Chapter 36 Odessa #2
He’d grown while I’d been gone. His hair was shorter. How could his face have changed in just months? The chubby cheeks he’d had since he was an infant had all but disappeared. Now he looked less like a toddler and more like a boy. Still, his smile made my heart swell.
“Dess.” Evie tugged on my shirt, her eyes wide. “The bird.”
I’d been so fixed on Arthy’s face I hadn’t noticed the kite tucked under his arm.
It was a bird with orange feathers and a long tail of blue, green, red, and yellow.
Exactly as the journal had described, and carried by a boy with light hair.
My stomach pitched, my breakfast roiling, as Brother Dime walked into the garden. His hands were clasped behind his back, his robes swishing with his strides.
Arthalayus lifted the kite in one hand as he held tight to its string in the other. Then he took off running, giving the kite a swift throw into the air, high enough that Brother Dime’s magical wind lifted it into the sky.
The bird flew higher as Arthy laughed, letting out more string.
The trees in the garden didn’t rustle or shake. The grass was still and straight. The wind only blew for my half brother’s paper bird. And when he reached the end of the string, Arthy set the bird free.
He blew it a kiss and watched until it was out of sight.
“Titus,” Evie whispered as a black puppy with floppy ears and curly hair came bounding through the garden, tail wagging.
I stood and walked away from the table, my heart racing as I approached the windows.
How was this possible? Every time a story from that journal found me in real life, I felt like the realm was tilting sideways. Throwing me off-balance.
What was that godsforsaken book?
“Hey.” Ransom came to my side, concern furrowing his brow. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I lied. “Just Voster magic.”
We needed to talk about that journal, especially since it had been his mother’s. But now wasn’t the time.
“Who is that?” Evie asked, joining us at the window.
“That’s Arthalayus. My brother.”
Margot came to stand beside us, a soft smile on her lips. She looked at Arthy with a devotion she saved just for him. Since the day he was born, that boy had owned her heart.
“He’s been making kites,” she said. “But the weather has been too rainy to fly them. Today is lovely but calm. When Brother Dime offered to help, you should have seen Arthy’s face.
It’s always a fight to get him to eat breakfast, but today, he practically shoveled his food into his mouth. He left right before you arrived.”
“When did he get the puppy?” I asked.
“Just two days ago. He’s still deciding on a name.”
Titus.
Arthy dropped to his knees, and the puppy licked his face. He spoke to the dog, and even though I couldn’t hear him, I knew exactly what he was saying.
Elvi’i elvi’am gelvi’o-elfing telvi’u nelvi’aim yelvi’u Telvi’i-telfus.
I am going to name you Titus.
Evie looked up to me, her lower lip worried between her teeth.
I bent to whisper in her ear, “We’ll talk about it later, okay?”
She nodded, taking my hand as the other kept a firm grip on Faze’s leash.
Arthy ran off through the gardens with the puppy as a man dressed in a legionnaire uniform strode into the dining room.
His blond hair was trimmed short and speckled with strands of white at the temples.
He was tall with a trim, fit physique and a slightly crooked nose.
Behind his wire-framed glasses, his hazel eyes gave no hint of emotion.
His teal coat was decorated with gold buttons and a row of medals above the breast pocket.
The man bowed to Margot. “Majesty.”
“General Hawksley.”
General? I glanced at Ransom.
This must be the man who’d taken Banner’s place after the former general had failed to return from Turah.
“The king requires your presence,” Hawksley said. “Immediately.”
Margot nodded. “Of course. I’ll be right there.”
Hawksley held up a hand. There were rings on every finger. “Apologies, Queen Margot. The king’s request is for Princess Odessa. She is to come alone.”
Margot stiffened.
So did Ransom.
An older woman with short, gray hair and deep wrinkles set in her plump face walked into the room. She took one look at me and beamed. “Princess Odessa. So the rumors are true. You’ve come back to us.”
“Hello, Nathalia.” I crossed the room and let her pull me into a hug.
Nathalia was the reason I loved hugs. As a child, her hugs had chased away my nightmares and soothed my lonely heart. She’d been a constant at this castle for years, first as my nursemaid when I was young, then as Mae’s. And now as Arthy’s.
She knew Father and Margot rarely gave us affection, so she did everything possible to fill that void.
“Finally got rid of that horrible hair dye, I see,” she murmured low enough that Margot wouldn’t hear. “Good for you.”
She pulled away from the hug but held on to my arms to take a long look at me. What she saw made her frown. “You’re too thin.”
“A few more breakfasts with Margot, and I’ll be good as new.”
“You see to that, my girl.”
The pounding of footsteps came a moment before Arthy raced into the room with Titus giving chase. His giggle nearly brought me to tears. “Mother, did you see—” He gasped. “Dess?”
“Arthy.” I rushed to him, dropping to a knee as he flew into my arms. “Oh, I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” He squeezed me so tight it almost hurt. “Want to meet my puppy? I just named him Titus.”
“Yes, I’d love to meet Titus.” I laughed, brushing a tear from the corner of my eye. “Want to meet my tarkin?”
His jaw dropped. “You have a tarkin?”
Father’s throne room was frigid, empty, and utterly silent. The heat and noise from last night’s party had been sucked out of the room through the row of open windows.
Hawksley marched across the marble floor, leading me to Father.
He was outside on his sprawling balcony, overlooking his capital.
The general waved me through the balcony’s doors, and after a succinct bow, he turned on a heel and left.
I waited for Father to turn and greet me. When he didn’t, I squared my shoulders and took a place at his side. “Father.”
My gaze drifted to the cliffside next to the city. My cliffside. My sanctuary. A place I’d visited countless times to escape the stifling expectations in this castle.
The grass was turning brown, the green fading as the season changed. Gray storm clouds gathered on the horizon, and though it was still sunny, I’d spent enough time staring out over the ocean to know those clouds would be coming our way.
“Report,” Father ordered, like I was one of his legionnaires, not a daughter. “Did you find the road to Allesaria?”
“Maps are forbidden in Turah. And to enter the city requires a blood oath to keep its location a secret.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. Did you go to Allesaria?”
“No.” It was the truth.
A muscle in his jaw twitched as he stared at a large ship with white sails tied to the docks. The boat we’d arrived on last night was nowhere to be seen.
“The Guardian is the prince. That was…unexpected.”
It was oddly comforting that Ransom had managed to fool not just me but Father, too. At least I wasn’t the only Cross who’d been deceived. “Ransom had his reasons for the deceit.”
“And what else has Ransom told you?”
“Don’t,” I clipped. “You don’t get to spit his name. Not when he’s told me all of his secrets and you have yet to share yours.”
Father tore his gaze from the harbor, looking down at me. Bewildered? Impressed?
I’d never seen this expression on him before. “There was a crux scout in Turah. It came a month ago. Ransom killed it, but I don’t know if there have been others. You need to warn people to prepare for the migration. It’s coming sooner than they think.”
Father’s face hardened, and he turned his gaze to the horizon, like he could see all the way to Turah.
“There’s more.” I took a deep breath. “I need access to your healers.”
“Why?”
“There is an infection spreading through the monsters in Turah. It’s called Lyssa. I want to find a cure.”
“Yes, I know of this infection. It is not Quentis’s problem.”
“It’s spreading, which makes it a problem for everyone in Calandra. I want access to your best healers.”
He frowned. “You’ve done nothing but make demands since you arrived.”
“And you’ve done nothing but make me want to leave again.” My voice was too loud, the emotion and anger bleeding through. “The west wing? Really? That’s where you sent me? Like I’m a bothersome guest, not your daughter? Did you send Mae to my suite this morning?”
“You brought a monster into my castle. I asked her to deal with it.”
I hated that I was jealous of the faith he put in Mae. “I brought a pet who shows me more love than you ever have.”
“Fine. You may use the healers.” Maybe it was my hopeful ears, but I heard a hint of regret in his voice. “Now please ask Prince Zavier to join me. He and I have things to discuss.”
“We’re not done talking.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You don’t get to dismiss me yet. Why did you want me to kill Ransom?”
Father stayed quiet.
“What is in Allesaria that can stop the migration?”
Silence.
“Will you ever trust me with the truth?”
He didn’t hesitate to break my heart. “No.”