Blinding Beauty (49 page)

They had arrived at the Fortress
two nights before, whereupon Olivia had been immediately whisked
away to be “prepared” for their upcoming nuptials. Launce knew what
Bronkendol was up to though. Their constant whispering throughout
the journey must have made him finally nervous, for Launce recalled
Isa being allowed to leave her room during the week before her
coronation. But the enchanter held the upper hand, and now he
played it well, for though no one else seemed to suspect a thing,
Bronkendol’s threat was less than subtle to Launce.

Not that the servants or other
royals were good standards to judge by. In less than an hour after
they’d arrived, Bronkendol had somehow planted the shards in all of
the Fortress’s residents as well. And like Gigi, since then, none
of them had made a bit of sense. Now, as staff hurried up and down
the halls, preparing the Fortress both to mourn for Everard, and
also for its forthcoming double coronation, Launce refused to look
at the purple and blue glow of power each servant wore.

Garin was the only exception, of
course. Because Garin was gone.

As though he’d never existed, the
steward was nowhere to be found, nor did anyone remark on his
absence. Launce could only hope that Garin was in hiding, waiting
for the right time to emerge, for it was on Garin that Launce’s
plan of escape depended.

“
It would appear that autumn has
gifted us with one last day of sunbeams.”

Launce didn’t have to raise his
head to see who waited for him at the window across from his new
chambers. “What do you want?”

“
Walk with me, lad.” Bronkendol
turned away from the window to smile amiably at Launce. “Let us
enjoy this last day of good weather the Maker has provided for
us.”

Launce thought about giving him a
smart retort and then locking himself in his chambers. But when he
remembered Bronkendol’s threat to Olivia, he silently fell into
step alongside the enchanter.

The visiting guests from Cobren
strolled by the two of them as though nothing were out of place,
and the servants carried along as well as any servants might do
whose good king had died after only five months of rule. No
Destinian citizens crossed their paths though. Launce could only
guess news had been circulated that there was a plague or some
other sort of foolishness at the Fortress. Surely Bronkendol could
not have placed the glass shards in all of Soudain’s citizens
already. He hoped not, at least.

As they walked, it galled Launce
that someone so short could hold him in such a tight
grasp.

“
It would be simpler for you if
you stopped trying to convince your friends that Everard is alive,
or that all of this is an evil plot,” the enchanter said. “They
will not be able to see your version of the truth no matter how
hard you try.”

Launce kept his eyes trained
forward. “And why is that?”

“
Because it’s incredible how blind
we can be when our heart promises us a certain truth. Even when the
facts before us point to another truth entirely.”

“
So you admit you’re lying to
them.”

“
I am allowing them to see the
world through the lens of truth as I know it. Of course, that might
demand a few embellishments here and there, but soon enough, it
won’t matter.”

“
And how is it that you’ve
convinced them all so thoroughly?” Launce had a hunch, but if
Bronkendol was in the mood to talk, he was by all means welcome.
Listening could only aid Launce in the end.

“
Let us venture outside, shall we?
I feel the need for some fresh air.”

Launce didn’t argue as stepped out
onto the northernmost balcony. It was an extension of the royal
library. Not the sacred one in the Tower of Annals, of course. But
its view was nearly as breathtaking. From where they stood on the
white marble overlook, Launce could see the border deserts that
began at the foot of the mountain. A thin trail he had never
noticed before snaked out from some hidden spot below. When he
squinted, it didn’t appear the trail had any purpose at all. It
simply ended midway between the Fortress and the desert floor at
the bottom.

“
This wouldn’t have to do anything
with my sister’s power, would it?”

“
You are sharp. I will credit you
that. And yes, the power I drew from Isabelle to end her suffering
is the power I harness now to keep the people from panicking while
we transition here. It will make the change more palatable for
everyone present. That, in turn, will make it easier for your
citizens, as well as everyone else’s.”

Launce frowned. “I don’t
understand. The people are themselves... but they are not at the
same time.” So far, the enchanter had answered his questions.
Launce hoped he would answer this one as well.

“
Even your sister has never
understood her power. In fact, she hardly ever tapped into its true
potential. And yet, it is her power that holds every new thing in
place here.” Bronkendol leaned over the edge of the balcony
railing, and Launce noticed his eyes training on the thin trail as
well.

“
Everyone has been waiting for
your sister’s power to blossom into a strength akin to her
husband’s. Everard was always fast, strong, and intuitive enough to
use his power far beyond his years, at least, compared to those of
his ancestors that I witnessed. But Isabelle’s power is something
else entirely, and no one has been able to see it.” He placed his
hand in his robe pocket, as he seemed to do often. “Not even she
can see it,” he murmured.

“
So Isa’s power hasn’t been
dwindling?” Launce asked. If Isa somehow survived all of this, it
was something she deserved to know.

“
Not in the way everyone thinks.
You see, Everard was bestowed with the strength of the hand, while
Isabelle was given the strength of the heart, something you knew
already. But what that heart power truly entails is far beyond what
even your Fortress steward could understand.” Bronkendol spit out
Garin’s title as though it tasted sour, and Launce nearly smiled.
Garin must have been at least posed something of a challenge to
have ruffled the enchanter’s feathers so.

But Bronkendol continued. “Your
sister had the ability to turn people’s hearts.” He eyed Launce.
“She’s unwittingly used her abilities on you several times.”
Immediately, Launce recalled the night he had allowed her to go to
the Fortress without him. And then, when she’d convinced him to
join her in Cobren. That had been her?

“
She doesn’t force others to act
against their will,” Launce said, unable to keep the disdain from
his voice.

“
Oh, but I haven’t done such a
thing either!”

Launce looked at the enchanter in
disbelief.

“
All I had to do was introduce
despair into their hearts.”

“
But you’ve given them no proof!”
Launce turned in disgust to leave the balcony. The view of the thin
trail made him uncomfortable for some reason.

The enchanter followed, but
instead of wandering the enormous round room, filled to the ceiling
with books, Bronkendol passed him and strode purposefully to the
first set of stairs he could find. “I’ve told you,” he said over
his shoulder as Launce flagged behind. “When someone’s heart
whispers truths to him, his instinct is to trust the whisperings
inside above all else. Your friends may not see any proof that
Everard is dead, but they don’t need it. Their hearts tell them it
is so already.”

They walked out to the edge of the
northern lawns and had come to an old gate. He stopped, fishing
around in his other pocket.

“
Ah, here were are.” Strangely,
its bolt was strong and new, not rusted like the rest of the gate.
As Bronkendol produced a large brass key and opened the gate to let
them through, Launce wondered at how easy it had seemed for the
enchanter to get whatever he wanted. Launce had seen that key only
once. It had been tied to a leather cord that hung around Everard’s
neck.

“
Launce Marchand, you are a clever
young man, and I know you’re probably wondering why I have been so
free in sharing all I know with you.”

Launce didn’t respond, but it was
the truth.

“
I have told you before, and I was
earnest, I am excited to see all the Fortress and the future hold
for you. You are kind, you have a sharp wit, and you know what it
is like to suffer. Most kings haven’t lived half as much as you by
the time they die. But you still have a choice to make, and I fear
you are running towards the wrong one.”

As soon as they were through the
gate, they found themselves at another door. Only, this one led
straight into the side of the mountain. Bronkendol unlocked it as
well. As the door swung open, a blast of rancid air hit them,
making Launce want to choke. A small torch hung from the wall
before them, and just inside to the left, a set of narrow, stone
steps led down into a darkness Launce had never before imagined. He
wanted nothing to do with such darkness, but for now, he decided to
follow the enchanter. There must have been a reason the enchanter
was bringing him to this horrid place.

Launce had to breathe deeply as
they descended, to remind himself that the world wasn’t caving in
upon him. The stairs twisted and turned in different areas, to the
point where Launce couldn’t recall what direction they were
traveling in. All he knew was that they continued to climb
down.

After what seemed like an
eternity, he felt the stairs give way to steel floors. He followed
Bronkendol’s torch, but he noticed that some areas beneath his feet
sounded hollower than others. Bronkendol soon came to a stop, and a
soldier appeared out of the darkness. After the enchanter whispered
something to him, the soldier nodded and led them even further into
the depths.

Finally, they stopped in a small
corner. Again, the torch was lowered, but this time, Launce could
see a large circle carved into the steel floor they walked upon.
About four feet across, it had bars slitted through the middle.
Bronkendol nodded at the floor, so Launce bent down to look through
them. There, at the bottom, the form was nearly invisible against
the blackness. But it was one he would know anywhere.

“
Isa!” he shouted. His sister’s
name echoed throughout the wide steel chasm they stood in, but his
sister’s sleeping form didn’t stir. Launce glared up at Bronkendol
and the silent soldier that guided them. “What’s wrong with
her?”

“
Nothing serious, just some
sleeping herbs. She hadn’t slept well in days.”

As Launce leaned back down to try
and see her as best he could in the dark. He knew exactly why the
enchanter had brought him here, why he had been willing to tell him
so much.

“
Everyone has a choice to make in
this world, even if he claims to have none.” Bronkendol’s lilting
voice echoed off the stone walls that surrounded them. “Your sister
and brother-in-law made theirs. If you choose rightly, however, I
can spare your sister from her choice.”

Fury heated his face as Launce
stood and stepped as close as he could to Bronkendol. If he had
only been as strong as Everard, he could crush this little man like
the parasite he was. “I would hardly call extortion
honorable.”

“
I’m showing you how dire this
situation is.”

“
You mean how dire you’ve made
it!”

“
When you’ve lived as I have, then
you can tell me what is and is not dire!” Bronkendol’s shout echoed
through the underground tunnel. Neither of them spoke for a long
time, only glowered at one another in the dark. Finally, Bronkendol
sighed, and when he spoke again, his voice was ancient.

“
I promised you I wouldn’t place a
shard inside of you. And though I may bend the rules in other ways,
I always keep my promises. But I needed you to see what is at stake
here.”

Launce’s fist burned as hot as his
face, and he longed to do nothing more than beat the enchanter to
death. Where he had once abhorred Everard’s ease with violence, he
now hungered for it like a man on the brink of starvation. Launce
racked his memory for something, anything he could do to make the
man uncomfortable. Anything that would cause Bronkendol a portion
of the pain and misery he was bringing down upon everyone
else.

“
Launce, look around you. You
speak of doom and wrath, but the Fortress has not shown any sign
that we are not welcome. There have been no more earthquakes, and
no one has died since we arrived. No one has even been injured.
Surely you can see that the Maker is with us, rather than against
us. It should serve as a comfort to you.”

Launce didn’t answer. As he
continued to search for the words to express the depths of his
loathing, the soldier replaced the metal grate and led them back to
the winding set of stairs. Neither Launce nor Bronkendol spoke
again until they reached the top. As the enchanter locked the gate
behind them and they stood on the Fortress grounds once more,
Launce turned and said softly, “You cannot move through the
Fortress’s glass, can you?”

Bronkendol froze, the key still in
the gate. “Why would you think that?” The words were casual, but
Launce felt satisfaction wash through him as he watched the
enchanter struggle. Finally, he had found a weakness.