Blinding Beauty (40 page)

“
And whether you feel like it or
not, the Fortress chose you. You are its daughter. And you are
Ever’s wife. Never, in all my time here, has the Fortress ever
taken that lightly.”

“
I still don’t understand, though.
How is it that when I look in the mirror, I see nothing? My fire is
gone.”

“
So your eyes can see all, can
they?” Garin gave an amused snort. “You can see the birds in the
treetops of the orange grove, from here? What your mother is doing
at her hearth in this instant? Or the—”

“
Ever can’t see it
either.”

Garin chuckled. “Dear, your
husband is gifted, but hardly infallible. Just because neither you
nor your husband cannot see it doesn’t mean it’s not
there.”

Isa studied Garin for a moment
more before looking down at her hands. Could he be right? Deep
down, she knew he was right. But fear of failure made her shiver,
and her hands shook as she closed her eyes and reluctantly try to
conjure the blue fire that always came to Ever so
easily.

Not even a tingle in her
fingertips. She started to protest again, but Garin shushed
her.

“
Do what you know is right,” he
said. “Feelings will eventually follow.”

“
Will my power ever return?” she
asked, unable to keep the sadness from her voice.

“
If the Fortress believes you need
it, then the power will be yours when the time comes. Until then,
trust that the Fortress will not leave you alone, ever. Even when
you feel alone.”

Isa looked out once more to the
northern mountains. She had barely survived the journey through
them. Was she really ready to risk another brush with death so
soon, and without her power at that? Her heart told her that no,
she wasn’t.

“
Ready my horse.”

Garin grinned.

“
It’s already been
done.”

“
And my sword? I think I left it
in…” She let her words trail off as his smile grew even
wider.

“
After a few centuries, you learn
a thing or two.”

In no time at all, she was dressed
in her warmest combat clothing and on her horse. Gigi hovered and
fussed, as usual, but Garin was as calm and collected as
always.

“
It will take time,” she admitted
in a low voice. “I still don’t feel the way I used to.”

“
Remember, do what is right.
Feelings will follow. Now,” he patted her knee. “Go.”

Before she knew it, Isa was
thundering down the same road that Ever had taken less than an hour
before. She shook at the thought of returning to the terrifying,
white, blinding beauty she’d left behind.

Well, she thought to herself
wryly, fear had returned, at least. And if fear was there, the
other feelings were lurking somewhere as well. If only she could
locate her courage before she faced the enchanter once
more.

CHAPTER FORTY

Sacred Ground

If Launce
never traveled the road between Cobren’s capitol and the Fortress
again, he would be more than pleased. For the second time that
week, Launce was on his way back to the Fortress, but this time,
rather than racing along at Ever’s pace, the royal company crawled.
It had taken the multitude of royals and nobles and their
entourages all afternoon and evening to leave the hill country
behind, which should have taken only a few hours. Carriages, horses
and riders, and caravans filled the road behind him so that Launce
couldn’t even see where the multitude ended.

Red sandstone pillars stood ahead
of them, the same gorge Launce had stood in to argue with Isa not
so long before. His heart ached as he thought of the unkind words
he’d used to cause both Isa and her husband pain. Everard had been
right. Launce did often act like a spoiled child when life didn’t
go his way. He would sacrifice much to go back to that day
now.

“
He doesn’t look happy.” Olivia
interrupted his thoughts. Launce looked ahead to where she was
pointing, to see the enchanter staring into the distance with a
deep frown upon his face.

“
He’s probably upset about how
long it’s taking us,” Launce said. “At a decent trot, we would have
reached the Fortress by tomorrow night. At this rate though, we
won’t be there for at least another five days. Serves him right for
bringing a bunch of royals along.” As soon as he’d said it, Launce
bit his tongue. Olivia didn’t have time to answer him, for Rafael
had stopped, and was gesturing for everyone to do the same. Even
halting was painstakingly slow.

“
We’ll camp here tonight” Rafael
called to the captain of his guard. “Tomorrow, we will resume our
journey at a faster pace.” Immediately, people began to dismount
their horses. Servants scurried to piece together their masters’
tents and prepare the cooking fires.

“
Hello there.” Launce hopped off
of his horse and called to a passing boy. “Aren’t you Sir
Randolph’s squire?” The boy nodded eagerly.

“
Yes, sir!”

“
Tell me, when was your master
supposed to return home?”

The boy blinked a few times, as
though trying to recall. Finally, he said, “I suppose we were to
return once the betrothal ball was done.”

“
Well, why didn’t you?”

“
We just don’t want to anymore.
It’s important we stay with the holy man.” The boy shrugged. “Now,
if you’ll excuse me, I need to go.” With that, he scampered off in
his master’s direction. Launce looked up at Olivia, who still sat
upon her horse.

“
They don’t want to anymore?” she
echoed, one eyebrow quirked.

“
Your Highness.” A servant came up
and bowed to them both. “Master Launce, both of your tents are
prepared. Princess, you are staying with your mother. Master Launce
will have his own tent.”

Of course, when the servant
pointed, Launce saw immediately that they had placed him near the
king’s tent. Rafael wanted to keep an eye on him, no doubt put up
to it by Bronkendol. But Launce knew better than to argue. He led
his horse beside Olivia’s as the servant brought them first to her
tent, then to his. At her mother’s tent, Oliva pursed her lips and
simply gave him a weak shrug before going inside.

His own tent was surprisingly
lavish, and to his surprise was tall enough for him to walk inside
without ducking. Thick, vibrant rugs of blue and orange covered the
dirt floor, and silk pillows were piled up against the corners. A
silver tray of artfully arranged dried beef, cheese, and herb bread
was already laid near the biggest pile of pillows. Launce shook his
head. How many pillows did they think he needed? Back at home,
Launce had been famous for his ability to fall asleep anywhere
since he was a small boy. But an excess of pillows wasn’t his main
concern right now. After gobbling down his supper as quickly as
possible, he marched off in the direction of the king’s tent. He
was going to get some answers.

Before he reached Rafael, however,
a gloved hand rested heavily upon his shoulder. “I’m afraid you
won’t be getting many answers out of him tonight.” Launce turned to
see Bronkendol himself. A rainbow of emotions colored his vision.
Anger, frustration, and to his annoyance, fear. The fact that he
was two heads taller than the old man steeled him a bit though as
he turned to face the enchanter.

“
Then where do you suggest I
go?”

“
I actually was hoping you would
come speak with me in my tent.” Launce was tempted to use words his
mother didn’t approve of, but instead, he swallowed them and simply
followed the enchanter inside.

Bronkendol’s tent didn’t look any
different from Launce’s, with the exception of a full-length
standing mirror and a tray of tea. Bronkendol sank slowly onto one
of the cushions and poured himself a drink.

“
Tea?” He held up the second empty
cup, but Launce shook his head. “Before you become too angry with
me,” Bronkendol continued in a soft voice, “I need for you to
understand what purpose I am at.”

“
Then you should know as well that
I am aware of your little trick,” Launce replied, his voice
acidic.

The enchanter stared at him
blankly.

“
Isa’s power?”

“
Ah. Yes, that is an astute
observation. Before I can explain that, however, I must tell you
why.”

“
I’m waiting.”

The enchanter took a long sip of
his tea. “When I was placed under the sleeping curse, I slept for a
long time.” He sighed. “Twenty-seven centuries is a hateful amount
of time to be gone, young man. Imagine now, waking up to find your
home empty, your mother eternally still, and all of your friends
and servants gone. Even the road which we used to reach and leave
my castle by was gone. Wind and rain had carved my valley home into
a place of isolation with deathly drops on each side. Every sign
that I or my loved ones had ever existed had disappeared, with the
exception of the castle and its contents.

“
My shock was even greater when I
emerged back into the word of civilized man to find kingdoms and
boundaries, which borderless lands had once stretched on forever.”
Bronkendol shook his head. “I wandered like an addled vagabond.
Indeed, that’s what I was. I hadn’t a penny to my name, nor in my
state of loss did I think to bring anything with me but the clothes
on my back.

“
For years I wandered. Kindly
folks here and there would take me in, and sometimes I would find
solace in the corner of a church where I could lay my head at
night. As I moved from place to place though, I began to relearn
how to be a man. The local tongues became easier to speak and
understand, and customs were no longer completely foreign. But the
part of this new life that I could not grow accustomed to was the
suffering.” His eyes were wet when he raised them to look at Launce
again.

“
There is so much war here. So
much selfishness, so much suffering! You must understand that when
my mother was the mediator between men, this kind of evil did not
happen. So many die, and so few care! I couldn’t allow it to
continue while I had strength in my hands. Then I heard of the
Fortiers.” He took another sip of tea.

“
Launce, I have been watching your
sister’s new family for the last three hundred years. I even
journeyed to the Fortress a few times myself in hopes of gaining
audiences with the different kings.”

“
Did you?” In spite of his anger,
Launce found himself curious.

“
A few times. But more often than
not, they were off on some war campaign. When I finally did have
the chance to speak with them, I found they were not what I
expected at all. The first time I’d heard of them, I had been
overjoyed. Though much younger, their power was similar to my own,
a gift passed down from the Maker through the generations, as my
mother’s had been passed down to me. But where my mother had kept
the peace through gifts and wise words, the Fortiers did so through
blood and battle.”

“
Perhaps they tried words first,
and the others refused to listen.” Was Launce really defending
Everard’s clan?

“
Perhaps. But with time, I
recognized the mistake that kept this land of kingdoms constantly
at odds, despite the Fortiers’ constant interference.”

“
And that was?”

“
They would subdue the uprisings
and evil when it came, but they would go no further. The strength I
felt when I was in the Fortiers’ presence was more than enough for
them to have united these miserable kingdoms to bring them to a
permanent peace.”

Launce gave a start. “You mean
overthrow the other kingdoms?”

“
Don’t you see, my boy? By not
conquering the evil where they found it, they merely beat it down
as a temporary solution. The same evil was able to return again in
the future, even stronger! And it did, time and time again. After
three hundred years of watching, I decided that I had only one
choice. I needed to rectify this constant bickering between the
peoples for their own sakes. In fact, I had already begun to
prepare Cobren for this, but then I received word of your
sister.”

Launce had been gazing out the
entrance of the tent at the people as they milled about, but at the
mention of Isa, he looked back at the enchanter. Bronkendol’s face
was careful, and Launce knew he was measuring Launce’s reaction.
Taking a deep breath, he steadied his own expression so that it was
unreadable. At least, he hoped it was.

“
Just as I had predicted, the
Fortiers’ constant obsession with war had brought down a curse upon
their own heads, and one ultimately from the Fortress at that. But
when I heard of the work your sister had done, breaking the curse
with her heart’s strength, I knew she would be the one the Maker
had chosen to save the western kingdoms.”

Launce crossed his arms. “So you
lied to King Rafael about being anointed directly by the
Maker.”

“
No, not at all!” Bronkendol was
on his feet, suddenly alive with energy. “How else could you
interpret this power?” He held up his hands. “And the fact that I
awakened from a curse of over two thousand years? The Maker might
not have spoken to me aloud, but I knew what I must do. Your sister
had the power to change others’ hearts. What better way to keep
people at peace?”