Blinding Beauty (45 page)

“
Then last year, when Ever’s
father, King Rodrigue, died,” Launce continued, “Everard lost his
temper and got drunk.” The words flowed more freely the more Launce
spoke, the desire to tell someone suddenly bursting forth like an
overfilled wineskin. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to share
this story, the one that haunted him every night as he fell
asleep.

“
Everard ordered his soldiers to
kill all the sick and crippled right where they found them, on the
streets, in their homes, everywhere.” The princess’s eyes grew
wide, but Launce shook his hand at her alarm. “His orders were
never carried out.”

“
Why not?” she
breathed.

“
The Fortress cursed him, taking
the very strength from his body. But not just him. Even the
Fortress servants turn to phantoms, and the Fortress itself went
dark for the first time in a thousand years.”

A light of understanding lit
Olivia’s eyes.

“
That’s why he never chose a queen
after his ball. I mean, we knew he had gone to war with Nevina, but
everyone had still expected him to choose someone...” She stopped
the train of thought abruptly and leaned forward. “So, how did he
find your sister?”

“
Honestly, it’s still beyond me.
Isa says it was the will of the Fortress.” He still hated thinking
about it to this day, even if it was of the Fortress. “My father
was caught in a blizzard, and he decided to seek shelter in the
Fortress, not knowing Everard was still living there. We hadn’t
heard or seen anything of the Fortress or its staff for months. But
once Father was inside, Everard forced him to share all about our
family. When Everard learned that my sister had a strong heart, he
demanded she come to the Fortress alone, or he would send a
sickness on us all.”

“
She went, didn’t she?” the
princess guessed quietly

Launce nodded. Deep breaths, he
reminded himself. Remembering that day still made his heart race.
When he was able to speak again, his voice was shaky.

“
It was months before we heard
from her. My father nearly lost his senses as we waited. And even
after we heard that she was safe, even after she returned home, Isa
was no longer ours. She belonged to the Fortress, and somehow, to
Ever. But still, the curse would not break.”

“
What changed?”

“
Everard’s heart was so hardened
that they nearly both died before the curse broke. In his fear and
anger, my brother-in-law had decided that he knew better how to
protect Destin. That decision to trust himself, rather than the
Fortress, nearly cost him and my sister their lives.”

“
So that is the burden he
carries,” Olivia said.

“
What?”

Olivia paused for a moment before
answering, drawing her yellow cloak about her a little more
snugly.

“
King Rodrigue and my father were
the closest of friends. I suppose you could say that Everard was
always like a bit of a nephew to my father.” She blushed a little.
“When I was little, there was some talk of betrothing us from a
young age, but Everard wouldn’t have it. He always said he wanted
the Fortress to choose.” She gave a nervous laugh. “I was more
grateful than you’ll ever know. I trusted him, but the man
frightened me, even from a young age. He was always so brooding...”
Her voice trailed off as she stared up at the path ahead of them,
her eyes distant.

It took everything in Launce not
to think daggers at his brother-in-law, who might or might not be
dead.

Finally, she shook her head and
resumed speaking. “Anyway, I noticed as soon as you all arrived
that there was something different about him. He was serious
before, but now he stalks... I mean, he stalked around like a
panther, guarding its prey. There was a feverish look in his eye
the whole time he was there, as though he were desperately afraid
of something. It all makes sense now, because he needs her.” She
nodded once to herself. Launce didn’t miss the dreamy look in her
eyes though. Isa had often looked the same way as a girl when she
talked about true love. Launce had always scoffed at such things.
Now, however, he found himself morbidly curious as to what she was
thinking.

“
But,” Olivia looked at him, “why
are you telling me all of this? I sense it is not a time you
particularly like to relive.”

Launce edged his horse closer to
hers, hoping not to draw the attention of the others. King Rafael
appeared to be lost in whatever world the enchanter kept him and
the rest of the travelers in, but Bronkendol continually glanced
back at the two of them.

“
This scheme the enchanter has
with your father is nothing short of suicide.” Olivia’s eyes grew
wide, but she said nothing, so Launce continued. “There is a bond
between the Destin’s Fortress and its monarchs. Isa has tried to
explain it to me four or five times, and it’s rather difficult to
understand or talk about, but I’ll do my best.

“
A thousand years ago, a lower
knight from Tumen happened to hear a cry for help from a woman that
lived in what is now Soudain, just at the foot of the Fortress’s
mountain. He went to his liege and requested to bring some of his
brothers with him to help the woman’s family fight off the bandits
that had been plaguing them. Tumen’s king refused, however, as the
woman wasn’t wealthy or anyone of importance. So the knight said he
would help her himself.

“
The knight set out on his own,
and nearly died helping the woman’s family. But in the end, he was
victorious, and when he was, others from the area began to ask him
for help as well. They had been forgotten by the Tumenian king, and
needed protection from the marauders who frequented their
homelands. And while the king refused to assist him, even ordering
him to return to Tumen’s capital and to ignore the peasants, the
Maker was pleased. As a reward for helping the helpless, He gave
the knight his own crown, and Destin was born.”

“
That doesn’t seem so hard to
understand,” Olivia said.

“
It isn’t.” Launce agreed. “The
difficult part is understanding the Fortress itself. You see, the
Maker gifted the Fortress to the knight as a way to help protect
the people. He imbued His own power into the citadel to aid the
king and his descendants in protecting the people and providing
shelter for the desolate.

“
But the Fortress isn’t just a
place. It’s…” Launce struggled for words. It didn’t matter how many
times Isa explained it. The Fortress was hard to comprehend. “It is
as if the Maker placed a part of Himself within the Fortress
stones. And not just there, but in the hearts of its monarchs as
well. I hear Everard and Isa talking to it sometimes, even when
they’re not at home.

He paused, feeling silly for his
inadequate words. “I used to scoff at the old stories, but since
spending time there myself, I can’t deny the feeling of power and
awe that the place inspires.” Olivia still stared at him, looking
more confused than ever, so Launce tried another tactic.

“
I’m sure you’ve seen Everard’s
eyes?”

“
Everyone knows about the
Fortiers’ eyes.”

“
Well, it’s said that when the
Fortiers’ fires go out of their eyes, they die. For those with pure
hearts, who have been faithful to the Maker, it is of old age or
during battle. But for those that forget whom they serve, the Maker
takes them home sooner. Isa says it is because the Fortress holds
too great a power for an unfaithful king to handle. If he cannot
wield it correctly, the Fortress removes its light from his eyes,
and the Maker takes him to eternity so the people will remain safe
in the hands of the next monarch. As I said, it is not easy to
understand.”

He looked her right in the eyes,
holding her gaze this time. “The reason I tell you this is because
we are in grave danger.” Olivia bit her lip, but said nothing, so
Launce went on in a rushed whisper, for Bronkendol was watching
them once more.

“
The Fortress cursed Everard, its
own son, in order to preserve the purity of its kings and queens
and save the innocents of the land. How do you think the Fortress
will respond when we barge in and declare we’re putting ourselves
upon its throne, the throne the Fortress alone has chosen for the
last thousand years? Especially,” Launce said, “after its queen was
taken and its king was attacked.” Even if Everard was still alive,
Launce had no doubt Bronkendol had at least made some attempt on
his life, or would soon, at any rate.

A delicate shiver danced across
Olivia’s shoulders. “I didn’t think of that,” she said in a low
voice. Then she glanced up at her father and Bronkendol, ahead of
them. “What about them?” she whispered. “If we don’t do as they
say, they will do terrible things to us, too.”

“
If there is one thing I’ve
learned from my sister,” Launce said slowly, “it’s that the
Fortress always knows what it’s doing. The hard part is believing
that, even when we can’t see it.”

And as much as it pained him to
say it, Launce finally knew it was the truth. Isa had trusted the
Fortress to see her through the curse. And it had. Now it was his
turn to trust, and, he prayed, Olivia’s. He didn’t doubt Olivia’s
sincerity in the slightest. As they reached the rounded summit of
the mountain, however, he hoped she could keep that faith, for he
got the feeling that their current troubles were about to
multiply.

CHAPTER
FORTY-SIX

Raw

Ever’s eyes
felt as though someone had ripped them open. The glass dust had
settled, and the sounds of shifting debris were quieting, and yet,
he could only clutch his eyes. His arm shook as he looked down,
half expecting to see blood gushing from his face, the pain was so
great. To his relief, however, there was no great flow. Only a few
drops of blood sat on his hands where the slivers had fallen from
his eyes. The shards of glass themselves were gone.

His relief was short-lived,
however, when he looked up at Isa. His wife knelt beside him,
looking around with the same dazed expression Ever felt on his own
face. Copper strands of her hair waved in the dry, icy wind. Her
right cheek was smeared with dried blood, and the wound on her neck
was still fresh.

Who had done such a thing? And
where was Bronkendol?

The enchanter was nowhere to be
seen. Only the island covered in broken glass remained. Enough of
the glass had fallen over the edges of the island, into the depths
of the void below, that it was possible to see some of the objects
that had been inside the castle through the remaining debris. Here
and there, shining green and blue in the moonlight, bits and
corners of objects and furniture stuck up out of the gleaming
rubble.

Joy and alarm exploded within him
as he realized that the fire was once again burning within her
eyes. From the guarded weariness in those eyes, a terrible feeling
as to what had just transpired began to build in his stomach as
well. He tried to recall all that had happened, but had to sift
through the haze. He remembered rage. Hate as pure and volatile as
molten steel had taken hold of his body. The more he considered it,
the more he did remember fighting someone. But that had been
Bronkendol...

He filtered back through his
memories, and saw only her. What had come over him? How could he
have been so blind to do such a thing? Such things?

Slowly, so as not to frighten her,
Ever reached out and gently took her face in his hands. She made no
move to stop him, but watched him warily all the same. The wound
just under the hollow of her cheek was easy enough to heal. The cut
at her neck was much deeper though. Guilt roared in his ears. Had
he pressed any deeper, it would have killed her.

As he worked to heal her, the blue
fire thrumming between his fingers, Ever tried to come up with
something to say. All he could think to ask, though, was the
question that had drawn him to this forsaken wasteland in the first
place. That Isa had followed him was enough to give him a shred of
hope. But she wouldn’t meet his eyes long enough for him to know
for sure.

After five minutes of silence,
Ever could stand it no longer. “Are you—”

“
Yes.” She still didn’t look at
him.

Ever longed to tuck the stray bits
of hair behind her ear, but he knew better. So he focused instead
on trying to keep her skin from scarring. When he was finally done,
he hoped she would speak, but she simply stood up and wandered
through the rubble, pushing the broken glass bits around with her
foot. When she did speak again, her voice was practiced and
distant, statesmanlike.

“
Did you see what he did with the
mirror?” She spoke without looking at him.

Ever tried to recall. The
enchanter had spoken to a little mirror before the rage had
overtaken him, but he couldn’t remember what had happened after
that. “Not after he spoke to it.”

“
He spoke to it?” She finally
raised her eyes to his and lifted an eyebrow delicately, but not
for long.

“
What did he do to me?” Ever hated
feeling lost. Even more so, he hated being out of control, and
that, he got the feeling, was exactly what had happened to
him.

“
I think,” Isa spoke slowly, “he
is using my power to control the hearts of others. He placed the
glass inside of you so that you only saw what he told you to see...
or feel. I don’t know. But it seems that he used my power, which
was channeled into the mirror, to influence your heart so that you
would do as he wished.”