Hexborn

by A. M. Manay

The girls burst out in giggles at being caught, then lowered their voices to continue.

  “So, what did I miss?” Shiloh asked between bites.

  Penn sighed. “Oh, Shiloh, it’s been madness. The king has cast his wife over. Whenever he and his men are at play in the gardens, he wants me at his side. Then, when I return to my duty in the queen’s apartments, she stares daggers at me. My lord uncle has someone tasting my food for fear of poison!

  “And I hardly know what to say to his grace, so I bring a book to read to him. Poems, or little stories, or Reformed theology. He seems to find it charming. I cannot fathom why, but my family is most pleased. Suddenly, I am known to my lord uncle, showered with new dresses and finery and all the respect in the world, when I have been invisible my whole life. I feel terrible for the queen, but what am I to do?”

  “There’s nothing for it,” Shiloh replied in a comforting tone. “The ending of their marriage is not your fault. If it weren’t you, it would be someone else. At least you’re a good person. You would make a lovely queen, one who cares about her people and her servants. Those apartments would be very different with you in charge of them.” Shiloh reached over and took her hand. “Just be yourself. Good and kind. I’d wager he wants a break from arguments and dramatics. Do you love him?”

  “I think I begin to,” Penn confessed softly. “He can be very charming.”

  “That’s good,” Shiloh said with a smile. “Far better than if you didn’t, or couldn’t.”

  “Do you really think he means to marry me? I’m nobody,” she protested. “I’m just a lord’s poor niece. I don’t want to be his mistress and get cast aside.”

  Shiloh shrugged. “Why shouldn’t he marry you? You’re beautiful and sweet. And you’re as pure of blood as the queen. Her father is only a lord’s younger brother, too. I could not say for certain, since I haven’t been here to see. Master Hatch may know better. But I am sure that his grace means to be rid of the queen. I think the miscarriage was the last straw.”

  Penn shook her head sadly. “She was so bereft, Shiloh. I’ve never seen her like that. Do you think it is true, that he was hexborn?”

  “You would know better than I,” Shiloh replied. “Wasn’t anyone trustworthy in the room?”

  “Only the midwives and Lady Gwin. And her own sister could hardly be expected to incriminate her,” Penn replied.

  “And the midwives?”

  “Disappeared,” Penn confided.

  “What curse is she accused of casting? You can’t harm a baby by hexing a housefly. My understanding is that it takes a good bit of cruel magic to make a baby turn out like me,” Shiloh asked.

  “One rumor has it that she somehow killed Mirin of Gerne,” Penn whispered.

  “From here? How?” Shiloh countered, skeptical.

  “They say that the queen cursed a piece of jewelry and had it brought to Mirin, not realizing that she was already with child when she cast the hex. Another story is that she was once with child with a girl, used the forbidden spells to find out the child’s gender, and killed the child within her in order to try for a boy instead. They say it poisoned her womb.”

  “Mother above,” Shiloh breathed. “That could get her hanged.”

  “There is more,” Penn continued. “There are rumors afoot that she has been unfaithful. And adultery when you’re married to the king is treason.”

  “With whom?” Shiloh asked, aghast.

  “That lute player, with the curly blond hair, to begin with,” Penn told her. “He disappeared weeks ago. Everyone thinks he’s locked up in the High Tower. Then, some archer’s been accused. Her own brother. The tales grow more outlandish by the day.”

  “And now that Hatch is back . . .” Shiloh began, stopping with a shiver.

  “He brought her grace divorce papers this morning,” Penn shared. “And he said that tomorrow she must move out of her apartments to Laurel Manor, over in Fairview.”

  “That must have been an ugly scene,” Shiloh replied.

  Penn shook her head. “It was awful. She raged for an hour, then kicked us all out except Lady Hana and Lady Gwin. I’m told that only a very few ladies are to accompany her across the Bay. I pray I am not among them.”

  “You and me, both. What were the grounds given?” Shiloh wondered aloud.

  “That she was secretly engaged to marry Lord Kepler, her old sweetheart, and thus her marriage to the king was invalid.”

  “The same grounds as Mirin? I suppose it worked the first time. Were she and Lord Kepler really involved in a romance?” Shiloh asked.

  “We all knew that he was sweet on her, even from before we all arrived at court. When we were thirteen or fourteen, she was determined to broker a marriage with him, but the Patriarch and Lord Kepler’s uncle both thought she was not high born enough for a duke and put an end to it. But if they secretly pledged themselves before the Gods and a witness, that would be a legal impediment to her marriage with the king,” Penn explained.

  “Would Lord Kepler confirm that story?” Shiloh asked. “And is there a witness?”

  “Who knows? I’m sure Hatch can produce one if he has to. And if the king wants Lord Kepler to throw the queen over, how would he possibly stand up to the pressure? He is barely a man grown, and he needs the king’s permission to allow his upcoming marriage to Lady Hana. But if he still loves her grace . . .”

  “Goodness. This is going to be an ugly spring.”

  ***

  “She’s on her way to Laurel Manor with a handful of ladies. Older ones, loyal to you,” Hatch reported to Rischar.

  “Well done. Well done. How did you manage to get her out of her apartments?” the king asked.

  “It was only after I dismissed her women, and the workmen began carrying out trunks of clothes, that she accepted the inevitability, Your Grace.” Silas left out of his report the screaming and the throwing of vases. “Once she has a few days to think things over, I shall press her again to accept the settlement.”

  “The plans for summer progress?” the king asked.

  “They proceed apace. Plans are in progress to receive you in the Gate, the Vine, the Claw, the Fingers, and the Southlands. I thought perhaps we should add the Wood. Remind the people of their loyalties.”

  “Yes!” the king agreed. “Castle Donvan is quite lovely, overlooking the sea.”

  “Just so, Your Grace. In other news, the trial of the brothers is set to begin next Youthsday. You have chosen the panel of lords, Your Grace?”

  “Aye. Rockmore, Crestpoint, and Lockland.”

  “Very good, Your Grace,” Hatch replied. Lord Rockmore of the Gate would be certain to back the king, given that he could practically see his niece sitting on the throne.

  “I shall go riding this afternoon. I’d have the hexborn lass to come along,” Rischar proposed.

  “I’m afraid she is sick abed, Your Grace. The battles in the Southlands have left her in a weakened condition. The healer advises no riding for a fortnight,” Silas informed him.

  “Is she in danger? Or contagious?” the king inquired, shuddering.

  “No, neither, Your Grace. It is simply an exacerbation of her congenital condition,” Hatch explained.

  The king stood decisively. “Take me to her,” he ordered.

  Hatch’s eyebrows shot to his hairline, but he bowed his assent. He grabbed a page boy to run ahead and make sure the poor girl was decent.

  When the king and his entourage entered the infirmary, they found Shiloh in the sitting room, dressed in a simple gown. She looked a bit green around the gills, but she was upright, at least. She struggled to rise to her feet to curtsey, but the king waved her back down.

  “Sit, sit, my poor, dear girl!” he scolded. “Sit!”

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” she said with a grateful smile. “I am still a bit unsteady.”

  The king waved away all his attendants except for Silas and sat across from Shiloh.

  “
My good lady, you simply must tell me everything you know about Penn Warwick,” the king declared. “They say you two are great friends.”

  Shiloh smiled broadly. “Oh, Your Grace, she is my dearest friend in all the world. My first day of school at the Academy, I was so nervous, and she was so kind to me. She is the best, sweetest girl I have ever known. Clever, too. Hard-working. Humble.”

  “Any of the boys sniffing around her?” the king asked with narrowed eyes.

  Shiloh shook her head. “No, Your Grace, none. In fact, she feared she would never make a marriage, being orphaned and only a poor relation to the Lord of the Gate.”

  “Ha! We’ll see what we can do about that!” the king laughed. “Tell me, has she spoken of me to you, since your return?”

  “Yes, Your Grace, she has, the first moment I saw her. She told me of her wonderment at your attention, and of her ardent desire to please you,” Shiloh replied.

  “Has she spoken of her own heart?” Rischar asked, leaning in, the middle-aged man sounding like a schoolboy in love.

  “Indeed, Your Grace. She has confided in me the love for you that grows stronger in her heart, day by day,” Shiloh confirmed.

  The king slapped his knee. “Splendid. Splendid! Now you must get better quickly. You must come ride with me and regale me with tales of how you defeated Redwood and his vile sons.”

  “Yes, Your Grace. I shall look forward to it,” Shiloh assured him.

  The king blew out of the sitting room, and his entourage trailed behind him like well-dressed sheep.

  “Well done,” Hatch told her with a wink, then turned and followed the crowd.

  When he caught up with Rischar, he was surprised to find there was a tear in his eye.

  “Imagine, Hatch, if my boy had lived, hexborn as he was. He would have suffered like Dame Shiloh, poor girl,” the king surmised sadly, shaking his head. “To do such a thing to a prince . . . It is the worst kind of treason.

  “Rid me of my faithless wife.”

  Chapter 18

  For the Rest of My Days

  Shiloh sat on a stool next to Edmun’s bed. She hadn’t left it in hours. She stared at his chest, willing it to continue to rise and fall. She knew she ought to be praying for him to pass on, for an end to his suffering, to his toil. She couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  She’d been able to keep him mostly comfortable during these final weeks, which was a testament to the quality of his instruction. It had been torture for her, though, watching him waste away.

  His eyes fluttered open, and she forced a smile. “Good evening, Master. Would you like some tea?”

  “Water,” he rasped. “Just water, poppet, if you please.”

  She helped him sit and take a drink, then settled him back onto his pillows. Tears filled his eyes as he looked up at her. They often did, these days.

  “Oh, poppet. I should have sent you away long ago. Estany, or Vreeland. You would have been safer there,” Edmun despaired. “In the City, in the palace, you will be in constant danger.”

  “Master, I’m going to be fine. Please don’t worry,” she replied. “I’m always in constant danger, after all. But we’ve been over this. I need a proper wand. I need to finish my studies. Otherwise, how will I control my power, or fulfill my purpose?”

  He grabbed her hand. “Don’t trust them, poppet. Rischar and Mirin are snakes. And I don’t know whom Hatch really serves. I fear I ruined that poor boy, Shiloh. Ruined him. Whatever he’s done, whatever he does, it’s my fault, you see? My fault. You must keep your thoughts pure. He will see them, when you suffer. You should run. You can still run.”

  “Master, I’ll be careful. I promise.” She patted his arm, but he only grew more agitated. “You’ve prepared me well.”

  “I should never have sent you to Mirin, Silas,” he continued, his eyes looking straight through Shiloh. “I should never have put you under her eye. I should never have used you as a spy. I should never have let you come with me in the first place. I’m sorry, my boy,” he cried. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. Everything. I’m sorry.”

  Shiloh pressed her lips together and swallowed her tears. It wasn’t the first time that week that he’d thought she was somebody else.

  “It’s all right, Master,” she whispered, absolving him of whatever sin he was remembering, or imagining. “I forgive you.”

  “Silas, you must tell them she doesn’t know. Please, Silas,” he begged. He tried to pull himself out of bed. “I swear to you, I haven’t said a word.”

  “I will,” Shiloh pretended, desperate to calm him. “I’ll tell them.”

  “Good boy,” Edmun replied, nodding. “Good boy.”

  He rested quietly for a few minutes, and Shiloh ventured to ask, “May I give you some broth, Master?”

  He shook his head weakly. “No, poppet. I’m not hungry.” He smiled at her, covering his thin face in a map of wrinkles. “Oh, I didn’t deserve you, poppet. You have been the great joy of my life. I only pray I haven’t doomed you. I used to care so much about the kingdom. Now, at the end, all I care about is you.”

  Shiloh could no longer hide her tears. They streamed down her face. “I love you, Master Edmun,” she declared fiercely. “I know I have to let you go, but I will miss you for the rest of my days.”

  She bent and buried her face in his covers, shoulders shaking with her silent sobs. She felt his trembling hand on her head, gently stroking her hair.

  “Please don’t cry, poppet. I do hate to see you cry.” His hand slipped and fell to the blanket.

  She took a deep, shuddering breath and lifted her head to reply, only to find his gaze empty and his chest still. She slumped on her stool and closed her eyes.

  For the rest of my days.

  ***

  “Daved?” Shiloh called through the bars, panting for breath.

  The boy appeared, looking even more thin and wan than he had the last time she’d seen him.

  “Are you quite well?” he asked when he saw her leaning against the wall for support.

  “I’ve been sick,” she explained. “I lost a great deal of blood. This is the first day Master Jonn has allowed me out of his sight. And this tower has an awful lot more stairs that I remembered. Are you all right?”

  “My brothers’ trial has started,” he said in a flat voice.

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “My part will be this afternoon. They’ll march me into the Silver Hall, and I’ll put my brothers’ heads in nooses,” he continued, as though she hadn’t spoken. “In a way, it’s a relief. It’s almost over.”

  “I can’t imagine how hard it must be,” she sympathized.

  “How did my father die? No one will tell me anything.”

  Shiloh’s heart sank. “He and some of his men came after Princess Esta, after your brother Bren failed in his attempt to take her from the ship,” she temporized, swallowing her sense of guilt for his death.

  “I did hear you were the one who foiled that plan,” Daved said with a sad smile. “He must have been furious, to be defeated by a crippled little girl.”

  “I did help a bit,” Shiloh admitted.

  “Don’t be troubled. It’s not your fault,” he assured her. “Who actually killed my father?” Daved asked simply. There wasn’t any anger in his voice.

  “Master Hatch,” Shiloh confessed. She left out the exact circumstances and prayed he would not ask.

  “That figures,” Daved sighed. “I suppose the Hatchet actually did him a favor. He would have been tortured if he’d been taken alive.”

  “That’s the impression I got,” she confirmed. “I felt like he provoked Hatch, to get his doom over with.”

  “I wish I’d have gotten a chance to say goodbye, though,” Daved admitted, some pain now coloring his voice. “And to ask him a few questions.”

  “That’s how I felt when the Feralfolk killed my Da. I just wanted five more minutes. Just five minutes,”
Shiloh shared. “At least when my teacher, Brother Edmun, died, we had time to say what we needed to say.”

  Daved’s mind jumped the track. “Wait, before, did you say, ‘Princess Esta’?”

  “Yes,” Shiloh replied. “The king has cast the queen aside and restored his firstborn to her title and to the line of succession. He’s asked for a divorce. So far, Queen Zina has refused, but Master Hatch did succeed in relocating her to a house in the Claw. Unfortunately, I missed the show, as I was sick abed. I’m told the scene was quite dramatic.”

  “Holy Father,” Daved breathed. “This whole place is going to seem different if they ever let me out of here. Nobody tells me a thing. Though this does explain why I saw them dragging that musician up here a couple of weeks ago. I figured he’d been caught stealing or gotten someone important’s daughter with child.”

  “Apparently, they’re suspected of having an affair, him and the queen,” Shiloh told him, shaking her head in disbelief. “At least I don’t have to play lady-in-waiting anymore. It’ll give me more time to rest and catch up on my studies. I’m frightfully behind.”

  Daved laughed. The sound did her heart good. “Please, Shiloh. You could teach healing in your sleep.”

  “I still have to complete the assignments,” she countered, a bit defensively.

  “Has the king got another woman, then?” Daved asked.

  “His grace is sweet on Penn Warwick,” Shiloh informed him.

  “No! Really? Kind little Penny?” Daved gasped. “What a change that would be. Talk about swapping a viper for a dove. For once, I agree with his grace’s taste in women.”

  “I know,” Shiloh laughed. “And the attention hasn’t changed Penn in the slightest. She hasn’t let it go to her head at all, though her Uncle seems to be taking full advantage of the king’s favor.”

  Daved sighed, his face darkening once again. “Will you pray for me this afternoon, Shiloh, and for my brothers?”

  “Of course I will,” she assured him. “Of course I will. I always do.”

  ***

  Hatch sat in the gallery after accompanying Daved Jennin to the Silver Hall and delivering him to the bailiff. The boy had seemed anxious but resigned. Hatch himself had testified first thing in the morning, entering various intercepted letters into evidence. He expected to be called back to the stand to describe the naval battle and the death of the former Lord Redwood and to present Bren’s written confession. Of course, the exact details of Redwood’s demise Hatch intended to take to his grave.