Chapter 27 Only One Person
Only One Person
Raewyn
I couldn’t deny that I loved Pharis, either to Kem or to myself.
But going back to him now felt impossible. He’d had the chance to stop me from leaving Stormcrest and had chosen not to.
I’d already offered him my love, and he’d rejected it outright.
He could have compelled me to stay with him, but instead he’d used his power to make me leave.
I loved him, but if he refused to let himself love me, being near him would be unrelenting agony.
Besides, if I took Kem’s words to heart and went back to Pharis’ castle now, it would only make him a target for Stellon. And Stellon was the King.
I had no wish to be the cause of a civil war—or a family feud. It was best for both of us if I stayed away.
Kem watched me with hopeful eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “I can’t go back to Stormcrest. I know you believe I’m the answer to your prayers, but I assure you I am not.”
The girl let out another sob but stood, accepting my refusal.
I walked behind her as she made her way to the door.
“Will you tell him you’ve been here?” I asked her.
She shook her head as she stepped outside, swiping at her wet face.
“I dare not. He’ll kick us all out of the castle and die there alone. The least I can do is go back and be with him until the end.”
She was being a bit dramatic, I thought, but then Kem had always been an emotional sort. And like the rest of his staff, she was loyal to Pharis. I felt the need to apologize again.
Reaching out to rub her arm, I said, “The Prince is going through a rough patch, but he will be all right. He always is.”
She sniffled. “Not this time, my lady.”
Both of us turned our heads at the sound of hooves thundering up the village road. Never a good sound in my experience.
The travelers came into sight a moment later.
Stellon was at the front of the pack of riders, a platinum-haired woman riding beside him.
She looked familiar, though I couldn’t place her immediately.
Her clothing rang a bell in my memory though. She wore a long, red gown accented by a silver chain at her waist.
She was an Earthwife, the one who’d assisted Sorcha in the spell that had temporarily transformed me from lowly human peasant into a Fae noblewoman.
Caitriona.
Why would she be here… with Stellon?
Kem grabbed my arm.
“Prince Pharis’ brother,” she said with alarm. “He’ll tell him I snuck out and visited you.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that. I don’t think they’re talking these days,” I said.
And I wasn’t sure what Stellon thought we still had to talk about.
Maybe he didn’t mean to talk. Maybe he was here to drag me back to the palace by force as his father had done when he’d found me in Havendor.
When I’d first met Stellon and we’d gotten to know each other, I wouldn’t have thought him capable of such a thing. But after the way he’d acted the night of our wedding feast, anything was possible.
It wasn’t as if I could outrun an entire battalion, though, or even a single horse.
There was nothing to do but wait for the company to halt and for the King to climb down from his mount.
As he approached our garden gate, I glanced around nervously, looking for my little sisters.
Sorcha was dead, but she had never collected the forfeit for my failing to uphold our agreement—one of the girls.
Did the terms of a witch’s bargain extend past her own life? Did this Earthwife know about it?
Tindra and Turi must have still been at the beach. I prayed they would stay there with Papa and that I would be able to lie well enough to convince our visitors I lived here alone.
Mind to mind, I asked Kem, How many people can you transport with your Evanescing glamour?
I’ve only ever taken one passenger, she answered. And only short distances, within the castle, as I did with you.
Okay, so that wouldn’t work, but I still hoped she could help me.
I need a favor from you, I said. In a few minutes, I’ll say goodbye to you, pretending you’re another villager. I want you to walk to the beach and look for my sisters. Get them as far away from here as you can. Hide them. Please.
Of course, my lady, she said. I’ll try.
“Your Majesty,” I said out loud when Stellon reached me. “What brings you this far from the royal city?”
He smiled at me warmly. “You, of course. We didn’t get to finish our conversation at the palace. And now that Pharis is not here to interfere, I hoped that we could talk.”
He gestured toward the open cottage door. “Could we go inside and speak in privacy?”
I darted my eyes at Kem, who was staring wide-eyed at Stellon. “Certainly. My friend was just leaving.”
To her, I said brightly, “Goodbye then. And thanks for the lovely chat. I’ll return the visit soon.”
Please find them, I pleaded with her silently. Keep them out of sight.
She snapped to attention and gave me a forced smile. “I look forward to it.”
She held her skirts and curtsied to Stellon with a breathy, “Your Majesty.”
Then she walked through our garden gate and down the street toward the beach. I went into the cottage, and Stellon followed, closing the door behind him.
As soon as we were alone, he pulled me into an embrace.
“I missed you, Firebug.”
The intimate contact shocked me. Did he still consider us betrothed?
“I know Pharis made you leave with him,” he said. “He stole our father’s Compeller glamour when he died. I’ll bet he didn’t tell you that.”
“There were lots of things he didn’t tell me about,” I said, “but I did know about his multiple glamours.”
“Even his original one?” Stellon asked, shock apparent in his tone.
“That he’s a Gleaner? Yes. He told me when we were on the road together, running from your father. Why are you here, Stellon?”
“I’m here because I love you,” he said. “And I think you still love me, though Pharis has a way of confusing people. But he intends to keep his distance from you now—he told me himself, mind to mind. So there is nothing to come between us anymore.”
Stellon cupped my cheeks in his hands. “I came to bring you back and marry you, Raewyn, to make you Queen of the Sixlands and all of Avrandar. It’s what we always wanted.”
I turned my head, breaking his hold.
“Stellon… I was confused the night of our wedding banquet… but not the way you’re thinking. I knew Pharis was a Compeller because he took me back to Seaspire on horseback and compelled me to go inside and tell you I loved you.”
Stellon’s face fell as I spoke, but he needed to understand the truth.
“What I didn’t know was why,” I said, swallowing hard.
“Now I have a suspicion it was because he loved me and thought he was bad for me. He has a lot of shame stemming from your mother’s death.
Your father’s treatment of him made him feel defective, and he’s always struggled with this feeling of not measuring up to you. ”
“And you… how do you feel about him?” Stellon asked in a bruised sounding tone.
I love him. The words billowed up from my soul, but I didn’t share them with Stellon.
“I fell for him,” I admitted. “But I can’t be with a man who won’t let himself love me. That would be worse than being alone.”
Stellon reached for my hands, holding them and stroking the backs of them with his thumbs.
“Then come home with me. I can’t help but love you, no matter how you feel.”
“Doesn’t that strike you as strange?” I asked. “We spent two weeks together before we were discovered by your father.”
There had always been a question of whether he was under a love spell. His father believed it was the case, and so did Pharis. Stellon’s increasingly irrational actions seemed to support the idea.
His face quirked, and he was quiet for a second. Then his expression cleared, and he smiled.
“All I know is that I love you. It’s that simple. I love you, and I want you. Isn’t that enough?”
I was about to say no, that it had to go both ways, but the cottage door flew open and Tindra ran inside, followed closely by Kem.
“Raewyn, Raewyn—Turi is gone! An old lady took her!”
I ran to her. “What?”
“Yes, my lady,” Kem confirmed. “The woman in the red gown who came here with the King.”
She darted her eyes at Stellon.
“She rode onto the beach just after I got there, got down from her horse, grabbed your sister, and then the rest of us fainted. When we awoke, the two of them were gone. I’m so sorry.”
My legs gave out, and I crashed to the floor on my knees, holding my head.
“No. No no no. This is my fault. The Earthwife’s bargain.”
My sister pointed behind me to where Stellon stood. “It’s his fault. He brought her here.”
I felt Stellon’s arm wrap around me. He pulled me to my feet and guided me to sit on the settee.
“I’m afraid she’s right,” he said. “I did strike a deal with Caitriona so she’d help me find you. I knew this was a possibility, but don’t worry, Firebug. We’ll get your sister back.”
I twisted to face him, horrified. “How? How do you propose to do that? The woman has magic. She caused everyone to pass out and disappeared with my sister.”
He blinked, his brow furrowing. “I can’t say exactly at the moment, but I’m King of Avrandar. I can accomplish anything I want to. And I am telling you, Raewyn, I will get her back for you.”
I pushed at him, getting up and scrambling to the other side of the room. I couldn’t stand to be near him for another second.
“After all Sorcha did to me, I can’t believe you would strike a deal with an Earthwife—with my sister’s life in the balance.”
When I’d made my na?ve and foolish bargain with Sorcha, I’d been trying to save my family from starvation. I’d had no idea what the cost of my failure would be until much later.
Stellon said he was aware of Caitriona’s “price.”
“How could you do it? What were you thinking?” I demanded.
He stood and began walking toward me, but I held out both palms in a stop gesture.
“Don’t come near me, or I’m going to be charged with striking a regent.”
He stopped in the middle of the room.
“I was desperate. I have no chance of happiness without you,” he explained.
“But you could be happy knowing the Earthwives had my little sister and were raising her to be one of them?” I asked, incredulous at the change in him.
“You are not the man I thought you were,” I said. “Pharis risked everything to protect me and my family. What have you risked? Nothing. You have protected your own desires from beginning to end.”
Stellon’s perplexed expression melted into one of shame.
“You’re right. I haven’t been acting like myself. I’m sorry, Raewyn. It was a mistake to work with Caitriona. I only wanted to be with you. I only wanted to love you.”
“The most loving thing you can do for me right now is to leave,” I said. “I can’t even look at you.”
His hands came out in supplication. “But you must let me help you get your sister back.”
“You’ve done quite enough already,” I snapped.
I shook my head slowly, a new understanding filling me. “And it isn’t your help I need.”
There was only one person who could help me now.
To fight magic, you needed magic. I needed the most magical being I’d ever met—in more ways than one.
Turning to Kem, I asked, “Do you think Pharis would help me get Turi back?”
She nodded eagerly. “He would do anything for you, my lady. I know it to the marrow of my bones.”
Stellon rolled his eyes but wisely kept his mouth shut.
“How long will it take to get to Stormcrest?” I asked no one in particular, but Stellon answered.
“Almost a month on horseback, longer by carriage.”
I tipped my head back, staring up at the low ceiling. This was bad. A lot could happen to little Turi in a month.
“I wish your Evanescing glamour was strong enough to transport us both there,” I said to Kem. “I need to talk to Pharis right away.”
“I can help with that,” Stellon said.
Kem and I both turned to look at him.
“I’m an Exalter, remember?” he said. “I can heighten the power of any glamour. I’d have to go with you, but we could be standing at the doorstep of Pharis’ castle in moments.”
I stared at him, thinking. Did I really want to count on Stellon again?
“The King’s glamour could amplify Prince Pharis’ glamours as well, my lady,” Kem pointed out. “It could be useful in rescuing your sister.”
Stellon gave me a beseeching look. “Please. It’s the least I can do. Let me help.”
“Very well. The three of us will go,” I said. “For Turi.”
Taking Tindra’s hand, I left the cottage to go find my father, and Stellon told his troops to head back to Seaspire, that he’d be traveling a different way.
When I returned to the cottage, Stellon and Kem were talking, presumably about how this would work. I joined them, and Kem clasped my hand.
With her other one, she reached for Stellon.
“You two will have to join hands,” she said.
I looked over at him, reluctant, but did as Kem asked.
Once all of us were connected, she nodded, smiling. “This will work. I can feel the increase in strength.”
She smiled shyly at Stellon. “You are powerful indeed, Your Majesty.”
He smiled back at her, and Kem nodded. “Everyone ready to go?”
“Ready,” Stellon said.
“I think so,” I said.
Pharis had literally told me I wouldn’t be welcome anymore on his doorstep, and I wasn’t sure anymore whether that was true.
We were about to find out.