Attempting to bring some levity to the conversation, Kestrel laughed. “I don’t even know what an Ashen is, let alone why it would be so unthinkable to shake one’s hand.”
The queen balked, looking as if she might faint.
Elora’s expression was harder to read. It almost reminded her of the way Leighton had looked at her when they first met, when he asked her if she’d recognized him. There had been a sort of disbelief mirrored in his eyes, but also hope. Relief. A weight lifted.
“My, how little the traitor has taught you.” Queen Signe sighed, her slender fingers rubbing along her temples.
The double doors behind Kestrel burst open.
“Give her a break,” Micah said, catching the tail end of their conversation. A ray of sunshine beamed into the roommomentarily, making the queen shrink toward the back of her throne, even though the light could never reach that far into the room. “She’s been locked away from the realm for her entire life. She might need a devout tutor before she can be expected to understand the basics of Grimtol’s history and its people.”
Through the doorway emerged three young men whom, despite having brushed the tangles out of their hair, Kestrel recognized as the princes she’d been traveling with. Neither Efrem nor Leighton appeared to have changed their clothes, although Leighton’s armor did have a sharper glint to it, as if he’d at least rubbed polish on it and attempted to make it shine. Micah, however, had discarded his old, dusty clothes in favor of a new crimson tunic that complimented his hair and complexion.
Signe made her contempt for Micah’s interruption known. Or perhaps it was seeing Leighton returned so utterly unchanged, as if he’d hardly heeded her instructions at all.
Despite what seemed like a very overt slight, he bowed at the waist again upon his return, deeper toward the queen before giving a swift nod to Princess Elora. “My lady.”
The princess grabbed her gown at the hip, and bowed in return. And that was that. No demure smiles or flirtatious glances. The two beheld each other for as long as was required before Leighton returned his attention to the topic at hand.
“We shared a broad overview of Grimtol’s histories with Kestrel while we were traveling, but I agree with Micah. If Kestrel is to sit on the throne of Caelora someday, she would benefit from further teachings.”
Kestrel’s mouth hung agape. No one had spoken to her about having her own throne and kingdom to rule over. She didn’t even want that! She just wanted Thom to be released and for them to return home, to return to some semblance of normalcy.
“I simply don’t have the time to teach her,” the queen growled through a fixed smile.
“Let Barnabus handle it,” Leighton offered in a way that felt more like he was interjecting before she could put her foot down. “No one knows our histories or our libraries better. He is an excellent scholar, and could aid with her cultural and historical studies while the two of you focus on heightening her magic skills.”
“Yes, your brother is quite adept with his books…” Queen Signe tapped her nails on the throne armrest, considering.
It was only then that Kestrel realized she didn’t know there had been another brother. That would make four now. How many of them were there?
“Five,” Micah whispered beside her, apparently reading the confusion on her face. “All boys. Leighton, us twins, Barnabus, and then baby Nic.”
“He’s nineteen now,” Leighton corrected under his breath, apparently not trying to disrupt the queen from her pondering.
A grin split Micah’s face. “He’ll always be a baby to me.”
A frown had crinkled the queen’s otherwise flawless complexion. “Princesses are trained over a lifetime; we don’t have time to catch her up on all of her lost teachings. There are people suffering now, myself included. She needs to focus on harnessing her magic so that she can put an end to this curse?—”
“She didn’t even know what hailstone was,” argued Leighton. He pulled out her mother’s ring again for emphasis. Every time Kestrel saw it, her chest ached as if he were shoving her back into the fortress and breaking her heart all over again. “When we first met, she had been wearing this ring and didn’t even know she had magic, let alone that the ring was inhibiting her from using it. She didn’t know what Animali were either. And I’m guessing she had never met an Ashen before today.”
By way of confirmation, the queen downcast her eyes. Princess Elora averted her gaze as well.
Satisfied with his point being made, Leighton continued. “There are things about the realm that will be useful for her to understand. If you send her out to stop a curse but she doesn’t know about the dangers of the realm, the historical tensions among the kingdoms, and which territories she will be treated as a prisoner, then she will be of no use to anyone. She’ll be an easy target…like she was for us.”
Shame heated her cheeks. Kestrel wanted to snuff out all the torchlights and hide. But there was a gentleness in the way Leighton said it that made her feel like it wasn’t her fault. And she knew it wasn’t. All of this, being out in the realm, it was all new to her, and she was doing the best she could to deepen her understanding of it all.
But the more they discussed her role as the realm’s savior, the more Kestrel questioned whether they had the right woman.
Leighton was right, after all. She knew little to nothing about Grimtol and its dangers. And according to Signe, it would take years to learn them—a lifetime, she had said.
As if in protest to her doubt, that flicker of darkness rippled inside her. Then again, maybe there was more for her to uncover about herself yet. That sense of intrigue couldn’t quell the full extent of her doubts though. They had been ingrained in her since childhood. Thom always said this world was too dangerous for someone like her. And so far, her experiences had mostly proven him right.
Her chest was doing that thing again, where it felt like it was caving in on itself.
The darkness seemed to be thickening around her. The walls pressing in.
“You make some valid points,” the queen said. “A basicunderstanding of Grimtol and its histories will only serve to strengthen her, and therefore our kingdoms. You may instruct Barnabus to head her non-magical studies at once. She and I…”
