Page 29 of Till Kingdom Come

“Which part?” I replied and he frowned.

“Have you agreed to marry my son?” Each syllable snapped sharply from his mouth like an icicle breaking.

“I wasn’t aware I had much choice.”

“He agrees,” Bracca said, ignoring me.

The king glanced over at Bracca and then back at me. “Very well then. I’ll make the announcement.”

I stood up abruptly on trembling knees, putting down my napkin carefully. “Now that’s settled, I believe I’ll go back to my room and rest for a while. I find I’m still very tired, and I don’t have much appetite. I’ll have the servants bring me a tray later if I get hungry.”

“No, you won’t,” Bracca said. “Sit down.” His tone wasn’t quite as cold as his father’s, but it was chilling, nonetheless.

“I hope you’ll excuse me instead, Bracca. I think I need some time alone. Please—you stay here with your father and your friends. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about. Allow me to go to my room.”

“I’d prefer it if you stayed.”

“But I’d rather not.”

Larek spoke up. “Oh, let him go, Bracca. He doesn’t need to be here for our meeting.”

Bracca stared at me and then made a dismissive, disgusted gesture, waving me off. “Go on then. Suit yourself.”

I gave a short bow to the king. It was as little as I dared. “Your Majesty” I said, not disrespecting him as he’d done me. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the ceremony.”

I didn’t wait for an answer but turned on my heel and began making my way toward the door, leaving the hall silent behind me. I could practically feel the coldness surging toward me from behind to envelop me, and I could have sworn I felt a wave of anger and outrage coming directly from King Larek.

He had expected a weak human boy. One he could mold into whatever he wanted me to be, but I think I hadn’t fit his expectations entirely. I made myself keep walking down that long, glittering room to reach the door, hoping my legs wouldn’t be visibly trembling when I finally reached it, and the guards swung it wide to swallow me whole.

****

Bracca didn’t come to my room anymore that night. I thought he’d come by to berate me, but he never showed up at all, and I wondered if he’d spent the night with the lovely Fairy woman, Fiona. The one who was ready to do her duty for the king and marry me. I wondered how she expected to sleep with me and still have Bracca. Did she want us both in her bed? The idea made jealousy burn through me, as I supposed it was meant to. One day I’d like to make Fiona burn with the same feeling if I could. Bracca too, for that matter.

The servants brought me food, and I ate alone in front of the fireplace. I wondered if Bracca was punishing me by not coming by, after my little performance of the evening before. Since I had nothing better to do after I ate, I spent the morning brooding and staring out the window. From this vantage point, I could see a small piece of the ocean far below. It was a dark, stormy patch of gray, churning with whitecaps. Could my mother possibly be one of the creatures who made their home in that sea? Could that be how she met my father?

I’d thought of her as dead for so long, but what if shewerestill alive? If she were Fae, she would be immortal, after all. I’d have liked to see her again, if that were possible, though I didn’t know why. She obviously hadn’t cared all that much about me.

After another meal at midday spent alone, with no word at all from the man who said he was marrying me that evening, I decided I needed to get some fresh air.

I pulled on the heaviest of my fur coats—this one was gorgeous black ermine, with a matching hat, scarf and gloves. These items had just appeared in my wardrobe, along with all the other clothing. I already had on my fur-lined boots, so I was ready as I could ever be for the terrible cold outside, I went out in the corridor, found the stairs and began climbing up.

I’d seen the parapet that went around the top of the castle as we rode in a couple of nights before, and I thought there must surely be a walkway along the ramparts. I thought it might have good views of the sea. I wanted to find out, anyway.

I kept climbing upward until I reached one of the round turret towers on the corners of the castle, and to my surprise its door opened easily. I went in and travelled up the circular stairs all the way up, stopping now and again to gaze out the small, slitted windows. Finally, I reached the top and the heavy, barred door that led to the outside. I put my shoulder to it, and it opened a little, though I had to push hard against the snow that had accumulated against the bottom. I opened it enough to slip through and stepped out into a windy, wickedly cold day. It occurred to me that I had no idea what month it was here, or if indeed they even had months. Surely, they did, since they acknowledged Solstices.

The sun I’d seen shining dully earlier that morning had already passed behind some of the sullen clouds, and a strong wind had kicked up. Still, I was warm enough in my furs, so I walked over to the edge and looked toward where I thought the west might be in order to see the ocean.

The most remarkable thing about the view was the gray, lowering sky, not far above the horizon. The beach itself was deserted, covered with snow, and the sea frozen over with slushy ice for what looked like twenty feet or more out from the shore. But beyond that, the wild sea churned and writhed like it was being relentlessly tortured by demons. It was hard to imagine that any living thing could stay alive in that frigid expanse. Could my mother be a sea creature like a Selkie or a mermaid?

My clearest recollection of her was at her dressing table in Sir John’s home, brushing her long, blonde hair and humming softly to herself. She must have been very beautiful if a king had wanted her so much that he kept her captive in his castle.

And Bracca said I resembled her. If that were true, how had the witch she contacted hidden that for so long? What kind of spell had she put on me? I knew that witches practiced powerful dark magic and had control over the winds, the waves and the weather. If anyone were so unwise as to offend one of them, it would most certainly mean their doom. How had my mother had the courage to approach one of them and then somehow convince them to help her? She must have been a bold young woman.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” said a deep voice from right behind me, startling me. “I thought for a moment that you might have been foolish enough to try to run away, like your mother did.”

I whirled around to see Bracca leaning against the door frame, gazing at me with those green, fathomless eyes.

“Would you have cared? About me, I mean…I know you’d miss the kingdom and power I might bring you. Would you have come after me without that?”

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