“But now it has.” Quinn and William had officially announced their courtship at William’s birthday party a couple of nights ago, and from the way those two looked when they were together, Linnea was certain things between them went deeper than that. “So now all of your problems are solved?”
“Your tone is quite unbecoming, Linnea.”
“I'm not feeling very becoming at the moment.”
Charlotte sighed. “I know.” She ran her hand softly down Linnea’s dark, curly hair, twisting the end of a strand around her finger. “We don’t know exactly how much danger you’re in – how much danger any of you are in. Your father and I plan on speaking to everyone tonight, after he’s had a chance to meet with Marcus and the rest of the head guards to make a decision. For right now, we’re thinking that we will be keeping the castle locked down completely. None of you are to be allowed off the grounds until further notice. Rebecca and Howard are staying here now, as well. Someone has been sent to collect their belongings.”
“What? What about the seekers? What about William’s clinics?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure things will change as we get more information and more things sorted out. Our biggest concerns, of course, are the four of you. When I think of what could have happened . . . if Paul hadn’t. . . ”
Linnea shivered. She’d had plenty of time last night when she wasn’t sleeping to imagine what might have happened if Paul Moran, a guard who had worked for her family for years hadn’t disappeared yesterday morning, alerting everyone to a secret plan to kidnap Linnea. “Is the castle secure now?” she asked, with a sick feeling in her stomach. The abduction had originally been planned for today. She still fought nightmares from when Thomas had been captured in Philotheum, and she hadn’t even been there to see it.
“Of course it is,” Charlotte said, tightening her grip around Linnea’s shoulders. “Do you think I would be out here with the children if it weren’t?” She tipped her head casually toward the western corner of the playground, and Linnea followed with her eyes. Now that she was looking, she could make out the outline of Ben Westbrook, standing near a little grove of trees, keeping an eye on the children as they played and on Charlotte and Linnea as they talked. She relaxed slightly. Ben, she trusted.
“Seriously, though, Mother. Do you really think that William and Quinn courting is going to solve anything? That’s putting an awful lot of pressure on them, isn’t it?”
“No, it doesn’t solve anything. It won’t solve anything even if they – if Quinn decides to try and make a bid for her throne. There are still a lot of obstacles. And your father and I don’t want to put pressure on them. We owe them that much – letting them make those decisions on their own.”
“But it’s what you want, isn’t it? The two of them to take their relationship past courting? For Quinn to decide to take the throne and for her and William to marry – unite the kingdoms and all that?”
Deep lines appeared on Charlotte’s forehead. “From where we’re sitting right now, Linnea, yes. That seems like the quickest route to a solution that would be good for everyone. It could potentially restore peace to Philotheum, restore the relations between our kingdoms, bring happiness to William and hopefully to Quinn as well.”
“Except for the part where she has to become the monarch of a kingdom she knows nothing about, in a world she didn’t grow up in, leave her family and get married at seventeen – which is not exactly the norm in the world where she’s from.”
“Yes, except for that part.”
“And you’re just leaving that bit out when you talk to them.”
“Regardless of what we feel would be best, it isn’t our place to demand that of them. We’re hoping that we don’t reach the point where we have to force the issue – that they have time to come to decision on their own. Your father and I would ask you to respect that, Linnea.”
“You don’t think they’ve figured all of this out?”
Her mother sat up, meeting Linnea’s eyes with a hard, set gaze. “I’m quite certain they’ve both figured out some of it. Your father and I are not so sure they’ve reached all of the same conclusions, or that they understand all of the possible implications of their relationship.”
“Or they’ve thought about it, but are in denial.”
“Leave them be, Linnea. That’s not a request.”
“It’s not fair to them, Mother. All of this plotting behind their backs.”
“You’re right, it isn’t. Which is exactly why you need to stay as far out of it as you can. Especially you, with your gift for influence. Enough damage has been done to them already. The last thing we want is for Quinn to make a decision that she can’t really own. It has to be her choice.”
“What if she makes the wrong one?”
“I don’t know.”
2. Nineteen Days Later
William followed the garden path behind the castle all the way to where it ended in a large, gravel circle, surrounded by benches and flower patches. Past the circle was a wide, expansive lawn. Another path began here, leading well past the lawns and out to the crumple pitch, but he wasn’t interested in following it. He’d already found what he was looking for.
Quinn sat in the middle of one of the lawns, her bare feet poking out from under the hem of her long, simple linen skirt, her long, wavy auburn hair loose down her back, reflecting the warm rays of the afternoon sunlight. One hand was at her forehead, shielding her eyes as she looked up, watching a bird as it swooped out of the sky toward her, landing not-quite gracefully a few feet away from her.
William chuckled as he watched the bird – still a fledgling, though it was growing quickly, walk toward its master. Quinn held out a treat, and the bird gobbled it up before allowing her to stroke its head.
Warmth filled his chest at the sight, and he quickly crossed the lawn to reach them. “Hey, beautiful,” he said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. It was warm from the sun and smelled of her rich, flowery shampoo. He lingered there for a moment, breathing it in, before he sat down beside her.
“Hi.” She turned to face him, her dark gray eyes lighting up with her smile. “Did you finish figuring out whatever it was you were working on?”
“No,” he said. “But I was getting frustrated and bored with it, and I was missing you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You, bored in your lab? I didn’t think that was possible.”
He chuckled. “It didn’t used to be,” he said, reaching into his pocket for a cloth-wrapped bundle. Opening it, he withdrew a small chunk of dried meat, and held it out to the young bird. Raeyan snatched it up. “Of course, I didn’t used to have anything I’d rather be doing.”
He stretched out one finger and used it to trace her arm, from her wrist all the way up to her shoulder, before looking up at her face. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, a sight that did unexpected things to his heart.
Raeyan, the bird, annoyed at being ignored, butted his head into William’s hand, looking for another treat.
“No, you don’t,” Quinn chided, reaching over to press one finger gently down on Raeyan’s light gray head. “No more until you’ve carried this to Thomas for me.” She held up a small square of purple cloth and tucked it inside the little silver cylinder that was attached to Raeyan’s leg. The bird made several clicking sounds at her, but she stared him down with a firm glare. “Go.”
William chuckled as the bird took flight. “Takes after his mother, that one.”
Raeyan’s mother was William’s seeker bird, Aelwyn, who was no doubt perching nearby in the trees, supervising the training of her one offspring that had been chosen as a human companion. Her mate, Sirian, wouldn’t be far off, either.
“Is it just you and Thomas, or is Linnea out here somewhere too?” William asked.
“Thomas is out by the crumple field, and Linnea’s on the front lawn. We’ve been running him in different patterns. He’s actually getting good.”
“They learn quickly. They�
�re smart birds. He could probably go a lot further if there was anywhere safe to send him.”
Quinn sighed. “Being cooped up in the castle is bad for everyone.”
“I know. I was half tempted to push the issue the other day and insist on going to Cloud Valley with Nathaniel.”
Her eyes widened. “And leave me here to worry about you? It’s not worth the risk, Will. It bothers me enough that Nathaniel is gone. I don’t understand what’s so important that he needs to be traveling right now, either.”
“He’s never been much for staying close to the castle. It’s easier to avoid questions about his real identity if he’s never in one place for too long. And Eli needs the supplies and help out there.”
“Are they still getting the reports of shadeweed?”
He nodded. Patches of the extremely poisonous plant had been showing up all over certain areas of the kingdom, in places it had never been found growing before. And in two towns, they were still getting occasional cases of citizens – mostly children – who showed up in clinics with symptoms of shadeweed poisoning, but no idea when they might have come into contact with the plant.
“Is that what you were still working on in the lab? A better remedy?”
“Yes.”
“And you haven’t had any luck? I thought it was going well.”
“I did make a pretty big breakthrough for the early stages, actually. Nathaniel took a sample to Eli.”
“A way to make that awful stuff taste better?”
“No. This one you don’t have to drink at all.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I think drinking it might be a little more popular with the kids than more needles, Will.”
“Not that stuff. Especially when most of the time, they turn around and throw up half of it. If this works, and I think it will, we’ll be able to cure shadeweed poisoning with one or two doses of medicine that will work better, and not make them sick.”
She smiled. “That’s a good thing, then.”
“I’m boring you to death, aren’t I?”
“I don’t understand half of what you tell me, but I like when you talk to me anyway. I think the stuff you do is kind of awesome.”
He reached up to touch her face, running his index finger down the side of her face and along her chin before leaning in to kiss her. “I am a lucky man.”
She shook her head. “I think I’m the lucky one.”
He kissed her again, this time taking a little longer before he finally pulled back. “Are you doing all right, Quinn?”
She studied him, an intense look in her eyes. “I’m just as good as anyone else. We’re all stuck here.”
He closed his eyes for a minute, silently reminding himself that he wasn’t going to press her about this. It had to be hard on her, stranded in his world, no idea of when, or if – no, he wasn’t going to think like that – when she would be able to see her family again.
It had to be on her mind today, though. The gate would be opening again tomorrow, and although they were hoping they might be able to try to go through, more strange refugees kept showing up in the area, making it unsafe to attempt to get to the bridge without the chance of being seen.
If they couldn’t go through, that would be twice. Another whole day missed in her world, another ten days stuck in his with no answers.
Keeping his promise not to push it, he leaned in, meaning only to kiss her gently again, but it quickly turned into something more. Whatever emotions she thought she was keeping inside about the uncertainty of her life came pouring out as soon as his lips touched hers.
It was several minutes before they were able to separate, breathless and lying down in the grass, their hands still entwined. For a long moment, he stared up at the bright blue sky above them, watching the few clouds that were gathered there. Back behind them there was an approaching line of ominous gray, and he hoped, as he had been hoping every afternoon, that the clouds would actually arrive before they dispersed in the dry air. It hadn’t rained in weeks.
While he stared up into the endless sky, he contemplated his feelings. As tense as the last few weeks with Quinn had been, they’d also been, without question, the best weeks of his life. He still couldn’t believe that she’d said yes when he’d asked her if he could court her, that he’d actually managed to find this girl and begin a relationship with her – that she was here beside him now.
He rolled up onto his side, propping his head on his hand, so that he could look down at her. With his free hand, he reached for the delicate silver chain around her wrist, running it between his fingers for a moment before he turned his eyes to her face. “I love you, Quinn.”
She smiled. “I love you, too.” Her fingers found the chain on his wrist, the courtship bracelet that matched hers.
Getting used to the striking new tattoo on his chest was a simple task compared to getting used to this – to being able to just tell her how he felt, to have her return his smile and say it back to him. He’d always worried that he was never going to find someone who would really understand him, who would be able to deal with his need to hide away and study, or especially someone to whom he could talk about his travels and experiences in the other world.
Finding Quinn had exceeded even his wildest imaginings. And when he’d learned that she was really from this world, that they had even that in common . . . well, he must have done something right for the Maker to smile down on him like this.
Of course, it complicated things, too. Whatever Quinn decided to do was going to have a big impact on him, too. One thing the last couple of weeks had given him was time to think, and he knew, now, that he was prepared to follow her whatever she ended up doing, whether she went back to her own world, or – and in some ways this thought scared him even more – to the castle in Philotheum. He wasn’t sure what he thought about the distinct possibility that she might become a queen, but he had decided it didn’t matter.
Lately, he’d actually been considering proposing to her.
He wouldn’t do it yet, of course. She had enough big decisions to make in the near future – he wasn’t going to add to that. And he especially didn’t want her to make any rash decisions because of him. He wasn’t planning on going anywhere she didn’t go – he’d show her that before asking her.
A flutter of wings overhead interrupted his reverie. He glanced up, expecting to see Raeyan returning from his practice run, and was startled when, instead, it was Linnea’s bird, Zylia, that swooped gracefully down onto the grass in front of them.
Quinn sat up, frowning and reached to open Zylia’s cylinder.
“What is it?” William asked, not liking the expression on her face as she read the note.
“I don’t know. Linnea says we should meet her in the front hall immediately.”
He was on his feet instantly. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Thomas and Linnea were both standing in the main entrance when they arrived. They didn’t look upset – maybe she’d jumped to conclusions when she’d read Linnea’s note, Quinn thought. Lately they’d all been looking for disaster around every corner.
“What’s wrong?” William demanded.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Linnea said. “But Rebecca’s water broke.”
“Oh.” William looked a little pale. “And Nathaniel’s not here.”
“No, he’s not. And Lilly and Graeme are still at his sister’s house.” Linnea reminded him – though Quinn thought it was a little unlikely he’d forget that he was the only trained healer in the castle right now.
“And there’s that whole thing where we’re not allowing anyone except family and trusted friends and servants inside the castle. . . ” Thomas added. “So. . . ”
“I’ve only delivered one baby by myself!” William said. “And that wasn’t on purpose.”
“Well, this is your chance to increase that total,” Thomas said.
“I’m not sure I should be practicing this on my sister.”
Linnea shrugged
. “It’s pretty much you or Howard – and I don’t think Howard is up for quite that much.”
“All right. Where is she?” William still didn’t look comfortable with the idea, but Quinn saw him shift into what she called his “healer mode”.
“Come on,” Linnea said, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him toward the stairs.
Quinn looked at Thomas.
“Some days I’m glad I wasn’t born to be a healer,” he said.
“There’s never a day when I wish I was.” She looked up the stairs. Linnea and William had already disappeared. “Poor Will.”
“Are you kidding? He’ll be freaked out for approximately five minutes, and then he’ll be over the moon that he got to do something medical for the first time in weeks.”
She frowned. “Yeah, maybe if ‘something medical’ wasn’t the possibility of having to deliver his sister’s baby.”
“You think you know my brother better than I do now, huh?” He bumped her arm with his elbow.
“That’s sort of the point, isn’t it? You’re not courting him.”
He smiled, studying her. “You’re protective of him. Even with me.”
“And?”
“And nothing, Princess. I approve.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “If you’re going to be stealing him away from me, I’m going to expect you to look after him.”
“I am not stealing anyone away from anything.”
He chuckled. “You’re right, that was a bad choice of words. This is a purchase you are paying for in full, to be sure. But you are going to take him home with you, I think. Wherever you decide that is.”
She stared at him for several seconds, unsure how to answer that – not ready to discuss that with anyone yet. Finally, she settled for changing the subject. “Nathaniel is supposed to be coming back this evening, isn’t he?”
Thomas grinned. “Yes, he is.”
“I think maybe we should go and send Sirian with a message – see if we can get him to speed it up.”
Blooms of Consequence (Dusk Gate Chronicles - Book Four) Page 2
