Shadows on Snow: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales) (16 page)

“Thank you,” I said. “I couldn’t have managed that on my own.”

“You’re more than welcome,” Farah said, hugging me briefly, then leaned back to look at my face. “You should have woke us sooner, though.” She took my chin and turned my face, studying my cheek. “That could have been prevented.”

I grimaced. “It was an accident. I dozed for a moment and when I woke to check for fever I scared him. He didn’t know me. It came over him quickly and muddled his thoughts.”

Clarice emerged from the kitchen once more, this time bearing a steaming mug and an oilcloth compress filled with ice from the cold cellar below the house. “Here.” She handed me the mug and led me to the rocking chair. “I know you refuse to leave his side, but you must care for yourself as well. The tea will help clear your mind and reduce some of the swelling.”

I nodded and sat, propping my feet on the well-worn ottoman. “Again, thank you. I know you think me stubborn, but—”

She held up a hand. “As we all can be. It’s all right. Please get some sleep if you can. He’ll be out for five hours at the least, enough time for you to rest as well.”

I grimaced, but nodded.

Clarice leaned down and kissed the top of my head, handing me the compress. “You’ll be of no use to him if you’re too tired to defend him, Rae. If for no other reason, think of that,” she whispered.

“A fair point,” I said, conceding that much.

She gave a satisfied nod and retreated back upstairs, Farah close behind.

“Here you are, little mockingbird,” Belinda said as she draped a blanket over me. “Might as well stay warm if you’ve no intention of leaving your nest.”

I smiled at her before pressing the ice pack to my face. “Is that what I am now? A mockingbird?”

She laughed a bit and shrugged. “You are many things, sister, but that suits you best tonight. Perhaps tomorrow you’ll be a bear, or you could be a squirrel. It’s always interesting to see.”

I sipped my tea and yawned again. “Knowing how grouchy I can be without rest, I might indeed be a bear. I apologize in advance for any growling I do.”

She clicked her tongue and waved it off, then turned for the stairs. “Bears are only dangerous when threatened. When you’re tired you’re much more like a goose. Noisy things with all the hissing. Do sleep at least a little. I don’t care much for geese.”

“I’ll do my best,” I said with a chuckle. “Goodnight, Belinda.”

She waved at me from the landing. “And you as well, dearest one.”

Alone again with nothing but the crackling fire for company, I drank my tea and watched the light from the flames shift the shadows across his face. His chest rose and fell steadily, the rhythm of it hypnotizing. It was not until I was nearly finished with my drink that I realized how drowsy I was, but by then, it was too late.

Clarice had ensured I would sleep.

The mug dropped to the floor with a metallic clatter, jerking me awake. Suddenly panicked, I flung the blanket off of me and sprang from the chair to check on the prince.

As I set the back of my hand against his forehead, his eyelids fluttered open, and he stared up at me in foggy confusion.

“Rae?” he said, his voice scratchy. “Are you—”

“Shh.” I touched a finger to his lips. “It’s all right now. Your fever’s broken, but you still need to rest.”

He took my hand, holding it against his chest. “What happened to me?”

I tried to ease away. “You need to sleep. The questions can wait.”

“Not until you tell me what happened. Did I… Did I hurt anyone?”

Realizing he wouldn’t let the matter drop, I shook my head. “A few bats that got in your way, but no humans.”

He studied my face, frowning at my cheek. “And that?”

“An accident when the fever took you. Don’t worry over it.”

“That still counts as harm,” he said, his fingertips grazing the outer edges of where he struck me. “I broke my promise.”

I shook my head again. “You didn’t. The one who caused this broke it for you.”

“What did he do to me?”

I sat back and pulled my knees to my chest. “He sent an enchanted knife. Delphine told me most berserker weapons were destroyed centuries ago, but this one somehow escaped. How he came by it, we don’t know, but we’ll not let him have it again. It imbues the wielder with bloodlust. Were he successful, regardless of which of us found it, six of us could have lost our lives, leaving only one standing against him. We trapped you and I was able to get the knife from you.”

Closing his eyes, he let out a slow exhale. “The longer I stay here, the less safe you and your sisters will be.”

“It hardly matters now,” I said, rubbing my tired eyes. “There’s more implied by the knife’s arrival than his desire to see us all dead.”

“And that would be?”

I scowled. “You should be resting, not asking questions.”

“You’d be just as eager to know. Could you sleep?”

“Fine,” I said. “You need to rest as much as you can now, as you’ll need your strength as soon as possible.”

“And why is that?”

“He knew where to send the knife, and he knew who would find it. How long could it be before he sends men to accomplish the task instead? You need your strength because we need to leave.”

Prince Leopold attempted to sit, but his body refused. Laying a hand against his shoulder, I gave him a look of reprimand. “Pushing your limits will only set you back further, and delay us even more. Let yourself recover, or you’ll do more harm than good.”

Again, he took my hand, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. “And what of you? Have you slept at all?”

I swallowed, nervous at his closeness. “I did some, yes.”

“But not enough.”

“I…” I stumbled over my words, my cheeks flushing. “I won’t leave you alone. You get into the worst trouble when I look away even for a moment. You’re very exhausting, did you know that?”

The hint of a smile turned up a corner of his mouth. “Do you promise?”

“Promise what? Do I promise that you’re exhausting? I did hope that eventually you’d let up on that, but—”

“Do you promise not to leave me alone?”

My mouth worked at a response, which only amused him further. “Until I’m sure you’re safe,” I said, rattled.

His small smile shifted into a wry grin. “It’s dangerous business, being a king. I can’t say with any amount of certainty that I’ll ever be truly safe. You might never be able to give it up.”

Jerking my hand back, I scowled and stood. “You must be feeling better. Your sense of humor is intact, at any rate.”

“It wasn’t meant in jest, Raelynn.”

I scooped my tin mug off of the floor and marched to the kitchen. “You’re impossible. Go back to sleep.”

“I’m not tired,” he called after me. “But I am persistent.”

“And trying on my patience,” I said over my shoulder. “Rest now or we have ways of forcing it on you.”

His chuckles followed me into the other room, but I quickly forgot about them as I came face to face with Adelaide’s knowing smirk.

“Good morning,” she said. “Sleep well?”

“It wasn’t necessary to have Clarice slip me a sleeping draught,” I said, grimacing. “I would have slept on my own.”

She returned to rolling out pastry dough. “I’m sure you would have, but not until your body finally won out over your stubborn streak. We took turns watching over him. There’s no need to be cross.”

“What time is it?” I put the kettle on to boil and rummaged for tea of the normal sort.

“Nearly half ten.”

“Half ten?” I said, incredulous. “Where is everyone? They haven’t gone without—”

“Calm down, Rae. They’re out readying supplies and gathering what they can for the trip. Belinda said there are horses to take us part way there, but they aren’t keen on civilization, so we’ll be walking at the end. Can your prince ride bareback, do you think? We’ve no saddle to give him.”

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “My prince? Honestly, Adelaide, he isn’t
my
anything. And yes, I think he’ll do without a saddle well enough.”

She paused in rolling the dough long enough to give me an impatient look. “You’re still sticking with that story then, is it? Sometimes I wonder if you didn’t misplace all the sense the spirits gave you.”

The kettle whistled, and I poured it over the little bag of tea in my mug. “There’s no story, Adelaide.”

“Rae,” she said, and her tone gave me pause. When I looked at her, her expression was soft, but worried. “There are very few means of breaking a berserker enchantment. Only two I can think of. The first involves great amounts of blood-letting, and is more likely to kill the victim than save them.”

I hesitated, unsure I wanted her to continue. “And the second?”

She turned back to the dough. “The second is a very rare magic, given only to a special few. It’s the greatest power that is, capable of defeating even death at times. I’ve seen it in weaker forms, in glimpses here and there, in your godmother’s tales, mostly, but until yesterday I didn’t fully believe it existed.”

Curious, I leaned against the counter, dunking my tea bag. “It must be something amazing to be so rare, but what is it? The only magic I possess is my glamour. Were there other spirits in play when his enchantment broke?”

Adelaide shook her head and peeled up a flattened sheet of dough, laying it in a pie pan. “No other spirits but yours, Rae. It isn’t a spell or a gift you know until another awakens it within you. It’s quiet, but fierce. It doesn’t know fear and defeats any enemy before it. It’s frightening and beautiful, uncontrollable and completely adaptable. There is no greater magic in the world.”

“And you say I have this magic? How? What is it?”

She brushed off her hands and crossed the kitchen to me, encircling her arms around my shoulders and pulling me against her in a warm hug. “True love, Rae. He completes your story, and you, his. That is the magic you possess, and one that will never leave you.”

I stammered, trying to form a response. How would she know? Was such a thing even possible?

Adelaide pulled back and looked at me, beaming as she smoothed my hair. “Delphine and Clarice were certain of it the moment they met him, but I wasn’t until yesterday. I know it scares you, dearest one, but can you honestly tell me you don’t see the truth of it?”

I shook my head, still numb with disbelief. Did I love him so much already? Even guarding myself so closely, had he found his way into my heart despite me?

Patting my cheek, she smiled and returned to her work. “There’s some bread and cheese, and a bit of sliced meat in the cellar if you’re hungry. After that, you should start packing for the trip. His clothes need a bit more mending if you’ve a mind to sit with him still.”

Bewildered, I wandered over to the trap door in the center of the floor and descended into the cellar. My thoughts raced as I processed Adelaide’s words, but I couldn’t reconcile them with the uncertainty in my heart.

Magic so powerful it could thwart death… How could that be? When I spent every waking moment anxious over the next attempt on our lives, it wasn’t great power I felt. Could that magic exist in a person living with so much fear? Now, more than ever, the weight of the world bore down on me. What does one do with that sort of responsibility?

Even more, did I want it?

With the wards gone and traps dismantled, all manner of creatures milled about the house the morning of our departure. This included a small herd of wild horses that would carry us to the army on the outskirts of the kingdom. Seeing the animals meandering through the yard around the house was mildly amusing, mostly because Adelaide was doing all she could to keep them from her carefully cultivated garden in the back.

I walked amongst them, looking for any that might care to be my companion for the journey, when one nudged me in the back.

Turning slowly, my eyes popped when I saw the horse before me. “Remy? How in the world?”

He shook his head and whinnied a soft hello, promptly snuffling my hand when I reached up to pet him.

“Such a smart boy,” I said, chuckling. “I couldn’t fool you for a minute, could I?”

Impatient, he nudged me towards the house.

“All right, all right.” I laughed. “I’ll tell him you’re here. Is Cora with you? She’s not cross I left her, is she?”

The mare in question nosed her way in, her big brown eyes staring at me, waiting for a proper greeting.

“You’re looking as lovely as ever, Your Majesty,” I said with a small curtsy. “It seems the country air has suited you well.”

She huffed at me and shook her mane, allowing me to lay a hand on her snout.

“I’ll just go and collect a few things then, and we should be leaving soon. Thank you both for helping us. I’ve no idea how you got free, but it’s wonderful to see you.”

Remy nudged me again, and I relented.

“I’m going already,” I said. “So impatient to see your prince. Wait here.”

With a spring in my step, I entered the house, stopping a few feet inside where Prince Leopold was arranging the last of the items in his pack. “There’s someone to see you, Highness,” I said with a little laugh. “And he’ll be very cross with me if I don’t bring you to him immediately.”

He looked up at me, confused. “Someone to see me?”

I nodded. “Yes, he won’t be convinced you’re safe until he sees you with his own eyes.”

He stood, his expression puzzled as I led him outside. The moment he saw his horse, he froze in complete disbelief. Happiness at seeing his steed washed over his features.

“Remy!” he said, taking the last few feet at a sprint. The prince flung his arms around the horse’s neck, the animal snuffling his back with a whinny. Not many men would count a horse as one of his closest friends, but anyone could see how dedicated they were to one another. Deciding to give them a little time to catch up, I returned to the house to finish gathering my things for the trip.

“Did you like my surprise?” Belinda said as I pulled an extra pair of socks from the dresser in our bedroom.

“You knew about Remy and Cora?” I asked.

She giggled. “Of course I did. They’ve been looking for you two, guiding the herd since they met up with them.”