Chapter Thirteen
JOON
Shapeless nightmares fill my dreams. My ears ring, filled with distorted shouts and blood-curdling screams from equally distorted faces, and fires that consume with insatiable hunger.
Destruction and death mix into a cruel visage that fades as soon as I reach for it.
All of it is both familiar and unknown to me at the same time.
Early morning light spills through the window. Far too cheery in contrast to the shadows within my dreams. I need more rest, but convalescing in bed all day is not an option.
My muscles protest, aching and inflexible as I rise and make my way into the bathing chamber.
Violet fared worse than expected last night. Her heartbeat, an unsteady rhythm, weak and irregular.
She will not live long enough to find the last of them. Not without my intervention.
If she dies, I die with her.
Neither of us intended for that to happen, but I cannot chase the look of betrayal on Violet’s face from my mind. If it happens again, she will not be persuaded that I do not intend to harm her.
If I wait to siphon only as a last resort and stop it before it takes a toll on her, then there is a slight possibility I can prolong this until another frost bloom is ready. If not, then no amount of magic will help me keep up my end of the bargain.
Determined to check the progress of the next viable plant before settling on a plan that may not even be an option, I quickly dress in a simple riding outfit. Mingi reaches the door just as I exit.
“You are up early, My Prince,” he says in a way that makes it clear he would like to know where I think I am going without him. There are times when he acts more like a mother than Captain of the Guard.
“I would like to check on Miss Hawthorn’s condition,” I say, turning in the direction of her quarters and away from the stables.
Undeterred, Mingi keeps pace with me. “How uncharacteristically considerate of you,” he says flatly.
Iseul stands outside Violet’s door. The only outward sign of her true feelings is the way she presses her mouth into a thin line.
“The future queen is still resting,” she says after a quick half-bow. “She tossed and turned all night.”
I cannot blame Iseul for being upset. She doesn’t know of Violet’s condition, and it is not my place to tell her. It is better if she believes I completely disregarded Violet’s life.
“I would like to see for myself… and to apologize.”
Iseul’s gaze snaps to Mingi, who shrugs, as if to say he doesn’t understand either.
“Then I suppose that would be all right,” Iseul says reluctantly. “Don’t upset her further.”
Iseul’s tendency to become overly fond of anyone or anything in her care is why I never assigned her to this post before. As it is, I wouldn’t put it past her to fight a harmony of demons with her bare hands if it kept her charge safe.
“I promise to leave the second she asks.”
Iseul gapes for a long moment before she gathers herself and allows me to enter.
I cut through the main area, pausing at the threshold of the bedroom. Violet sits cross-legged on top of the covers. She has one elbow propped on her knee, resting her chin in her palm while she traces the stitching on the blanket with a finger.
She must sense my presence because she looks up.
“Tell me if you want me to leave, and I will.”
She says nothing, only offering a small grunt of acknowledgement.
“Did… you sleep well?” I try again.
Violet glances up, her warm, honey eyes narrow at the sight of me. “You’re going somewhere,” she says, ignoring my question.
“Only to check on something.” I edge closer. “I wanted to see how you—”
“There is always some mysterious thing you must ‘see to’.” She sits straighter, folding her arms under her chest.
“I have upset you.”
“I vaguely remember being promised a discussion of my involvement the last time you saw to something.” She turns her face away. “It would probably cause me a great deal of distress if you put me off again without keeping your word.”
Demon shit. How could I let a human corner me?
“All right. What sort of involvement would you like?”
Violet’s demeanor changes in the blink of an eye. She scrambles to the edge of the bed, eyes shining and wearing a broad grin. “I want to go with you.”
“No.”
She frowns. “What do you mean, ‘no?’”
“I mean, no. It’s too dangerous. What if something happened to you?” I shake my head.
Violet narrows her eyes. “That’s it then? What you say goes?”
“Yes. I am the Crown Prince.”
“You promised a discussion, except your mind was already made up.”
“No. There—discussion had, as promised.”
Violet continues, speaking over me. “You get to come and go as you please, keeping secrets, and I’m supposed to stay here, locked up like some damsel in distress waiting for you to return so you can use me?”
By the time she finishes, her breaths come quick and shallow as she tries, and fails, to keep her bottom lip from trembling.
Demons take me, this woman will be the death of me, even if I break the curse.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Fine. You can come with me.”
“Not just once—every time.”
I drop my hand. “Whenever possible.”
“How will I know the difference? You could just say it’s not possible when it is.”
“Violet.” Her name is a warning.
“Joon,” she half growls right back.
I hold back a groan. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“No.”
“Very well. Every time, but only if you promise to take my warnings into consideration.”
“Deal.” A slow smile spreads across her lips as she bats her long, dark lashes in faux innocence. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Demons… this woman is determined to test my limits in every way.
“I really can’t have my own horse? I know how to ride,” she complains.
I climb into the saddle behind her. “You are more than welcome to stay here if you are unwilling to make concessions of your own.”
She sighs.
“If you insist on leaving the safety of the palace, then I plan on keeping you as close to me as physically possible.”
We haven’t made it more than a few yards away from the stable before Violet twists to face me. “Won’t people find it suspicious—” she lowers her voice to a whisper, even though no one is close enough to overhear, “—if you don’t have your entourage?”
Perhaps it would have been easier to risk Iseul’s wrath.
“Time is short, and it is vital that I come and go unnoticed. The fewer who know about my absences, the better. My people may not be fond of me, but a prince who disappears for long periods of time will raise more suspicion and discord than there already is.” I say through gritted teeth.
“Rest assured, no one will notice a thing.”
“Because?” she draws the word out.
“I will use a glamour to disguise us.”
Violet scrunches her nose. “Do you think that’s the best use of—”
“Why must you question me about everything?” I snap impatiently. I feel a headache forming. “It might be easier to glamour you into thinking you loved me to avoid such insolence.”
She gapes, then snaps her mouth shut with an audible clack of teeth. “Don’t you dare even think about it,” she hisses.
“Does that frighten you?” I say, intentionally provoking her. Perhaps she will change her mind and ask to return.
“Of course it does.”
“It is not too late to take you back to the palace.”
“Why would I go back? You’ll protect me,” she says matter-of-factly, then sharply faces forward, her spine rigid. She saw through my ploy instantly.
I place a glamour over us, changing our clothes to common materials and designs, turning our eye colors to a dull gray, and our hair to pale shades of brown and blonde.
Finishing off the disguise, I alter our facial features by erasing all unique marks and scars, thinning our lips, and adding wrinkles around our eyes and mouths.
It settles over us like the ghost of an image only we can see past.
Neither of us speaks as we ride from the stables and through the palace’s main gate. Violet still hasn’t spoken or relaxed. Her silence continues as we make our way through the capital city.
It’s quiet in the early morning before most citizens have woken. The sun’s rays splash a myriad of colors across the sky, chasing the wild demons back into the shadows where they hide from the harsh light that weakens them.
There are few out and about to see us, and fewer still who even bother to glance our way. The glamour is a precaution I’m not willing to forgo.
Violet pulls her cloak a little tighter around herself, warding off the damp chill in the air. “Anyone would feel the same to find out emotions are so easy to manipulate. But that’s not the reason I’m upset.”
“Then what is it?”
She peers over her shoulder. “What you said was as good as threatening to do it.”
“Not a threat. I simply stated that it would be easier,” I say, knowing the point is uselessly pedantic.
She frowns and lowers her gaze.
Demon shit. Frustration got the better of me, and I went too far. I cannot very well expect Violet to be willing to fulfill her end of the bargain if I frighten her.
“However, I suppose I can see why a human might take it that way…” I concede.
We reach the edge of the forest, and I close my eyes, focusing on our destination as I summon the fae paths. When I look again, the plants give way to a narrow, dirt-packed road. To her human eyes, it would appear no more magical than rounding a bend.
The horse’s hooves clomp over the packed earth in a steady rhythm, accompanied only by the chirp of birds waking, signaling the impending dawn.
“It is not as easy to do as it sounds,” I say after a few minutes.
“The easiest way to explain it is that fae magic is made powerful with truths and weaker from lies. Forcing someone’s emotions to change is to force a lie upon them.
Emotions can be manipulated, but only for an hour at most, and the victim will remember everything they said or did during that time. ”
“I see.” Her tone, like her face, is expressionless.
I wait, wondering if she will say more, but she doesn’t.