Page 8 of Bounty Hunter

I smile wider than I want to, but I truly do welcome her presence. “Not at all. I have no meetings.”

It’s become common for us to spend occasional afternoons together when we are free from our regular responsibilities and meetings. Me, focused on the workings of my kingdom that only I can oversee, her supervising Originator rotations for patrols, reading a book, or writing letters. I take a seat behind my desk and watch with a smile as she sets aside decorum and curls her feet beneath her skirts, getting comfortable against theside of the sitting couch and opening a book she pulls from her fancy bag. I return to my work.

Today, I am reviewing the ledgers that our master of the treasury has submitted for my final review. I work through the numbers, not taking a break until my eyes burn. I look up when I hear a giggle from Nadiette on the couch. She’s still immersed in her book, but I appreciate the companionship of one of my closest friends. Seems to make the tedious work lighter. I hear a knock at the door, and a guard looks in.

“Jethonan is here to see you, my lord.”

It’s not unusual for Jethonan to visit—heismy second in command in regard to the workings of the kingdom. I simply nod, and the door is opened wider for Jethonan as he walks through, straight to my desk with two thick books in his arms. I’m pleased to see that there are no burn holes through his robes this afternoon. Hopefully, that means he’s given up on the healing potion concoction.

“My lord, I’ve found…”

As he passes her in a rush, Nadiette looks up from her book with a smile. “Jethonan. Good afternoon.”

He startles slightly, pausing halfway to putting his books on my desk. When he realizes she’s there, he gathers them back in his arms and stands, a fleeting look of concern crossing his face.

“I missed you in my hurry to speak with the king, forgive me.” He bows slightly before he returns his attention to me.

“A word in private, Your Majesty?”

I nod. “Of course.”

Nadiette places her feet back to the floor and slips her book back into her bag before standing gracefully. The layers of her gown slide perfectly back into place, and she glides across the floor.

“I’m meeting with my Originators soon anyway, so I’ll leavethe two of you to your meeting.” Then her gaze meets mine. “Tomorrow, Ikar?” Her eyes glint with a flirtatious eagerness.

“Yes, I’ll meet you at the stables.”

“Wonderful.” She smiles and slips from the room, leaving Jethonan and I alone.

I wait until the door clicks closed and get straight to the point. I feel the thump of my heart grow hard with anxiety. “What have you found?”

He proceeds to set the books on my desk with a heavythump. “I’ve found the conductor.” I can hear the excitement thrumming in his voice. He slides the first book off the one beneath and flips it open.

He uses magic to find the correct page, and the pages whir by, creating a slight breeze before my face. The fact that he has enough power to pull magic for a task of convenience shows how powerful he really is. Most people are forced to carefully preserve their magic these days.

“Here it is.” He taps a page filled with an artfully drawn flower. I’m not one to know the names of plants and flowers, but it looks like a tulip. A deep purple tulip, mid-bloom, almost black in color.

“A… purple flower… is our conductor?”

“It may look like a simple purple flower, but this is aBlack Tulip.”

I tilt my head and inspect it a little further. I can see how the name fits, I guess. The purple is so deep that in parts it does appear black. I’m still not sure why the name of this flower matters so much, and I’d rather get to the point.

“What do we do with the flower?” My mind is already spinning plans to get a search party together. Should be easy enough.

“I’m not finished yet.” He flips a page with a snap. “Look at this.”

This one depicts a woman dressed in a beautiful black gown. Both her hands are outstretched, in one hovers an orb of shining white light, which I assume is lucent magic. In the other rests a small white bird holding a black tulip in its beak. I have no idea how to interpret it. The book itself is written in the old language, and while I know some, I don’t know enough to read the page in a reasonable amount of time. I’m growing frustrated with Jethonan’s dramatic style of sharing the much awaited information.

“Get to the point,” I growl.

“This is the point, my lord.” He taps the picture. “You need a woman marked with a black tulip.” His eyes are wide with excitement. “Theyare the conductors, the recyclers, the powerhouses, whatever you want to call them.”

Pieces begin to come together, and I wonder now if the women he’s talking about are the same that my father and his before him warned us away from. If it was anyone but Jethonan, I’d have slammed the book shut and sent them away. But I trust him, and my kingdom is in such dire straits I force myself to stay silent and listen, instead of argue.

“According to these books, Black Tulips have the unique ability to bridge their magic with a king, which then connects them directly to the magic of the kingdom. Doing so allows their magic to provide an astronomical amount of lucent for your people and reduces the gloam, throughyourbond to your kingdom. It offers protection and improves… everything, it seems. In fact, through the immense power of his Tulip wife, your grandfather four hundred years ago was able to magically banish and imprison his brother who attempted to take the throne. Can you imagine that sort of power?” His eyes are bright with excitement.

My hope plummets. “What is their official name?” I ask, but I already know. So much for my search party plan to find a simple flower. Of course it’s not that simple, and if I’m right, there will be no search party at all.

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