Page 19 of To Steal the Sun

“You’re the princess?” he asked, and then slowly, as if struggling to remember, “Gwen, is it?”

Gwen’s heart contracted. Her mother would never have referred to her as Gwen to this foreign prince. To her mother she was Princess Gwendolyn. If Prince Henry knew her as Gwen, then he had heard her name from Charlotte. But how had he recognized her face?

“I see the castle did its job,” Queen Celandine entered the room with a satisfied smile. “My daughter is just as beautiful as her portrait, is she not?”

Her portrait? Gwen stared from her mother to the prince in dismay. Like the portrait of Charlotte and Henry that was hidden in her mother’s room? Charlotte’s description of Henry’s castle had sounded concerningly like a mirror for the mountain palace, but this news confirmed it. There had definitely been a link between the mountain queen and Charlotte’s home. A link that must have been anchored in the paired portrait that gave her mother a glimpse of Henry and his bride.

Gwen stuffed her hands in her pocket to hide that they were both fisted and trembling. Her mother had no shame and no limits. But she was fooling herself if she thought Henry and Gwen would ever be married.

Her right hand brushed against the apple, reminding her again of its existence. Curious, she wrapped her hand around it and waited to see if the queen still had the plaited cords in her pocket.

Instantly, she was hit with the same awareness as before. The queen’s object was still in the pocket where it had been before, still carried on her person. But if last time her awareness of it had been like meeting a new acquaintance, now it glowed with the warmth of an old friend.

If Gwen didn’t know better, she would have said her golden apple felt fondly toward the plaited cord that changed someone’s shape in order to bind them to the mountains. Gwen blinked. She had known the cord was a godmother object before, but the awareness of its purpose and ability was new.

Apparently her apple was more useful than she’d initially realized. If the queen had possessed it, she would have known the cord’s full purpose, and she would never have tried to use it to bind her people to her. Gwen’s hand tightened around the apple. If her mother saw it, she would want to possess it, just like she had collected those other objects in her display room.

“Gwendolyn,” the queen said in a low warning voice, and Gwen shook herself. She couldn’t afford to let her mind wander in front of her mother. She needed all her attention to try to match wits with the queen.

“I thought it was prudent for the two of you to meet before your wedding day,” the queen continued, “and clearly I was correct. Hopefully now you will be more cooperative.” She gave a satisfied smile, apparently having mistaken Henry’s surprise at the sight of Gwen for admiration. “As you can see, I am not attempting to offer you a bad bargain. My daughter is young and beautiful and has been raised as a proper princess. She is a suitable bride for the Arcadian heir.”

Henry’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the queen. Everything about him was tense, even the surreptitious glances he kept flicking at Gwen. Gwen didn’t make the same mistake as the queen, however. He wasn’t admiring her, Gwen could tell that much. Instead, she had the distinct impression he was barely restraining himself from asking her something.

“I will not and cannot marry your daughter,” Henry said in clear tones. “If you had stopped to listen to me previously, you would know it is impossible. I’m already married.”

Celandine made a dismissive sound and gesture. “Any previous ties are inconsequential. Of course you will marry Princess Gwendolyn.”

“Inconsequential?” Henry raised an eyebrow, not flinching in the face of the queen’s disdain. “I’ve spent the time I’ve been gone on research. I know the mountain kingdom was once connected to the Four Kingdoms and made treaties with them. Many generations ago, one of your ancestors closed off the mountain passes, and your kingdom has been all but forgotten. But some of the ancient records still remain, and they were reproduced for me by your handy bell.”

The queen’s face twisted at his mention of the bell, and he smiled slightly.

“I know that each kingdom agreed to honor contracts and marriages made in the other kingdoms. A marriage in the Four Kingdoms is a legal marriage in the mountain kingdom as well. I am already married and cannot marry your daughter.”

Gwen wanted to cheer, but to her dismay, a slow smile spread over the queen’s face.

“Officially registered marriages, certainly,” she said in sickly sweet tones. “But you were married in the valleys—you must have been since the confines of the enchantment prevented you from leaving the mountains’ foothills. So tell me, with which royal family has your marriage been registered?”

Henry’s face paled, and Gwen’s stomach turned in response.

The queen continued, her smile growing broader. “I assure you I have also not been idle in gathering information, and my teams have been visiting the valleys for years now. From what I understand, the valley officials only make the trek into Rangmere’s capital every couple of years. If you wish to play the game of law, I believe you’ll find that if a marriage is officially registered in the mountain kingdom earlier than it is officially registered in Rangmere, it is the Rangmeran marriage that will be deemed invalid.”

“It may not be on the Rangmeran registry yet,” Henry said in a dangerous voice, “but I was married according to valley tradition, and our names were duly recorded. I am already married, and I will not cast my wife aside and enter into another marriage.”

The queen’s smile dropped from her face, replaced with a dangerous glitter in her eyes.

“Then it seems we must seek a simpler solution. The validity of your first union will become irrelevant when your bride is dead. As a widower, there will be no bar in any kingdom to prevent you marrying the princess.”

Henry went still, not even breathing as he stared at the queen. His hands were fisted at his sides, and Gwen wondered how much control it was taking for him not to attack Celandine.

The silence stretched out until the queen smiled again. “I’m glad to hear you’ve finished your foolish protesting. We will now continue with our plans for the wedding.”

The queen continued to talk about the practical plans she had made for the ceremony, but Gwen barely heard her. She had resolved to stand up to her mother, and now was surely the time. Henry had attempted it and been silenced, so it was Gwen’s turn.

But her mind struggled to form the necessary words, her thoughts constantly derailed by the continued glances from Henry. He also didn’t appear to be listening to the queen, his whole focus on sending her a silent message unseen by the queen.

Gwen felt foolish and sluggish, unable to grasp what he was so desperately trying to communicate. She needed a moment alone with him, and she certainly wouldn’t get one if she picked that exact moment to enrage the queen.

Henry gave a soft sigh, and Gwen could sense her own frustration rolling off him. Before she could attempt her own silent communication, though, his demeanor abruptly changed.

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