Borrowed Magic (8 page)

They filed out of the room, some casting
questioning glances her way, and shut the door behind them.

“Did I just lie to my advisors?” Daric
asked, his mouth tilted up on one side.

“Actually, no. I do want to
speak with you. And while it
could
wait, I’d prefer it didn’t.”

“Good.” He pulled out the chair next to his.
“That meeting should have been over an hour ago.” He ran hand
through his hair. “So, my dear, what can I do for you?”

“I came to talk about Lord Teige?”

Daric’s mouth twisted into a grin. “Teige,
huh? Well, if that’s the way the wind blows, Philip’s going to be
disappointed. But I guess if it went the other way, Teige would be
disappointed. You do realize you’re going to break one of their
hearts?”

She squirmed in her seat. “You
misunderstood. I’m not interested in either Philip or Teige.”

Daric only raised his brows.

“It’s true,” she insisted. “I’m wondering
about Teige simply because I don’t know anything about him. Neither
does Philip. Except that Teige is possibly from somewhere in the
east, and he won’t talk about his past.”

“I’m afraid I can’t add anything more,”
Daric said. “But why are you so curious?”

“Because…” She swallowed. “Because ever
since Teige first took my hand, the pain in my shoulder has gotten
worse.”

He didn’t say anything for a very long
minute, and when he did, his voice was full of disbelief. “And you
think it’s because of Teige?”

She nodded. “At first it was only when he
touched me. Now it’s worse anytime he’s even near.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I hoped
knowing more about him might explain it. I’m scared. Of the pain
and it getting worse. But also of Teige. I feel like there’s
something about him we don’t know – and that we should.”

“No.” Daric’s voice was firm, allowing no
room for argument. Then he leaned his elbows on the table. “Teige
has more than proven himself. And who better than you to understand
that some things should remain in the past.”

Which didn’t make her feel any better, or
take away the growing ache in her chest. Daric had never dismissed
her so completely. Without even listening. Without any
consideration at all. “And what about my injury getting worse?”

“Coincidence.” His tone was so indifferent.
Almost dismissive.

“It’s only when I’m around Teige.”

Genuine worry finally creased Daric’s brows.
“Why haven’t you come to me sooner? We could have gone to the
healers.”

“I didn’t want to burden you. Or Adare.” She
met his eyes. “Please don’t tell her. She’ll just worry over
nothing. Because we both know there’s nothing that can be
done.”

He reached out and took her hands. “The
truth, Maren. Are you all right?”

Honestly, she didn’t know. “I’ll be
fine.”

His gaze didn’t waver as he seemed to
consider her answer. “Will you let me know if it gets worse?”

She nodded but knew she wouldn’t. Not if she
didn’t have to. “I’ll let you get back to more important things.”
She was almost to the door when he called her name.

“Maren. About Teige.” He frowned. “I won’t
believe bad about him. I don’t know why your injury is worse, but
it can’t be Teige. There must be another explanation.”

She forced a smile. “I’m sure you’re right.”
But she wasn’t reassured. One of the men she admired most didn’t
believe her. It left her miserable, as if Daric had taken a piece
of her heart and crushed it for reasons she couldn’t
understand.

Or maybe it wasn’t Daric at all. Perhaps she
truly was letting the pain control her, imagining enemies where
there were none. Maybe Daric was simply trying to help her see the
truth.

Either way, she needed to know, and it
looked like she’d have to find the answers on her own.

If Maren hadn’t
seen what Delorme was like before the siege, it would have been
almost unrecognizable. Carts lined the streets, filled with
materials that could be used to fix everything from tools to
chicken pens. Intersections were stacked with paving stones. Piles
of thatch lay ready to repair leaking roofs. Shiny new panes of
glass glinted from window sills.

Maren stared in awe. It had only been a week
since she’d been in the city, and the changes were remarkable,
despite the fact she hadn’t seen a single worker – just like in the
castle itself.

For one brief moment, she had the same
feeling she’d had at the banquet, as if it were too good to be
true.

She shook it off and made her way through
the city she loved, talking to farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters,
shopkeepers, wheelwrights, anyone she came across. They all told
her the same thing: everything was good. They were getting what
they needed. No one complained. No one asked for more. And yet they
were reserved, as if they too couldn’t believe their eyes. The
siege might have ended, but the effects had taken a toll. The city
was scarred. So were the people.

“Excuse me, Lady Maren.”

A girl around ten, with a nose decorated
with freckles and a smudge across her cheek, stood a few feet away,
nervously shifting from one foot to the other.

Maren smiled. “Yes? What can I do for
you?”

The girl held out a handful of colorful
ribbons. “Would you like one?”

She crouched down to examine them and chose
a white one embroidered with small pink flowers. “This is
beautiful. Did you make it?”

The girl beamed and nodded. “Yes.” She
hesitated. “Could I tie it in your hair for you?”

“I would love that.” Maren leaned her head
back while the girl arranged the ribbon. Then she dug a small coin
out of her bag and held it out.

The girl just shook her head. “No. It’s a
gift. My ma would be mad if I took your money. A piece of ribbon
isn’t worth that.”

Maren thought. “But you could sell the
ribbon, and your family could use the money.” But she still put the
coin back in her pocket – and had an idea. “What if I give you a
gift in exchange?”

The girl’s eyes lit up, but only for a
second. “No, I couldn’t accept a gift from a lady.”

Maren thought of everything she had with
her. Her earrings really weren’t worth much, but she knew the girl
wouldn’t accept them. She had a small bag. It was quilted silk and
again, wouldn’t be acceptable. And she had her bracelets. Two of
them were thin silver bands – they weren’t any better than the
coin. But the third was wood, carved to resemble a flowering vine.
She slipped it off her wrist and held it out to the girl.

She just stood there, the desire in her eyes
bright, but willing herself not to reach for the gift. “No. I
couldn’t.”

“Why not?” Maren asked. “It’s just wood, and
I have lots of bracelets. I won’t even miss it. Besides, it would
be beautiful on you.” When the girl still hesitated, she tried one
last time. “You can tell your ma I wouldn’t take the ribbon unless
you took the bracelet.”

The girl thought for a minute and then
slowly held out her hand. Maren slipped the bracelet on it and
smiled. The girl looked at it in awe before stammering her thanks
and skipping away. Maren watched her with a smile that soon faded
when the ache in her shoulder sprang to life. Teige was somewhere
nearby, which caught her completely off guard since she assumed he
was still with Philip.

“You do realize you just gave her the most
expensive thing you have with you? A gift fit for a king.”

She took a deep breath and turned to face
him. “It was given by a king.”

“And if her mother recognizes it as
rosewood?”

“Hopefully she won’t.”

Teige raised a single eyebrow.

“If she does, she’ll either pretend not to
know, or sell it.”

He folded his arms across his chest and
leaned back against a nearby fence. “You know, Lady Maren, you’re a
bit of a mystery.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’re the First Lady and yet you give
priceless gifts to village girls. You are more than just the
queen’s closest friend. There’s something deeper between you. And
yet you don’t seem to fit in with the other ladies. Now I realize
that could just be jealousy, but I get the sense it’s more than
that.” He paused and gave her a disarming smile. “And you’re the
only person I’ve met who hasn’t been overcome by my captivating
self.”

“I’m not easily overcome,” she said, trying
to keep her voice from betraying her growing discomfort.

“Then I’ll just have to work harder. May I
accompany you?” He offered his arm, which she pretended not to
notice. The pain was already almost unbearable. She was afraid if
she touched him, she wouldn’t be able to hide it.

“I’m surprised to see you in town,” she
said. “I thought you were with Philip?”

Teige smiled. “I was, but he had enough
help, and there was so much work that needed to be done here, so he
sent me back. I’m making sure all the men and supplies I ordered
arrived. And I’m making sure no one is trying to get paid without
doing the work. Thus far, everything is on schedule, except for a
shipment of horses that were supposed to come yesterday from Lord
Montagu.”

Her brows drew together. “You’re responsible
for all of this?”

“The king and Philip are technically
responsible. I was just put in charge of actually seeing it gets
done.” He shrugged. “Philip thought my attention to detail might
come in handy.”

Philip was right.
Teige
was
good at
details. Every time she’d seen him, his entire person was perfect.
Whatever reservations she had about him went much deeper than
surface perfection, beyond the charm and the teasing
flirtation.

Or she could just be imagining things.

“I’m impressed. Everyone I’ve talked with
seems pleased with the work, the schedule, and the effort.”

Teige grinned. “I may win you over yet.”

When she didn’t respond, he changed the
subject. “So, Lady Maren, tell me about yourself. Your father must
have been a nobleman.”

“Yes, he was the King’s Scholar.”

Teige stopped, his eyes widening in a look
of dawning comprehension.

“Lord Teige?”

He started and looked at her as if he’d
never truly seen her before. “I’m sorry. I just hadn’t realized
your father was Lord Haven. Philip told me he’d been murdered by
Kern. That must have been terrible for you.”

Something about his voice sounded wrong, but
since he’d also put a “comforting” hand on her elbow, causing her
shoulder to scream in pain, she wasn’t sure she was thinking
clearly. She started walking again, not even waiting to see if
Teige followed.

“Lord Teige, what’s taken you so long?”

Too late, Maren realized Teige had directed
their path to a group of ladies and young noblemen gathered in a
small courtyard.

“I’m so sorry.” Teige took Kira’s hand and
bowed over it. “I ran into Lady Maren and lost track of time.”

Kira frowned, which was
just ridiculous. It’s not like Maren
wanted
to be there. She’d much
rather turn around and leave, but her shoulder was beginning to
hurt to the point of nausea, and she needed to sit down for a few
minutes. She slipped through the crowd to an empty seat by Lady
Surrey, one of the only ladies who was actually kind. Perhaps
because she wasn’t pretty enough to be competition for Kira.
Perhaps because her father was a very minor lord without enough
power to make her a threat to anyone.

“Maren, are you all right?” Surrey asked.
“You don’t look well.”

“I think I’m just tired,” she lied.

“Perfectly understandable,” Surrey said.
Then she glanced towards the rest of the group and scowled. “Does
Kira have to monopolize all the men? She already hovers over Lord
Philip. Does she have to take Lord Teige, too?”

Maren actually laughed at that. “You’re
talking about Kira. Of course she does.”

“Well, I think one of them should be smart
enough to choose you,” Surrey said. “You’re First Lady, not to
mention much prettier than Kira.”

“That’s kind of you to say.”

“It’s true,” Surry insisted. “That’s one of
the reasons she hates you so much. All the boys were in love with
her when we were growing up. Until our presentation, when you came
into the picture. We’d all heard your name from the boys who were
in your father’s class, but since you didn’t socialize with us, no
one really knew you. That year, every single boy who’d had a crush
on her now had a crush on you.” She giggled. “It provided the rest
of us with some overdue satisfaction.”

Maren just stared. “But they weren’t all
interested in me.”

“Oh, yes, they were. I’ll never forget the
first time I really saw you. You walked into the presentation ball
in that dress of cream colored silk with your hair loose around
your shoulders. It was as if you’d just stepped out of a dream. I
was standing right next to Lord Kaleb who actually stopped mid
sentence when he saw you.” She smiled at the memory. “He made some
comment under his breath that I couldn’t hear, but I didn’t miss
Philip’s reaction. He was angrier than I’d ever seen him and warned
Kaleb he’d better watch himself.”

Maren blinked. “But…but none of them ever
even asked me to dance more than was polite. None of them did
anything.”

“Because it was obvious to everyone that you
only had eyes for Philip. And him for you. Which, I can assure you,
made Kira as mad as I’ve ever seen her. Despite how they treat you
now, and despite their petty jealousy, every single girl in that
room loved you that night – just for putting Kira in her
place.”

Maren knew Kira’s animosity towards her was
because of Philip. She wasn’t sure she realized how deep it
went.

Kira was certainly the center of attention
now, like a flower with bees hovering for a taste. Maren wanted
none of it. She was tired, she was in pain, and she was worried.
She watched the others, who were all captivated by Teige. It was
something she’d noticed a lot over the past few weeks. He asked the
questions. He told stories that had everyone laughing so hard their
stomachs hurt. It was as if he’d always been a part of the castle
life. Even Daric and Adare, when they were present, were drawn in,
perfectly happy to take a back seat to someone who was not only a
hero but was able to make people forget the misery of the past few
years.