Before he reached it, however, he
heard the sound of padded footsteps following him. A cool hand
grasped his arm and whirled him around. Olivia stood there, a
determined look on her face as she ignored her father’s shouts to
come back that instant. Without hesitating for even a second, she
took hold of his sleeves in both hands and drew his face to
hers.

Her smooth lips pressed into his,
and the tenacity in her kiss surprised him. He could have remained
there for much longer, but all too soon, she was pushing him
away.

“
Our betrothal might have been
designed by a monster, but I like you anyway,” she whispered, a coy
smile upon her face. “Please attempt to stay alive.” And with that,
she turned and walked back to her father, her chin held high as he
protested her audacity.

Somehow, Launce remembered where
he was supposed to be, but as he ran to the stables, he couldn’t
help the grin he felt spread upon his face. He liked her,
too.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE

Mine First

“
What in
the name of Gahfferon—” Launce woke with a start. “Get this off of
me!”

But Ever continued to ride. Launce
was more than capable of untying himself. “You were about to fall
off of your horse. I simply made sure you wouldn’t be trampled to
death while you slept.” Ever ignored the sneer that Launce sent
him, keeping his focus on steadying their horses as they raced up
the mountain bend. To his relief, Launce decided not to pick an
argument. But then again, for once, Launce and Ever were in pursuit
of exactly the same thing.

“
Will we be there soon?” Lance
asked, ducking low as they passed under a thick patch of trees that
reached across the mountain path.

“
We are almost to the pinnacle.
Once we make it over the top, the Fortress will only be a little
way down.”

“
I still don’t see why we couldn’t
just head straight for Brokk’s home,” Lance said. “If you already
know that it’s in the north—”

“
That is not his name, and you
would do well not to use it,” Ever snapped. “As for his home, I do
know that it is to the north, however, the castle itself has been
hidden for almost three millennia. It would be foolish to run in
blind only to get ourselves caught in a blizzard or something worse
of his own making. Garin is our best hope in planning our next
moves. Garin and the Tower of Annals. We will consult and make our
decision there.”

Launce seemed at least somewhat
placated by Ever’s answer, but Ever himself wasn’t sure he was
correct in his assumptions. Garin was old, but from what Ever had
gathered over the years, even he hadn’t lived long enough to see
the days of the glass castle.

The journey that had taken them
two full days to make the first time took only one day and one
night in return. Ever had used every bit of his strength to push
the horses on so that they ran harder while needing less rest and
water. He had used so much of his strength in aiding their furious
pace, however, that he had little left for himself or the young man
beside him.

To Launce’s credit, the young man
hadn’t complained. But his ability to remain awake had finally
waned, and after nearly twenty hours of riding, Launce had been
unable to go farther. Ever had allowed them one hour of rest during
the night before, but not a minute more. When Launce had begun to
doze off again as they rode on, Ever hadn’t had the power to keep
him upright. Thankfully, there was enough rope in his pack to
secure Launce to his horse without waking him. Had they been in any
other situation, he would have thought it great fun to tie up the
young man, passive revenge for the stubbornness Launce had shown
him since the day they’d met.

It had occurred to Ever more than
once that he would have moved much faster without the young man. It
would have been easier to leave him in Rafael’s court, where at
least he had a warm bed and a decent number of eyes to watch him.
And yet, just as Ever could almost hear Isa begging him to save her
little brother’s life as he sank into the sea, he could now imagine
her begging him to keep Launce safe with him. These imagined pleas
were constantly at war with the need he felt to dash off alone and
find her himself.

Dark thoughts of what the
enchanter might want with his wife endlessly swirled in about his
mind. Intrusive images of what she could be suffering bombarded him
with every breath that passed through his lungs. Up and down the
canyons, through the canyon, and up the mountain, Ever had prayed
that the Fortress would strengthen her, that her power might be
returned for even just this time.

And with those prayers surged the
desire to leave his clumsy young charge behind. But if he knew
anything about Isa, it was that she loved her brother, and that if
Ever sacrificed Launce in his attempt to save her, Isa would never
forgive him.

It was afternoon by the time they
reached the mountain’s summit and began down the other side. Ever
had never used so much of his power so fast for so long, and
everything in him ached. But he ignored it and pushed the horses on
until nausea almost got the better of him. Eventually, however,
they did make it through the servants’ gate, taking a number of the
servants by surprise by racing right up to the stables. Even before
they arrived, Ever could see Garin waiting outside the stables,
elbows out and his hands behind his back in his usual
position.

“
Norbert’s message arrived last
night.” Garin’s voice was as steady as ever, but there was an
undercurrent to it. “He wrote only that you were returning home
today, but nothing more. I assumed he feared the bird might be
intercepted?”

“
Isa has been taken.” Ever swung
down from his horse easily, but his muscles screamed in protest
when he landed. Garin’s eyes flashed and his jaw tightened as he
waited for him to say more, but Ever didn’t want to incite panic.
He leaned forward and whispered, “Bronkendol.” Ever watched his
steward’s face carefully.

The comprehension took a moment,
but it was clear when Garin truly understood. His face turned to
stone and ash, and his eyes widened in a way that made Ever more
than uncomfortable. Immediately, the steward turned and began to
head towards the Fortress. Ever followed without a word, dragging
Launce along behind him.

The trek from the stables to the
Fortress’s highest tower had never seemed to take so long as it did
this time.

“
If you value your life,” Ever
called softly back to Launce, “you will do well not to touch
anything. This is sacred ground. Only Garin, the kings, queens, and
a handful of servants have ever stepped inside of this room.” Well,
Ever thought with chagrin, those select few, as well as a dozen
dead Tumenian soldiers and their dead princess, Nevina.

“
Perhaps,” Launce puffed as they
climbed the winding tower stairs, “it would be best if I just
waited outside.”

“
No. You’re a part of this now,
whether we like it or not. Just mind yourself.”

By the time Ever and Launce had
crossed the threshold, Garin was already clearing a large mahogany
table at the center of the room and covering it in maps. Before
joining the steward, Ever made sure Launce was standing in a place
where, if he fell from exhaustion, he wouldn’t break anything too
old. Then Ever threw himself into a deep search of the great tomes
he knew so well, grabbing as many as he could from the old, wooden
shelves.

“
How was she taken?”

“
Through the mirror in our
chambers.” Ever wanted to gut himself for forgetting about the
blasted mirror in their guest quarters, the one he’d used every day
they’d spent at Cobren.