Her Reputation (The Empire: Book 1)

CHAPTER 8

  Princess Phoenix was dreaming. Colors swirled around, dancing shapes appearing and disappearing at random. Something nudged the dream, and Phoenix felt as though she was on the edge of a cliff. Something tugged her downwards, and as she stared down at the precipice, she didn’t feel afraid. She fell forward, diving off the cliff and into the ocean of colors below. As her body slipped under the cool waves of color, emotions overwhelmed her. Frustration. Anger. Fear. She shivered at these. They were emotions not her own. A ripple of happiness rolled past and she clung to it. A voice suddenly sounded in her head. A voice that was not hers. “Princess,” it echoed through the waves.

  She woke.

  “Princess,” Dame Natalya said, “you were talking in your sleep. Is everything alright?”

  Phoenix shoved off the feeling of annoyance at having been woken at that particular moment and nodded to Natalya. “I’m fine. Just a dream.”

  “What kind of dream?”

  “I’m not sure…”

  Phoenix tried to remember what the dream had been about, but the memories were fleeting. She murmured to herself and fingered the necklace around her neck.

  Natalya was looking at her strangely. Phoenix waved off any questions before they could be formulated. “It was only a dream. I’m fine,” she said firmly.

  Putting the strange dream out of her mind, Phoenix pulled herself off the couch. She hadn’t been sleeping well at night so had taken advantage of her exhaustion to take a quick nap. Even her few moments of sleep didn’t help her feel any more rested.

  All of a sudden, a loud knock sounded at the door. After announcing himself, Lord Gavin came marching into her quarters looking agitated and out of breath.

  “Lord Gavin?” Phoenix greeted and queried.

  “Hello, Phoenix,” he replied, “I’m sorry to barge in on you like this, I just really wanted to be with someone.”

  “Is everything alright?”

  Gavin glanced behind him. “Yes, everything is alright. I just – I just needed to get out of there.”

  He looked into her concerned eyes and took a deep breath. She motioned for him to come sit down, and he did so, taking several deep breaths until his breathing resume more normally.

  “Where did you need to get out of?”

  “I was – I overheard my parents fighting again,” he finally spit out. “They were really going at it. And they were fighting about me.”

  “About you? Why?”

  “They don’t agree on my living situation.” He smiled wryly, “The good news is, though, I might be getting to spend more time at the palace.”

  “Lady Aria wants you to live here with her?” Phoenix tried to keep the surprise out of her tone. The lady had seemed rather reluctant to be around her son, and at times downright uncomfortable.

  “Apparently, she’s suddenly feeling maternal,” Gavin answered sourly. His earlier blasé attitude about the arrangement had obviously been hiding some resentment.

  “Were you not planning on finishing the year out here anyway?”

  “Yes,” he agreed, “but it sounds as though she is pushing to cut out my father entirely and keep me here full-time.”

  Phoenix smiled sympathetically. “Well, I will enjoy seeing more of you,” she said quietly.

  Frantic knocking sounded at the door, interrupting the comfortable silence that had permeated the room moments before. Natalya’s hand flew to her sword, and she glanced at Phoenix. The Princess gave a small nod, and the woman opened the door. A servant came rushing in, pausing in fright at the sight of Natalya’s menacing stance.

  “Your Majesty,” Alisha cried, “there’s been another attack, and your mother and the rest are on their way here now.”

  “Another attack,” Phoenix repeated. “On whom?”

  “I don’t know,” the woman replied, curtsying and then kneeling by her side. “But I wanted to warn you before they came…” she trailed off as agitated voices could be heard in the hallway. Alisha scurried off like a frightened mouse.

  The door banged open and an older man marched angrily in. Natalya moved to stand between the intruder and the Princess, drawing her sword. A moment later, the Queen followed him in.

  “It’s all right, Natalya,” the Queen said, sweeping into the room to place a hand protectively on Phoenix’s shoulder. She turned to the man who had so rudely barged into the room in front of her. “You see? Here she is, not attacking people in the stables.”

  The man, who Phoenix now recognized as Baron Winters, eyed the Princess suspiciously. Turning his stare to Natalya he asked, “She’s been here all day?”

  “And all last night,” Natalya nodded affirmatively. “The little lord has been with her most of the afternoon.” She tilted her head towards Lord Gavin as she spoke.

  “That’s right,” Gavin chimed in, eyes wide. “I’ve been here all afternoon with her, I swear it.”

  Queen Layna gave the baron her most chilling look. Her eyes seemed to pierce his very soul, and he dropped her gaze.

  “I suppose she has been then,” he mumbled.

  The Queen turned back to Natalya. “Natalya, the Princess is no longer under house arrest. Allow her to come and go as she pleases.”

  “But,” the baron began to protest, some of his anger returning.

  “But nothing,” Layna interrupted. “You’ve seen for yourself that she has had nothing to do with it.”

  “A magical attack of the mind does not necessarily need the person to be present,” he stubbornly persisted.

  Layna’s voice grew cold. “Were we not just discussing the ramifications of the footprints? If nothing else, Baron Winters, locking her away in her suite has accomplished nothing. Natalya and Alina will stay with her at all times, but I won’t lock her away any longer. There’s been no evidence beyond your belief in rumors that she is guilty and there has been every indication that she has nothing at all to do with it.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  Baron Winters did not argue further. He gave Phoenix a threatening glance before turning to leave. The others who had followed the confrontation left as well, until it was only the Queen and her personal guards in the room with them.

  As the door clicked closed, Layna looked as though she itched to rush forward to her daughter, but her glance flicked to Gavin, and she remained where she was.

  “What happened?” Phoenix asked softly.

  The Queen sighed. “There’s been another attack. A man was found in the stables, in similar state to the first. He’s alive, but not responding to anything medical or magical. There was another set of footprints leading to the spot but which appear to have stopped suddenly and by the length of the stride, moved much more quickly away. The investigators believe that these tracks belong to whoever the culprit is; that someone may have lured him out there and then attacked him.”

  “Do you have any idea how yet?”

  The Queen shook her head negatively. “The fact that the attacker needed to meet with his or her victim in order to perform the attack but yet did not come within twenty feet of him to do so may lend us some clue. It would appear to rule out a very strong magical talent – who would have been able to attack him from afar and presumably wouldn’t bother risking themselves. Also, the footprints coming near the victim, but still stopping a good twenty feet away, seems to also rule out a physical attack – which we already assumed given the lack of marks on the bodies. It would therefore seem to make the most sense that someone is using fairly strong magic with limited range. There is the possibility of someone using a charm to accomplish their task once the victim is within the necessary distance. This scenario would also explain the lack of magical aura around the scene as charms work in a different manner. We have people out checking all the charms dealers to see if anyone has made any odd requests.”

  “That’s good,” Phoenix replied, feeling at a loss for words.

  “What if
the person was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?” Gavin suggested.

  “Perhaps,” Queen Layna agreed. She was silent a moment before she spoke again. “Lord Gavin, I hate to appear rude, but I would like a moment alone with my daughter if I may.”

  “Of course,” Gavin agreed, and he hurried off.

  When he had left, Layna turned back to Phoenix. “You look more worried than usual. Is something the matter?”

  Phoenix drew her mother aside. What she was about to tell her, she didn’t even want her guards overhearing. The expression of concern on her mother’s face grew.

  “Just as the attack must have been happening I was asleep,” she began, her mother’s curious face urging her to continue, “and I was dreaming. I felt some very strong emotions that weren’t mine; I’m sure of it.” She paused, gathering her courage. “What if I did have something to do with it? What if in my dream I forced my way into someone’s mind, and it hurt them?”

  “You did no such thing.”

  “What if I did?” Phoenix persisted. “The necklace you gave me amplifies any natural ability I have, right? And we don’t know what I do or don’t have for abilities. I could have done it without even knowing.”

  Her mother shook her head once more. “I refuse to believe that. Even subconsciously your mind would still obey your morals. And I know that your morals would never allow you to hurt another person. Besides, like I said, the aura is most definitely not yours. You must believe me, even if you can’t believe in yourself, that it was not you who did this. Alright?”

  Phoenix thought for a moment, then nodded. She didn’t want to believe it herself, but didn’t want to overlook the possibility. “Maybe I shouldn’t wear the necklace for awhile anyway. Just in case.”

  Her mother seemed like she was about to argue, but thought better of it. “If it makes you feel better, by all means. But I assure you, that you had nothing to do with it. We will find out who did, and they’ll pay for the pain they’re putting my poor Phoebe through.”

  Phoenix smiled at her mother’s tone. “Thanks, Mom.”