14. Isabel

Chapter fourteen

Isabel

I t only took a day of pacing around the Palace and worrying about Jess for the King to decide it was time to head east. Alfred was determined to be nearby when she was found, which meant loading half the Palace onto carts and carriages and traveling over the Spires as winter sank her teeth into the mountains. The King's excuse to his advisors was that he wanted to review the troops and encourage recruitment in the towns across the heartland.

No one believed him, but they couldn't blame a frantic father for wanting to do something— anything —to feel closer to his missing daughter.

Besides, the normally affable King had become unbearable in Privy Council meetings, randomly eviscerating advisors with unusually sharp critiques. Many around that table had served their King for years or even decades, and none had seen him behave in such a capricious manner before .

It would be good to get him out of the Palace for a while.

Prince Justin and his younger brother Kendall pleaded for me to allow them to join the retinue. Justin argued that Jess didn't trust us, but she trusted him. If she was found, and negotiation was required, he would be the best member of the royal family to win her back into the fold. Kendall, too young to appreciate the import of kidnappings or nations or wars, wanted to see the mountains and what was on the other side. He had never been on an extended trip, and the whole idea sounded like a grand adventure. In the end, I agreed to bring Justin but couldn't justify taking a nine-year-old. Kendall pouted from the Palace steps, the royal au pair's hand gripping his bony shoulder, as we stepped into our carriage.

The story of Jess's kidnapping was now well known throughout the capital, as the Chancellor's mice scurried in the shadows, squeaking the tale as often—and as dramatically—as possible. His network of troopers, minstrels, and innkeeps made certain some version of the tale was told, sung, or read in every common room throughout Fontaine.

Recruitment flyers bearing the likeness of the Princess were plastered on every street corner. The Chancellor even had a pack of black-clad teen graffiti artists splash images of the Princess on buildings, alongside colorful calls for revenge. She might not have been the princess they'd hoped for, but she was their princess all the same .

In a matter of weeks, her visage had morphed from a petulant teenage girl people feared would one day wreck the nation to a revered near-goddess stolen by the minions of foreign dark lords. By the time the entourage left the Palace, much of the populace believed Melucia was growing thirty-foot-tall monsters and stealing royal children to feed them.

The parade of royal vehicles, surrounded by mounted guards in sharp emerald cloaks with golden trim, lumbered through the city to the raucous cheers of thousands. Danai had tipped Isabel off to the "impromptu send-off" he'd carefully orchestrated, but Alfred was caught unawares. His eyes brimmed with pride as he waved to the unending throng, seeming overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for their monarch. When trumpeters played the royal fanfare as the caravan reached the edge of town, I caught Danai's eye and offered a discrete nod.

He has outdone himself this time, I thought.

Ten carriages, twenty-three carts, and two-hundred mounted Royal Guardsmen snaked their way through the Spires like a sprawling centipede whose rear never quite kept up with its head. The first snows had coated the mountaintops, but thankfully, the King's Road remained passable. The trip to Spoke on the eastern base of the range would normally take a man on horseback a few days, but our slow-moving caravan crawled for more than a week before reaching the town.

I had never been so ready for a proper bath and a comfortable bed.

Everything ground to a halt while we invaded the local inn. Danai had arranged for the inn to be cleared of guests long before the trip began. Alfred and I were greeted in the common room by a line of serving girls and stable boys dressed in rough-spun trousers, thick cotton shirts, and cloaks of fur common to those who lived near the Spires. I tried not to wrinkle my nose at the provincial aroma.

At the head of the line, a round woman in a bright yellow apron curtsied awkwardly.

"Your Majesties. Welcome. Please make my inn your home." She nearly passed out when Alfred took her hand and kissed it. I stifled a laugh as one of the serving girls helped the woman sit to catch her breath.

The "royal suite" was smaller than most of the Palace's broom closets, but after so long in a carriage, I didn't care. Rose-scented steam wafted off of deliciously hot water in an iron tub and was all I could think about after so many nights on the cold, dusty road.

One of my ladies in waiting tapped on the door and called, "Your Majesty . . . My Queen?"

"Sweet Irina, can we not have one moment alone?" I groused.

Ignoring the infernal knocks, I tore off my clothes and had Alfred unlace the back of my corset before sinking low in the heavenly bath. The King pressed a kiss to my forehead, then strode to the adjoining room, where another steaming bath awaited his arrival.

When he returned a half hour later, my pruny hand, still submerged in the cooling water, splashed up in greeting.

"I've been thinking," I said. "At this pace, we will not arrive in Cradle for a month, longer if you stop along the way to review troops."

"That sounds about right," he replied as he pulled on his shirt.

I stood and wrapped a towel around my dripping body. "It's already been over a week since Jess was taken. If I have to wait another month to do something, I'm going to strangle someone. I know Wilfred's men have already scoured the area and interviewed every living person and farm animal within fifty leagues, but I want to see for myself. I can no longer sit here and pretend all is well."

Alfred sat on the corner of the bed and began dressing for dinner. He buttoned his emerald coat and straightened its golden collar before peering up at me. "Issy, I get it. I am about to crawl out of my skin, too. I keep imagining what Jess must be going through and . . ." His voice broke.

It took a moment to gather himself. "Even if you took a few guards and left on horseback, you wouldn't get there for weeks, and I think you'd give the Captain heart failure if you left the safety of the small army protecting us. I want to do something— anything —but I don't know how to speed this trip up."

"I do. At least for one of us." I sat beside him and put a hand on his leg. "I Enchanted a medallion some time ago to allow me to Travel. It only works once and can only take me somewhere I know well enough to hold in my mind, but it will work. I could be in Cradle before you sat down to dinner tonight."

"Hmm . . . You say it will only work for one person?"

I nodded. "The medallion is on a silver chain I would wear for the duration of the trip."

"So, you would arrive in Cradle alone, with no guards? I don't like that." He thought a moment. "Could you Enchant another item to allow your return? Or to allow a guard to accompany you?"

I shook my head. "The elements required for this Enchantment are rare. I used most of them for the amulet. It would take far longer to gather the required ingredients than to travel by foot."

Alfred sandwiched my hand between his palms. Sincerity flowed through his eyes, and his voice trembled as he spoke. "Issy, the people who took Jess are still out there, and for all we know, they could be in Cradle. I am sure they would love a grander prize, and there are only two people in the Kingdom who fit that description. I can't risk . . . I can't lose you, too. "

"I know," I assured him. "But there are plenty of Constables and troops in Cradle now. The whole country is gearing up for war. I could have one of our Telepaths contact the Constables there and prepare an escort. I could make it safely. Alfred . . . she's my little girl . I can't just sit here anymore."

Alfred wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.

Too often, he delayed decisions to give himself time to think. I bristled at the next words he spoke. "Issy, let's go have some dinner and think about this. If we can ensure your safety, I'll consider it."

He gave me another squeeze and stood to straighten his coat. "I'm heading down to the common room. Join me when you're ready. I heard a rumor that the innkeeper stocked your favorite wine."

He gave me a tight smile and left.

As soon as the door closed, I leaped from the bed and began to dress.

I was furious.

How dare he condescend to me like that. I was perfectly capable of Traveling on my own, with or without armed men lording over my every step.

Spirits!

My Gifts were far stronger and more useful than any of his. Of course, Persuasion was important for a monarch, but he couldn't light someone on fire with his words .

Just because he could barely pee without an attendant there to wipe up didn't mean I shared his weakness.

I hurled my corset against the wall and watched it flop onto the bed. My ladies were downstairs, and I had no desire to send for them just to lace the damn thing up. Things would have to fly freely tonight.

I opened my jewelry box in search of a country-inn-appropriate necklace. As I set the first few aside, too heavy with diamonds and other precious stones for this night, my hand brushed against a cold piece of metal at the bottom of the pile. I pried it out and held the medallion to the light of the dresser's candle. A hunting bird, probably a falcon, was etched on the pendant's face. The piece glowed faintly with a familiar azure aura and tickled my fingers as I grazed its engraving.

"Alfred be damned. His dithering will not stand in the way of what is to come."

I slipped the thin chain around my neck, closed my eyes, and pictured the rolling hills outside of Cradle in my mind's eye.

When I opened my eyes, I stood alone on a dark, grassy mound. The medallion flared one last time before losing any hint of magic's touch.