Blinding Beauty (36 page)

It was Isa’s power. Everard had
said the enchanter’s power influenced glass, but Launce would have
known the feeling of his sister’s power anywhere. It was the power
of the heart, Everard had said. Somehow, the enchanter was using
Isa’s gift.

A new understanding of the
enchanter’s true strength dawned on Launce. How did one steal the
power of another? Isa wouldn’t have given it to him willingly, of
that Launce was sure. What did this man want? And why wasn’t the
Fortress stopping him? And if the Fortress wasn’t, why did Launce
think he even stood a chance?

As if there hadn’t been enough
confusion already, the room filled with black and orange coats as
Rafael’s soldiers dispersed into the crowd. Not a single party was
without a uniformed body nearby.

“
I have assigned an escort for
each party.” Rafael spoke again, his eyes also glimmering violet
and blue. “Your escort will accompany you to your chambers and then
guide you to our designated meeting place so we can begin our
journey soon. We will take our leave on the morrow.”

Before Launce could consider what
this meant, a heavy guard stepped up onto the dais and addressed
him. “Master Launce.” He bowed, but the gesture was shallow, and
his words were stiff. “I will escort you to your chambers now. We
will be leaving shortly.” Light glimmered in the guard’s eyes as
well.

Back in his chambers, Launce threw
his last pair of trousers into his pathetic sack with as much force
as he could. As he thought of his sister, a shiver ran up his
spine. If the enchanter was back, where was Isa? What had happened
to her? While Bronkendol had been right about the fire in her eyes
dulling, Launce didn’t for a second trust the man to keep her safe,
nor did he believe that Everard had died in a storm. There had been
too many half-truths already.

Launce was herded out to the
clearing that surrounded the stables, just like everyone else. It
was disconcerting to see so many kings, queens, diplomats, and even
knights being ordered about. The majority of the western kingdoms
were ruled by the people who surrounded him. Many stood outside
their fancy carriages, though a few, such as the knights, stood
beside their horses. Most of the servants looked as though they
would walk.

Launce found his horse, and was
directed by the guard to lead it to the front of the throng.
Despite the chaos erupting around him, he was glad to have this
horse beside him. The monstrous animals that had been gifted to him
during the contest had seemed wondrous when they’d first appeared.
But now that he knew their origins, he was glad to have a familiar
piece of home, even if it was one of Everard’s horses.

He could see Olivia and her mother
being escorted to a fine carriage not far away. When the guard held
out his hand to help her up the carriage steps after her mother,
however, Olivia shook her head vehemently and pointed to a group of
people on horseback. Launce wished he could hear what they were
saying. After a moment of arguing, it seemed Olivia had won. She
wore a triumphant look and crossed her arms as she watched the
guard stomp off towards the stables. A few minutes later, the
defeated guard emerged with a cream-colored horse.

In spite of himself, Launce nearly
laughed at the scathing look Olivia sent her father. She didn’t
move though until she was sure Rafael had seen her. Then, her chin
lifted high, she stepped up onto the carriage step and lifted one
leg to mount the horse in the most unladylike fashion Launce had
ever seen, fine silk dress and all. King Rafael looked as though he
might say something, but only closed his mouth and shook his head
before turning back to the servant he’d been speaking
with.

“
Let us begin,” Launce heard the
enchanter tell Rafael.

“
Wait!” Olivia cried out. “I want
to ride beside Launce!”

“
Whatever pleases you, my dear,”
Rafael said, sounding dazed and tired. Launce looked at Bronkendol,
but to his surprise, the old man was watching them, looking
pleased, as though it had been his idea.

Why, Launce wondered, was
Bronkendol so eager to get them together? As much as he admired the
princess, and as much as his heart told him he was already falling
for her, it made him nervous to think that their relationship was
part of some plan that also plotted Everard’s death and the
exploitation of Isa’s power. Why were they the only ones without
glass? Why did Bronkendol so desperately want them to fall in
love?

The questions continued swirling
about in Launce’s head. Even so, a part of him relaxed when Olivia
pulled her horse up next to his. Her hand slipped inside of his
own, and he gave it a squeeze. They said nothing to break the
dreadful silence that hung over the strange company of travelers,
but Launce gave her a meaningful look as wheels, hooves, and the
sounds of many feet began to move forward. The warmth of her palm
against his matched that of the sun as it hung low in the western
sky behind them, and the tiniest seed of hope sprouted inside of
him. The outlook seemed dire now, but it couldn’t always remain
that way. They were going home, to the Fortress itself. The
Fortress would keep this invader out, and the Maker would surely
have pity on them. And when He did, Launce would make sure the
enchanter’s hopes would never see the light of day.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX

Bring Her Home

“
I still
cannot fathom how we never managed to receive a single relic from
the Glass Castle!” Ever slammed another book shut in
disgust.

“
It’s been twenty-seven hundred
years since the castle was sealed with the curse, Everard,” Garin
said, picking up the book and moving it before Ever could abuse it
more. Not that Ever was in the mood to care.

“
Wait!” The steward looked up.
“What about Launce’s armor? Didn’t you say it was coated on the
bottom with glass?”

But Ever was already shaking his
head. “The armor and horses disappeared after Launce was declared
the winner. Either someone stole them all or they simply vanished.”
Ever rubbed his eyes and moaned. “If I hadn’t been so stupid and
broken Bronkendol’s glass gifts, we may even have had a chance with
that.” Ever picked up another book, unsure whether he wanted to
read it again, or hurl it through a window.

“
There is something you haven’t
told me yet, isn’t there?” Garin said. Ever just looked at him
miserably, and Garin nodded. “I could tell from the moment you
arrived. What is it?” When Ever still didn’t answer, he added in a
soft voice, “You know you can tell me anything. You knew that as a
boy, and you should know right now.”

“
She sent a message, begging me to
come to her.” Ever looked at his hands, dry and cracking from
arranging and rearranging the maps. “It was something urgent. I
could tell from the way the servant relayed the message!” He shook
his head. “But I was so dead set on carrying out my plans, that I
missed what was right in front of me. If I had only listened, she
might not have been...”

Ever paused and let out a gusty
breath, placing his hands over the edge of the table and leaning on
it heavily. He felt as though his body had been clapped in irons,
and he was dragging his chains behind him. No matter how hard he
tried, finding her simply seemed impossible.

They had been back at the Fortress
for three whole days, and Ever was nearly beside himself. He had
sent out messenger birds to all of the western kingdoms. Many of
his peers were still away in Cobren, so many respondents had been
stewards and ambassadors, who knew nothing of the Glass Queen’s
reign at all, and the few kings who had responded had nothing to
help him either.

Even Garin was running Ever’s
patience thin. Ever had never doubted the steward’s attachment to
Isa. Once the spell had been broken, Garin had spent his every free
moment ensuring that she was comfortable in one way or another. But
for someone so devoted to the girl, he seemed to be dragging his
feet more and more in sending Ever off.

“
There is a reason you haven’t
found an answer,” Garin said. “Trust the Fortress, and wait to see
what happens. If you cannot find her, there is a purpose in your
inability to go.”

“
And do what? Sit on my haunches?
Or should I just wait for her to drop out of the sky?” As the
sarcastic words dripped from his mouth, a small voice inside of
Ever wondered what he was doing. Garin’s voice was the one that
Ever trusted most, after the Fortress. He had never let Ever down
before. But his words of caution were just too much for Ever to
bear at the moment.

Instead of waiting for Garin’s
response, Ever stomped outside for some fresh air. They were
getting nowhere. Without thinking about where he was going, Ever
found himself in a part of the fortress grounds he had not visited
in what felt like a very long time.

Although their season of bloom was
long past, the cherry trees somehow still displayed a surreal
beauty. Their bark had grayed, but the shapes of the branches still
resembled dancers reaching for the sky. Or at least, that’s what
Isa said. The grove wasn’t large, but was deep enough to hide a
weary soul who did not wish to be found by the outside world. Dead
leaves crunched beneath Ever’s feet as he closed his eyes and
walked slowly to the grove’s center. To his relief, the only sounds
here where the chirping of a few winter birds, and the scampering
of chipmunks as they hurried to finish their winter
nests.

Falling to his knees, Ever kept
his eyes shut as he leaned his head backwards and waited for the
presence he knew would be listening. “I don’t understand,” he said.
“How do I continue to lose all that You give me? Even when I
realize the error of my ways, why is it that I am unable to make it
right?”

There were no words that
responded, but then again, Ever knew there wouldn’t be. Instead, he
simply stayed upon the ground and listened to the rushing of the
wind through the trees, knowing he was not alone. “Please,” he said
softly, “not for my sake, but for hers. I do not deserve her, but
she deserves to be safe. I just wish I knew what You were doing.”
He didn’t realize he had been weeping quietly until the breeze blew
brushed his face, and felt for the first time his cheeks were
wet.

“
So it’s true.” A hollow voice
came from just a few feet away. Ever’s eyes opened as he drew his
sword. As soon as he saw who it was however, the grief that he was
sure could not grow heavier doubled. Isa and Launce’s father,
Ansel, stood there watching him, his own face a reflection of the
despair Ever felt inside.

“
Garin said that you were busy,
but you have been home for three days, and I had to know...” He let
his words trail off, the fear in his eyes saying more than Ever
needed or wanted to know.

“
Your family has all the right in
the world to despise me,” he said, sheathing his sword. “I have
done nothing but bring you pain.” Ansel didn’t answer, just stood
there staring at the leaf littered ground, opening and closing his
hands as though they searched for something to do. And yet another
wave of failure washed over Ever.

They had come so far since his
first meeting with the merchant, when, to his shame, he had
demanded the man’s eldest daughter in desperation, hoping she could
be the one to save the kingdom from the curse he had brought upon
it. By the time Isa had helped him break the curse that had held
the Fortress in darkness, Ever had been changed, his soul cut and
healed in a way that would never go back to what he had been, an
insecure, self-reliant beast. His complete transformation, along
with Isa’s winning spirit, had coaxed her family, all but Launce,
of course, into a sort of uneasy trust, one that had been deepening
slowly with time.

As he faced Ansel now, however,
Ever despaired of ever having any sort of relationship worth
keeping with his father-in-law. Not that he deserved one in the
first place.

For a long time, they stayed
still, Ansel leaning against a tree, and Ever standing before him.
Ever begged the Fortress once more. If not for me, for him. For
them. Show me where to go! Do not let them suffer this way for my
mistakes!

“
I would die in a moment if it
would bring her home,” Ansel finally said. “But as much as it kills
me to say, the fact of the matter is that she chose this
life.”

“
I didn’t give her much
choice.”

“
You were dead for a week, son.
Isa hated it, but she accepted who she was and what she had been
chosen to do. She wanted... she needed this life. She would have
met this foe with or without you.” The older man let out a deep
sigh and rubbed his eyes. “You are not a father yet. I pray to the
Maker that one day you will be. But as of now, you cannot know the
pain of having your child ripped from you again and
again.”

Ever flinched, but Ansel
continued. “I have seen too much in the last year to know anything
but that the Maker has used the Fortress to call my daughter to a
higher purpose. I do not know what it is, but I do know that
whatever it is, the purpose is hers. Nothing you do or don’t do
will break her of that purpose. Now, you can choose whether or not
to help her bring that purpose to fruition, but I can assure you
one thing.” Walking up to Ever, he placed his hand on Ever’s face
and lifted his chin, as only a father could do. “I have not lost
hope. And neither should you.”