Forty-One - Felix
???
The headache pulledme awake. The world was fuzzy, my thoughts a disjointed mess, but the pain throbbing at my temples was clear. I reached up to rub them and started when I realized I had hands. I tried to remember what had happened the night before.
Marc and Cecily had come, but I kept them from using the node. Then, in the middle of the night, Isa had arrived. Ignoring the headache, I reached out with my magical senses, scanning the castle. Marc and Cecily were locked in the blue salon, but Isa was nowhere to be found. What had happened?
I remembered Isa writing something, then making me sign it. I had held it to the node, the bright blue when it transformed into a scroll in the archives almost blinding. Then there had been pain. So much pain. My mind shied away from the memory.
She had broken the curse.
I tried to remember the minutes after that, but everything after the transformation was a blur. Memories came to me in snippets that followed no particular order. Vaguely, I remembered pressing my lips to hers, her hands on me, and I was annoyed that the memory wasn’t clearer. Then I remembered asking her to stay and her refusing. Maybe I didn’t want to remember that kiss.
No, damn it. I wanted—needed—to remember. But the harder I tried, the more the memories slipped away. I groaned and rolled out of bed. My dressing gown gaped and tangled around my legs, and I recalled the cold marble under me.
So. I had transformed back into a man, kissed Isa, and begged her to stay. During at least part of that I had been naked, and now she was nowhere to be found on castle grounds.
The light coming into my bedroom was stronger than it should have been. I had slept well past morning. First, I’d eat. Well, after I got dressed. Then I’d decide how to approach Isa next.
I’d have to deal with Marc and Cecily, too.
My headache grew, and I sat back on the edge of the bed. Tea. A cup—no, pot—of strong black tea was what I needed. I summoned the pot, ignoring the way the use of magic made my head hurt worse. The joy of being able to pour a cup for myself almost made up for it. As I sipped, I tried not to think too hard about the night before, knowing the memories would come easier if I let them surface naturally.
It left me with little to think about except how I wanted to handle Marc and Cecily. I could keep them trapped until the princess and her entourage arrived in a few days—a few days? Why did that sound wrong?—but then I needed a story to tell Her Highness.
I’d have to tell her the truth. It wasn’t as embarrassing to admit I had been cursed now that I was human again. Granted, I didn’t want word to get out that other people could gain ties to the Truthhold node, even if it wasn’t unlocked. Hopefully, Princess Charmina would appreciate the need for discretion.
By the time I had eaten and dressed, I felt a bit more myself. It was strange, feeling like a stranger in my own skin, but I had adjusted to being a cat within a few days. Surely I could readapt to human form faster. A mug of willow bark tea dimmed the edges of my headache, and I left my room.
I didn’t know where I intended to go, but my feet carried me to the node without hesitation. I sank into one of the chairs next to the brazier and stared at the flames.
Bright blue. Truth. Whatever Isa had written to break the curse had been an absolute truth. So why hadn’t she explained her plan to me? She had even left the paper folded when she asked me to sign it. Maybe I could find the scroll in the archives. Would it help to know how she had broken the curse?
Magic flared, and I sensed half a dozen people crossing the boundary into castle lands. I recognized three of the sparks: Isa, Berklay, and the constable who had tried to break in not a week ago.
I stood up and moved to the front doors. I didn’t care who the others were; I needed to speak to Isa. Opening the front door, I watched the crowd dismount. I couldn’t see Isa behind the others, but though I wanted to push past everyone, I couldn’t help but notice the young woman in the center of the group. Flanked by two royal guards, her identity was obvious at a single glance.
I bowed. “Your Highness. I did not expect you for a few more days. I have no staff in residence at present, so please allow me to take care of your mounts using the enchantments of Rose Castle.”
???
After an awkwardround of introductions, we all filed into the castle, through the great hall, and seated ourselves in the meeting room. Well, everyone but the guards seated themselves. Princess Charmina ended up in my usual spot between the two long tables. Isa and the constable sat at one table, Berklay and I at the other across from them.
I had tried to catch Isa’s eye several times already, but she was determined not to look at me. When I noticed the way her constable friend watched me, I stopped, worried that my fixation would only cause more problems. The princess had already made it clear that her purpose in coming out to Rose Castle had shifted since she left Haiwella. The contract she needed witnessed was no longer her priority.
“I am glad to see that whatever magical ailment that afflicted you seems to be cured, Your Grace.” The princess spoke with grave formality, though I got the impression it was not her natural inclination. “Fortuitous timing, that, after three months, you get well just in time for my arrival.”
“The timing is not wholly coincidental. The magical ailment was, in fact, a curse that I broke only hours ago. For months I made no progress, but between Miss Cardh’s brilliance and an unexpected run in with those responsible last night, I was finally able to break the spell.”
I hated taking credit for Isa’s efforts, but the way her whole body went stiff when I mentioned her name, I figured she didn’t want to be tied to my cure so directly. I didn’t know why, but it fit with her leaving the night before.
“A curse?” Princess Charmina’s aloof mask cracked, and for a moment she was just a young woman, both shocked and intrigued. “I was under the impression that curses required more power than most mages possess.”
“Indeed, but a node changes things.”
“Then a member of your own family was responsible? Is the Truthhold line squabbling for power?”
An easy lie. All I had to do was agree with the princess’s conclusions and I could avoid sharing the relative ease with which people could gain access to my node. But no matter what else I said, such a lie would cause Her Highness to look at my cousin askance. Charlotte didn’t deserve to be under suspicion.
“No. If anything, my relatives are impatient for me to add to the family and push them even further down the line of succession.” I looked around the room, meeting everyone’s eyes but Isa’s. “There was reason for the secrecy surrounding what happened to me, and I hope you all will appreciate the possible consequences of the story spreading beyond these walls when I tell you that someone used the considerable magic of the Truthhold node to curse me into the form of a beast.”
“If not a relative, then—” Princess Charmina gasped. “The Truthhold node is unlocked?”
“Thankfully, no. Though that was my first fear as well. It wasn’t until Miss Cardh began working for me that we discovered that Lady Cecily had gained a tie to the node through me.”
The princess’s eyes narrowed at the mention of Cecily, but she didn’t interrupt. I recounted what had happened, my foolish reliance on a secretary who turned out to be my curser’s accomplice, the discoveries Isa had made, and the events of the night before. I glossed over how Isa came to work for me and omitted her presence at the castle the night before entirely. When I finished, there was a moment of silence.
Princess Charmina’s eyes were wide, and it took her a moment to remember that she was the only person in the room who outranked me, and that it fell on her to pass judgment. She looked back at her guards. “Peter, I’d like you to question His Grace’s prisoners alongside Constable Berklay.”
The male guard nodded.
“Go straight through the great hall and turn left.” I told the men. “They are in the corner room. I will unlock it once you are at the door.”
The constable didn’t get up. “I’m not going anywhere until I know what you did with Isa.”
“I’ve already informed you that she used her familiarity with truth-magics and a patience I don’t possess to help me understand the node better. She discovered Marc’s deceptions and paved the way for me to break the curse.”
“But why was she at Rose Castle in the first place? There are some pretty damning rumors going around Leort, and I’m not satisfied they are without merit.”
“I am familiar with the rumors you are referring to,” I told him, aware that the princess was listening to our exchange with rapt attention. “They were a part of Marc’s plan to discredit me, as I already explained. Miss Cardh was here to help me break the curse, nothing more. Though I suppose, to reassure you, I shall have to relinquish the little bit of dignity I maintained having told you of the curse. The term beast might have given you a false impression. I spent the past few months as a cat, Constable. Nothing untoward happened with Miss Cardh.”
He grumbled, and Isa said something to him in a voice too low to hear, her expression fierce. Frederic looked at her, then away. He stood and joined the guard, Peter. “Let’s see these prisoners, then.”
They left. The princess watched me for a few heartbeats, then stood. “I’d like a private word please, Your Grace.”
I followed her to the corner of the room farthest from Isa, feeling her guard’s stare with every step. Berklay moved around to stand by Isa, leaving the princess and me alone on one side of the room.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“I understand your reasons for secrecy and desire not to name the exact manner in which a person can tie themselves to the node without being born into the Truthholder family. I can respect those secrets. But there is something else you talked around that I cannot ignore.”
I waited.
“How did Miss Cardh come to help you, when you had sent everyone but your secretary away months prior?”
“There is a law, a remnant from generations ago, that details the hierarchy among male relations in determining authority over women.” I spoke slowly, not sure why I didn’t try to prevaricate, but certain that I needed to tell the truth. Perhaps I wanted the princess to condemn me, for she had the power that others lacked, and I needed to be held accountable for what I had done. “Edwin Cardh came to Rose Castle about two months after I was cursed, hoping to steal from me. When I caught him, I offered an exchange. I’d let him go free if he sent his daughter to help me break the curse. Because of this law, Edwin, as Isa’s closest male relative, was able to sign in her name and make the contract binding.”
Princess Charmina’s eyes went wide. “How can that be legal?”
“A technicality. The node is not sentient. It does not judge the spirit of the law, only the letter. It cannot understand that the law granting women legal rights strips their male relatives of the right to sign for them. I abused this loophole to force Isa’s presence.”
“You admit it was an abuse of power?”
“I do. I plan to see the old law struck down as soon as possible. But I want you to know that I did not subvert the law lightly. It is not an excuse for what I did, but if I had not genuinely believed that my node had been unlocked and feared the result of word getting out, I would never have done such a thing.”
Princess Charmina pursed her lips. “Your words might offer a sliver of reassurance, if I didn’t wonder if you are immune to the truth-telling enchantment enveloping your home.”
I nodded, conceding the point. “I am, indeed, immune. However, Isa can truth-read me if you seek reassurance.”
Her Highness looked over to where Isa stood. “Miss Cardh, may I borrow you for a moment?”
Isa straightened and hurried over, her attention firmly fixed on the princess. “Yes, Your Highness?”
“With a simple yes or no, please answer this question. Can you truth-read Duke Felix right now?”
She almost looked at me, but stopped herself. “Yes.”
Princess Charmina turned back to me. “Your Grace, if you’d had no reason to suspect that your node was unlocked and had only the task of transforming yourself back into human form as motivation, would you have signed that contract with Edwin Cardh?”
“No.”
I watched Isa, willing her to look at me. She didn’t. But her eyes widened, a reaction that the princess did not overlook.
“Miss Cardh?”
“He spoke the truth.”
“It surprised you.”
Isa leveled a steady gaze on Her Highness. “It did not surprise me that his words were technically true. It was the degree to which they were true. There was no hint of subterfuge or misdirection. Based on what I sensed, I feel confident in saying that His Grace is not only giving an answer with the clarity of hindsight. At no point in time would he ever have signed that contract, if it was only his own form at risk.”
“That is reassuring to hear. Thank you, Miss Cardh.”
Isa recognized the dismissal and walked away, still not meeting my eyes, though my gaze didn’t waver.
“You have provided me with reassurance on this one point, Your Grace, but you must admit that it is a shaky foundation. The Truthhold node is powerful beyond comprehension. To know that such a subversion of the law is possible, that the node will bind people to do that which a human would deem illegal, is worrying. I plan to bring this issue to the attention of my parents. I don’t know what they will say, but I think, at the very least, someone should inspect contracts for hidden surprises before they are witnessed and passed through the node.”
“I recently had a similar thought, Your Highness. I serve as a mediator between parties during negotiations, but I have always left the wording of the final contract up to those involved. It occurred to me that having someone go over the contracts on my behalf might be wise. Instead of letting my neutral status keep me from helping either side, I should instead actively protect all parties from malicious contractual language.”
“I think it might be better if this person is hired by the crown, rather than answering to you.”
“May I recommend someone for the position? I don’t think you’ll have any reason to doubt her abilities or integrity.”
Princess Charmina looked at Isa. “I had been thinking of enticing Miss Cardh back to Haiwella. I know she would like the chance to get away from the prejudices entrenched in Leort.” She glanced at me and smiled. “But perhaps not so far away.”