by J. D. Wright
“Information…” Cicilly muttered to herself. “Dahlia. Dahlia is Ethel. You sent your daughter in to trick Bree’s guard into revealing information? What kind of father would use his—“
“Oh, Dahlia was happy to do it, my love,” he interrupted. “She was eager to pay a visit to her cousin. It had been so many years, after all. Time really changes a person, doesn’t it? And Dahlia’s assignment was to gain information. The seducing was just an extra gem in the tiara, don’t you think?”
Seducing? So there had been more to the story than just poison, after all.
“You sick son of a bitch.”
“Oh, love. I think there will be plenty of time for such obscenities later on.” He ran a hand along the curve of her jaw. “For now, we must get you undressed. I cannot wait to hold your body in person. The dreams were satisfactory, but there is nothing quite like feeling your skin this way.” His hand had moved to the back of her neck, his fingertips grazing beneath her hairline.
“I do not love you, Silas.” Cicilly lifted her eyes so that she was looking directly into his. She wanted to make sure he understood. “I have never loved you. Frederick’s death has not changed this. Whatever you think you feel for me, it isn’t real. And it isn’t returned. Now release me and let me go home.”
“Hmm… I thought you might feel this way. Not to worry dear,” he gripped the back of her neck and brought her head forward until they were so close that she could see Silas had eyes like Frederick. Except there was a darkness behind them that Frederick would have never had. An evil that could not be ignored. She tried to look away, but he tightened his hold on her until she gazed back into his eyes.
“You will learn to love me.”
“I will never love you. It doesn’t matter what you do to me. I will fight you.”
“You will learn to love me,” he repeated. “And to make a gesture of good will, I have decided to let your daughter’s kingdom be. But only if you agree to stay here, with me.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I will be forced to relieve my frustrations, my love.” He leaned his head closer to her ear and whispered, “And there simply isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to get what I want.”
Cicilly knew he meant it. If there was anything Silas had been known for, across the realm, it was using whatever means necessary to get what he wanted. Even if he didn’t attack Junacave himself, he could easily bribe one of his sleazy crook companions into doing his bidding for him. And even though being this close to him was making her skin crawl, the thought of harm coming to her daughter, or their home, was much harder to live with.
Defeated, Cicilly nodded once while staring past Silas to the door behind him. Winning the argument, Silas leaned his head down and kissed Cicilly’s neck. She continued to stare at the door. Even as he began to undress her, stopping every few moments to kiss or caress her, she kept staring. And as she let him take her, she closed her eyes and pictured the door in her mind. He may have control over her body, but he wouldn’t worm his way back into her mind.
After the third round, Silas left and Cicilly pulled herself out of the bed and forced her legs to move. She walked over to the window, covered with steel rods to prevent escape and looked out across the land. The sun was already climbing into the sky. She had survived the first night with him. Though she didn’t know how many more nights she would have to endure, at least her family and Junacave were safe today.
Chapter Nineteen
It had been three days since Cicilly’s disappearance. Bree called a council meeting that morning, after another sweep of the grounds yielded no results or clues as to the direction the horse had traveled. Bree sat at the head of the table, flanked by the usual council members with Rowan, still filling Sir Colbert’s position, and Dagan sitting in Elric’s seat, which drew curious eyes from several of the men, though none of them questioned it. However, this time there wasn’t any shouting or speaking over each other. There wasn’t a heated debate. They sat in complete silence, no one wishing to speak.
Bree was staring at the table, her eyes following the grain of the wood, up and down. Where could her mother be? Who would take her? Was it Silas? Why? But none of those questions weighed as heavy on her as one in particular. Was she accidentally taken instead of Bree?
“I have failed you, Your Majesty,” Nick muttered quietly. “If you wish to remove me from my position--”
“No,” Bree interrupted. “It is I who failed. Celeste asked me to appoint a guard to my mother. I was too focused on preparations for the ball…”
Silence followed, again.
It was Dagan who chose to speak next. “Wherever she is, there is a strong medicine or magic controlling her sleep. I have tried since she left, to get into her subconscious. Either she isn’t sleeping, which is unlikely as everyone has to sleep eventually, or someone or something is blocking me. I can’t get through the barrier. At least not from here. Perhaps, if I were closer.” He shook his head, frowning. “But that doesn’t help us to locate her.”
“Her subconscious?” Nick asked. “Do you mean her dreams? You’re trying to get into her dreams?” Nick remembered his conversation with Cicilly and was suddenly hit with the realization that he knew exactly who had Cicilly all along.
Dagan nodded. “I have tried several times throughout the past few days and nights to reach her. Either she has taken an herb to render her a dreamless sleep or magic is being used to block me.”
“It’s Silas,” Nick replied. “He has been visiting the Queen Mother, in her dreams.”
Bree sat up more alert. “What do you mean? Visiting her? Why hasn’t she told me?”
Nick rubbed his hands over his face. How had he missed it for this long?
“It was that night, wasn’t it? The night she woke up screaming? Silas had been in her dreams?” She darted her eyes to Rowan, who had made her leave her mother’s room that night. If she had stayed a little while longer, maybe her mother would have told her.
“I didn’t know,” Rowan replied, reading Bree’s expression.
“No one knew,” Nick said, “except for me. She made me promise not to tell anyone. She thought he was just tormenting her. He has always taken a liking to her, ever since she married King Frederick. With the events recently and his threat against you, Your Majesty, I should have realized the connection sooner. I apolo—“
“If you apologize again, Sir Nicholas, I may lose my mind.” Bree leaned back in her chair, sighing. “What can we do now? If Silas does have her, nothing short of attacking his kingdom will get her back. And his wizard is powerful. Even if we could get through his military defenses, can we break through his magic?”
Dagan nodded. “An entire regiment or heavy cavalry, no. However, I could get a small band of troops through. Maybe five, six people at most. I know that isn’t a lot, but…”
“No, no. It’s a start.”
“It would take time, though, to figure out which spells to use. A few days at least. And I would need to double our protection here, as well, in case this wizard were to retaliate.”
“Anything you need, just tell me. I will make sure you get it.” Bree turned to Sir Nicholas and the other knights at the table. “In the meantime, what do you suggest?”
Sir Ainsley spoke first. “We would need to scout the area around Sire. Find the best way to approach without being seen. And we need a more accurate assessment of its defenses.”
“Alright,” Bree nodded. “I want to be as prepared as possible, leaving nothing to chance. If Silas is anything like the reputation he has earned, we can’t rush into this. We may only get one chance to save my mother.”
Once the meeting was finished, Finn was waiting at the bottom of the gatehouse. Bree could tell immediately that something was wrong, just from the pained look on his face.
“Sidonie is gone.”
Before Bree could answer, Dagan spoke up from behind her, “What do you mean Sidonie is gone? Has she b
een taken?”
Finn shook his head. “No, not exactly.”
“Well, what do you mean?”
“Finn, what has happened?” Bree asked when he hesitated.
Finn sighed. “It was her sister. Adelphie took her home, back to the Sabras.”
Dagan tried to remain calm, but anger was beginning to take over. “Finnley, Sidonie is a fully grown woman, how could her sister take her anywhere? Why?”
“I don’t know. I found Sarita crying in Sidonie’s room. She said Adelphie made Sidonie leave. She said the castle wasn’t safe.”
Bree rushed past Finn to find Sarita, followed by Rowan.
“Dagan, I’m sorry. Maybe if I had gotten there sooner, I could have talked to Adelphie, reasoned with her.”
Dagan didn’t reply for fear he may say something he would regret. It wasn’t Finnley’s fault. The entire situation was doomed from the beginning. Finnley had started to say something else, but Dagan was already walking away. He went straight to his tower and shut himself in.
Bree and Rowan found Sarita, still crying, in the hall. Celeste was trying to console her but looked exhausted herself. She hadn’t been sleeping well ever since Cicilly had been taken, but she smiled faintly when Bree entered.
“Bree!” Sarita jumped up and ran into her arms the moment she entered the hall. Bree bent down and scooped Sarita’s tiny body up and sat her on her lap, rubbing the back of her head to soothe her.
“Siddy is gone,” Sarita wailed. “Her sister made her leave. Can she do that?”
“Yes, sweetie. Her sister loves her and wants her to be safe. She’s only trying to do what’s best for her, to keep her safe.”
“Try telling that to Dagan,” Rowan muttered. “He’s probably summoning storm clouds as we speak.”
Bree tried to stay positive, for Sarita’s sake. Her sister had grown very close to Sidonie, as had Bree. But Bree couldn’t really blame Adelphie for deciding the castle wasn’t safe. And since neither Adelphie nor Sidonie were subjects of Junacave, there wasn’t anything Bree could do about it.
After a short while, Sarita had cried herself to sleep. Rowan bent down and lifted her off of Bree’s lap. The movement caused Sarita to wake up for a moment, but she wrapped her arms around Rowan’s neck and fell back asleep. Rowan carried her out of the hall and up to her chambers. She was so light, even with her full gown, and she smelled of raspberries. He laid her down on her bed and Bree pulled a soft pink quilt up over her, gently tucking her in. The room was cool, so Rowan lit the fire, then slipped out of the room to where Bree was waiting in the hallway.
“This has been terrible for her,” she said. “First mother is taken, then Sidonie leaves.” Bree sighed. “If Celeste hadn’t been here…”
Rowan put an arm around Bree’s shoulder and leaned in closer to her. “She would still have you. There are guards stationed at each end of the wing. Come to your room and I will have a chambermaid pour you a bath. I’ll be out here when you’re finished.”
Bree turned to Rowan, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Or you could join me… I think we both could use some distraction.”
Rowan grinned and tilted his head down, “Why, Your Majesty, are you inviting me to your chambers? You weren’t too happy the last time I was in there. I believe you told me it was highly inappropriate.” He raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, well…” She rose up on the tips of her toes so she could whisper in his ear, “I’m feeling rather inappropriate at this moment.” Then she took his hand and led him to her chambers.
~*~
Dagan refused to think about Sidonie leaving. The more he had, the angrier he was becoming. And for now, there was nothing he could do about it. If he hadn’t agreed to pledge his allegiance to Junacave, he could leave and go to her. But even if he did, what would he say? Sidonie was just beginning to learn about her magic and he still hadn’t told her about the fusion, even though he was sure that she felt it. And Adelphie was right about one thing. The castle wasn’t safe right now. But Dagan was determined to change that.
So he had spent the rest of the day in his tower, pouring over his grandfather’s spellbook, casting any defensive spells he came across. Then he searched the room, determined to find the missing spells. Perhaps they were enchanted, only to appear if something was done to summon them. Or there was a chance that Elric had a second spellbook, hidden somewhere. A simple protection spell would never be strong enough to protect the castle or the kingdom, and a cloaking spell would prevent everyone from visiting or leaving. A kingdom couldn’t survive if it were secluded from the rest of the realm. A spell would need to allow visitors, but expel those with dark magic. A different spell, a second layer, would shield the castle from harmful and destructive magic. However, Dagan was becoming frustrated at being unable to locate the spells. Tired from casting all afternoon and growing hungry, he glanced out of the window. The sun was lowering down on the horizon, which meant supper was being served downstairs. And if his memory served him correctly, the kitchens were preparing venison this evening, his favorite. He locked the tower door behind him and went downstairs.
The hall was fairly calm this evening. The knight’s table was mostly empty since the kingdom’s knights had been exhausted from leading searches over the past few days. And the table the royal family and guests usually sat at was also looking rather slim, with Finnley, Sarita, and Celeste being the only three seated for supper. The queen was sitting on her throne, reading a book, and Rowan was pacing around the hall. He stopped when Dagan entered and came over to him.
“I thought you would stay locked up for the rest of the day. I even made a bet with Sir Luthias.” Rowan said, smiling.
Dagan shrugged. “Everyone has to eat, eventually.”
“Any progress?”
“Not very much. Although, I did foresee a nice frost coming next week. Should be the last one of the winter. What about down here? Any news?”
“The scouts are still out, gathering information. We probably won’t hear back from them until late tomorrow. It’s a half a day’s ride to Sire if they don’t stop to camp.”
Rowan had taken one of his daggers out and began to spin it around between his fingers, switching to the other hand occasionally, which Dagan had noticed he often did when he was nervous or anxious.
“Is there something you wanted to ask me? Or are you planning to stab me to death? I wouldn’t fight back at this moment, being that this is by far the worst day I’ve had in ages…”
“Kill the wizard and face the wrath of the queen? No, thank you. Besides, I would be outnumbered by women if I did that.” But he continued to spin the blade anyway, as they walked over to an empty table and sat down. “Actually, I did want to ask you something. What happened with Sidonie, with her magic, has that ever happened before? Someone suddenly gaining access to it?”
A kitchen maid sat plates of food down in front of them and a basket of breads. Dagan immediately snatched a raisin oat roll from the basket and scarfed it down, causing Rowan to chuckle.
“What?” Dagan asked.
“Nothing,” Rowan replied, but he was still laughing. Wizards had to eat a lot of food to maintain their energy, but it still amused Rowan to see exactly how much and how fast Dagan could eat.
Sarita passed by, singing to herself. Dagan turned and watched her.
“That song, the princess is singing, do you know it? It sounds familiar…” Dagan asked.
“Afraid not.” Rowan shook his head and began to eat.
“In regards to Sidonie,” Dagan began. Just saying her name was beginning to irritate him. “I have never heard of a person being born without magic and developing it later in life. I have heard of children born to magical parents who end up with no magical abilities, but never the other way around.” He paused before continuing. “I do have a theory. However, I haven’t shared it with Sid. I’m not sure how to without scaring her.”
Rowan leaned forward, very
intrigued now. “What do you mean?”
Dagan glanced around to make sure no one else was listening. “When I asked her who her parents were, she said she didn’t know who her father was, but that her mother was Anassania. Anassa.”
“Anassa? Wait, the Queen Anassa?” Rowan dropped his voice lower. “The evil Queen Anassa? The last known sorceress, ever? Are you sure she isn’t confused, or maybe it’s a family name, passed down? Anassa lived and died some one hundred years ago. How could she possibly have a daughter, let alone two of them? I know wizards live long lives, and Elric lived to be 120, but…”
“My thoughts exactly, and when I questioned my grandfather, he refused to speak about her. Sidonie has no idea who Anassa was. Perhaps that’s why they lived so secluded like they were in hiding.” He took a bite of his venison and moaned slightly. He would have to give his compliments to the cooks later. It was smoked to perfection.
“That does explain why the Sabras hate everyone who has magic, though,” Rowan replied, between bites. “Magic can sense other magic, so if someone came around, they might be able to sense her magic, too. Do you think Adelphie has it?”
“I did, at first. But she didn’t seem to be able to sense her sister’s magic, so maybe she isn’t. I am very curious as to who their father is, though. I bet he could shed some light as to how any of this is possible. I just don’t have the first clue about how to find him. I should have asked my grandfather, and now it’s too late.”
Rowan thought for a moment. “If Sid is the daughter of a sorceress that would make her stronger than other females, right? Like a wizard? I admit, I don’t know that much about it, but it would seem like she would be. Anassa was very powerful.”
“Yes, she was. And I still don’t know exactly what happened to her after the Shadow War. Maybe she didn’t really die, after all. As far as Sid’s magic, who knows? If her father had no magic, she might just have inherited part of her mother’s like most females do. But if he was a wizard…”
