Chapter 26
Kurt had been patrolling some of the military camps on the outskirts of Metz.
The disease that had originated at the border was spreading faster than the fairies could devise a cure for it.
The king had personally entrusted him with the inspection of the area, and the task had already kept him away from Metz for two nights.
He was to return today to the castle to inform the king of all he had learned. Though as things were shaping up, it would take a good part of the day to finish his assessments.
Kurt was counting the hours until he could make his way back to Metz and, hopefully, speak with Elise once more.
The image of her in the gardens had followed him day and night.
The bright greenery beneath the intense sun had made Elise look more beautiful than ever.
Every part of her seemed to call out to be admired: her innocent face, her soft curves touched by the heat, and the blush on her skin that only sent his imagination wandering further.
It had been Commander Langohr’s orders that forced Kurt to travel in such haste. After Elise had run away, Adelle had intercepted him in the gardens and eagerly told him that her father wished to speak with him at once. Kurt hadn’t thought much of it at the time and followed her without question.
Unknown to Kurt, after seeing him with Elise, Adelle had sprinted back and forth to inform her father, and the two of them had come up with the mission faster than gossip could spread through the castle.
That was the reason why, when Adelle and Kurt reached the commander, her father had appeared to be making the plan as he went.
But with Adelle at Kurt’s side and the lingering guilt of having declined yet another of her invitations to a ball, he had accepted the commander’s orders without hesitation.
Pragmatic as he was, Kurt preferred to keep things free of friction between himself and Adelle’s father. The man was like a great pine tree, one of those that prevented anything from growing beneath its shadow. His demeanor was so severe that it was a miracle Adelle possessed any joy for living.
Kurt knew the commander had taken a special interest in seeing him join the family, and although he appreciated Adelle for always being there for him, he could not bring himself to feel any romantic interest in her.
A most disappointing circumstance he had been delaying informing the commander about.
At the moment, Kurt was at least glad to put some distance between himself and the commander.
He intended to complete his duties, learn what was truly going on with Elise, and finally make his disinterest in Adelle plain.
Though he could not be entirely certain in what order those events would unfold.
Before making another round of the camp, he took the last of the magic powder Fabian had given him to protect himself from the illness affecting the soldiers, cooks, blacksmiths, and the rest of the troops.
It was a shame the magical protection was produced in such limited quantities and could only be distributed to those in the higher ranks.
Kurt made his way among the tents, inquiring after the sick and their symptoms. Never a great admirer of unnecessary words, Kurt asked everyone the same questions and only lingered when needed.
He was in a rush to return to Metz, but honorable as he was, he could not bring himself to do a poor job here.
Nonetheless, he carried out every duty with the speed of a galloping horse.
Having already gained some practice in the matter, he covered two other camps before nightfall.
By sunset, he had spoken with two more generals about their sightings of enemy troop movements, questioned nearly a hundred sick fellows, and even found time to exchange a few words with the cooks in each camp.
For some reason, the women he encountered were always eager for conversation, and seeing as such conversations often came accompanied by a bowl of hearty stew, Kurt saw little reason to refuse.
He reached Metz that day with some daylight still lingering.
These days dusk came almost at midnight, and he took full advantage of the longer hours.
By the end of his mission, he found himself in a state of disarray rivaling that of the wretched men in the camps.
Before visiting the castle, he decided a bath was in order, especially if he intended to seek out Elise afterward.
He made his way to his own home, which was about half an hour from the castle.
Kurt’s residence was nothing short of heaven on earth. The three-story manor had been passed down through four generations and was kept as impeccable as the day it had been built. He stepped inside after leaving his horse in the stables.
When Kurt entered the immense hall, the place was so quiet he figured the household was busy in the kitchens. He stood there for a moment, contemplating the place. Countless paintings adorned the walls, their gilded frames matching the many moldings.
It was without doubt a glorious place, yet the emptiness of it sparked a new feeling in him.
For the first time in all his years living there, he felt as though the manor needed more life, more people.
Not staff, however. A woman, perhaps. A woman who would be waiting to come down the marble staircase to greet him.
The vacancy of such a position had never before entered his thoughts.
Kurt did not know whether the war was making him more eager for companionship or if Sebastian’s recent talk of wedlock had planted the notion in his head, but something new was unfolding inside him.
Something that had already begun and, unknown to him, was far beyond his ability to stop.
*****
The past two days had been an endless parade of work for Elise.
She had spent every hour laboring tirelessly around the workshop.
With only Emery as a distraction, she moved from one chore to the next without giving it much thought.
From collecting herbs and roots to dusting every corner of the small magical library, she had done her best to ignore Fabian, and the fairies were beginning to look upon her with more agreeable eyes… well, almost all.
Even though she had not needed to mention the Devil’s name or suggest any acquaintance with demons, no one had dared engage her in conversation. Fabian’s closest fairies seemed particularly interested in keeping Elise in isolation.
Her days were quiet, and she had not really gotten to know anyone besides Emery. Still, despite the lack of warmth, she could tell people were watching her. A few kind glances and the faintest of smiles told her they appreciated her hard work in their own way.
Morgaine was still with Beth at her cottage.
They had received orders from Devon about the witches’ role in the war.
Elise did not know the specifics, as the witches had kept their tongues firmly tied on that matter.
But when it came to Fabian’s accusation, their tongues had loosened considerably.
On that subject, she had received more advice than she would ever have asked for.
Morgaine had offered to bring her a potion to put the man into a long, pleasant sleep. Elise suspected such prolonged slumber could only mean one dreadful thing, and knowing Morgaine, she preferred not to ask.
So opposed to revenge was Elise that, instead of repaying harm with harm, she had set herself to learn the ways of the fairies.
Elise was reading the scrolls and sacred documents the fairies followed.
According to Morgaine, the “tarts” had been collecting that information for centuries and arranging it to suit their purposes.
She had warned Elise about reading it and urged her to see it for what it was: a fairy tale the fairies had crafted to present themselves as the keepers of goodness in the magical world.
Morgaine admitted, though somewhat reluctantly, that their compilations also contained a few scraps of useful knowledge, so it was not a complete waste of time to study them.
At present, Elise had used the last drops of the Dutiful Maid Potion to finish a scroll that had caught her attention.
With renewed energy coursing through her, she couldn’t shake the idea of going to the gardens in search of the Stone of Raj.
That very day, she had learned where the labyrinth Morgaine had mentioned was, and the urge to find the rock had become impossible to ignore.
“What do you think, Bruno?” she asked. “Should I keep reading or look for the stone?”
A loud caw made it clear he preferred the latter.
“Alright.”
Bruno was the first to be ready to leave the room. He darted from wall to wall. The bird was so impatient that Elise grabbed the first cape she could find and immediately set off for the gardens.
The sky was a pale shade of blue that darkened the higher one looked. The gardens lay tangled in shadows, reminding Elise it was too late for guards to be about.
All in all, it seemed the perfect opportunity to explore without distractions. After wandering for a while, she finally found the entrance to the famed labyrinth. She could barely believe her luck as she started walking through it.
She advanced along a narrow path that soon divided into two.
Elise followed the path Bruno cawed at most furiously.
The farther she walked, the more paths she found herself facing, and while she was firmly resolved to find the stone, she was beginning to lose confidence in her ability to navigate the place.
That was, of course, until something far more terrifying than becoming lost brought her to a halt.
“You came back,” the voice of a man called from behind.
Elise’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. She felt something graze her hair for a moment. Her whole body stiffened at once, and she could not bring herself to utter a single word.
The man did not wait for a reply, however, and continued. “Morgaine, you don’t know how much I’ve missed you.”
He leaned closer and took a whiff of her hair.
Elise was glad that at least this one had not dared grab her leg as Henrik had done at the apothecary, but still, she did not know what to expect from what was surely one of Morgaine’s former lovers.
She turned, her hand already tense and ready to deliver a good slap should the situation demand it. But when she saw the man, all such intentions vanished. This was no peddler or man of trade, but the king himself.
“Your Majesty.”