Page 7 of Ties of Shadow

I glanced up at him at his question. “No. You keep the kingdom safe. The animals pay me no mind, and the bears run from my singing.”

“That bad of a singer, huh?” He grinned, the pearly whites of his teeth radiant against his deeply tanned skin.

“Perhaps. I like to think they just want to be left alone like most of us.” I smiled back warmly, wondering if he would linger or return to the hunt. “I mean, not that I want to be away from you. After all.” I stopped my sputtering.

He was gorgeous, but as usual, my nerves twittered in my gut. As a woman of the court, especially since we’d caused mischief around the castle together as twelve-year-olds, it would be a lie to say I’d never wondered if I could catch his eye, make him love me, and become queen. Magic or no magic, true love could overcome the obstacles between us. He could undo the law stating that the magicless couldnot lead. And he was handsome, so very handsome. The thought made me smile more genuinely. If only my future subjects could see their filthy future queen now.

The tone of the dogs changed as if they had turned back toward us. A whistle pierced the forest, quieting the hounds and bringing my attention back to the present. The prince straightened. He reached for my basket. “It is quite the journey back up. Unfortunately, I cannot take you with me, but may I assist with your load? I could return it faster to the healer.”

“Oh, well, yes.” I ducked and gathered five more of the exposed white thieves’ bulbs before handing the lot to the prince. “Thank you, Leon, but you don’t have to help.”

“It’s my pleasure to help a lady, especially one so lovely as yourself. The seers told me it would be a bright day today. Your hair nearly glitters from the sunlight through the trees.”

And if I wasn’t sunburned already, my cheeks were undoubtedly red. “Th-thank you, Leon.” I dipped into a curtsy as the other men returned, their horses clomping and circling the prince with narrowed and suspicious gazes thrown at me. Now that I was not in front of an arrow, I recognized some of the party with some of the noble lords, the village leaders on the plains, and Lord Masterson. I kept my head low, aching to disappear back up to the castle, as I watched Leon return to his stiff role of the prince. The haughty tilt of the nobles’ noses seemed exaggerated from where I stood. I smiled and turned to escape their attention.

Before me, my friend Leon shifted by icy degrees into Prince Leon, His Royal Highness. “My good sirs, you remember Lady Aelia.”

I froze as the group stared. A few sucked in sharp breaths. They hadn’t recognized me until then. I closed my eyes to gather myself before applying my trademark smile. Then I turned back to them.Each met my gaze, yet no one smiled except the prince. “My lords.” I curtsied again and gestured desperately to the great wilderness. “Don’t let me keep you from your next great hunt!” My pitchy laughter was painful even to my ears. “Good luck out there.” I dipped. “Your Highness.”

But the men were no longer looking at me. They all stared at the ground, suddenly amused. My foot grew uncomfortably hot, and an unpleasant odor filled the air. I looked down to see one of the dogs actively peeing on my boot.

Chuckles murmured through the group as I squealed, backpedaled, and slipped in the loose dirt, falling on my backside. The dog, having already finished, kicked some dirt behind him. At me. My shoe and the edge of my gown dripped the vile liquid. And a few of the lords were laughing.

The prince whistled, and the dog ran off. His expression was conflicted, his gaze flicking between the lords, but as he looked toward me, he attempted a soft grin. “It seems that he likes you.”

My smile was more challenging to pin in place this time. I rose and brushed myself off. “If His Highness says so. I must be heading home. Thank you again, my lords, Le—Your Highness.” I curtsied. “Goodbye.” My hand covered my forehead, the heat of my skin no longer only from the sun, as I bustled off the hillside and dashed behind the thick cotton brush.

Out of sight, I dropped my head into both hands, willing the jeering of the lords to fade even a little from memory. My toes squelched within my boot. Boots whose leather I hadn’t recently polished, apparently, or sealed from water or…other liquids. My rear was sore from the hard landing. The right side of my skirt, now wet, hung heavily. And the odor worsened as it baked in the noontime sun. Despair knocked at my heart, but I shoved it away.

I had to focus on what had gone well. I had found what I needed, the prince would bring the basket up for me, and my father would be pleased. The queen could feel better. And I could restore my reputation with the lords by degrees somehow. Tonight was the blasted ball, after all. I could earn their admiration with my grace, presence, and ethereal beauty. If anyone deigned to dance with me, I could impress them with my confident steps. Nothing, not even the awkwardness of that meeting, could deflate me. We finally had what we needed for Queen Gemaline’s potion.

Chapter five

The Ball

My pace was frantic by the time I made it back to the castle. The main road led uphill, and time undoubtedly slowed as I pushed myself up the endless ascent despite my burning thighs. The luz tower was a north star for direction but taunted me as it hardly seemed to get closer. Thank the sun and stars that Leon had taken the herbs, or they would have wilted the way I was in the beating sun. Now, I just needed to find him.

I raced to the prince’s rooms first, in case he had expected me to grab them, only to be turned away by a sneering guard who informed me that the prince was already at the ball for last-minute preparations. I then swept through my room, finding it also without a basket. Reluctantly, I dragged myself down the hall toward my father’s workspace to see if it had been left there. I braced for his displeasure. I now knew where the herbs grew, so I could go again—maybe tomorrow, if needed—but if Leon had forgotten them or lost them…no, he wouldn’t let me down. He couldn’t have…

Stepping slowly toward the corridor, I heard the clear, sober voice of my father. He sounded pleased. I rushed around the corner.

“And you found these on your hunt?” he asked.

“Yes, Lord Remsha. We were chasing this glorious buck,” Leon answered. My brows furrowed.

“How fortuitous, you saw them and gathered them,” Father replied. “The seven stars were shining on you today.” The prince lifted a finger as if to speak again, I hoped to clarify. By now, I stood in the hall, stunned by the prince’s words. My father waved me toward them. As I approached, I saw my father’s pleased face crumple into one of embarrassment as he took in my filthy state. He searched about us as if looking for some closet to shove me into, but the prince chose that moment to turn.

Father laughed awkwardly. “Your Highness, you must forgive her appearance. She’s either been tossed in a dust storm or had less luck and more work searching for these herbs than you did!”

The prince smiled and shrugged an apologetic shoulder at me.

My breaths were coming too fast, and I fought back my indignation at Leon not correcting my father. “But of course, Father, I was searching. I—” I glanced at the prince, who raised a brow. “I-I’m so glad the herbs for our great queen were recovered today.” My tone sharpened. “The prince leads the nation with light and hope.”

Prince Leon’s smile looked a bit sheepish. “Indeed. Well, the ball awaits. I hope to see the fair lady there?”

Father patted the prince’s shoulder—too intimately for his rank—as they both turned down the hall. “She’ll be there. I have a surprise for her, and therefore, for you. We’ll turn her around in no time.” The prince’s gaze was fixed on my father’s hand, which now rested on his forearm. Father retracted it and rubbed his hands together awkwardly. The prince clicked his heels with a terse nod to Father and then me, before he headed toward the ballroom.

My father’s smile lingered until the prince was out of earshot before turning to me. “What am I to do with you, child? You look…poor. We cannot have that. And what is on your boot? Why is there a leaf in your hair? It couldn’t be a racerbristle, but it’s similar. Did you roll around in the forest? Come. Come with me.” Tucking my hand into his elbow, my father escorted me through the servants’ passages to my room, avoiding the common, bustling hallways and judgmental looks of the nobles.

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