Blinding Beauty (29 page)

“
You are certain it’s
him?”

Ever looked up from a dusty page
he was skimming and nodded.

“
But nearly three thousand years?”
Garin slumped in against the table in disbelief.

Ever struggled to keep his
demeanor calm as he watched Garin waver. In all his life, only a
few things had ever rattled Garin, and all of them had happened
while Ever was under the Fortress’s curse, which had been brought
on by his own foolish mistakes. Nothing outside of his actions or
his personal mistakes had ever seemed to even bother the steward.
Until now. Now Garin’s face was taut, and his suntanned, slightly
lined face seemed suddenly much closer to the age it should be,
whatever that was.

“
I don’t understand,” Launce
called from the other side of the room, where he was now sitting
against a wall. “What kind of man lives for three thousand
years?”

“
Bronkendol is the only child of
the Glass Queen,” Ever said as he grabbed the first book from his
pile and began to skim through it. “And he has lived for nearly
four thousand years. We’ve only assumed him dead for three
thousand.”

“
Wait, the Glass Queen was
real?”

“
More than real,” Garin snorted,
recovering himself a bit. “The Glass Queen is the reason our
kingdoms exist the way they do.”

“
No one knows where she came
from,” Ever added as he continued to skim the dusty pages, “but we
do know that the Glass Queen was gifted from the Maker, much in the
way the Fortress monarchs are. Her gift was incredibly potent
though, even when compared with many in my line.”

“
She could conjure glass objects,”
Garin said, “that would fill specific needs. There were no actual
kingdoms in the land of what we now call the northern kingdoms.
There were simply regions with low ranking overseers. If
disagreements between regions arose, they took them to the Glass
Queen. She either mediated, or, if she was able, created an object
from glass that would help both parties.”

Ever finished the first book with
annoyance. Nothing. He had read nearly every book in the Annals,
but suddenly, nothing seemed to have the information he needed.
Tossing it aside, he moved on to the next.

“
Like the gifts we were given at
the banquet?” Launce’s voice was hushed, nervous. Still skimming
the book before him, Ever nodded.

“
When a plague began to spread
throughout the lands, the regents asked Bronkendol and his mother
to find a cure. Bronkendol had inherited many of his mother’s
abilities, and together, it didn’t take them long to create a cure.
In order to administer the cure, however, a great deal of power
would need to be poured out upon each land, and not all of the
lands wanted that power.”

“
Why wouldn’t they accept it?”
Launce had moved closer, and was frowning deeply.

“
Power gifted by the Maker can be
terrifying to those unfamiliar with it.” Garin, who had been poring
over various maps, looked at Launce with half-lidded eyes. “If the
Glass Queen had attempted to invade the opposing lands, she would
have faced local armies. Too much blood had been shed already, she
said. She did not want blood on her hands.”

“
Bronkendol’s young wife took ill
and died,” Ever spoke again. “Bronkendol blamed his mother because
she had not forced the cure upon that particular region after they
had refused her help. In his anger, he attempted take control of
the Glass Castle himself. He planned to murder his mother and seize
dominion over all the regions on his own. The queen found out just
before he succeeded, and she knew she would have to stop him. She
couldn’t bring herself to end her own son’s life, however, so she
told the servants to leave, and in her sorrow, placed a sleeping
curse upon every living thing left, which at that point, was only
her son, herself, and the castle.”

“
How do we know all
this?”

“
Servants escaped the glass castle
carrying their belongings, as well as words from the queen,” Garin
said.

“
In truth,” said Ever, “it’s
Bronkendol and his mother that we can thank for our kingdoms being
shaped the way they are. Once the queen, who was mediator between
the regions, was gone, the lands eventually solidified into their
own kingdoms, which led to Destin’s eventual rise.” Ever closed
another book and joined Garin in looking at the maps. “Now, Launce,
when you spoke with him, did he ever mention any of his
plans?”

At this, Garin turned his gaze to
Launce as well.

“
No,” Launce said slowly, then his
face lit up. “But he did say he was from the far, far, north! When
I asked him what made him leave, he said something about some
decisions being made for us.”

“
I don’t understand it.” Ever
glared at the maps spread out before him. “The entire continent
north of us is inhabited. We know the Glass Castle was here
somewhere…” He traced the northern Lingean border, his voice
trailing off as frustration filled him. Every moment they wasted,
Isa was alone, but their efforts felt fruitless. The lands north of
them, Lingea and all of its neighbors, were too populated for
anyone to have missed an entire castle.

“
What about the murdered priests
in Lingea?” Garin asked.

“
They were found in a meadow not
far from here.” Ever pointed to a mountainous region that was
surrounded by small villages and many farms. During the winter, the
land was treacherous. Only the hardiest farmers could grow crops
there. But that still didn’t explain how an entire castle could go
unseen.

“
How do we even know he brought
her to his castle? What if the castle is gone, and only he
survived?” Launce asked.

“
The power he uses was tied to
that castle the way my power is tied to the Fortress,” Ever said.
“He would need a safe place to plan whatever he has been scheming,
as well as the source of power. No, his castle is still standing.
If only we could find it.”

“
Ever,” Garin said, staring out
the window. “I might have an explanation.”

Ever turned to Garin, curious, but
with trepidation as well. The steward only used that tone of voice
when his knowledge of deeper power was called upon. By practice,
Garin never spoke of such subjects unless he had to, and the
hesitancy with which he recalled it had always kept Ever from
enquiring any further than necessary. Ever trusted Garin more
implicitly than anyone else in the world. Garin had practically
raised him. But when he spoke of old power, a dangerous glint
touched Garin’s eyes, and Ever knew better than to prod.

“
There was once a race, long
extinct now, that could cut paths between realms. They could create
bridges between their world and ours, somewhat akin to the way you
use your power to speed your horse between locations.”

“
Different realms?” Launce balked.
And for once, Ever was as confused as the young man.

“
It is difficult to explain if you
haven’t been there to see it,” Garin frowned.

Did that mean Garin had seen such
things?

“
The Maker created our world as
one of many.” Garin continued. “Sometimes, those worlds touch,
overlap, even. In fact, that is how individuals like you, Ever, and
the Glass Queen and Kartek can foster power at all. The Maker has
allowed just a little of His world to touch and spill over into
ours.

“
These beings from long ago had
the innate ability to build roads directly between the worlds,
rather than spend the years it would take to reach the distant
lands by foot, sea, and air. But first, they had to possess an item
from that world before they could trace it back to its place of
origin. Sometimes the Maker would allow them to come across items
from other worlds through trade or miracle. I wonder,” Garin
stopped and looked at Ever, “if Bronkendol might have created such
a road of his own.”

“
But his world was once part of
ours,” Ever said. “We know the castle and its queen occupied a
particular place and time.” He gestured at the books before him, as
though that might change things, but Garin was already shaking his
head.

“
We don’t know what was in the
spell that the queen cast. I would wager that she not only put a
sleeping curse on the castle itself, but sealed it off into a world
of its own. She couldn’t kill her son, but she could not risk this
world’s safety. As long as he was breathing, even in his sleep
state, he was dangerous.”

“
But how did he get back to us
then?” Ever asked.

“
Bronkendol has engaged in deep
planning.” Garin began to gather the books and pile them on the
edge of the table, away from the maps. “And he is his mother’s son.
Obviously, her sleeping spell didn’t hold him. If he was able to
awaken after all these years, it only makes sense that he found a
way to tear the veil between worlds, as well. He would only have
need a single item in his palace that had been made in the old
world.”

“
But I still don’t understand why
he would want Isa,” Launce, interrupted.

“
Your sister,” Garin said in a
grave voice, “was granted more power than any other queen I have
ever seen. She simply doesn’t know it yet.” He paused. “It would
only make sense for Bronkendol to want to harness her
power.”

Ever said nothing, wishing with
all his might that Garin was right about her power, because if he
was, Isa might stand a chance of saving herself from this ancient
foe. But the dying flames that had barely lit her eyes haunted him.
Even if he found a way to reach her, would he be too
late?

“
So,” Garin looked at Ever, as
though reading his thoughts, “what are we going to do?”

“
We’re going to study these maps
more. I will also be sending out messenger birds to Lingea to ask
more about their priests that were attacked. Launce will return to
Cobren—”

“
I’m going nowhere except with
you.” Launce crossed his arms and straightened his
shoulders.

“
You will do as I say, return to
the Cobrien court, and send messenger birds to Garin about what
Rafael and Bronkendol are up to.”

“
You are not my owner!” Launce
exploded. “And I am not your dog to do your bidding! My sister is
gone! Who cares gives a husk about the Cobren court?”

“
I am your king, and you will do
as I say!” Ever thundered back, slamming his fist down on the
table. When he felt the wood crack, he knew he needed to calm down
before someone else got hurt, particularly the obstinate young man
before him. Taking a deep breath, Ever lowered his voice, closing
his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see the insolence on the Launce’s
face.

“
Rafael is the enchanter’s puppet.
I need to know what the enchanter wants with him. Saving Isa would
do no good if there were no home to bring her back to. Besides,” he
said more gently. “I believe there is one member of the court that
you would like not to see harmed. Watch over her while you’re
there. She needs someone she can turn to.”

Launce snorted. “As if I could
save her.”

“
Why do you think I spent so many
hours trying to teach you?” Ever felt exasperated. For once, would
the young man ever simply do as he asked? “Did you think I was
practicing with you just to make you angry?” The look Launce gave
him was answer enough, and Ever had to take a deep breath again.
They were past the time of pointless arguments.

“
Life with the Fortress is one of
possibility and danger,” Ever said. “Now, I have another reason I’m
sending you back if you’ll listen to me. Look closely at my eye.”
Ever leaned close to the young man, ignoring Launce’s look of
disgust. “Do you see this?”

Launce glanced down and up as
quickly as he could before shaking his head.

“
Look closer,” Ever demanded.
“There’s a rough spot, right in the corner.”

This time, Launce sighed, but did
as he was told. When his eyes grew bigger, Ever knew he had seen
it.

“
Are those...
splinters?”

“
Slivers of glass,” Ever said.
“Everyone who was in the stands that first day at the arena has
them.”

“
I don’t,” Launce said.

“
You weren’t in the arena when the
opening ceremonies began, as you took it upon yourself to hide in
the woods. But you were the only one. The other competitors have
them. All of my personal guards who were there with us have the
slivers also. Isa does, too, although I don’t think she’s aware of
it. When the enchanter rained down his bright show of glittering
glass that first day, they became lodged in everyone’s eyes.” Ever
looked at Garin, regret coloring his voice. “I tried to shield us,
but I was too late.”

“
And you can’t purge it?” Garin’s
voice was calm, but the look he gave Ever was too focused to be
genuine.

Ever shook his head. “I’ve tried,
repeatedly. But this power,” he faltered, not sure how to tell his
mentor and oldest friend how lost he really felt. “It’s like
nothing I’ve felt before.”

Turning back to Launce, Ever said,
“I don’t know what the enchanter is plotting, but since you are not
under his control, you are safer than any of us in that court. Now
please,” he said, wishing his request didn’t sound so much like
begging. “Go, so I can focus on saving your sister.”