It didn’t seem like a meaningless distinction to Dimitri. He still hadn’t recovered from the shock of learning the truth of his heritage. He had been hoping the inhabitants of her manor might give him more information, but there had been no inhabitants, no long-lost family to greet him. Now he had nothing to go on but what he could find in the library—the library plus the enormous tapestry in the entryway which showed a family tree and included his name at the bottom.
He had always known he had been born in Glandore, but it had seemed an abstract fact given he had no memories of the kingdom. Seeing his name on the wall, as solid and immutable as the names of long-dead ancestors, had made it real in a way it hadn’t been before.
But while he was now willing to acknowledge his origins, he couldn’t accept someone classifying him as a prince. His mother had been far from the line of succession, and royalty was a reality too far removed from his. But Rosalie didn’t seem like someoneobsessed with rank, titles, or status. If she was bothered about his royal blood, it was for a different reason.
“I read as much as I could find on the Legacies last night,” he said, guessing the Legacy was the source of her agitation. “So now I know why the Glandorian royal family is so large.”
Rosalie’s mouth twisted in impatience. “Yes, yes, the monarchs always have large families because they’re afraid of the Legacy. Risking being left with only one child would be dangerous.” Her expression soured even further. “Just like merchants usually havesmallfamilies.”
Dimitri winced. He still had a lot to learn about the Legacy, so he wasn’t sure what had upset her in his words.
“I’m still learning,” he said by way of apology. “I didn’t know anything about the Legacies until yesterday.”
Rosalie’s mouth fell open, her earlier distaste wiped clean. “That can’t possibly be true.”
He winced. Did she think he was lying? She seemed determined to think the worst of him at every turn.
“Perhaps it might help my situation if I explain that up until very recently I lived in the mountains,” he said.
“In the mountains?” Rosalie looked from him to Daphne. “Does anyone live in the mountains?”
He wasn’t sure why she was looking to her friend for clarification when he was the one raised there, but he waited for Daphne to confirm his words.
“I think I’ve heard something about a few mountain communities,” she said. “Some people flee the Legacies by leaving the kingdoms entirely. It’s supposed to be a hard life in the mountains, but some find the escape worth it.”
Dimitri nodded. It had been a hard life for many, although the community didn’t let anyone starve. But Dimitri had been shielded from that reality by his mother. She had taken enough valuables with her when she fled to establish the two of them,and she had worked tirelessly every day after to ensure Dimitri had time for study and training. Once he had grown old enough, he had often hunted for them because she deemed hunting to be training of a sort, but most of his time had been spent learning from a handful of their neighbors.
If someone in the community possessed knowledge or skills his mother deemed useful, she had been quick to negotiate deals with them, offering laundry or cooking or child minding in exchange for their tutoring Dimitri. Whenever he had protested that she worked too hard, she had insisted that he could repay her by working equally hard at his study.
He had enjoyed learning to use a sword and bow, but while his other studies had been interesting, he had never understood why his mother thought he needed to know commerce, economics, mathematics, etiquette, or estate management. Such skills were of little use in the mountains.
Of course, it had all made sense after her death when he went through her papers. She had done her best to give him the same education she herself had received. And although she had always talked of Glandore with fear and distrust, he couldn’t help but think her education was a tacit endorsement of the path he had chosen. She had educated him for his true status, so surely she had meant him to reclaim it?
“No one talks about the Legacies in the mountains,” he said aloud, “but now that I’ve read about them, a lot of things make sense that didn’t before. The Legacies might not be openly discussed, but they’re still there, hidden in the cracks of every conversation.”
Rosalie regarded him with a creased brow. She didn’t seem to have softened, exactly, but at least confusion and uncertainty had replaced the outright condemnation in her eyes.
“So you were born in the mountains?” she asked.
He shook his head. “My mother left her home and moved there when I was very small. I don’t remember it, but I was born in Glandore.”
Her brow cleared slightly. “No wonder you wanted to return, then. Was it very uncomfortable being away so long? Daphne’s parents could only bear it for ten years, and you were gone for twenty.”
“Uncomfortable?” He frowned. “I saw a mention of Legacies tying people to their birth kingdom, but I didn’t really understand that part. I never noticed any discomfort.”
“I suppose it’s hard to document because it’s different for everyone,” Daphne said softly. “Part of it is the heart and emotions. Most people have no desire to leave. If they want to travel or move from their place of birth, they do so within the bounds of their own kingdom. But for those who do leave, the discomfort shows up differently for each person, so it would be impossible to make a comprehensive list.”
“Daphne experiences the effects of the Legacy more strongly while in Glandore than she did back in Oakden,” Rosalie added. “That’s how moving affected her. Are you sure you didn’t feel anything in the mountains? Nothing at all? I’ve never heard of someone not being affected.”
Dimitri frowned, searching his memory for any forgotten pain or unusual happenings. He finally shrugged.
“I’ll admit it’s been more pleasant to return than I expected. I feel as if I could run for hours. The air here is so clear.”
Rosalie’s eyebrows rose. “More clear than in the mountains? But everyone always speaks of the high quality of mountain air.”
Dimitri gave an apologetic smile. “I’m explaining it badly. It’s not the air, exactly. I just feel so…” He trailed off, his eyes widening.
Rosalie leaned toward him, although he suspected she didn’t realize she was doing it. Her eyes were fixed on his face. “Feel so what?” she pressed.