Chapter 14

W hen I knocked on my stepmother’s door, I was surprised that she flung it open almost immediately, with no limp in her step at all.

“I see your ankle’s better.”

“Oh yes, by the time I walked back, it was much improved. I take it everything went well?”

“It did.”

“Come in, come in!” Valencia waved me inside. Vallia and Vanessa were in the same exact spots as they had been when I’d passed by an hour before, hair still up in rollers as they carefully applied stain to their lips. Vanessa smiled, but Vallia kept her gaze fixed forward and didn’t make eye contact. “So, the king accepted the proposal? What did he say?”

“He said it all looked to be in order and would become law within the week. I didn’t expect it to move that quickly.”

Valencia rolled her eyes. “After all that work Cedric put in, it feels like it has moved very slowly indeed.”

“I suppose. But I had something else to tell you as well. I’m out of the competition. I stopped and saw Octavius on the way, so I’m here to collect the will you promised.”

“But of course,” Valencia said, baring her teeth in a smile that looked more like a wolf about to pounce on its prey. “I already submitted additional copies to the scribes and records department last night. I kept the original for you.”

“You gave copies to scribes already?” I asked, hesitantly stepping over the threshold. “How did you know I was going to withdraw so soon?”

“You seem like a trustworthy person. Here.” With a flourish, my stepmother handed me a piece of parchment. “One will, just as promised.”

My chest swelled as I began to read, but my insides soon froze and shriveled. “No,” I whispered, eyes skating back and forth across the page, certain I had misread.

The Last Will and Testament of Cedric Frost

I, Cedric Frost, being of sound mind and memory, do hereby make, publish, and declare this to be my last will and testament, and I revoke all previous wills made by me.

Bequest to my Second Wife, Valencia Frost

I give, devise, and bequeath all of my estate, property, and monies to my second wife, Valencia Frost, for her to use at her discretion and whom I entrust to carry on my life’s work.

Alternate Bequest to my Daughter Noelle

In the event that my second wife predeceases me or is unable to receive my estate for any reason, including but not limited to death, mental illness, or incarceration, I direct that my entire estate shall instead pass to my daughter, Noelle Frost.

Signed,

Cedric Frost

“Is something wrong?” Valencia cooed, coming to curl her fingers on my shoulder. Her sharp, pointed nails reminded me of a vulture’s talons grasping at its next meal.

“This isn’t his will; this must be a forgery.” I wrenched away from her. “He named me the sole inheritor. He told me.”

“He told you that more than a year ago, darling. People—and their wills—can change.”

“You tricked me!” I shouted, flinging the paper back at her.

She swatted it away. “I did not. I promised you that I would give you your father’s will and I did. It isn’t my fault it doesn’t say what you thought it would. Like I told you before, you deserve this.”

Vanessa, still seated behind her mother and primping before the mirror, laughed cruelly. I tried to catch Vallia’s eye, but she busied herself with digging through a bag without ever extracting anything.

My chest tightened and withered; the entire world was collapsing. I was a fool for ever trusting Valencia. How could I have been so stupid?

“No ball for you,” Vanessa crowed in delight. “No ball, no prince, and not even enough money to buy a dress. How does it feel? Even if you tried to marry your white-haired freak now, where would you live?”

“Don’t,” Vallia said quietly, but Vanessa ignored her.

“They’ll have to live in his hovel of a dog barn,” Vanessa went on. “Still sleeping with the dogs where they belong.”

“Vanessa,” Vallia began tentatively, but I couldn’t bear it any longer. I turned on my heel and ran out, fuming.

“Good riddance!” Vanessa called after me. “If I see you when I’m queen, I’ll wave!”

I stormed down the hall, resisting the urge to give the suit of armor a hearty kick. Had Valencia concealed the will from me before sheerly for the pleasure of dangling the possibility in front of me and watching me chase after a dream like trying to catch smoke in my bare hands? Was she truly so cruel that she and her daughters had schemed to have me withdraw by taunting me with something they knew I desperately wanted but would never have? Whether it was forged or not, she had already submitted copies of the will to scribes. She would be instated as the sole heir and now I had no way of reopening the school. What was the point in her delaying handing in the will when she knew it named her as the recipient?

When I reached the corridor outside the largest ballroom, I was jostled aside as a stream of servants flooded in and out of the open double doors, preparing for the final ball that night, the one I wouldn’t be attending.

For a moment, I debated trying to find Octavius and asking if there was any way to put myself back into the competition. He had been very firm that once withdrawn, there was no re-entering, though. Besides, what would I gain by returning? I didn’t want to marry Stephen, and toying with his emotions any longer simply to spite my stepmother was something I wasn’t willing to do. I clutched at the windowsill, staring out at the snow-covered landscape. The edge of the lake was just barely visible from the window. That was where Jack and I had skated together. Now, there was nothing. Nothing on the lake, nothing to aid my school, nothing on the horizon, and nothing in my future.

I cursed myself for being so na?ve. None of this made sense. True, if Valencia hadn’t offered the bill to legalize marriage to mages, I wouldn’t have withdrawn from the competition. Had she used my attraction to Jack as an advantage to deter me from doing my best in the competition? If so, she had succeeded very well. I hated knowing that she had manipulated me so easily. Her words from before echoed back to haunt me. You don’t need to trust me; trust your feelings for Jack . I had done so, and she had played me like a fiddle.

“Noelle!”

I turned, hoping to see Jack. How I needed to talk to him.

Prince Stephen strode toward me, concern etched into every line of his face. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head from side to side. “Nothing. I’m fine. I was just…looking for Jack.”

Stephen studied my face. “Why do you want to see him right now? Don’t you need to get ready for tonight?”

So, he didn’t know yet. “I withdrew my name from consideration,” I told him, trying my best to keep my voice level. “They said I wouldn’t be able to attend the ball.”

Stephen took a step back. “Why? Have I done something to offend you?”

“No, no. Nothing like that. It’s just…it’s complicated.”

“You miss your son?”

I sighed. I’d completely forgotten about our mix-up. “I don’t have a son, Stephen. Kody is my dog’s name. It was all a misunderstanding.”

Stephen’s face worked as he tried to understand. “If you don’t want to leave, I can speak with my advisors. I can get you a special invitation. I don’t want you to leave.”

“Stephen— Prince Stephen. You’re wonderful, but I…I don’t feel the same way about you.”

“We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“We are, but I have feelings for someone else,” I admitted quietly. “I’m so sorry.”

Surprisingly, Stephen didn’t look upset. If anything, he seemed sympathetic. “It’s Jack, isn’t it?” he said with a small smile.

My stomach flipped. “Why do you ask?” I asked in a rush, my insides knotting with anxiety. Was the law already in effect to protect us if our secret romance was brought to light? Would Jack get into trouble if Stephen knew his advisor was flirting with one of the girls meant for the prince’s own choosing?

“I’ve never seen him so happy before. He’s usually very grouchy, you know. I can almost stand to be around him now.” His eyes sparkled mischievously. They were blue, but much darker and not nearly as vivid as Jack’s.

I stared at the floor, so well-polished that I could see my reflection in the glossy stone.

“Jack isn’t here right now,” Stephen said, reading my mind just as easily as if my thoughts were written across my forehead. “He left for some business in the next town over, but I know he planned to be at the ball tonight. I know he’d want to see you.”

The corner of my mouth quirked up. “I suppose I could try to make it if I don’t get run out. ”

“Please do,” Stephen said. “I want you there, too. I’ll make all the arrangements. You won’t need to leave.”

Assured that I would indeed be able to stay at least for the ball, I returned to the suite where I had been staying, only to furrow my brow at what I saw. Maids were bustling in and out of the room, carrying armloads of bedding.

“What’s going on?”

One of the youngest of the maids caught my eye and blushed, mouth flapping open and closed like a fish out of water.

“Oh, I’m sorry, miss, but we were told you left.”

“There was a slight change of plans.” I poked my head inside to examine the stripped room. “Where are my things?”

“Your sister and mother told us that you wanted them shipped to Frostwood Estate immediately. Your bag left half an hour ago.”

My mouth hung open. “But…the ball,” I squeaked.

“I’m sure you could borrow a dress from one of your sisters,” the youngest maid piped up. “My sisters let me borrow their clothes all the time.”

A pained smile stretched my features. “We don’t have that sort of relationship. Can I just have my room back?”

“I’m afraid that’s out of the question,” came a wheezy voice from behind me. Octavius shuffled the ream of parchment he always held, then wiped his pointed nose, smudging an ink stain across it. He looked more like a rat than ever .

“Why not?”

“According to the documentation your stepmother provided me, although you are the late Lord Cedric Frost’s daughter, you have no claim to his estate and are therefore title-less and unable to be given the same rights and privileges as those girls who are here at the crown’s invitation.”

“Prince Stephen told me I could attend. Ask him.”

“But he is not the one who assigns room and board. I am, and I say no. If the prince has given his permission for you to attend the ball this evening, you are welcome to attend, but until then, I must ask you to leave now or I shall have to call the guards.”

Half of me wanted to challenge him and wait for the guards to physically escort me out of the castle. I couldn’t believe that the royal family was so uncaring that they would throw me out. I cast an eye out at the swirling grey clouds. There was no way I could go out in that. Besides, my few belongings had been sent back to Frostwood Estate. I had no cloak, no furs, no wrap…nothing to keep me even remotely warm.

“Now, now, Octavius, don’t be so harsh.” The sycophantic voice of my stepmother set my blood to rising. My jaw locked so hard I was surprised my teeth didn’t grind into powder. Valencia came down the hall, with Vallia right behind her, wringing her hands and biting her lip. Valencia’s absurdly high heels clicked closer as she lowered her voice to a purr. “I’d be glad to have her come stay with us. She is family, after all. Besides, my girls need someone they trust to help them get ready while they finish preparing for the ball tonight. What do you say, Noelle? I’m happy to take you in. I’ve always been a charitable woman.”

“So kind,” one of the maids sighed .

This time, I was the one avoiding looking at Vallia, whose eyes begged me to accept her mother’s offer.

My vision turned red. I hated everything about Valencia, from the way she was able to manipulate people to her obsession with her looks. How dare she offer to reduce me to a handmaiden and act as though it was a saintly gift of benevolence? Leaning close to my stepmother, I snarled, “I’d rather freeze to death in a blizzard.”

Valencia’s face never changed, but gasps of shock came from Octavius and the maids. “How ungrateful,” I heard one of them whisper.

“Out, out, out!” Octavius barked, bustling along and shooing me down the corridor by flapping his hands. “Out this moment! I’ll be reporting this, you know! You aren’t allowed back inside the castle until the ball tonight! Out!”

I was beyond caring what they thought of me. I despised how Valencia was always able to get people to think she was some gracious lady when all the makeup and hair styling did was hide the hideous woman she was. If I had to be thrown out into the cold, at least I wouldn’t have to accept the false charity of the woman who’d deluded my father into believing she could ever be trusted.

Holding my head high, I turned on my heel and marched away. If Vallia was trying to be kind, she had failed. She was too afraid to stand up for herself and others; I couldn’t count on her being of any help to me. I vowed to never be like her—so frightened of confronting injustices that I stood by and apathetically allowed wrongs to be doled out. It was the same thing that happened to so many of the citizens who were happy to let mages be discriminated against as long as it didn’t affect them. But not me.

The short walk from the castle’s side courtyard to the dog barn was enough to make my teeth chatter and my entire body shiver from the cold. When I tried the handle of Jack’s room adjoining the barn, I found it locked fast. Icicles, he must have secured it when he left, assuming I had another place to stay.

Back to the barn I went, and I sat, fuming, in one of the stalls while Kodiak worked his nose between my side and arm, tongue lolling to the side. Cinder came and put her paws on my lap, soiling my already dirty dress even more.

“So much for being able to wear this to the ball,” I told them, watching as dirt continued to spread over the gown. Cinder let out a low howl and sniffed enthusiastically, tail wagging frantically as Kodiak lifted his head to lick my chin. Unable to stay angry while surrounded by such unconditional love, the corners of my mouth lifted, and I rubbed their ears.

Jack must have taken the rest of the team, for Kodiak and Cinder were the only dogs in the barn. It was unusually quiet without all the howls and barks, and as I stared at the ceiling, Kodiak and Cinder closed their eyes in contentment.

I couldn’t sleep. How could I, when I didn’t even know where I would be this time tomorrow? The uncertainty of my future gnawed at me, reminding me time and again of the reasons I resented my stepfamily. I couldn’t live at a school that was shut down, I’d been thrown out of the castle’s lodgings, and the estate I thought I would inherit had passed to someone else. There was no space in my head to worry about some silly ball. I was homeless in the middle of winter.

“—would be in here if I had to guess.” The sound of that wheezy, nasally voice set my teeth on edge as the doors to the barn opened. Instantly, Cinder and Kodiak awoke and barked at the newcomer .

The sound of guards clanking over made my heart lurch. Surely they wouldn’t throw me out into the snow.

“Aha.” Octavius’s rat-like face popped over the side of the stall. “I knew we’d find you here. Your stepmother was right.”

“Jack told me I could be here,” I told him, my jaw set and eyes narrowed.

“As I told you before, neither Jack nor Prince Stephen are in charge of room and board. I am, and I say you need to vacate the premises.”

“Have a heart,” one of the guards told him in a low voice. “It’s freezing out there and traveling on foot would be impossible. At least give her a coach.”

The other guard, a fatherly-looking man, nodded in agreement. “She doesn’t even have a cloak.”

Octavius wrinkled his nose so he looked like a mouse who’d just been offered moldy cheese. “Very well. I shall provide a coach to the village. Come along.”

I was left with no choice. “Come on, Kody,” I called, but Octavius held up his hand.

“The dog stays.”

“But he’s mine!”

“He looks exactly like several of the others.”

“Ask Jack! Jack can tell them apart.”

“And I shall ask Jack about it when he gets back, but he isn’t here right now. Until I’m certain that you aren’t stealing one of the royal advisor’s team dogs?—”

“This is ridiculous,” I huffed under my breath. “Can I at least leave him a note?”

“No.” The smug satisfaction on Octavius’s face made me wish I stood a foot taller and was a hundred pounds heavier. “I’ll call for the coach now.”

Within five minutes, I was handed into a coach and shipped off to the village. I stared out the window, wondering what on earth I was supposed to do now. I had no way to return to the castle, my only dress was a complete mess, and Jack would have no way of knowing where I was.

The coachman pulled the horses to a stop then jumped down and opened the door. “Here you are, miss,” he said cheerfully. “Best get indoors before this blizzard hits.”

“Can you tell Jack I’m here?” I asked desperately. I certainly couldn’t trust my stepfamily or Octavius to tell him. “Please.”

“Tell him you’re where? Which house?”

I stared around and my gaze settled on Beryl’s shop. “That one. The healer’s.”

“If I see him, I’ll pass the message on. Good day, miss.” The coachman hopped back to his seat and with a crack of his whip, he was off.