Page 64 of Turret

He gaped at me for a long moment before his entire manner crumpled. “I wish I could claim that it did, but…” He released a weary sigh before laying a comforting hand over mine, resting in the crock of his elbow. “Before my curse was broken, the gardens became poisoned, and because of my connection to them I too was tainted by the dark magic afflicting it. I’m afraid it caused me to behave in ways contrary to who I truly am. Though everything I said wasn’t true to myself, I must still take responsibility. I’m deeply sorry for the way my words hurt you. Please know I didn’t mean them.”

His explanation brought with it a feeling of peace, dispelling the last of my hurt. Overwhelmed by the warm feelings, I could only nod.

His shoulders sagged in relief before his expression darkened. “How dare the tower show you that one moment and not the hundreds of moments of fierce worry and all the effort I expended to look for you. Do Mother’s curses know no end to their cruelty?”

It was as Quinn had hypothesized and what I myself had come to discover about the tower—its own curse had forced it to show me the one moment when my brother’s loyalty had faltered. Yet though I believed his explanation, my insecurity lingered, compelling me to question him.

“Were you really looking?”

“Of course, Gemma, from the moment you went missing.” He enfolded my hands within his, his touch as comforting as it was reassuring. “At first I was forced to conduct my search in secret in order to keep it from Mother, but once she was trapped in her mirror, I could increase my efforts. Yet no matter how many men I sent out or where they looked, we could never find you. The puzzle of the tower’s location has haunted me for years; when we get inside, you’ll have to show me where you’ve been.”

Even though the situation wasn’t at all humorous, my lips still twitched. “That would be rather difficult considering its location changed every day.”

Briar stared. “Every day?” At my confirming nod, he shook his head in disbelief. “Well, it’s no wonder that no matter where we looked, we simply couldn’t find you, both when we searched on our own and after Reve was able to show us where it was…only for us to arrive and discover an empty clearing, one we searched thoroughly to no avail.”

I blinked in surprise that Reve would bother to help him find me when she’d done nothing to prevent Mother from trapping me in the first place. Could she really have experienced a change of heart?

This question and others haunted me as we exited the gardens and stepped onto the main grounds that led to the palace. I paused at the base of the stairs that ascended to the towering front doors in order to take in the grand structure, one that seemed as cold and formidable as it always had. Was I truly ready to reenter a place that had been nothing but sadness and shadows my whole life?

Quinn gave my hand another squeeze, lending me the strength I needed. I was no longer the princess I’d been when I’d left, nor was I still trapped in my tower. I had escaped. I would no longer allow my fear to keep me from the life I wanted, beginning now.

I straightened my shoulders and began ascending the steps, ignoring Briar’s concerned attention as he closely monitored me to ensure I wasn’t overexerting myself. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other, not because I was tired but because despite my resolution to be brave, each step was one closer to the dark memories that had occurred within these walls, ones returning would finally force me to face. Despite having left the tower, I felt like I was entering another—the place that had served as my childhood prison.

The guards standing at the entrance opened the doors with a bow, allowing us to step into the foyer. Inside, I found Melina in the arms of Corbin, who served as the attending footman. They clung to one another tightly, all while her fiancé murmured words of love and assurance. “I never gave up hope, never stopped looking…”

Tears filled Melina’s eyes as she cradled his cheek and stared adoringly up at him before standing on tiptoe to kiss him, one he eagerly returned. I smiled at the tender reunion. Despite the length of their time apart, their relationship had remained constant. Time could change many things and yet deepen others.

Just what would my own changes entail?

After narrating Melina’s reunion with Corbin to Quinn in a whisper, I slowly took in the foyer, a room that was both familiar and vastly different than I remembered. Though my memories of it were cold and sterile, it now felt warm and contained more decorations, more light, and just a general feeling of comfort.

I felt Briar’s eyes on me again, studying my reaction. “It seems a little different,” I ventured.

He smiled. “My wife has been doing what she can to make the palace more homey. I’ve gotten married, not to Princess Rheanna of Draceria as was the arrangement when you went away, but to a merchant’s daughter.” When I didn’t appear shocked at the news, his brow puckered. “You seem to know of my marriage already. Did the tower spoil that surprise?”

I gave him a guilty look, betraying the tower’s confidence. To my relief, he chuckled.

“Mischievous tower. Now I have yet another reason to be put out with it.”

I glanced around the foyer again, empty save for the servants and Melina with her fiancé, who were now tucked into a corner together conversing quietly. “Where is your wife? I very much want to meet her.”

“She’s resting.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Because of her pregnancy?”

He shook his head. “Blast, there goes that surprise as well.” But discussing his expectant wife made him too happy for his mood to be completely soured. “She’s due in only a few months and is really starting to show.” He seemed on the brink of bursting with fatherly pride at the pronouncement. “You can meet her tonight before the feast I’ll arrange in your honor. It’s still early morning, so I’m hoping my messenger will reach Drake and Rhea in time for them to attend. Last I heard, Reve and her husband were visiting him, which will allow her to attend as well.”

My stomach tightened at the thought of seeing Reve again so soon, the memory of her abandonment still too raw. My apprehension lingered throughout my visit with Briar as I told him about Mother and we caught up after my three years’ absence, a conversation marred by my escalating anxiety. Despite my determination to overcome my fears, the thought of seeing my sister again not only tainted my return home, but threatened to push me back into their prison I’d fought so hard to escape.

* * *

I stiffenedat the sound of the carriage rattling through the palace gates. Beside me on the settee where we waited, Quinn rested a calming hand on my knee and I seized it, clutching it tightly. Excitement warred with anxiety, my eagerness to see my siblings again overcome by my uncertainty about the encounter…specifically with my sister.

Briar grinned over at me from where he sat in the neighboring settee with his wife, who sat curled at his side with her head on his shoulder. “Are you excited, Gemma?” His grin faltered as he took in my expression. “You appear nervous.”

His observation made me feel ridiculous, one made about the weak princess I feared in many ways I still was. One shouldn’t be anxious to meet their siblings again.

I forced myself to take a steadying breath. “I’m looking forward to seeing both Drake and Reve again.” No matter my fears, that fact wouldn’t change.

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