Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Theo’s spirits lifted when they cleared the city.
Any desire to visit the celebrated floating gardens had evaporated the moment the viscount had weaseled his way onto the outing.
Giving his horse its head on an open road was infinitely preferable.
Elowen seemed more relaxed as well. She had a good seat, her willowy form in perfect harmony with the bronze-colored mare she was riding.
He found himself stealing looks at her as her hair started to come loose from its bindings, streaming in a golden wave behind her. He was startled by a sudden desire to reach over and run his fingers through it.
Enough, he told himself sternly. He needed to get hold of himself.
He thought he’d grown beyond frivolous desires, but they seemed to be flitting through him with alarming frequency since he’d met Elowen.
He needed to act like the prince and representative of Siqual that he was, not like some minor noble vying for the princess’s favor.
“There they are.”
Elowen’s call drew Theo’s attention to the road far ahead. He could see the small party that consisted of the prince, the viscount, and four guards. They didn’t seem to have noticed their pursuers, and as Theo watched, they followed the road under the shelter of a copse of trees in the distance.
“I wish we had time to stop,” Elowen said brightly. “But this isn’t the time for a hunt.”
Her friend laughed. “I suppose not.”
“A hunt?” Theo asked, mesmerized by how Elowen’s increasingly casual air changed her countenance. She was even prettier when relaxed, if that were possible.
The smile she sent him was only a little self-conscious. “This is the route to Sophia’s family estate, which I visited a number of times as a child. This region is known for wolpertingers and we used to hunt for them in all the wooded areas along the way. Drove our minders mad.”
She sent a cheeky look toward her two guards, whom Theo noticed had an air of long-suffering. His own guard, an easy-going middle-aged man who’d been with Theo for years, met Theo’s eyes with a twinkle that seemed to say, take the opening.
Theo shot him a wry look, not eager to receive romantic advice from his attendants. Although he supposed Paulson should know, given he’d been happily married for some thirty years.
“Did you ever find any?” Theo asked Elowen a short time later, as they passed beneath the first branches of the copse.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. We thought we caught a glimpse once, but I have a feeling it was just an ordinary squirrel.”
“What do you think, Paulson?” Theo asked his guard. “Do you sense any movement from wolpertingers among these trees?”
“I don’t, Your Highness.”
“Are you a craftsman as well as a guard?” Elowen asked curiously, immediately grasping the implication of Theo’s question.
Wolpertingers weren’t a source of fascination solely for their unusual shape, with the form of a squirrel, the wings of a woodland bird, and surprisingly large antlers.
They were also known for the excessive and disproportionate volume of magic generated by their movements.
It was why they were protected, and it was illegal to breed, farm, or hunt them.
Difficult as they were to spot, someone with a good sense of magic should be able to feel the movements of nearby wolpertingers.
“I’ve recently begun the study, Your Highness,” Paulson told the princess with a respectful smile. “It’s most fascinating, but I’m far from an expert in the field.”
“My sister’s recent experiences have highlighted to my family the value of having guards who are trained in the manipulation of magic,” Theo explained.
Elowen nodded as she murmured reassuringly to her horse, which had shied from a low-hanging branch.
“We heard about the attack on Princess Miriam. I’m relieved she was unharmed.”
“As am I.”
The words came out a little terse. Theo hated reliving the moment his sister had been saved from death from a speeding arrow only by the swift reaction of her magically trained bodyguard.
It had certainly been no act of his that had averted disaster.
For a moment, his memory swirled, the peaceful copse turning into the chaotic scene beneath the trees the day of the attack.
When the memory started to follow its usual course and morph into a horrifying image of his sister’s childlike face, white with terror as she dangled from a cliff in the moonlight, Theo pulled himself back to reality with an iron hand.
Mim was home and safe, and no one—at least no humans—had died from his failures on either occasion.
Wallowing in memories that scared him would only distract him from his duties, and make it more likely he would harm others with his mistakes.
“I’m just relieved everyone stopped thinking Torrens was somehow behind the incident,” Elowen went on, thankfully not noticing his abstraction.
“We would never wish your sister harm. I met her once, did you know? During the years when she was studying at an academy in Toledda.” She smiled at him.
“I was jealous that she got to return to the academy at the end of the dull, royal luncheon in her honor, whereas I had to go back to my stuffy tutor.”
Theo returned the smile sympathetically. “I know Miriam counts herself fortunate to have had the opportunity to study at an academy.”
“I heard they were even allowed to study magic craft,” Elowen added. She sighed. “It wasn’t ever part of my approved education.”
“Nor mine,” Theo said regretfully. “But even without the aid of magic, I still occasionally see wolpertingers in the forest in the west of Siqual. It’s riddled with them. I’ll organize an official search for you.”
She smiled shyly at him. “I would like that.”
Theo felt bolstered as they rode through the rest of the copse. Things were going better with his intended bride in this relative privacy. They’d lost some ground under the trees, and they had to ride hard once they left the copse to bring Prince Patrick’s group back in view.
They’d reached a town, and it had required them to slow down, allowing the second party to gain ground. They’d almost caught up when the prince’s group cleared the town. One of Elowen’s guards had ridden ahead, and he hailed the prince just as he was about to increase his pace again.
The look on Prince Patrick’s face as they drew level told Theo that his presence was saving Elowen from a scold, at the very least.
Theo felt a flash of sympathy for the princess.
He knew that Miriam was sometimes frustrated with his caution on her behalf, and the greater restrictions she faced compared to her brothers.
But he had no doubt she knew he cared about her.
There was no such warmth in Prince Patrick’s eyes.
Theo couldn’t imagine ever looking at his sister the way the other prince looked at Elowen.
“This is certainly a surprise, Elowen.” The prince’s voice was forbidding, although he injected a note of respect as he added, “Prince Theodore.”
“Don’t let us slow your progress,” Theo said. “I understand there’s some urgency to your errand.”
“There is,” Prince Patrick agreed. “And I find myself now in the difficult circumstance of being unable both to safely escort my sister back to the capital and pursue my original task efficiently.”
“Surely there’s no need to escort anyone back to Toledda,” Theo said mildly. “We will ride onward with you, of course. The princess wished to inspect the damaged dam with you, and I was glad to offer her my company.”
“My, what an indulgent husband you’ll be, Your Highness.
” There was no mistaking the derision in Lord Bertrand’s voice, or the anger in his eyes as he looked at Lady Sophia.
Elowen wasn’t the only one who would be taken to task by her brother later.
Theo’s only response to Bertrand’s mocking words was his frostiest look, which didn’t dismay the viscount.
Prince Patrick shot a fleeting look of annoyance at Lord Bertrand before responding to Theo’s words. “Certainly, if you wish it, Your Highness.” He inclined his head with a hint of stiffness.
His manner convinced Theo that he hadn’t wanted the visiting prince to witness whatever situation they were about to reach. It made Theo all the more determined to understand what was going on within the allied kingdom.
The group started into motion again, crossing a small river by means of a stone bridge. Theo’s eyes fell on a mill a short distance downriver. The large wooden wheel was churning powerfully, the water falling from it in a steady cascade.
“You’ll see a few mills like that in this area,” Prince Patrick told him, noticing him watching the wheel.
“But this isn’t our primary wheat region.
The wealth of this region comes from ore mined from further west,” he pointed, “and from vast orchards. Both the ore and the fruit are some of Torrens’s primary exports. ”
“Those, and princesses,” Elowen murmured, the addition so quiet Theo barely caught it. He glanced over at her, but her eyes were straight ahead, and her expression steady.
Theo cleared his throat, politely thanking Prince Patrick for the information and refraining from pointing out that he was already well versed in the kingdom’s imports and exports.
He noticed that Lord Bertrand was throwing him a disgruntled look, not seeming happy about the conversation, and the next moment, Prince Patrick had pulled ahead to join the viscount.
Theo threw one more glance back at the mill.