The Firethorn Crown (7 page)

“This is rot!” Melantha jumped up. “How do we know anything you’re saying is true? This place is full of illusions and lies. You could be the biggest one of all.”

“Mel,” Lily said, her tone a warning. They didn’t need to anger a sorcerer. The man had just spun silver and diamonds from spiderwebs and dew, and he conjured eleven more from nothing. If he considered that to be power of no consequence, she feared the power that had placed the curse on him, that she had exposed the girls to. That he could go up against such power at all frightened her. She couldn’t let a sorcerer onto the throne of Ituria, even one such as Prince Tharius.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I have never known a life without sorcery. This must seem as strange to you as the sun and moon would be to me.”

“I want to go home,” Ivy whispered.

Lily squeezed her hand.

“One more dance,” Prince Tharius said.

She stood, holding onto Ivy. “I want to get my sisters home.”

“Perhaps you would prefer a stroll through the gardens, or a tour of the castle.” He gestured to the icy black structure just visible through a cluster of laurels.

“You don’t want us to go,” Melantha said. “If we’re free, then what’s stopping us from walking out of here right now?”

“Of course I don’t want you to go. I’ve been trapped here all my life with my father’s aging followers and imaginary people who look right through me.” His voice grew louder. “Do you think I’m looking forward to seeing all of you disappear through the archway that I cannot pass? I could have kept you here with me, forced your sister’s hand, and marched out of this dungeon tonight.”

Melantha huffed. She’d seen the pendant appear around her neck, but she still didn’t respect the power behind it. “Then why didn’t you?”

“My reasons are my own.” He held out his arm to Lily. “The pendants will allow you to leave when your time here is up.”

Lily let him guide her to the dance floor. “One more dance.”

Except for Hazel and Ivy, the other girls joined them, the candles blazing like the noon sun after the dimness of the gazebo. Despite his plea for conversation, Prince Tharius contented himself with studying her face and toying with her loose hair. Weary, footsore and heartsick, she made no attempt to draw him out.

The dance ended, and he led them on a gently curving path back to the archway. Standing on the cool stones with Prince Tharius by her side, she watched the girls’ gowns transform back into their own clothes.

“You will be careful not to let anyone else become entangled in this curse, will you not? Keep them safe from this place.”

“Of course.”

“You will return tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“The time doesn’t matter, as long as it’s before midnight.”

“Okay.”

He kissed her fingers and let her go.

She joined her sisters. Several bounced on their feet and tugged at her in their eagerness to get home. She studied the archway and the prince on the other side. “How will we get back without causing suspicion?” she wondered aloud.

Prince Tharius grinned. “I suggest you to return the way you came.” He turned and disappeared into the gloom.

That
didn’t help.

Chapter Seven

L
ily and the girls trudged up the stairs behind Melantha, holding hands again, an illusion of safety in the gloom. She was grateful for the time it took to reach the maze. Time to adjust to the silence.

The mirror had vanished, along with the moon, when they emerged into the clear air, but this darkness was not oppressive. After the muted and distorted colors below ground, the palace gardens gleamed in the starlight. The girls separated into twos and threes, hurrying along the lamp-lit paths. On such a fair night, there might be a few people lingering in the intimacy of the shadows.

Rustling sounded moments before a guard appeared around a hedge. Riva.

“I’ve found them!”

Two more guards joined her.

“Ladies,” she said with a pointed look. “We’re to escort you to the king’s study.”

Of course they were. This wasn’t going to be easy, no matter what. Lily wished she’d had time to think of a plan. And then what? She had no way to tell the girls if she came up with any ideas. Which she hadn’t.

Another guard rounded the corner. Eben. He sagged in relief and counted the girls visually before locking his eyes on her.

Lily squeezed Gwen’s arm.

“Riva,” Gwen said. “Please inform Mother that we’re headed to our room. I’m sure whatever it is can wait until morning.”

“With respect,” Riva said, arms folded now, “It’s near midnight, which is near morning, and Her Majesty sent for you two hours ago.”

They’d been gone that long?

Lily squared her shoulders and led the girls past Riva and the guards.

Eben rubbed his jaw, his brows drawn low. He had good reason to be confused. She and the girls had never gone missing, not all at once. She ran her fingers along the back of her neck, the sting from the chain almost gone. If only she could make everything else disappear so easily.

The guards fell into step behind them. She saw no one else on the way.

Mother greeted them with silence, her back straight as she watched the sleeping city. After a few minutes of silence, she turned puffy eyes on her daughters. Lily tugged at her pendant, regretting her words from earlier. She wished she could apologize right now.

Mother spoke to Lily in a flat tone. “Would you care to explain yourself?”

The girls answered for her immediately.

“We were taking a walk.”

“Exploring the gardens.”

“Lord Runson wouldn’t leave Lily alone,” Ruby elaborated, “so, we hid from him in the maze.”

Mother studied each girl’s face in turn, searching for lies in their words. She wouldn’t find any. They’d told the truth, even if they had omitted part of the story.

Mother approached as far as Father’s desk, searching for truth in their appearance. Lily’s hair tumbled in a knotted mess down her back, and Neylan had flowers from the undergarden tucked into her braids—the feather had disappeared. Nothing outlandish, but a sign of some sort of adventure.

Surprisingly, Mother made no comment about the most obvious evidence: tattered slippers peeking from beneath their dresses.

“Lord Runson approached me over two hours ago.” She addressed Lily. “He was concerned that you didn’t meet him in the gardens after supper as you had planned.”

Lily huffed loudly. Runson had a lot of nerve to lie to his queen.

“Meet him!” Melantha scoffed. “Why would she do that?”

Coral choked back a laugh.

Mother frowned and rubbed her temples. “You did not arrange to meet Lord Runson in the gardens?”

Lily shook her head, and tears stung her eyes. All she wanted right now was her bed, with Gwen curled up in a ball at her back. Ivy’s small hand slid into hers.

“Then, where have you been?”

She shrugged.

Mother closed her eyes, a sign she was near the end of her patience.

“It’s been a long day,” Gwen said. “We’re tired. Please, may we talk more tomorrow?”

Mother didn’t answer right away, no doubt drawing conclusions about their evasiveness. When she opened her eyes, she pinned Lily with her gaze. “You have acted selfishly today instead of facing Lord Runson and telling him plainly how you feel.”

Lily studied the carpet. Black-and-gold wool from Sotan pillowed her poor feet. Father had good taste in carpets. And Mother was right. She didn’t want to face Runson.

“Convincing your sisters to join in on your game is childish. If you have issues with me, with Lord Runson, or with anyone else, your father and I expect you to face them head on.”

If only she could.

“And what are these necklaces you’re all wearing? You didn’t have them at supper.”

The girls exchanged sideways glances until Coral spoke up. “They’re from an admirer.”

“An admirer.” Gifts from admirers always peaked Mother’s interest. “Who?”

Coral shrugged, as if she didn’t know. “We can’t say. They’re pretty, and it’s nice to have something matching.” She fingered the glittering jewel and tried to get a glimpse of it as Melantha had earlier, but she had no luck. She dropped it, shrugged again, and smiled.

Mother looked disappointed, but let it go and addressed Lily one last time. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Lily shook her head. Whatever she did now, Mother would consider it disrespectful.

“Mother,” Junia spoke up. “Lily had a fall in the maze.”

Mother’s gaze sharpened. “I thought as much this afternoon. Have you seen a healer?”

If Mother would stop addressing her, this would be easier. How could she keep silent if people kept talking to her?

“No need for that,” Junia said. “I’ll give her some powders in our room.”

Mother looked like she could use some powders, too. “Goodnight, then. I expect you to be on your best behavior tomorrow.” She held out the bowl of peppermints. “And stay away from the maze, until further notice.”

The girls accepted the offering, exiting in a chorus of, “Yes, Mother,” and “Goodnight, Mother.” Lily took a peppermint, wishing she could erase Mother’s sadness and take back her unkind words from earlier.

Eben waited in the hall, a dozen questions in his eyes. She didn’t strictly need an escort with the girls present, but he fell into step with her and Gwen as they set a brisk pace to the safety of their tower.

“What happened back there?”

She tried and failed to keep her eyes straight ahead. Her shoulders drooped. How could she do this? She didn’t want to hurt him, and he was the last person she wanted to push away.

“Are you all right?”

She nodded and put her hand to her head, hoping he would understand that she had a headache.

His brows drew down, and his jaw tensed.

She took a deep breath and let it out, avoiding his gaze. Slowing, she let the girls catch up with her. They enveloped her in their midst and swept her down the hall.

Eben’s step faltered. He glanced at her over Wren’s small shoulders, turned, and walked away. His back was straight, his stride purposeful. A royal guard. A confused friend.

*

Lily awoke to walls blushed in the morning sun. How dare they look so cheerful. Azure sat on the floor, unlacing her boots after her run at the training field. Lily kicked Gwen awake, payback for last night, and made her way to their ground-floor bathing room.

She counted the stairs on the climb back. Twenty-five to the sitting room. Twenty-three to the bedroom. Far fewer than in the tunnel. She crossed into the dressing room, the other half of the top floor. Three wardrobes along the dividing wall, three dressing tables against curved stone, three benches scattered across the floor. Even three windows.

The middle offered the best view of the gardens in the distance and the green lawn down below. So far down. Melantha had dropped a bucket of water on Eben once from the window, but he’d dodged it easily. Prince Tharius’s realm was buried even farther down under the ground.

“Breakfast.” Junia brought in a tray laden with pastries and fruit, followed by Coral carrying tea. The other girls trickled into the room.

“Food in the dressing room?” Hazel shook out her gown from yesterday. The maids hadn’t needed to tidy it up.

“We don’t want to keep Mother waiting.” Azure bit into a flaky, cherry pastry, making a show of scattering crumbs generously on her dressing gown.

Mara dusted her off. “Don’t be a slob.”

Azure grinned, cherry staining her teeth, and skipped around the room.

Lily sat on one of the padded benches and motioned Mara over to do her hair. Ivy sat next to her and took her hand.

“Something simple, I think.” Mara grabbed a brush and worked at the tangles.

Elaborate styles never stayed put in her fine hair, especially when she ran around in mazes and danced in underground kingdoms with intriguing sorcerer-princes.

The other girls crowded around two of the three dressing tables positioned between the windows, accustomed to making do with their limited furniture. Except for Azure, who continued to skip, and Melantha, who lay across Lily’s feet studying her map of the Weaver’s Maze. Lily found their nearness comforting, and she suspected the other girls felt the same way.

Gwen cleared her throat, interrupting the girls’ quiet chatter. “We need to discuss . . . things.”

“How?” Wren asked. “We’re not supposed to talk about . . . things.”

“We can figure out what to do with Lily.”

Hazel finished a complicated twist in her own hair and turned around. “What to
do
with her?”

“She needs to get out of the castle.”

“No, she needs to stay in our rooms,” Hazel said.

“She’s not sick. Mother would get suspicious.”

Melantha snorted, and Gwen glared in her direction, unable to see her past the girls on the bench.

“The fewer people she’s around, the better,” Gwen said, and most of the girls muttered their support.

Lily nodded, and the brush snagged, earning her a tap on the head from Mara.

“It should be a long-term plan.” Neylan sat at the edge of the bench working on Ivy’s hair. “We don’t know how long it will take to break the—” She coughed. The room stilled as she took a breath and finished her thought slowly, testing each word. “—you . . . know . . . what.”

No one spoke for two minutes, at least, after this small show of the pendants’ power.

Coral finally asked, “What do you mean break it? Lily would have to—”

Neylan interrupted before Coral said something she shouldn’t. “Mother would never allow any of us to marry a sorcerer, even if he had ten brothers. And neither would Father.”

Lily wouldn’t allow it, either.

“That’s what I was going to say,” Coral said with a huff. “We’re stuck.”

“Not necessarily.” Neylan said. Thankfully, she didn’t have Prince Tharius’s flair for dramatic pauses. “These things are tricky, but there’s always a way out. I’ve just never heard of getting tangled up in someone else’s . . . you know.”

Prince Tharius’s curse. What did Neylan, or any of them, know of curses?

“How do you know?” Coral said suspiciously.

Ivy lowered her eyes.

Neylan shrugged. “Even Yarrow can be persuaded to talk sometimes.”

Lily wasn’t surprised that Neylan had wheedled information out of him. Most people didn’t bother the man with the tattoo, which suited him, and Ivy, just fine. She might be concerned about why Neylan was interested in sorcery, but Neylan was curious about everything.

“So, maybe we can break it, maybe not.” Melantha spoke without looking from her map. “We talk to Yarrow when he gets back, somehow, but what do we do with Lily in the meantime?” She patted Lily’s foot to acknowledge her.

“Maybe she could go with you to the kennels,” Gwen said. Melantha had been helping train a litter of hounds recently.

“The kennels?” Mara gave Lily the brush. “With the puppies? She’d be getting married tonight.”

Lily turned and her hair slipped from Mara’s hands. Did they think her that weak? She wasn’t going to be undone by a bunch of dogs.

“No offense,” Mara took a handful of hair, forcing her head back around, and started braiding, “But it’s puppies.”

“Well, she can’t go with you to the kitchens,” Gwen said, obviously irritated that her first idea hadn’t been accepted. “Those ladies wouldn’t let her alone, until they got her talking.”

“There’s already so much noise down there that one quiet girl taking orders wouldn’t be noticed.”

“Maybe not, but one quiet
princess
would be.”

Mara stilled for a moment. “Point taken.” She clamped on a heavy silver band to secure the end of the braid, and then let the finished plait fall with a thump onto Lily’s back. “Sorry!”

“No!” Azure dove for Lily, tripped on Melantha, and ended up in Lily’s lap with her hand clamped firmly over her sister’s mouth.

Lily pressed her hands over Azure’s, and they stared at each other, both breathing heavily. She had been about to speak. To Mara. About nothing. She wasn’t going to be undone by a handful of dogs, she was going to be undone by herself.

“Don’t you see?” Neylan whispered. “She doesn’t need us.”

Yes, she did. She needed them so badly.

“She’ll fall into old habits around us. We’re her weakness. She needs a new routine, new people. Not many, but one or two who can accept her as she is now.”

Lily swiped away tears of frustration. She didn’t like feeling useless. All she had to do was sit there and keep her mouth shut, keep them safe, and she couldn’t even do that.

“Neylan is right,” Junia spoke up.

Gwen stood. “We can’t just abandon her.”

“It’s about letting her stand on her own,” Junia said. “She’s going to be queen one day. She can
do
this.”

At least somebody had faith in her.

“We’ll do what we can to help,” Neylan said.

“Like keeping her suitors away?” Hazel asked.

Oh, no. Lord Runson. She could barely avoid him now, and at least a half dozen others wanted her attention during their visit for the Dragon Festival.

“I think you have one of those already taken care of.” Coral smirked at Hazel.

“Taken care of?” Hazel asked with a frown, but no one stated the obvious.

“The goose boy!” Azure bounced, her hand still on Lily’s mouth. Lily wrapped her arms around the girl to keep her teeth from rattling.