Blinding Beauty (41 page)

“
So where do Olivia and I come in?
And what about Everard?”

The enchanter blew out a breath
and ran his hand through his curly silver hair. “I am sorry about
your brother-in-law, truly. I hadn’t expected him to go like
that...”

“
To be frank, I don’t believe that
he’s dead. But even if he wasn’t, you would still be scheming about
his death somehow,” Launce spat.

“
If he was willing to be a part of
this, then by all means, I wanted him to remain! But when it became
clear that he was dead set on keeping her away from me—”

“
So you do aim to kill
him.”

For the first time, Bronkendol’s
face darkened, and a flicker of purple flashed in his
eyes.

“
Before you go any further, do
remember what happened the last time your brother-in-law lost
someone that was dear to him.”

It pained Launce, but he had
nothing to reply with. It was true. Ever had been the one to plunge
the Fortress into darkness after he’d lost his father.

The enchanter spoke again, but
this time his voice was more sympathetic. “I wasn’t expecting your
sister to be so sick when I first met her. I have tried to help her
in the best way I know how.”

“
I still don’t see what Olivia and
I have to do with all of this. We have no powers, and I’m the last
person anyone would want as king, including myself.”

“
But that is what’s so perfect
about you. There are too many old bloods in the royal lines. I have
searched far and wide throughout the lands, but when you spoke to
me that first day in the stables, I knew I had to have you. You
will make a good king because you are kind, and you have more
common sense than the rest of these prigs put together.”

He waved his hand at the rest of
the camp that lay behind them. “The princess is young, and has a
fire in her spirit.” He paused. “I assume you’ve noticed that
neither of you have the glass slivers.”

Launce hadn’t planned on
discussing what he knew of the glass, but he reluctantly agreed.
The enchanter put his tea on the tray and leaned towards
him.

“
As much as I know, and as well as
I can advise you, I am still aware that it would be unwise to keep
everyone under my influence.” So he was intending to put the glass
in even more people.

“
You are of a kind heart and sound
mind,” Bronkendol continued. “I want you to be free.”

“
And if I don’t
accept?”

The enchanter’s face grew
hard.

“
Then I suppose one of you shall
not remain free after all.”

It was all Launce could do not to
shout every vile word he knew at the man before him. Before he
could say anything, however, the ground began to shake. Launce was
knocked off balance, and landed hard on his right side, while
Bronkendol dove to catch the mirror. Screams rose from the camp,
along with the sounds of objects crashing to the ground. And just
as he had known the feeling of Isa’s power when he felt it, Launce
now recognized none other than the power of the Fortress
itself.

The earth continued to tremble as
Launce watched Bronkendol cradle the mirror, and suddenly, he knew
what to do. Getting on all fours, Launce crawled as best he could
over to the enchanter. Bronkendol protested as Launce pried the
wooden frame from his hands. With all his might, he threw the
mirror to the ground. The shatter was satisfying, as was the look
of injured betrayal on the enchanter’s face. Launce wanted to skip
with joy, but the earth still quaked so hard that he couldn’t get
off the ground.

Finally, the shaking stopped.
Launce stood unevenly, but the enchanter remained on the ground,
holding shattered pieces in his hands, looking stunned.

“
Why would you do
that?”

“
We crossed over into Destin’s
lands just before we set up camp. That was the Fortress, telling
you that are not welcome here. Nor are your schemes.” With that,
Launce turned sharply and marched out of the tent.

“
Launce!” Bronkendol called out
behind him. “Remember what I said about the glass. Do not force my
hand!” But Launce didn’t answer.

CHAPTER
FORTY-ONE

Honestly

“
Launce.”
Launce looked up from the rock he was sitting on to see Olivia
approaching. As usual, her guard followed close behind, but this
time, he also carried her supper tray as well. “May I join you?”
Launce scrambled to his feet to fetch a cushion for her. When they
were both seated again in front of the tent, she spoke, but her
voice was so low he could barely hear it.

“
I saw what you did with the
mirror.”

“
I think he’s been using it to
travel.”

“
He does. I saw him once, shortly
after he came to our kingdom.” She set her spoon down and squeezed
his knee. “You have to be more careful! He fixed the mirror, but my
father is furious. He says you might have derailed the Maker’s
plans. There are dozens of young men still vying for your place,
and the moment this strange enchantment ends, they’re going to be
at your throat.” She went back to eating. “Thankfully, the holy man
likes you for some reason.”

Launce rolled his eyes.
“Bronkendol is no holy man. And He’s deluded himself into thinking
I actually want to be his puppet king.”

“
Am I so grim a future to be stuck
with?” In the dying light of the red sun, tears suddenly glistened
in her eyes. “So you were telling the truth back in the courtyard.”
Before he could explain, she handed her tray to her guard and stood
to go.

As he watched her, Launce decided
that he was possibly the dullest suitor ever to walk the face of
the earth.

“
Wait!” He bounded after her. She
scowled at him, but allowed Launce to take her hand and drag her to
the edge of the camp. Her two guards followed closely behind.
Launce didn’t stop until they had reached the edge of the first
sandstone rise that stood as a sentry outside the red
gorge.

Launce had the urge to climb up
the little foothill and never come down. He could imagine seeing
the entire country for miles. On one side lay the gently winding
hills that led to the sea. They were covered in the yellow remnants
of aged grass. On the other side stood the gorge. The sandstone was
easy to climb. It felt nearly sticky to the touch, and yet
wonderfully dry. But the red stone only went up so high, because
right behind it was the mountain that held the Fortress.

Olivia instructed the guards to
wait on the ground while she and Launce went up just a bit higher.
The two men exchanged nervous glances, but she huffed, “You will be
able to see us the entire time. I simply don’t wish for you to be
right on top of me.”

Once they had gone high enough to
sit above all the tents in the valley, they stopped. Olivia plopped
down and arranged her skirts while Launce hovered awkwardly, unsure
of how close she really wanted him. This was not a conversation he
was ready for yet, but the only way to stop the prolonged pain, he
decided, would be by getting it all over with at once.

“
I’m going to be honest with you,”
Launce said.

“
That would be nice.” She glowered
up at him.

Launce took a big breath. “I
hadn’t planned on even entering the contest until we arrived at
your home. Once we were there, Everard could sense that something
was wrong. So he convinced me to join the competition, simply so I
could tell him what was going on in the stables. I never expected
to win.” He sat down a few feet from her and let his head drop
between his knees.

“
No one forced you to win.” Launce
could hear the resentment still in her voice. “What do you want,
Launce? You don’t seem to want me or my way of life, and yet you
continue to seek me out. It’s quite vexing. Actually,” she said,
“I’m not quite sure that you know what you want.”

“
I couldn’t agree more,” Launce
scoffed, then paused. “My old sweetheart’s father made it clear
that he wanted her to have nothing to do with me after Isa and
Everard married. I’m not common enough for the commoners anymore,
but I have no place in courtly matters either.” Launce prayed for
her to understand. “I’m a man of two worlds now, and neither I nor
the world knows to which one I belong.”

The anger melted from Olivia’s
face just a bit, but Launce hated that she still looked sad. He
hadn’t wanted to bring up his former girl, but if they were being
honest, she needed to know everything. “I swear,” he scooted just a
bit closer. “I never expected to love you.”

“
Love me?” Olivia’s voice
quivered.

Launce faltered. He hadn’t meant
to use that word. It had simply come out. And yet, as his father
always said, if it escaped the mouth, it had to have been hiding
inside of him somewhere. Launce spoke slowly this time, trying to
choose his words with more care. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I’ve
only known you for a few days. But,” he caught her hand and held
it, even when she tried to pull it away, silently begging her to
look at him again. “If not yet, I will be soon if you keep dragging
me around like this.”

Olivia almost smiled, her lovely
skin the color of brown sugar in the fading light of
dusk.

“
Do you love me?” he pressed.
“Because a girl of your sensibility seems far too intelligent for
that.”

This time, Olivia laughed
outright. “I suppose I don’t know yet either.” Then she sighed, all
traces of laughter gone as she looked out at the multitude of
campfires dotting the valley below. “All my life, I’ve been trained
in what to say and told how to dress. And when my father told me we
were choosing my husband through a contest, I was expected to go
willingly.” She shuddered delicately. “Until I saw who was
competing for my hand. Many of them were older than my father, and
most of those that weren’t were vulgar, dim witted, or desirous
only of my father’s lands.

“
But you,” she said, finally
meeting his gaze again. “You saw me.” Then she frowned. “If you
entered the contest, how could you expect not to win?”

Launce snorted. “Were you paying
heed to any of the games? I couldn’t win a duel if my opponent
begged me to run him through.” Launce stood again and walked a few
steps higher. He knew he was making their guards jumpy, but he
didn’t care.

“
I was only able to speak with
your sister once,” Olivia said softly, “but I liked her right away.
She seems kind.”

“
That she is,” Lance said. “So now
you know the truth. All of this began because I wanted to take care
of her. But there’s more now, whether I’m ready for it or not.” He
looked down at the girl. “I want to take care of you, too. I may be
a commoner, but I know a good woman when I see one.”

“
No one has ever called me that
before... a woman.”

Launce wasn’t sure, but he thought
he could hear a smile in her voice. A foolish sense of joy wriggled
through him as he listened, but all too soon it was chased away by
the sense of danger he had felt before.

“
Your Highness,” one of the guards
called up. “It is growing dark. Your mother wishes for you to
return to your tent soon.”

“
There is something that you must
know, regardless of whether you decide to love me or not.” He
crouched before her and took her hands in his. “That earthquake
earlier today? That was no accident. I have been in and around the
Fortress enough to know its power when I feel it. And that
earthquake was a warning. If we accept the thrones once we arrive
at the Fortress itself, I have no doubt that we will
die.”

“
And how do you know that?” Her
voice was suddenly small.

“
Only the Fortress chooses its
heirs, and to assume we know better than the Maker who placed it
there is nothing less than treason.” He gripped her hands even more
tightly. “At all costs, we must prevent them from placing anyone on
those thrones.”

“
How do we do that? How do we stop
an entire army that’s under Bronkendol’s command?”

Launce grinned in the dark. Never
had he liked the Fortress steward more.

“
That’s what Garin is
for.”

CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO

Vengeance

It was
tempting to push his horse even faster through the icy pass. But
deep down, Ever knew that would be unwise. Using the stolen robe he
had followed Isa’s original trail to reach what he thought felt
like a different realm, although there was no way to tell for sure.
Isa’s original passage from the Glass Castle to the Fortress was
thin, but still present. Like the scent of another man’s house, the
string of power was similar to that of the Fortress, but was just
different enough to stand out against the cold winds that burned
his nose.

Ever had traveled the continent
with his father numerous times even as a boy, but he’d never even
considered that there could be other realms aside from his own. And
yet, occupying the same lands that should have been Lingea,
Destin’s northern neighbor, the familiar territory was nowhere to
be found. Instead of the fields of lavender, Ever and his horse
were now braving beautiful, dangerous, jagged mountains that
stretched for miles and miles, packed with snow that looked as
though it had never melted.