Page 78 of Boy of Chaotic Making

The guard bowed. “I was stationed just outside the first door. I didn’t see anything. Only felt the gusts, as you did.” He shook his head, as though confused.

Owein shook again, trying to rid his body of the residual jitters in his chest and legs. Had ... Had someone meant to hurthim? Merritt hadn’t been nearby ...

Puffing out his chest, Prince Friedrich asked, “And who among you has wind spells? This was a wind spell!”

“None of us are wizards, Lord Leiningen.” The guard offered another bow. It made sense—they all wore red, not blue.

“Lady Helen and Lady Cora have wind spells,” Hulda said quietly to Merritt, but her voice carried.

Cora paled. “I ... I could never! I’d kill myself!”

Lady Helen put a hand on Cora’s shoulder. “Her constitution wouldn’t allow it. And she was just outside there!” She swept her hand to the open door. “Right in your view.” She jutted an accusing finger at the first guard. “And I was standing right beside you, Miss Larkin.”

Hulda nodded. “It did not emanate from you, I know that.”

“It wasn’t me!” Cora cried. “Look, I’ll prove it!”

“Cora, don’t!” Lady Helen snapped just as Cora threw her hands out and blew a forceful but harmless gust toward the gold gilt carriage. It didn’t budge. Lady Helen seized her wrists and wrenched them back.

Cora doubled over, wheezing instantly.

“Fool girl.” Owein didn’t miss the tightness in Lady Helen’s voice as she embraced her youngest daughter. “Out of the way, she needs fresh air. Move!”

The guard stepped aside, and Lady Helen, putting a supportive arm under Cora’s shoulders, escorted her toward the door. Cora couldn’t stand up straight, and the wheezing continued. Her free hand clutched her chest.

What can I do?Owein asked, the jitters intensifying.

“Nothing for now,” Merritt said aloud. “Let’s get out of here.”

They followed the others back outside, into the cool morning air. Cora sat on the cobblestone just outside the carriage house, following her mother’s instructions to “Breathe in, deep, out slow. In, out.”

Merritt said, “That was directed toward Owein.”

Baron von Gayl turned about. “It fell on him?”

“I’d moved away, so he was the only one near it.” Merritt’s eyes narrowed as he took in the carriage house. His hands formed fists at his sides. “Like someone was waiting for the opportunity.”

You think they want to hurt me, and not you.His stomach sank, like when he let his dog side eat something it wasn’t supposed to.

Merritt’s mouth pressed into a hard line.I do.

“But why?” Hulda wrung her hands together. Paled. “I guess it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

They don’t want me in the family,Owein said, and Merritt translated it for the others.

Prince Friedrich, within hearing distance, rushed over. “We would not go through all this trouble if we didn’t. The queen herself said—”

“Lady Briar has made it very clear she’s unsatisfied with the arrangement,” Hulda murmured.

Baron von Gayl reeled back. “You’re blaming my wife? She’s not even here!”

“She distinctly insisted on not coming,” Merritt snapped. “The first attack was the night before your arrival.”

“Precisely! We were at the hotel.”

“You were with her that night?” Hulda asked. “The entire time?”

The baron’s face flushed. “I ... That is ...” He glanced sheepishly at Prince Friedrich. “We stayed in separate rooms. She insisted. And ... she retired early. But she often does.”

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