Canes of Divergence (14 page)

Zander didn’t understand what was going on here at all, but he didn’t like it. Talking to soldiers in some weird world, who kept referring to “Her Majesty”… He’d seen Alice in Wonderland. Even if he was dreaming, he didn’t like playing this game where he was the only one who didn’t know the rules.

“How did you get through?” Marcus asked. “We haven’t been able to…”

“Father,” Ben said in a low voice. “Should we really discuss this out here?”

“No, we shouldn’t,” the third one said. He was looking around warily, Zander noticed, and not just at him and Owen. “We need to get back to the castle and let King Stephen deal with it.”

Oh
, so there was a
His
Majesty here, too. Even better. Owen had somehow managed to drag the two of them into a strange world where they’d been found by soldiers who wanted to take them to be
dealt
with by a king. He’d officially transitioned from worrying he was losing his mind to hoping he was going to wake up soon. This was the last time he was going to stay up past four in the morning.

“Hold up,” Zander said. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I want to go home. Owen, let’s go
now.
”

All three soldiers looked at Owen. “Is the gate still
…
open?
” Ben asked, still so quietly that Zander had to strain to hear him.

Owen shook his
head. Whatever he said to Ben in response was entirely too quiet for Zander to hear.

The one whose name he didn’t know
– the lone one dressed in purple – was still looking around like he’d seen or heard something unusual, but he didn’t say anything. Something else was going on here aside from the arrival of him and Owen, but Zander wasn’t sure what.

Owen looked at him. “Anyway, even if it was open, I’m not going home. I want to go to the castle.”

Zander’s fists clenched in frustration. Here he was trying to keep the two of them from a situation they might not be able to go out of, and Owen was trying to lead them into it. “No, Owen. It’s not a good idea.”

“I’m sorry, Zander. This is not your decision.” Owen turned back
to Ben and Marcus. “Take me to the castle, please.”

“Owen, I’m
serious
. This is dangerous. Let’s go home.”

The little boy nearly growled in his frustration. He walked over to Zander, took his
hand, and began pulling him back down the road. He didn’t even stop to pick up the cooler or the duffel bag that they’d set down, but at this point, Zander didn’t care.

The soldiers followed him, two on horse and one on foot
, as he allowed Owen to take him the whole way back down the road, and march him up the steps of the bridge, back to the spot they’d come from. But when they passed it, and walked all the way to the other end of the bridge, then turned around and came back, reality began to sink in.

Standing there, at the end of the bridge, still staring into the eyes of the three strange soldiers, Zander realized that wherever they were, they were stuck.

“Let’s go,” Owen said, walking toward the road.

“
I’ve got your things, Owen,” Ben said, holding up the cooler and the bags. Zander hadn’t even seen him pick them up. “Would you like to ride on my horse? I can lead him and walk with Zander. I’m sure your friend would rather walk than be stuck sharing a saddle with one of us.”

Yes,
Zander thought,
Owen’s
friend
would much rather that, thank you very much.

Owen’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas. “Are you sure you don’t want to ride?”

“No, I could use the walk, actually.” Zander noticed that Ben was absentmindedly rubbing his hip with his free hand.

“Do I get a choice here?” Zander asked, in a last desperate plea.

The purple one looked him up and down. “The fact that you came here the way you did is probably enough to justify at least bringing you in for questioning – by force if I had to.”

“And Owen, too?”

“I’m only a guard. Prince Owen’s status in our kingdom ranks him far above me. He’s clearly expressed his desire to be taken to the castle, and I’ll get him there safely – even if I have to defend him against you.”

Whoa. What?

“Now,” the man continued, “I’d prefer for you to just come along voluntarily, because I don’t sincerely believe you’re a threat to our kingdom. I would also like you to consider exactly where you’re planning on staying if you
don’t
come with us.”

He didn’t have an answer to that. This was entirely too weird to be real. Perhaps he was living in one of
Owen’s
dreams.

By this point, he
was in too much shock to do much of anything but watch as their things – even the heavy backpack he’d been wearing – were loaded onto the horses, and Ben lifted Owen up onto the back of the tall chestnut stallion.

Then, suddenly he was walking down the dirt path next to Ben. Owen was up on the horse next to them, while the purple one led them, and Marcus followed behind.

“Where are we going?” he asked Ben after a few minutes.

“To the castle.”

For real. A castle.
“What is going to happen to us there?”

Ben frowned. “Happen to you? What do you mean?”

“Are we going to be thrown in prison or something?”

“For what? Have you done something I’m not aware of?”

“I don’t even know how we got here. You found us about two minutes after we arrived.”

“You don’t know
how you got here? I thought Prince Owen brought you.”

“He did. But I don’t know how. One minute we were someplace …
normal
… and the next minute we were here. Do you know how we got here?”

“It’s not
my place to discuss such things. I’m sorry. You’ll have to speak with Prince Owen or the queen or the king about it.”

Rosewood Castle, Eirentheos

W
ILLIAM STOOD OUTSIDE
the door to the suite he shared with Quinn for several minutes, mentally sorting out how to do this right. He thought about waiting, about taking care of the other thing he needed to do first, but he knew that would be wrong.

Even if he couldn’t have a full conversation with her right now, he couldn’t let things stand this way between them for any longer – he couldn’t let her be
in there, alone and hurting. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold coin, etched with a dandelion on one side, and the thorn of a rose on the other. It was a symbol – a reminder, that as painful as it might be to deal with the problem, it would be far worse to let it continue to grow.

He shouldn’t have forgotten that.

Taking a deep breath, he turned the doorknob.

She looked up immediately from her place on the couch, but as soon as she saw it was him, her eyes dropped back to the baby, who was contentedly nursing.
Oh, that sliced right through his heart.

Blinking several times, and taking another deep breath, he closed the door behind him,
set down his medical bag, and turned to face her. “Hey.”

She glanced up for a fraction of a second, not even long enough for him to make eye contact with her. “Hi.”

“Can I talk to you?” he asked quietly, rubbing the coin again for strength.

Now she looked at him. “You don’t have somewhere else you
need
to be right now?”

Oh Quinn.
He crossed the room and sat down on the table right in front of her. “I
do
, actually, but I couldn’t … I had to come and see you first.”

“I’ll be here later, William. Or tomorrow, or next week, or whatever.”
The tone in her voice crushed him even more. He’d hurt her so badly she was pulling away from him. Her bottom lip trembled as she said it, though, and the fingers on her free hand twisted nervously around something … moisture pooled in his eyes when he realized she was fidgeting with her coin, too.

He reached out a
nd took her hand in his, pressing her coin between both their fingers. Then he held out his other hand, palm up, showing her his coin. “I’m sorry, Quinn.”

Her whole body went
limp as she let out a breath – one he knew, instinctively, that she’d been holding for the last three days – the same breath that was curled tight at the bottom of his chest.

“You’re touching me now?” she whispered.

That was the thorn, piercing deep inside of him. The pain in her voice was so real, so visceral; suddenly he could
feel
what that would be like – if, for some reason,
she
had refused to touch him when he needed her. “I’m sorry, love. I still
need
to be careful, but … I can’t … I know … I’m just so sorry.”

“Me too,” she said, blinking back her tears. She withdrew her hand from his, and used it to shift the sleeping baby off her lap and onto the couch cushion beside her.

Then she slid off the couch, onto her knees in front of him, reaching for him. He knelt down on the floor with her and pulled her into his arms, holding her as he rocked her.

“I’m so scared, Will.”

“I know, love. Me too,” he said, stroking her hair now. Then, cradling her head with his hand, he pulled her to his shoulder. Warm drops fell on the back of his shirt, but he only held her tighter.

He didn’t realize he was crying too until she finally pulled her head up, and reached to wipe his cheeks with her thumbs.

“Don’t,” he said, taking her hands in his again and pulling them down. “It’s not that I don’t want you to, but … I’m just so worried about you – about him.” He nodded toward the baby. “I don’t want to hurt you here anymore,” he laid one hand over her heart, “but I need you to help me. Deal with my overreacting, please. Help me feel like I’m keeping you safe.”

Her tears were still flowing, but she nodded. “I’ll try.”

“Me too.”

After several minutes
they were both finally starting to get themselves under control again when the baby stirred on the couch, opened his eyes, and began to fuss.

“Always,” Quinn chuckled, standing and picking him up. “Have to make sure you’re in the middle of the action too, don’t you?” she cooed.

William leaned in close. His heart ached to hold the baby, to feel the solid, tiny weight of his son in his arms, but he still couldn’t bring himself to dare. He did take hold of his little foot, securely protected by socks and a blanket, and rubbed it with his thumb.

“So what is it you need to go and do?” Quinn asked him after a few minutes.

“Hmm
? … Oh, nothing fun. It’ll only take me a few minutes, though, and then maybe we could eat dinner together?”

She nodded, but frowned. “What is it?”

“I have to give Alice the next dose of the medicine.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Of all the days Nathaniel could have chosen to go to Cloud Valley, huh?”

He shrugged. “He might as well. Nothing is happening here on the medicine front. We’re in the middle of a really awful waiting game.”

She bit her lip, making him regret saying that, but then she looked up at him.
“Can I come with you?”

“
To do this with Alice? It’ll be okay. I’m going to try not to make a big deal out of it, you know. She was asleep for the first dose.”

She nodded. “I wasn’t asking to be there for Alice, Will. She’s tough. I know how much you hate it, though. I want to come.”

“I’m not tough?”

She raised an eyebrow, and he chuckled. “I’ll be fine. You have Samuel.”

“I could ask Mia to watch him for a little while.”

“Mia? You’d let her?”

“She’s the only reason I’ve bathed in the last few days. I don’t know what I’m going to do when we go back to Philotheum.”

“We have to find a baby nurse. You’
re the queen. I’m a healer and the king. We’ll have to have someone to tend to him so we can do the things we need to do.”

“I never even thought about that. How do you find a baby nurse? Oh my gosh.”

“Well, if we don’t, I’m afraid Sophia will.”

Her
breath hitched as she considered that possibility.

“We’ll think of something, love. I’ll ask my mother for help, okay?”

She nodded. “All right. For now, let’s go take Samuel to Mia, and then I’ll hold your hand while you take care of Alice … and then maybe we could have a few minutes alone to talk.”

“That would be really nice.”

*          *          *

Fifteen minutes later, Quinn was standing with William just inside the playroom, watching all of the children play. She felt better than she had in days, though she was still far from one hundred percent. Of course, with a very real threat of William dying hanging over their heads, she supposed that was too much to ask for.

She did need some time to just be with him tonight, though, and was grateful Mia had been happy to take Samuel for a while.

“Hey, Alice,” William called lightly.

Alice had been intently focused on a card game with Alex, but at the sound of William’s voice, she popped up and ran across the room as fast as she could. “Will!” she screeched, throwing herself into his arms.

“Hi, baby girl,” he said, picking her up.
Quinn noticed he wasn’t quite as careful about touching her – but then, Alice was the one person he probably didn’t have to worry about. She’d been exposed as much as he had – and she was getting the medicine. “How are you?”

“Good.”

“How is your arm?”

“It still hurts a little. Nathaniel put a new bandage on it yesterday.” She held it up to show him. “How is your arm?”

“About the same,” he said, smiling at her. “Nathaniel gave me a new bandage yesterday too.”

“You didn’t come see me, and you weren’t in your room.
”

Quinn was grateful that William had finally come upstairs, and she knew how much it meant for him to make the effort he was making. They’d get through this – but she wondered if he was ever going to realize what it was like for everyone else, what it had been like for her to have Alice knocking on their door, looking for him, and for Quinn to have to tell her no, and that she didn’t know when he’d be back.

“I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry. I came to see you tonight, though. Do you want to come with me for a minute?”

“Sure.”

Quinn followed him as he carried her across the hall to the common room where Charlotte was waiting for them. William walked with her all the way to the high counter, and then he set her up there. Quinn set the medical bag she’d been carrying beside him.

“Will you let me check your arm today?”

Alice nodded, holding still as William checked the bandage, feeling around her wound, and then making sure everything was still clean and tight – or at least that’s what he told his little sister.

Finally, he looked up at her. “I need to give you some medicine, sweetheart.”

“Is it so I don’t get sick from the fox?”

“Yes.”

Alice shook her head, making Charlotte, who’d been watching from nearby, move closer to her. “I don’t want it,” she said.

“Why, honey?”

Quinn thought that was a stupid question; Alice was five, and the medicine was a shot. But the little girl surprised – and devastated – her with her answer. “If I take the medicine, there won’t be enough for you.”

Charlotte gasped, and Quinn saw William’s jaw tighten. “Who told you that?”

“Nobody told me. I just heard it. It’s true, isn’t it? There’s not enough medicine for both of us, and if I take it, then you could die.”

Quinn had to bite her lip again, and she felt Charlotte’s hand on her shoulder. She reached for Charlotte’s hand with her own and held on tight.

Alice’s little voice was steady, though, and she was looking at William with a determined gaze.

“We’re making some more medicine for me, Alice.
”

“I’ll take that kind then, and you can have some now. We can share it.”

William’s Adam’s apple moved fiercely up and down, but his voice was still utterly gentle with his little sister. “Baby girl, the kind we’re making is for grown-ups. You’re too little for it. I need to give you this kind.”

“I won’t take it, Will. I won’t swallow it. I want you to have some.”

Now William’s hand started shaking. Quinn grabbed it and squeezed it tight. He closed his eyes for several seconds, taking deep breaths before he opened them again.

“Come here, Alice,”
he said, dropping Quinn’s hand and reaching for her.

She went willingly into his arms.

“Give me a minute,” he said to both Quinn and Charlotte. He took his medical bag with him as he carried Alice over to a far corner of the common room, and curled up in a chair with her, facing away from everyone.

Charlotte wrapped her arms around Quinn
; she felt the tears building up inside of her again, but they didn’t fall. She’d cried too much, and couldn’t do it anymore. There was no choice but to get through this.

“You okay?” Charlotte whispered.

“Are you?”

Charlotte just sighed
and held her tighter.

William and Alice were over in the corner for what felt like a very long time. When he finally carried her back,
his eyes were a little puffy and Alice had a couple of tear stains on her cheeks and a small bandage on her upper arm – one of the coveted decorated ones Will had brought from the other world and reserved for special circumstances. Her little hand was curled around several pieces of candy, too.

Will smiled as he
handed her over to Charlotte. “She’s good. Hungry for some dinner, I think, and then she deserves some of those treats.”

Charlotte kissed Alice’s forehead, and then reached toward William. “And you?”

He took his mother’s hand for a moment. “I’m hungry, too.”

“All right.
I could take care of having some food sent up to your room for you two, if you’d like.”

They were almost to the door, William’
s fingers twined with Quinn’s, when Thomas appeared in the doorway, looking disheveled and breathing hard. “Quinn!”

“What’s wrong?”

“You have to come. Right now!”