Blinding Beauty (35 page)

“
Who did this to you?”

“
I was walking, and I tripped and
fell upon a sharp piece of wood.”

Launce exchanged a glance with
Olivia. Surely the others wouldn’t buy such a blatant lie, but it
was obvious the queen didn’t want to discuss what had happened in
front of everyone. He wondered why until he spotted another
familiar face in the crowd.

Bronkendol now wore an ice blue
robe lined with a thick fur trimming along the arms, neck, and
bottom edging. He seemed to feel Launce’s eyes, and turned to smile
at him as though nothing was wrong, as though he were actually
delighted to see him.

“
I think it best if we return
home, my queen,” Apu said.

Kartek looked from Apu’s face
directly into Launce’s, and he knew what she was telling him. Once
she was gone, he would be alone. Everyone else, even Norbert,
Cerise, and the other guards could not be trusted now that the
enchanter was back and everyone had the slivers. Well, Launce
thought to himself, all but one. He would not be alone after
all.

“
Now that we know the queen will
be seen to,” the king turned to his servant, “I would like you to
escort my daughter and young Launce to the throne room. I have an
announcement to make.”

Everyone began to walk back
towards the palace, including Olivia, who was now too surrounded
for any more real conversation to take place. Launce, however, held
back. He noticed the enchanter pausing as well. Bronkendol’s eyes
never left his face, and it more than unnerved him. Launce leaned
over and whispered as fast as he could before the enchanter could
make his way down into the ravine with them.

“
Don’t go home.”

“
And why not?” Apu
demanded.

“
I don’t think they mean for you
to leave the continent alive. Our guards and servants should have
departed yesterday. If you follow them, you should make it safely
to Destin’s borders. The Fortress should protect you there while
you heal.” Knowing her guard wouldn’t listen, Launce pleaded
directly with the queen. “I know our steward will want your counsel
to help find my sister.”

Kartek looked at Apu for a long
moment. Launce wished they would hurry. The enchanter was still
watching them intently, and Launce knew they didn’t have much
longer.

“
He is right,” Kartek finally
said. The look of resentment never left Apu’s eyes, but when she
spoke, he simply inclined his head once towards his queen. The
queen looked back at Launce again, her eyes probing. “I have not
known you as well as I should have liked,” she said, “but I can
tell you now that this enchanter is more powerful than anything you
have ever seen or sensed. He is playing a game with you that I do
not understand. Take care.”

“
Master Launce,” Bronkendol called
out from halfway down the ravine. “I was hoping we could converse
on our way back to the palace.”

Launce gave the queen a short nod
and bow before standing and heading reluctantly back up the hill.
Bronkendol opened his mouth, but Launce cut him off.

“
I know exactly who you are, and I
have nothing to say to you.” Launce stalked by him.

“
I am truly sorry about the wine
incident,” Bronkendol called as he began to follow him. Launce
swung around to face the enchanter. In that moment, he didn’t care
how powerful the man supposedly was.

“
You abduct my sister, and you
think I care about being put to sleep?”

“
I swear, you will have your
sister back. I was only trying to help—”

“
Trying to help?” Launce shook his
head in disgust. “By stealing her from her husband and
family?”

“
Your sister is dying,
Launce.”

Launce stopped short. A sudden
dizziness filled him, but he forced his hands to stay
steady.

“
You’re lying,” he said. The
conviction wasn’t there though.

Bronkendol shook his head, a
small, sad smile on his face. “I wish I were. Your sister is a... a
magnificent creature. She is more like my mother was than anyone
I’ve met. But the light in your sister’s eyes has been dying, and
you know it.”

Launce wanted to shout, to strike
out at someone. His sister wasn’t dying. But he caught the
enchanter’s gray eyes, and as he glared into them, he knew he
couldn’t deny the possibility at least. As much as it killed him to
admit it, Launce had known it for a long time. Perhaps, he thought,
it was the reason he had accepted such a ludicrous offer when she
had begged him to come with them. Her eyes had dulled too much, and
he wanted to see her just that much more. Of course, that didn’t
mean he trusted Bronkendol any more now than before.

“
And what do you plan to do about
it?” Launce asked, hoping the enchanter wouldn’t mistake his
question for enthusiasm.

Bronkendol opened a side door of
the palace. They entered one of the winding, back hallways. He
suspected Bronkendol had chosen this door on purpose to extend
their time alone.

“
It is already done. I cannot be
sure that it will work. To be honest, it has never been done
before. But if does,” he looked into Launce’s eyes, “I promise, she
will be returned to your family soon.”

“
And Everard?” Launce wondered if
the enchanter knew of his brother-in-law’s scheme to attack the
enchanter’s own home. Probably. It wasn’t as though anyone expected
Everard to sit and wait for Isa at home.

To his surprise, however,
Bronkendol only swallowed and said in a low voice, “I fear we will
not have need to worry about that.”

A cold feeling settled over
Launce. “Why?”

“
The king will make everything
clear once we arrive.”

They didn’t speak again until they
were in the throne room. Now that he wasn’t feeling so ill from the
ride, Launce noticed that all signs of the week’s festivities had
been taken down. Instead, the room looked now as Launce assumed it
always did. Orange banners hung from the ceiling with the Cobrien
royal crest upon them in gold. Under the largest banner, the king
and his family stood upon the dais. Launce and the enchanter found
places to stand at the dais’s foot, against the wall that backed
the thrones. Launce tried to see Olivia better, but she was facing
the crowd.

The number of people in the room
took Launce by surprise. As he studied them, he realized that they
weren’t just Cobrien citizens, but all of the guests from the
betrothal celebration were still there as well. It was odd,
considering the contest had been won two days earlier. But it
seemed that most foreign dignitaries had simply stayed put. Some
new faces had even appeared.

Rafael stood, and the noise of the
people died down immediately. Compared to the pomp of the week
before, everything felt suddenly very informal to Launce, and he
realized it made him somewhat uncomfortable, though he couldn’t say
why. “I apologize for the strange turn of events. I had desired to
see my daughter and her suitor ceremonially betrothed by now.”
Launce stiffened. It would have been nice for Everard to tell him
the betrothal would be so soon, considering he wasn’t supposed to
have been betrothed in the first place. The king continued. “But
put your fears to rest. Everything will be explained
now.

“
First, however, I have some
tragic news.” Rafael turned to look directly at Launce. “You may
have heard the rumor that Queen Isabelle of Destin disappeared two
days ago.” How anyone could have missed the scene Everard had
caused was beyond Launce. Many must have been unaware, however, for
a murmur of unease rose up from the crowd. Rafael shook his head
and held out his hands in what looked like an attempt to calm the
people. “I have now confirmed that Queen Isabelle is indeed ill,
but she is not missing. She is simply in the care of our holy man.”
With that, he gestured at the enchanter. Looking solemn, Bronkendol
walked slowly up to the dais, where he joined the king.

“
It is true. I have the queen in
my care, but if it is the Maker’s will, she will fully
recover.”

“
I fear, though,” Rafael spoke
again, “that I do not have such good news of her
husband.”

The room went deathly still. So
did Launce. How could the king have news about him already? Launce
had only left early that morning. The silence began to stretch, and
frustration welled up within him. He wanted to run up the dais and
shake the king until the news spilled out. Why did Rafael look so
pale and shaken? Why was he suddenly so still? Everard couldn’t be
dead. Launce wouldn’t accept that.

“
King Everard was a dear friend of
mine,” Rafael said hoarsely. Launce could feel the blood drain from
his face as a tear rolled down the king’s wide, weathered face. “I
am sorry to say that in his fear, he set out to find his wife early
this morning, before the holy man could tell him what he was about.
I have just received word that the young king was found dead after
riding into a blizzard in the upper pass of Destin’s northern
mountains.”

Launce felt as though someone had
punched him in the gut. He had not realized until that moment how
much he had come to rely on his insufferable brother-in-law.
Despite his awful sense of superiority and unrelenting fierceness
of character, Launce had come to see that Everard undeniably loved
his sister. The wild panic on Everard’s face after Isa had
disappeared had been proof of that. Launce had never seen such
ferocity and fear mixed together in one. Surely there had to be a
mistake. Garin would never use a bird messenger to announce such a
thing, would he? And yet, a bird was the only way anyone would have
received the news so quickly.

Launce’s head was spinning.
Unfortunately, before he had time to gather himself, he realized
that Rafael and Bronkendol were both looking at him
again.

“
I have one more announcement to
make,” Rafael said softly. The crowd quieted again, but it took
longer this time. When they were finally silent, the king gestured
for Launce to join them. Launce didn’t remember telling his feet to
move, but somehow, he found himself standing at the top of the dais
just beside the king. Rafael placed a heavy hand upon Launce’s left
shoulder.

“
Although Queen Isabelle should
indeed heal, our holy man says that she will not be strong enough
to handle the duties of a ruler for a long time, perhaps never
again. It is with great sorrow and yet, with hope as well, that I
wish you to meet the next two rulers of great Fortress of
Destin.”

Launce gaped at the king. Was he
insane?

The king ignored Launce’s look and
instead, pushed Launce and Olivia to the front of the dais. “I
present to you the future King Launce Marchand of Soudain, and my
daughter, future Queen Olivia Edite Raquel Rocha of Cintilante
Areia, Cobren. May their union be blessed with much prosperity and
many children.”

Strained conversation broke out
amongst the people. Some bowed or curtsied, while others simply
looked angry or afraid. Launce could only look over at Olivia, and
for the first time, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Her wide
brown eyes and strange pallor told him that she was just as
terrified as he.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE

Prison of
Privilege

After
Rafael’s bold announcement about crowning Launce and Olivia king
and queen of the Fortress, the enchanter made an even more brazen
statement to the crowd.

“
As of now, if you would please be
so kind as to return to your chambers and prepare to leave
immediately. We all shall soon make the journey to the Fortress
together in order to witness this momentous occasion of two
countries joining blood.”

The crowd erupted with protests,
questions, and all other sorts of cacophony. Launce stood, still
too stunned to move as he watched the chaos unfold.

“
My men and women have journeyed
far enough to come here! We will not be continuing on any further,”
one king called out.

A queen from one of the eastern
regions also called loudly, “I have duties to attend to at home!
This nonsense has gone on for long enough.”

“
My liege only allowed me time to
come for the tournament. I am not at liberty to extend it!” When
the third protester spoke, Launce realized it was Sir Randolph, the
foreign knight who had saved him from Sir Absalom in the
stables.

Neither the king nor the enchanter
responded to their protests, only watched as though measuring the
people’s reactions. Sir Absalom also looked around them, and when
he caught Launce’s gaze, Launce knew exactly what the knight was
thinking. Would more blood be shed here today? Launce wanted to
speak with him, but it would have been impossible to leave the dais
without Rafael or Bronkendol noticing.

As the crowd continued to protest,
Bronkendol pulled something small from his robe. He brought it to
his mouth and began to whisper into it. Launce couldn’t hear what
the enchanter said, but he could see the thin bursts of blue and
violet light begin to glimmer in the eyes of those around him.
Everyone but him and Olivia.

Launce watched in amazement as the
people fell silent and looked at Bronkendol with trusting eyes.
Light glimmered from the corner of each eye with an eerie glow, but
that wasn’t what Launce found so strange. Instead, he was hit with
a strong sense of familiarity. As he looked around him, he couldn’t
find its source. Olivia wasn’t far off, but this sensation went far
beyond what he knew of the princess. In fact, it wasn’t coming from
a single person at all. It was coming from the blue light that
shone from the people’s eyes.