6
S ervants led us into the king’s library where we were given blankets and warmed cider. I sat before the fireplace with Lady Vanessa and Maddox, clutching my mug as if my life depended on it.
Voices came from the door of His Majesty’s study. The king’s voice rose and fell. Father’s was a low, steady rumble.
Of all the things I expected to happen tonight, an attempted assassination was not one of them. And even worse, it led me here: in close proximity to the royals. I took a sip of cider to calm myself, but the spiced beverage only burned my throat and made my stomach turn.
Maddox rose from the couch and crouched before the fireplace, scowling at the flames. “They’re going to make him investigate this, aren’t they?”
Lady Vanessa sighed. “It’s only natural. He is Captain of the Royal Guard. His title comes with duties,” she said, pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders. The scratch on her forehead had scabbed over, but it was still disconcerting to see it on her calm, refined face.
“It’s not fair!” Maddox exploded. He slammed his fist into the rug.
I turned around, slinging an arm across the back of the couch. “Don’t tell me you’re going to throw a tantrum in the king’s private library.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Maddox’s face flushed. “You have no right to judge me! If I had to place my bets, those assassins were witches, through and through. Why don’t you save Father the effort and go tell him it was your kind who caused all this?”
I opened my mouth to retort, but to my surprise, the angry voice that spoke next was not my own.
“Enough, Maddox! You are not the only one hurting.”
I stared incredulously as Lady Vanessa stood from her seat, hands fisted at her sides. Her eyes blazed with the reflection of the fireplace. “Do you think I want my husband gone for months on end to protect a family that isn’t his own? Do you think your sister asked to live in a home with more strangers than kin? I am trying, Maddox. I am trying my best to hold this household together,” she said, her voice almost hysteric. She took a shaky breath. “I know how you are feeling right now and I am sorry. But for once, can you please be quiet ?”
“Mother,” Maddox began, but seemed to think better of it. He was too surprised to even throw me a scathing glare before sinking back into the rug.
I took another sip of cider just to occupy myself. The air simmered with raging silence as Lady Vanessa reclaimed her seat. The voices in the king’s study had stopped some time ago. I winced, hoping the three of them hadn’t heard our little outburst .
It wasn’t long before the knob turned and Father emerged from behind the oak door, his face grave. Relief swept through my limbs. Was it finally time to go?
“Narcissa, come. His Majesty wants an audience with you.”
My gut seized. I stared, wide-eyed at the gap between the library and the study. The king wanted to see me? Did he think the assassins were hired by Mother? That I had something to do with it? I wanted to scream and run.
Instead, I nodded and followed Father inside. I caught a glimpse of Lady Vanessa’s questioning look before the door clicked shut and I was standing before the very people I wanted to hide from.
“Your Majesty. Your Highness.” I executed a smooth curtsy in their general direction, gluing my gaze on the dark walnut floorboards.
“Narcissa. I hope you are well,” King Maximus said. I saw from my periphery that he was standing behind his desk with Crown Prince Bennett to his right.
“Perfectly well, Your Majesty. Thank you.” I was dangerously close to vomiting. No doubt I had too many sips of cider.
“You must be wondering why I asked to see you,” King Maximus said, clasping his hands behind his back. “Maverick. I believe it would be best for you to explain.”
Father’s warm hands weighed on my shoulders. “Cissa. As you know, we’ve figured the assassins were humans. But as for their intentions, we have strong suspicions they are witch-related.” He heaved a sigh. “With the influx of witch magic in Olderea’s biggest cities, lives of human civilians have seen many changes. Changes to riot over.”
“Have...witches taken traffic away from human businesses?” I asked slowly, recalling Tizzy and Lady Vanessa’s mention of witch-owned shops. I wouldn’t have known otherwise, having spent all my time in my room.
“Precisely,” he said. “Local farmers can’t compete with herbwitches who specialize in growing crops, as one example. I’m afraid public opinion about reincorporating witches is skewing downward.”
“I hardly knew it could skew even lower,” King Maximus said. “The benefits of witch magic seemed to outweigh the disadvantages a few months ago.”
Father sighed. “We fear that after the awe of magic has worn off, civilians will start seeing witches as an invasive people taking over their livelihoods.”
I nodded. It all seemed grave, but expected. There were still people eager to push witches off the land—people like Maddox, no doubt. For it to escalate into an assassination attempt was dangerous indeed. The royal family was no longer as popular as they once were before ending the Non-Magic Age.
I had never studied witch history. Mother didn’t find it necessary for me, so I was ignorant of human and witch relations before the late King Humphrey banned magic.
“How were they living with humans before?” I said. “Were there not witches working in the palace as royal inspectors?”
The crown prince spoke, his voice quiet but domineering. “That was a special case. History only shows us that most witches kept to their own circles despite living amongst humans. There was tension from the start.”
I pressed my lips together. This all seemed like royal business, something I had no part in. “What does this have to do with me?” I asked Father.
“His Majesty feels that the first step toward harmony is setting an example of unity,” Father said. He took a deep breath. “Through...marriage.”
“Marriage,” I repeated, unable to comprehend what he was saying.
King Maximus gave the slightest nod. “Bennett?”
Before I knew what was happening, the crown prince strode out from his corner and knelt before me with a ring in hand—an onyx stone set in a gold band. It must’ve been one of his, for there was a pale band of skin wrapped around his index finger.
“Lady Narcissa, I humbly request your hand in marriage for the wellness of our kingdom,” he said, his voice stiff and emotionless.
I took a step back, looking from King Maximus’s calm face, the crown prince’s blank one, and finally to Father, whose expression I could not read.
I pinched my arm hard, convinced this was a dream.
Not just any dream. Mother’s dream.
But the crown prince’s bowed head did not disappear, neither did the winking onyx. I was at a loss for words.
A beat of silence passed before King Maximus cleared his throat. “Perhaps this is too sudden for you, Narcissa,” he said, taking a seat behind his desk. “It has been a long night. How about we schedule another meeting to go over the logistics?”
I nodded wordlessly as Crown Prince Bennett stood. His boots, which were spotless even after the chaos, retracted back to the corner of the room. Father and the king murmured about the time and location of the next meeting, but I barely heard them.
Somehow, even locked away in the dungeons, Mother got exactly what she wanted.