38
M isty was two months old when she first spoke. She was in her makeshift bed beneath mine, blinking with sleepy eyes when I awoke her. I wanted to show her the new toy I had made—a handful of gray-blue pigeon feathers tied to one of my hair ribbons.
“Look Misty,” I said, dangling the contraption over my feet. “I brought you something to play with.”
My stockings were torn and dirty from scouring the garden for the nicest feathers, but luckily Mother was out. She would punish me if she saw them.
Your mother does not sound very nice, my kitten mewed.
I started, scrambling to the floor. “You’re speaking! And you can hear my thoughts,” I beamed as Misty meandered to my lap. “I thought it would take another week at least.”
Animals were very much like people. They said nothing decipherable until a certain age, but they were much faster learners .
Misty pawed at the feathers. Like I said, your mother doesn’t sound very nice.
I pouted. I needed to convince Mother to let me keep Misty as a proper house cat. That would only work if Misty was exceptionally well-behaved. And if she liked Mother.
“Of course she’s nice,” I said, stringing the feathers across the floor. Misty pounced. “She just wants me to be the best. That’s all.”
Misty gnawed on the feathers and spit them out. I couldn’t help but giggle at how silly she looked. I couldn’t imagine why the crown prince thought dusty old books were more interesting than kittens.
That doesn’t sound fun, Misty meowed, rolling onto her back. I rubbed her soft underbelly, moving the feathers aside. The movement only made her jump back onto her feet and fly at them at full speed.
I watched her wrestle with the toy for a minute until she tore it apart. The pigeon feathers were in shreds, the scarlet ribbon frayed. I frowned and tucked the mangled toy behind my back.
“Not everything is about fun,” I said in my best disciplinary voice I had adopted from Mother.
Misty tilted her head. It isn’t?
“No, it is not. We will have to behave occasionally too,” I said. I peered under my bed frame, wrinkling my nose at the smell wafting from Misty’s burrow. “Let’s start with house training.”
I TURNED THE KNOB TO my room in the opera house, now cleared of everything besides Misty and Pippin who were both fast asleep on the mattress. Weak daylight streamed in through the balcony.
It had rained again last night, droplets drenching the streets and pitter pattering against the window in a comforting hum as I slept. We planned to leave at noon, as everyone had retired late.
I didn’t have a chance to try my magic again. The third floor of the opera was considerably vacant pest-wise, and the cats were already asleep by the time I went upstairs. They looked too precious to wake, as they did now.
Misty was curled against Pippin, both of them shaped like two furry crescent moons. I ran my fingers over Misty’s side, surprised at the weight she had put on the last time I had studied her.
She shifted. Morning already?
A giant smile split my face. “You’re speaking!”
Misty sat up and I gathered her into my arms, squeezing her to my chest. I knew she hated tight hugs, but she didn’t move away.
To be fair, I have always spoken. You just didn’t understand me, Misty meowed, squirming away after a full minute. Everything worked out, then?
“Yes.” I wiped away the moisture in my eyes. “Yes, it did. I love you.”
I love you too, darling, Misty said. She nuzzled my cheek, whiskers tickling my nose.
“We’re going home today,” I said, tilting my head up to keep the tears in. They were happy tears, but my eyes still ached.
Pippin stirred from the noise, yawning and stretching his paws. Home? he meowed.
“Back to Delibera,” I said. “You’re going to live in the palace, Pippin. ”
The tabby cat blinked. Am I? He stood, his fur ruffled and his brow lowered. Would I even be welcome?
“Of course. You’re Bennett’s cat.” I reached over for him, but he evaded me. I raised my brows. He never refused a good petting. “What’s wrong?”
Bennett abandoned me, Pippin meowed. I’m his cat but he abandoned me. Vulgar way to treat a stray, don’t you think?
“Oh, Pippin,” I said, sitting on the mattress. “He didn’t have a choice. His father—”
Of course he had a choice , he said, turning up his nose. He made a choice to adopt me regardless of his father. He could have taken me with him this week, or he could have stayed. He just didn’t want to.
I didn’t think explaining royal obligation to a stray would be productive, so I changed the subject, telling the cats that their breakfast was ready in the courtyard.
Lady Ruan saw us off, waving from the steps of the opera house. I suspected she was glad to be rid of us after we destroyed her suspension wires and arrested her star soprano.
Celeste and Dominic were in a separate carriage, being watched by Maddox. I hoped they would be well-behaved prisoners for the length of the trip.
Misty put a paw on my hand as the carriage rolled off, rattling down the dreary cobblestone streets. Pippin is right, you know , she meowed, blinking up from my lap.
She felt heavier. I shifted in my seat to redistribute her weight. Pippin had fallen back asleep against my thigh, oblivious to our conversation.
“Misty...”
Bennett always had a choice. He chose to love you in spite of the king .
“I don’t know if love is a choice, Misty.” I turned to the window, my breath fogging up the glass. “And he’s the crown prince. It has always been more than just me and him.”
Bennett had forgotten his title when he was with me. But the people of Olderea came first. He had a duty to them and to their king. I thought back to Ferdinand and Gio and all the others who greeted me at the opera house.
If Bennett left me for their sakes, I found that easier to swallow.
I sighed. Why did it matter now? He was going to spend the next year without me. By the end of it he would have reverted back to his old self, silent and unmoving. Pretending like nothing had happened. Would I do the same?
Don’t tell me we’re going to spend the next year miserable and locked in your room again. Misty nudged my hand.
“We won’t,” I assured her. “We can take more walks.”
You’re not listening to me. You need to be with him.
I looked at her, surprised at the urgency of her tone. “Misty, I’ll have you and Maddox and Lady Vanessa and Father. We will be fine.”
No. You’ll be miserable. And he will be miserable.
“But King Maximus said—”
The king has issues.
I laughed. “My mother has that effect on people.”
Mother always fancied the king—that I knew even as a child. Whether she genuinely loved him or only cared about his title was unclear to me, but from the way King Maximus controlled Bennett regarding matters of the heart, I figured it was the former. Whatever Mother did, she never skimped on effort. Her love must have been a strong one. So strong it made the king not want the same for his son.
I want you to be happy , Misty meowed. I pet her ears fondly. Father said the same thing earlier this winter. I wasn’t sure if I had fulfilled his wishes.
“I am happy,” I said to Misty softly. “I have you.”
She tilted her head. I’m having kittens , she mewed.
My eyes widened. “What?”
Misty nodded, rolling onto her back to show me. I touched her belly, which had certainly expanded in the past few weeks. That explained the extra weight. “Pippin, you rascal,” I whispered to the sleeping tabby cat.
By the time I have my litter I expect you to have everything sorted out with the king. Pippin wants to be with Bennett. I can’t have us separated.
I hugged her close, feeling tears prick my eyes again. My kitten was having kittens.
Misty squirmed upright, narrowing her green eyes. Promise me. If you won’t do it for yourself, at least do it for me.
My throat grew tight. Would King Maximus listen to sense? Would Bennett attempt to persuade him? I squeezed my eyes shut. Did Bennett even want to see me again?
Don’t talk nonsense , Misty thought to me. Of course he does.
Hearing her voice in my head again was so comforting I didn’t care if I believed her words or not.
“Alright,” I said. “I promise.”
THE NEXT FEW WEEKS passed by in a blur. Celeste and Dominic were thankfully well-behaved prisoners, despite the occasional cursing and insults that erupted from their carriage. We passed through Vandil and stayed at Lady Mariana’s again. The witch market reparations were coming along nicely and the inhabitants welcomed me with open arms .
I was showered with gifts from fine, shimmering fabrics to glossy-leafed plants to magical charms and knick-knacks. An elderly witch woman stuffed a packet of herbs into my hands.
“For plenty of children between you and the crown prince.” She walked off with a wink, the beaded ornaments on her belt jangling. I kept my composure until I was back in the carriage, where I shoved it into the trunk of gifts, hoping it would magically get lost.
That evening Giselle showed me a copy of the morning post. Sister Scarlett’s article was plastered on the front page.
Madly In Love: An Exclusive Interview with Lady Narcissa Greenwood
On a rainy Friday evening, Lady Narcissa Greenwood was spotted before the Grand Alevine Opera, personally welcoming witch guests as they streamed into the auditorium. Though I was not invited to that night’s show, I jumped at the opportunity to interview the future princess herself.
When asked about the previous night’s rebel arrest, Lady Narcissa claimed ignorance of the incident and declined to comment further on the political side of things. She did, however, eagerly turn the discussion to her relationship with Crown Prince Bennett.
“We are head over heels in love with each other,” Lady Narcissa had said, lovely eyes shining, “and we plan on having five children once we’re married.”
She laments being separated from her fiancé on such short notice, admitting that it has been especially difficult. Her mood seemed to improve when she discussed King Maximus’s efforts in scouring Olderea for the best nannies.
I can only suspect that Lady Narcissa is already with child after so many months alone with Crown Prince Bennett. Why else would the king be looking for caretakers before the wedding? Could it be that she is already Princess Narcissa?
I balled the paper up and threw it at Giselle who was guffawing uncontrollably. “Stop it!” My face heated as she dodged and continued cackling. “I said what I had to to get rid of the woman.”
Maddox made a series of unpleasant kissing noises. “Whatever you say, Princess Narcissa.”
I endured another three days of relentless teasing from both of them.
On our last night on the road, we spotted the gates of Delibera in the distance, silhouetted by the dimming sky. Lord Frederick ordered the men to set up camp in the forest clearing. The prisoners were being tied to trees as I took a turn around the grounds to stretch my legs.
“You know they will never accept us, Narcissa,” Celeste called out.
I paused. Lord Frederick advised me not to speak to the prisoners. I was diligent in avoiding Dominic, but not so much Celeste. The singer was now dressed in a plain brown ensemble instead of her glittering stage costume. Her hair had lost its luster, hanging in loose tangles down her back. She looked at me with a grave expression.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I said stiffly, ready to walk off. Celeste scoffed.
“The humans. They will never accept witches no matter how many laws you change. No matter who pledges their allegiance to you.” She gave an icy glare to Dominic across the camp. He was dozing off against his tree. She returned her dark gaze to me. “You thought your prince loved you. But where was the fool when you lost your magic?”
I clenched my jaw. “You will speak of His Highness with respect.”
Celeste laughed and shook her head. “Don’t you get it, Narcissa? Humans don’t see us as people. They see us as our magic—something to be used and feared. Once our magic is gone we are nothing. The sooner you realize that the better.”
I turned abruptly and walked off to the center of camp, where a happy fire was blazing. Giselle and Maddox sat on a log eating stew, bickering about something. I pressed my lips together, throwing a glance back at Celeste. She was wrong about Bennett. He never feared my magic, nor did he ever want to use it.
If Bennett ever loved me, it was for me.
The next day, we entered Delibera. The familiarity of the city felt foreign after months of new sights and new roads.
Lord Frederick peered in through the carriage window when we stopped for a break. Half the guard split off to escort Dominic and Celeste to the palace, but Lord Frederick stayed with me. “Where to, milady? The palace or...?”
Our trip had given me plenty of time to think. The entirety of the company had heard about King Maximus’s one-year-postponement decree at this point. Not to mention, my last impression of the palace had been tainted by Mother’s presence, my mind too plagued with thoughts of her.
I never wanted to see her again. The realization should have come to me sooner. I needed to dispel her—if not from my memory—from my life. She had done enough damage.
I set my jaw, gazing at the turquoise tiled rooftops of the city.
“Greenwood Abbey, please.”