Chapter fifteen #2
I looked up at him, frightened by this mysterious situation. He’d said he would take me to Tavric, and instead he was spouting nonsense about my necklace. I shook my head. “It doesn’t mean what you think it means. It’s just an old necklace that my mother gave me,” I said, my voice warbling.
“No, it’s not.” He turned to one of the large books that lay on the desk and flipped it open. “Have you seen this?”
I stepped forward and looked at the page he turned to, recognizing it as the one filled with illustrations of family crests that Tavric had shown me. “Yes. The prince already searched that book. There was no match.”
He unceremoniously shoved the book closer to me. “Are you certain?”
A strange aggression rolled off of him, making me even more nervous, but curiosity made me study the pages he’d turned to. The illustrations were beautiful, and some of the crests even looked to be a similar style to my own crest, but—wait.
My eyes snagged on a familiar design.
“It’s there,” I said, pointing to the crest that looked precisely like the one stamped onto my own necklace.
“Look, it’s right there!” I said in excitement, jabbing my finger onto the page.
It even said The Kingdom of Branfrie below it, even though Branfrie hadn’t been a kingdom for generations.
Still, this was proof that my home existed here, in this world. Or at least it was known by this world.
How had Tavric missed it?
I looked up at Harlan, hoping for answers. His eyes shone with an excitement that was almost frightening. “You came through the portal,” he said.
My heart dropped and my stomach clenched. Recognizing the crest and the name of my kingdom was one thing. But speaking of a portal? “Excuse me?”
“Only those of us who came from Branfrie can see this crest.”
I stopped breathing. He had said “us.”
“It’s not just Branfrie itself that’s shrouded,” he continued. “Information about our land is hidden as well. So Prince Tavric could look at this page all day long, and he would only see an empty space where this crest is drawn. Or perhaps even a different crest altogether.”
The pounding of my heart made my chest ache, and it was difficult to draw breath. “You’re from Branfrie?” I finally managed to ask.
He nodded.
My eyes darted about as I tried to make sense of his words. “How long have you been here?”
“Nearly eighteen years.”
“But…how?”
“A dare gone wrong.” His expression was suddenly shrouded with regret.
“We’d heard the rumors about the castle tower our entire childhood.
A powerful sorceress had lived there years before.
Girls would go to learn from her, and some of them would never return.
When she died, everyone said the tower was cursed, but we thought it was just a story. ”
I swallowed hard. He was talking about my tower, he had to be.
“So we, as lads of fifteen and sixteen, thought it would be fun to test it out. The rumors were old, after all. No one had actually disappeared in our time.” His gaze stayed glued to my face, intense and disconcerting.
“So we all set out to climb it, and we made it. Fools, all of us. We could have fallen at any moment, but such lads always think themselves invincible.”
“Did you fall?” I couldn’t help asking.
He gave a shake of his head and a shrug. “No. Just climbed down. Got nearly to the bottom and thought I’d show off, so I jumped the last bit. Only I didn’t land on solid ground.”
My breath was slow and heavy. “You landed in the water.”
He held his hands out to his sides. “You and I understand one another.”
I nodded, oddly comforted by the knowledge.
His eyes as he studied me were now more curious than suspicious. “Tell me why you were in the king’s chamber.”
Comfort fled. There was so little I could say. “I was helping him.”
“How?”
“I had a…healing draught that I thought might work.” I took a step back, feeling trapped.
His eyes reflected the low light of the lantern as he studied me, his eyes widening by degrees as his curiosity was replaced by awe. “You have magic.”
I choked on air and fell back another step. “No.”
“You do. You’re from Branfrie. Tell me what it is.”
“I don’t,” I insisted, my heart swelling in my throat.
He pointed a finger toward the door. “I will leave the library this minute and fetch every guard I can to tell them about your midnight escapades. You will be branded a traitor and assumed to be an assassin, unless you tell me what—”
“I was healing him!” I blurted.
His face transformed from anger to anticipation. “Healing powers.”
“Yes,” I choked out, my eyes burning with terror. “Please don’t tell anyone.”
He let out a little chuckle, perhaps from relief. “I have no wish to share your secret, believe me.”
I did believe him, and yet I was less comforted by that assurance than I should have been. “Thank you,” I said all the same, wondering what would happen next. Would he let me go on my way?
The light from the lantern lit his face from the side, and I stared at him, waiting for what would come next.
His fingertips lightly drummed on the pages of the book as his eyes darted back and forth.
He didn’t seem to be focusing on anything tangible, like he was watching a complicated dance play out in front of him.
Understandable, since my confession had no doubt shocked him.
I was shocked as well. Harlan was from Branfrie. I was tempted to ask if he had magic, but the way he’d reacted to my own admission made me pause. He was awed and excited by the idea of magic, so the likelihood of him having it felt low indeed.
His eyes finally cut back to me. “How does it work?” he asked. “Your healing? Do you have a talisman, potions, incantations?”
Should I lie? His intensity scared me, but I couldn’t fault him for being curious. “I sing.”
“Singing…yes.” His eyes darted from side to side. “Very good.”
Several more weighty moments passed by and I finally spoke up. “I should return to my room,” I said quietly, my chest tight with the knowledge that if he wanted to keep me here, he could.
But he just glanced up, almost like he’d forgotten I was there, and then waved a hand through the air.
“Of course. No doubt you are tired. Thank you for confiding in me.” His eyes started mapping my face once more.
“It’s a real pleasure to have met someone from home.
” He smiled kindly, but the stark lantern light twisted it into something sinister.
I smiled in return, dropped into a curtsey, and slipped from the room. I hurried through the corridors as quickly as I dared, desperate to get back to the comfort and safety of my room but knowing it was essential not to draw attention to myself.
Once I was curled up under my blanket, my body started to shake. I’d been caught healing the king. If it had been anyone but Harlan, I likely would have been arrested.
Harlan was from Branfrie. He’d said he wouldn’t share my secret, but I had no idea if I could trust his word or not.
And Tavric… I pinched my eyes shut as they burned with tears. My only friend and confidant. I missed him, and he was busy entertaining a princess.