“Being the monarch was never going to be easy.”
“You’re right. Of course, you’re right. It’s my duty to go. But I won’t unless you come with me, and you must ensure my sisters remain safe. Split them up if you must, squirrel them away, keep them hidden. But keep them safe.” She finished on a quiet note of desperation and I heard all of the things she hadn’t said.
Her life had changed so much recently with inheriting the crown after the death of her father, and Princess Rose becoming Queen Rose in another country. In her mind, she’d probably already lost one sister, and couldn’t bear to lose another.
“I will.” We were nearly at the dining room, and the aromas of breakfast drifted toward us, along with the sounds of her sisters’ chattering. My stomach grumbled at the scent of fresh bacon, and I straightened my jacket, hoping she hadn’t noticed. “But we do have one small problem.”
“Just a small one?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Well, she’s twelve years old. So relatively small.”
“Yes. Iris.” Lily closed her eyes briefly, her face pained. “And what do you propose to do about Iris?”
“I’m still undecided, but we have to recognize she’s also potentially in danger.” I lowered my voice as the princesses’ voices grew louder from their breakfast table.
Lily stopped before she went into the dining room and her eyes were sad when she first looked at me, then her expression changed, becoming steelier—a touch of King Balsam after all, perhaps. “Iris comes with us. She’s about to come into her power. Riala likely wants her daughter back as much as she wants my throne.” Then she hesitated. “Am I doing the right thing? Iris is Riala’s daughter after all. I know what it’s like to be young without a mother. Should I actively be trying to keep them apart?”
I looked at her, a wave of affection claiming my chest. Only Lily would worry about the morals of hiding away the daughter of the woman who’d tried to have her assassinated. “Yes, Your Majesty. I believe it is for the best. Queen Riala is dangerous. We don’t know what she’s capable of. We only know history, and even the recent history of last night doesn’t cast her in a favorable light.”
Lily nodded. “That’s true. Yes. Iris must come with us. Maybe I can help her with her powers.” She caught me looking at her and shrugged. “Well, I have to try.”
I gave a small bow in acknowledgement. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
She reached out and touched my hand where it rested on the hilt of my sword, and a spark darted up my arm. “Thank you, Keane.”
Our eyes locked and something passed between us, something more than our roles necessitated, and as I gazed upon her perfect face it suddenly became hard to breathe. I’d nearly lost her last night. I would never let anything like that happen again.
Then she dropped her hand and turned away, and the moment ended. I followed her into the dining room to take my usual place against the wall, becoming her guard again, and nothing more. As I always would be.
Seven
Lily
I took my place at the breakfast table and watched my sisters vie for a spoon of scrambled eggs and trade bacon for sausage links. It hurt my heart that this would be our last family breakfast for a while, and now I had to break the news to them. I glanced over my shoulder, reassured by the sight of Keane standing in his usual place, watchful and protective.
My fingers still burned from where I’d touched his skin, and I tucked them into the folds of my skirt as though one of my sisters would somehow see my secret. I shouldn’t have touched him, and I didn’t know what had come over me in that moment. It was too familiar with my Captain of the Guards. I was lucky he was so professional and had simply ignored my impulsive need for human contact in the face of an uncertain future.
“Lily?” Jasmine’s voice broke into my thoughts.
“Yes?” I focused on my sister, hoping no one had noticed my confused response.
Her eyes gentled. “Are you well this morning?”
I helped myself to some still-sizzling bacon and reached for a pancake, distracting myself with the mundane routine of breakfast.
“Lily…” Dahlia’s voice said she knew everything that had happened last night, and I couldn’t bring myself to meet her gaze. “You need to tell them.”
“Tell us what?” Camellia asked.
I turned around and each of my sisters had their gaze pinned on me. “I had an unexpected guest last night,” I said, my mind racing as I searched for the best way to present Keane’s plan to them. I knew I had to go to the summer palace, but that was almost the easy part. Telling my sisters was the part tearing at my heart.
“Oh?” Jasmine’s dark eyebrow rose a fraction. “Who?”
“Lord Malren.”
Violet’s pink lips parted. “King Raith’s cousin? What did he want?”
“My life.” I held up a hand to stop their exclamations. “But no one is to worry, because he didn’t get what he came for and now he’s our very honored guest in whichever prison cell Keane chose for him to stay in.” I kept my voice firm. The emergency had passed. There was no need for any of them to worry.
“Why would he attack you?” Violet asked.
“How did you stop him?” Camellia added.
Iris gasped. “What are you going to do?”
I spoke quickly to try to calm them all down. “Keane has suggested I go to the summer palace immediately per Dahlia’s plan.”
Dahlia lifted her glass of juice. “That is wise. It’s smaller, easier to defend, and no one will expect you to be there.”
“But did you fight him?” Camellia asked, unwilling to let this go.
“No, I… Keane helped subdue him.”
Luckily Violet saved me from her twin’s next question. “When do you need to leave?
“This afternoon.” There was no point in waiting.
Dahlia nodded. “I think that’s for the best, and it solves the other issue of meeting your suitors. In the meantime, I’ll have Garon send some of his Ravens out to investigate these attacks.”
“Are we all going?” Iris’s voice was very quiet as she asked her question.
I looked directly at her. “No, not all of you. I request that Jasmine, Camellia, and Violet stay behind and run the castle for me.”
“And me?” Her expression turned curious.
I took her hand. “I think it would be a good idea for you to come with me to the summer palace.”
“What? Why?” She flipped her wild mass of red hair out of her eyes, and I suddenly saw her mother peering back at me from that amber gaze.
“Because…” I hesitated again, and Dahlia picked up my thought.
“Is Iris in danger, too?”
“I hope not.” I glanced at Iris, and decided she needed to hear the truth. She was old enough now, and it would be better if she heard it from me instead of someone else. “We have some intelligence that it could be Riala behind the attacks on my life, and we think we should protect Iris as a precaution.”
Jasmine gasped. “Riala? Are you sure?”
I shook my head. “No, we’re not. We only have Lord Malren’s word to go on, and I’m pretty sure his word isn’t worth much. But I can’t take the chance he might not be telling a lie, so Iris and I need to go to the summer palace while our people investigate.”
“I’ll look after the palace and the girls,” Aunt Dahlia said, her face firm. “Everyone will be safe with me and Garon. We will protect them with our lives.”
I offered her a small smile. Dahlia had raised all of us almost like a mother, since we’d all been motherless for most of our lives. If anything, Dahlia knew the role of Queen better than I did, and I had no doubt she’d manage Winton and my sisters with perfection in my absence. It made it easier to focus on Iris and our journey, knowing Dahlia would be here. “I know you will. Just like you always have.”
“Whatever it takes to relieve this threat.” She stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with Garon. I’m sure he’ll want
to question Malren immediately.”
As Dahlia left the room, I turned to Iris. “Go and pack yourself some things. I’ll send a lady’s maid to help you.”
Iris jumped to her feet with a nervous excitement written across her face, and she went around and gave each of my sisters a big hug, then scampered off. Then it was my turn to say goodbye.
“I’m going to miss you both.” Jasmine’s big brown eyes filled with tears.
“But just think,” Violet chipped in. “When she comes back, she might bring the man she’s going to marry to meet us.”
“Yuck.” Camellia voiced her disgust about anything to do with men that wasn’t about fighting, and I concealed my grin. Love would hit her harder than anyone because she would never expect it.
“I’ll keep her safe. Both of them,” said Keane’s unexpected voice.
He never made himself known while he was on duty. He was staring straight ahead rather than looking at any of my sisters in particular, but comfort eased through me at his words. I didn’t doubt Dahlia, and I didn’t doubt Keane either.
Later that day, Iris and I stood by the carriage. I pulled Iris’s hood over her red hair, hoping to conceal her a little from anyone who might be watching. I didn’t know who was out there or what they could see.
Keane opened the door to the carriage, and not for the first time, I wished I had the same magical talent as Rose and could transport myself places. Even utilizing the Shadow Lands for travel seemed less risky than journeying by road today.
“It’s time to go.” Keane’s hand tightened on the hilt of his sword, a familiar gesture, and I instantly felt more protected. “We need to do this with as little fuss or ceremony as possible. That way, if anyone is watching you and Iris leave, they might just believe you have an errand to run.”
I pressed a kiss to the cheeks of Jasmine, Violet, and Camellia. “I’ll see you all soon,” I said. “Please don’t worry. You have Dahlia and Garon here to keep you safe.”
Jasmine nodded. “We’ll be fine.”
I touched her fingers and smiled as I turned away to hide my sudden sadness. It all felt like too much responsibility all of a sudden. If my sisters got hurt, it would be my fault if I was the target.
After we said quick goodbyes, Iris sat on the velvet cushioned seat of the carriage and the door shut us inside. I draped a fur over her knees. “It can get cold in the carriage, and it’s going to be a long journey. You might want to try to sleep.”
“I won’t.” Iris contradicted me immediately as the last word left my mouth “I don’t want to miss a minute of this journey.”
As I continued to settle Iris, guards loaded our luggage into the carriage, concealing it as best they could. We were travelling without a maid, because the fewer staff aware of our destination, the better. Keane only trusted his guards.
The carriage started to move with a gentle jolt, and Iris pressed her face to the back window, looking out at our sisters and Winton Castle we moved away from our usual lives. Anxiety gnawed in my stomach, and I glanced out of the window to my left as guards filed past to take up their usual formation around the royal carriage.
Keane rode up alongside me and smiled. “Is everything all right, Your Majesty?”
I nodded. I didn’t know how to answer his question. Nothing was all right, but it wasn’t anything anyone could fix for me today. I had to trust Garon would find something out and that Keane and his guards would be able to protect us at the summer palace, while keeping the rest of my family safe at home.
I heaved in a sigh. Suddenly, it all seemed like a lot to ask.
Eight
Lily
We’d been travelling for about half a day, and true to her word, Iris’s eyes were wide open every time I looked at her. She’d exclaimed as we’d passed through the snow-covered forest outside the castle, almost like she hadn’t seen it every day of her life. Maybe something about our current situation being a little more perilous than usual added to Iris’s sense of excitement. I smiled and closed my eyes. She’d tire herself out sooner or later. She’d better, anyway—the journey would take several days.
We wove our way along the mountain roads, over rutted tracks, with sheer drops to one side or the other. I looked steadfastly ahead as Iris called out her enthusiasm for the scenery and how far she could see.
“I swear I can see clear across to Ilidan,” Iris said. “I bet if I had a telescope, I could see Rose wave to us from one of the windows in that black castle I’ve heard so much about.”
I nodded and smiled, although the smile felt thin-lipped as I waited for us to traverse this area of road safely. It was the place I felt least safe. Keane couldn’t ride alongside us here, and I couldn’t see him.
As the snow fell more heavily outside, I tucked Iris’s fur around her legs, and she turned toward me. “Aren’t you cold?” she asked.
“No, I’m fine.” The cold rarely bothered me. I supposed I was used to it after growing up in Talador, but Iris was still young.
“Do you think I’ll see my mother?” she asked, surprising me with the sudden change in topic.
I took a breath before I answered. “I don’t know.”
I didn’t know which I hoped for. It seemed wrong to actively hope Iris would never again see her mother, but fear flickered through me at what Riala was capable of and what she might teach Iris to become if she was allowed to influence her.
“What do you know about my mother?”
I hesitated again because we’d always protected Iris from the worst of the stories. “Well, you look very like her,” I started. “Your hair and eyes are the same color.”
“Will I get magic like her?” Iris’s voice was quieter this time, and I couldn’t tell if the idea excited or scared her. “Illusion magic?”
I slowly shook my head. “No one knows the answer to that. I don’t think magic is always as predictable as we might like.”
“But you have magic.” Iris’s eyes were excited and curious, not accusatory.
“I do, yes…”
“And Rose has magic. She’s even learned how to use it.”
I pressed my lips together. I didn’t want to volunteer too much information until I saw where she was going with her thoughts. I looked out of the window. The drop was still on Iris’s side of the coach, and I watched the gray, craggy sides of the mountain as we passed by it. Green creepers and moss clung to the rock, despite the freezing temperatures outside, proof life always found a way.
“Are you pleased she learned to use it?” Iris’s eyes narrowed a little, turning her innocent gaze more toward crafty.
“Rose is in Ilidan with Raith. They’re both powerful wizards, and they need to be powerful for their people.” They’d proven that recently when they’d saved their people and kingdom from a curse of shadows.
Iris seemed to digest the information as she pulled her legs up underneath herself and snuggled farther under her fur blanket. “Don’t you need to be powerful for your people, too?”
I took a quick breath and let it out slowly, trying to buy myself some time. I could see where Iris was leading this conversation, and it was a direction I didn’t want to go. Magic had been banned for so long in Talador that I wasn’t comfortable even discussing it, let alone having the ability myself. Practicing or using that ability was still very much against the laws my father had put into place, and I hadn’t given much thought to what I was going to do about them yet. If I was completely honest with myself, I didn’t want that responsibility.
I tried to change the subject. “Dahlia thinks finding a husband will add to my power—”
Iris scoffed. “You know that’s not what I meant. Your magic. Don’t you want to be as powerful as Rose?”
It had been drilled into me day after day that magic was wrong. What I could do was wrong. I’d frozen Malren and saved my life, but even that had felt wrong.
“I’m not as powerful as Rose.” I didn’t even know if I wanted to find out whether I could be.
“Rose wasn’t this powerful while she lived in Talador either,” Iris said.
“Raith has taught her a lot since she’s lived in Ilidan.” I kept my tone conversational, my hands in my lap.
“Do you know what your affinity is? Do you have two like Rose does?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t studied enough to find out yet.” With Iris, I tried to be careful to only confirm the things she already knew and answer the very precise questions she asked. Too much information at any point led to hundreds more questions.
“I wonder if I’ll have the same affinity as my mother when my powers manifest?”
“Would that worry you?” I tried to probe gently because I couldn’t read her expression. What looked like concealed excitement could have been apprehension.
Iris still had so much to learn, and she was so disadvantaged by the way her life had started and how we lived in Talador now. Maybe I needed to change things for her sake, if for no-one else who lived there. Iris deserved more than we had now.
“I don’t know if I’d want to be an illusion wizard.” Iris wrinkled her delicate, freckled nose.
I reached out and stroked my hand across her red curls, watching them spring back up after my palm had passed over them. “My mother had an affinity for prophecy, but as far as I know, neither Rose nor I share that.”
Iris nodded and yawned, her mouth gaping as she neglected to cover it. Clearly I needed to work on her manners, even if Iris felt she should maybe be practicing her wizardry.
Outside, the sky was darkening to dusk, but I breathed a sigh of relief because the landscape was changing and becoming softer as we rode into one of the valleys between mountains. Forest began to tower over us again, the trees feeling protective, like long-lived guardians.
Keane rode up alongside the window. “We’ll have to stop and make camp for the night, Your Majesty.” Then he spurred his horse on to ride farther down the line of guards with whatever instructions he needed to tell them.
Kiss Of Snow (Royal Hearts Book 2) Page 4
