“Tell me everything you’ve learned. Maybe talking it out will help you see a solution,” he said. And then he listened as the sun slowly moved across the sky, and the sea hurled itself against the cliff while the princess talked herself hoarse before falling asleep against his shoulder.
NINETEEN
ARI’S LIFE FELL into an exhausting rhythm. She’d get up early to help with breakfast—overriding Mama Eleni’s objections because if she was going to be required to attend every Assembly meeting, then, by the stars, she was going to have the joy of making pastries in the morning first. Besides, in the past two months she’d lost her mother and her anonymity, learned that the Wish Granter was real and was going to take her brother’s soul, and killed a man. She desperately needed the small sense of normalcy that shrugging on an apron and burying her hands in butter and flour provided.
After breakfast, she’d head to the library for a few hours of research on Llorenyae and contract law in Súndraille. Stars knew, they owned a lot of books, and so far not a single one of them had given her the key to getting Thad out of his bargain with Teague, although it would help significantly if she had a copy of the actual contract. Not that she believed the law would be binding over a magical contract, but she had to try every option that came to mind.
When she’d finished with the library, she’d spend an hour or two sparring with Sebastian, talking through what she’d learned, and convincing him to share her lunch. Afternoons were reserved for Assembly meetings and sitting in on Thad’s discussions with city officials who told harrowing tales about outbreaks of violence in the merchant quarter and grew increasingly frustrated and resentful of the king’s reluctance to send in the city guard. Knowing that Thad couldn’t use the guard without violating his contract, Ari tried to suggest other solutions, but it was hard to think of anything effective that wouldn’t incite Teague.
Sometimes she’d receive a letter from one of her contacts in another kingdom, but so far none of them had any insight into the Wish Granter beyond vague recollections of hearing the story as a child. Most nights she stayed up researching and taking notes long past when the rest of the palace had gone to bed.
She’d kept up this routine for nearly three weeks when something happened to bring everything in the palace to a halt.
“They’re here!” Cleo ran into the library, her eyes wide with excitement.
Ari yawned. “Who’s here?”
“The bounty hunters from Llorenyae. They just got off a ship an hour ago, and they brought two big crates with them.”
Ari shot out of her chair. “Who saw them arrive? Did they use the palace dock?”
If Teague got wind of this, he could easily decide that Thad hadn’t paid attention to his first warning and send another. Of course, if these beasts really could kill Teague, as Ajax promised, then the man himself was welcome to come calling.
“Yes, they used the palace dock.” Cleo grabbed Ari’s arm and pulled her out of the library. “And I don’t know who saw them arrive, but everyone is paying attention now.”
Ari’s stomach dropped. “Everyone?”
“Trust me. Nobody could possibly look away from this. Come on.”
Together they hurried out of the library and down a long hallway lined with pictures of previous kings and queens, cut through the east parlor, and reached the entrance hall just as Thad and his guard finished descending the stairs from the royal suites.
“Thad, wait a minute,” Ari said as he started toward the open front door. The hum of excited conversation drifted in from the courtyard.
He paused to let her catch up.
She reached his side and asked, “What if those beasts escape their handlers? What if they eat their handlers? What if they aren’t capable of killing Teague, but he decides to take their presence here as a threat? Maybe we should just put them back on the boat.”
“If Teague hears about it, then he’ll know better than to send another messenger to the palace,” Ajax said.
She glared at him. “Teague could ignore this, or he could decide it’s a precursor to Thad’s trying to keep Teague from collecting on his contract.”
“Teague is constrained by the rules of his magic, as are all fae,” Ajax said.
“But we don’t know the rules of his magic! We only have assumptions and folklore. Before we tempt him to retaliate against Thad for a perceived act of aggression, we need to know exactly what we’re dealing with.”
Thad leaned down to whisper in Ari’s ear. “We need the hunters as allies. They might know how to defeat Teague. We have to accept the beasts for now.” Straightening, he moved to the door. Ajax followed.
Cleo slung an arm around Ari’s shoulders. “Ready?”
Ari nodded, but inside she had a terrible, gut-wrenching fear that her brother was hurtling toward disaster and there was nothing she could do to save him.
She followed Cleo out of the palace and into the front courtyard, where staff and nobility were packed side by side along the perimeter. Thad and Ajax were cutting a swift path through the onlookers, and Ari hurried to follow.
When she reached the courtyard proper, she stopped and stared at the frightening spectacle in front of her.
Two enormous iron crates rested on the pale stone floor, each covered with a black cloth embroidered with silver runes around the edges. Vicious snarls filled the air, and the occasional scrape of a talon against the bottom of the crate sent a chill down Ari’s spine.
What kind of (terrifying, probably ravenous) monsters were hidden beneath those cloths?
Beside the crate closest to Ari stood a girl about her age with the lithe, muscular frame of someone whose body was a sharply honed weapon. Her dark red hair was worn long, and a brilliant strip of shocking white that started at her left temple was braided and tied with tiny silver chains. She wore all black, and several of the runes that were embroidered on the cloths were inked into her forearms. In her hands, she slowly twirled a black whip studded with iron spikes.
Ari suddenly felt tremendously underdressed for the task of helping Thad take ownership of the caged beasts.
The girl’s ice-blue eyes landed on Ari and then flicked away to study the rest of the crowd. Something in the way she held herself reminded Ari of Sebastian—always searching for a threat.
One of the beasts screamed—a bloodcurdling howl that had the crowd stumbling back to the tree-lined edges of the courtyard, as if that would somehow keep them safe.
A boy who looked nearly identical to the girl, down to the runes on his skin and the streak of white in his dark red hair, leaped on top of one of the crates, a thick iron chain with a wicked-looking spiked ball at the end of it in his hands.
“Your Highness and assembled guests, there is no need to fear.”
The girl’s eyes narrowed.
Ari guessed that meant the boy was telling them a big, fat, you’re-probably-going-to-be-eaten-by-a-monster lie.
“I’m Hansel, and this beautiful but surly girl is my sister, Gretel. Watch out, she bites.”
Gretel bared her teeth.
“We bring you two of the finest specimens from our latest hunt on the isle of Llorenyae.” His voice rose and he threw his arms out to the sides as if to draw all the onlookers toward him. “Of the Felinaes sapiaena species, pure-blood young adults in their prime!”
Felinaes sapiaena. Ari’s mouth went dry. Panther shape-shifters. There was no way Teague, and everyone else in Kosim Thalas, wasn’t going to hear about this.
Hansel warmed to his subject. “Fiercely territorial and unrepentantly carnivorous, Felinaes sapiaena make the perfect guard beast when properly restrained.”
“And how do we make sure they are properly restrained?” Thad asked.
Ari scanned the crowd and found Sebastian standing at the far edge, just outside the courtyard. Their eyes met, and she could practically feel the tension vibrating from him.
Finally, someone else who understood that bringing panther shape-shifters onto the
palace grounds was a terrible idea.
“An excellent question, Your Highness.” Hansel leaped lightly from the crate. “As with all creatures who have fae blood, iron causes weakness. The younger the beast, the greater the effect of the iron. When you carve certain runes into the iron, you exert additional control.”
He whipped the cloth from the crate beside him, and a ripple of screams and gasps swept the crowd. Ari clenched her fists and fought to remain calm and poised on the outside while she stared at the pair of monsters crouched on two feet inside the crate. Their limbs were long and catlike, but the beasts stood on two legs. Ari estimated that at full height they would tower over Sebastian. They were covered in black fur, their lips were pulled back in vicious snarls, and glowing amber eyes glared at the onlookers. Gretel pulled the cloth from her crate to reveal a matching pair. Iron collars with runes hammered into the surface circled the creatures’ necks.
What happened if the beasts managed to get their collars off?
A tremor swept Ari, and she clenched her muscles in an effort to hold steady.
“The collars allow you to control the beasts. Certain commands activate different runes, and the iron keeps the creatures from shifting to another form,” Hansel said.
“What other form would they take?” Thad asked.
Hansel shrugged. “Usually a rather monstrous sort of human, though some are capable of becoming venomous snakes. Not to worry, though! Our collars will keep them safely in panther form.”
Ari didn’t find his words comforting.
“Would the handlers for these fine specimens please step forward?” Hansel called.
Ari pitied the four grooms who stumbled toward Hansel, their faces taut with fear.
She listened closely to Hansel explain that one pair would patrol the grounds during the day, and the other would patrol at night. He detailed how to move the beasts from the stalls where they would sleep to the areas of the palace grounds that needed protecting, what to feed them, and how to teach them that the palace was their territory.
When he paused for a breath, his sister said quietly, “Better give them the scent of everyone who lives and works here, so the creatures understand not to harm them. No wandering outside the protected areas. No wandering at night. Visitors should stay within their carriages until escorted into the palace by the staff. We wouldn’t want the wrong person disemboweled.”
The handlers shuddered, and Thad asked, “How do we get them back into their stalls each morning?”
Hansel smiled grandly and said, “Ar ais.”
Instantly, the beasts dropped to the floors of their cages, covered their ears, and howled.
“Nach,” he said, and they slowly quieted, shaking their heads and shivering. “Once you’ve shown that you can hurt them, and that you are in control of their pain, they’ll obey.”
Ari stepped forward. “So these beasts are vicious guard creatures unless the intruder knows the fae commands to make them obey?” She shot a look at her brother and willed him to remember that Teague was fae, which meant he might know these commands too.
“Never fear.” Hansel pressed his hands together. “We trained these creatures especially for you. They have their own set of commands. We never give the same commands to creatures heading for different locations. It’s a security measure we pride ourselves on.”
He bowed low at the waist before Thad. His sister barely inclined her head. Thad nodded.
“These are acceptable. Grooms, take them on a tour and show them their territory.” Thad turned toward the bounty hunters. “You’ve had a three-day journey by ship and must be tired. Please, be my guests for the night. We have a feast prepared in your honor.”
Ari sidled away from the cages and headed for Sebastian.
“This is a disaster,” she said as she reached him.
“Teague is going to hear of it,” he said.
“Everyone is going to hear of it, but I can’t talk Thad out of this. We need a relationship with the hunters.”
Sebastian made a rude noise.
“Exactly.” Ari turned to face the spectacle in the courtyard as the staff rushed back inside the palace, anxious to have four solid walls protecting them before the crates were opened.
“If Teague is still connected to Llorenyae, the hunters might have a relationship with him. They could tell him that you’re asking questions.” Sebastian sounded worried, which warmed something inside Ari that felt suspiciously like the tingling she’d felt when they’d kissed.
Not that she wanted to remember that piece of abject (still completely mortifying) humiliation.
“Then I’ll have to be subtle about it. They’re my best chance to get something solid to go on. I have to take it.”
He leaned toward her for a second before pulling away. “Be careful.”
“Always.”
He raised a brow.
“Fine. Usually.”
His eyes crinkled, but the worry didn’t leave his face. Ari knew how he felt. Teague was circling, the contract was still intact, she didn’t have a solid plan, and now they had panther shape-shifter monsters roaming the palace grounds, which was sure to draw Teague straight to them.
It was hard to imagine things getting much worse.
TWENTY
“UGH, REALLY?” ARI set her breakfast plate on the table and stared at Thad.
“I can’t go back on my word. Holding the ball in your honor officially launches you into society and presents you as heir to the throne.”
“Well, I figured it was canceled, what with an angry fae Wish Granter after you and some relentlessly carnivorous monsters roaming the palace grounds.” Ari sank into the chair beside Thad. “You can’t guarantee the safety of your guests, and Teague—”
“The guests can stay in the palace overnight, and Teague can see that I am going about my life as usual, which might deflect suspicion from our efforts to get rid of him.”
“But to hold a ball when there’s so much unrest in Kosim Thalas and so much—”
“You have to be seen as the heir. The kingdom has to be kept safe, and that’s our responsibility, Ari. If that means we hold a ball so that I can make sure you are launched properly, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Thad.” She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, and he leaned against her the way he had throughout their childhood when she was his only source of comfort in the face of a father who expected perfection, peers who treated him like a pariah, and a mother too overworked and overtired to know what to do with a son who was being groomed for a life so far above her own.
“I’m sorry I ever saw Teague. Sorry I made that stupid wish. I just wanted to protect you, but now I can’t even protect anyone in my entire kingdom. Teague is ravaging the streets. He burned down a merchant’s shop. Killed a woman on the docks and took her children. Sent his employees to rob any shop whose owner refused to pay Teague a tax on each item sold. Crime is growing. And I sit here impotent because to lift a finger against him would make my contract instantly due.” He turned to her. “You aren’t going to like hearing this, but I can’t keep standing idly by while Teague ruins Súndraille. I’ve given permission for the assassination plan to move forward whenever Ajax can find the right moment. I’m going to present you as the heir, make sure the alliances I’ve been building with you in the Assembly and with key officials are secure, and then I’m going to set the city guard against Teague’s men. If he’s still alive, he’ll come for me, and you will become queen.”
Panic flared, bright and jagged. “I just need more time, Thad. Just give me a little more time. Don’t do anything rash.”
“It isn’t rash, Ari. Over the last weeks, our people have begun to suffer because of Teague. If I don’t take action to protect them, I don’t deserve to wear the crown.”
Quick footsteps sounded outside the dining room door, and Thad instantly straightened and shoved his last bite of muffin into his mouth. The bounty hunters entered the room, moving with a c
ontrolled grace and speed that Ari would never be able to manage even on her best day.
Thad’s countenance transformed into the beaming, genial expression he wore for welcoming honored visitors from other kingdoms. “Hansel. Gretel. I hope you slept well.”
“Like a changeling,” Hansel said.
Gretel just flicked her gaze over Ari and Thad and then turned to get some food from the sideboard.
“I was just telling my sister that the palace is hosting a ball three nights from now. I would be honored to have you in attendance.”
“What would I do at a ball?” Gretel asked, her voice as controlled as her movements.
“You would dance, you absolute infidel.” Hansel laughed, but there was something forced about it. He flashed a grin at Thad and Ari. “She’s spent so much time tracking down beasties, she hardly knows how to do anything else.”
“If you haven’t brought proper attire, I’m sure our seamstress could make something to suit you,” Thad said.
Gretel set her plate on the table across from Ari and said, “We’re leaving in an hour.”
“Oh.” Thad sat back, and Ari understood his disappointment. They’d hoped to have several days to build an alliance with the hunters to get more information about Teague’s history on Llorenyae.
“Business calls.” Hansel sat down beside his sister and took a huge bite of sausage.
“Where will you go next?” Ari asked.
Hansel swallowed. “On to the port in Balavata, and from there a truly wearying camel ride into Akram with the majority of our cargo.”
“Akram?” Thad asked.
Hansel smiled. “Our best customers. Maqbara prison can’t seem to keep their beasties alive for long.”
A page stepped into the room. “If I could have a moment, Your Highness.”
“Of course.” Thad stood and then turned to the bounty hunters. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. You are always welcome here when you come through Kosim Thalas. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
They stood and bowed—Hansel with a flourish and Gretel with the barest show of respect—and then resumed their seats as Thad left the room.