Chapter Seven

The magic tugged at Violet, pulling her forward. Some part of her knew she should resist, but she didn't listen to that voice of gloom. She was willing to go. She was happy to go. One slipper-clad foot stepped in front of the other, the trapdoor coming into sight. Of its own accord, it swung upward, revealing the yawning darkness beyond.

Violet woke with a gasp, springing up to a sitting position. Her heart was pounding, and her forehead was covered with sweat. She took a moment to re-orient herself in the cool light of dawn.

What had that been about? It had been years since she'd dreamed about the curse. She didn't want her mind to return to that place. She was free now, and so were all her sisters. There was no reason to dwell on it.

She'd woken much earlier than normal, and no one had yet come in to open her curtains, or stoke her fire. Violet slipped from her bed, pulling on a gown at random and running a comb through her disheveled waves. She was fairly certain she wouldn't be able to reclaim sleep, and she wasn't in the mood to lie about in bed.

Once she was respectable, she made her way through the castle, still unsettled by the dream. Or perhaps the dream was only partly responsible. Perhaps embarrassment was as much to be blamed for her unease.

Violet winced as she remembered the scene with Ari the night before. She was still confused about how she could have so badly misread him. He'd really seemed on the point of a declaration. And the next moment he'd all but run away from her. She knew she'd been forward, but he'd never seemed to mind that before.

It was well before the usual breakfast hour, but Violet made her way to the dining hall anyway. She was surprised to find two occupants already within.

"Zinnia!" she cried, hurrying toward her eldest sister. Growing up, she'd always been closer to Zinnia than to any of her other sisters. She missed her now that she lived outside the castle with her family.

"Morning, Violet," said Zinnia, giving her a bleary smile. "You're up early."

"So are you," said Violet. "What are you doing here before breakfast?"

"Genny had me awake before dawn," yawned Zinnia. "And Obsidian had to leave really early as well. Since I was planning to bring Genny along to say goodbye to Prince Ari, I figured we may as well head over with Obsidian and peel off here when he went to the guild."

Violet knelt down next to her two-year-old niece, receiving a hug. "You too full of energy to sleep, Genevieve?" she said.

"Yep!" the toddler cried, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "When's breakfast? I'm hungry!"

Violet chuckled but was saved the necessity of answering as the door opened and a servant entered, bearing the first tray of breakfast fare. Genny raced toward the table, apparently deaf to her mother's cry of warning.

"She'll trip the poor server over," Zinnia muttered.

Violet gave a perfunctory smile. "Obsidian's been at the guild a lot lately," she observed.

Zinnia nodded. "It's a lot more than usual. Apparently the current batch of students has great potential but also a great deal of attitude. Master Enchanter Hughes likes to get Obsidian involved because he says his war hero and partial royal presence awes them into submission. His words."

She rolled her eyes, but Violet could tell she didn't really dislike hearing her husband talked up. For her own part, Violet wasn't especially interested in these anecdotes, her mind too full of the incident with Ari. She watched her niece cajoling the servant into moving the food within her reach, realizing too late that her sister's eyes were on her.

"Are you all right, Vi?"

Violet turned to Zinnia with a sigh. "I don't know."

"Sad about Ari leaving?" prompted Zinnia.

"Yes," Violet acknowledged slowly. "But it's more than that. We spoke last night. I…well, I asked him to stay. And at first he seemed to be considering it, but then he got…weird." She could see her sister opening her mouth to speak, so she barreled on before she lost her nerve. "And I dreamed about the curse last night."

"About the curse?" Zinnia stiffened, her hand shifting as if to grab Violet's arm, then dropping back to her side. "Does that happen often?"

Violet shook her head, her eyes on Genny as the little girl raided a platter of steaming bread rolls. "Not for years. It has me all rattled."

"Understandably," Zinnia said, her voice full of sympathy.

Violet regarded her sister thoughtfully. "Do you still dream about it?"

Zinnia sighed. "Sometimes," she admitted.

The answer made Violet sad, but it wasn't surprising. Zinnia had borne the brunt of their curse. The rest of them hadn't even known they were cursed until it was all over. Violet had never felt the compulsion magic that Zinnia had experienced over and over. That was why her dream made no sense.

Gradually, the dining hall filled around them as everyone else arrived for breakfast. Violet tried not to look too eager every time someone entered the room, but she didn't deny to herself that she was watching avidly for Ari. She had no intention of letting the awkward incident the night before pass without discussion. It was unthinkable to let their connection peter out into a vague might-have-been with no closure. One way or another, she and Ari needed to have a frank conversation before he left Tola.

Again and again she was disappointed, as everyone but Ari appeared at the table. She could see that Wren was also confused as to her brother's tardiness, and when the rest of the group were all eating and he was still absent, Violet saw the young queen give a discreet instruction to a serving man. He left the room, only to return a short while later and hurry straight to the queen's side. Surprise and anxiety crossed Wren's face in quick succession, and Violet stood at once.

"What is it?" she asked, when she was close enough for the question to slip under the general hubbub.

Wren's eyes passed from Violet to Basil, their expression one of blank confusion. "Ari's bed hasn't been slept in."

"What?" Violet's mother was obviously sitting close enough to hear, because she swiveled in her chair to face them. "That's peculiar."

"But where is he?" Violet demanded.

Wren shrugged hopelessly. "I don't know. No one seems to."

Violet bit her lip, anxiety creeping over her. Logic told her that Ari could take care of himself. And yet…

"I thought I saw his personal servant this morning," Basil said. "Ari can't be far away. He wouldn't leave without him."

Wren shook her head slowly. "If you mean Lex, Ari actually told me that he'd requested permission to return to Mistra rather than continue on." She frowned. "I assumed Ari would still take the other servants from the group, though. And his guards."

Basil gestured to another servant, who hurried forward. "Check the stables for Prince Ari's horse, please," he said.

"He did say something last night about rethinking his method of transportation, didn't he?" Briar interjected as the servant hurried off. "Maybe he decided to leave his horse and go by some other means. Maybe he wanted more of an adventure and knew that if he waited until morning, everyone would talk him out of it."

Violet swallowed. She remembered the comment. Someone had asked Ari if he'd travel by horse, and he'd said he was rethinking it. She'd assumed he meant he was rethinking the whole trip. Was it possible he truly had been speaking merely about the horse? What a fool she'd made of herself if so!

"Is that the sort of thing he might do?" she asked Wren.

The Mistran ran her thumb over the handle of her spoon in an uneasy motion. "I don't know," she admitted. "He was certainly reckless enough to pull a stunt like that when we were younger. But I thought he'd grown out of that years ago. I thought…" Her eyes flicked to Violet, then to Basil, and she said no more.

"I drove him away," said Violet hollowly.

"Of course you didn't," Wren contradicted quickly, but Violet shook her head, thinking of the scene on the patio the night before.

"There's more to it than you know. I…I pushed too hard."

It was all she could do not to groan aloud. She'd already been embarrassed. Now she was mortified. She remembered perfectly his unease as he'd told her he needed to go. She hadn't realized he'd meant it so literally, or that he was saying it in response to her request for him to stay in Tola. She'd thought he meant he needed to go somewhere that evening. Perhaps to think it over.

"I can't believe that's true, Violet," Basil said. "He likes you. We've all seen it."

"Likes her?" Zinnia protested. Violet hadn't even heard her approach. "He's smitten! He can't take his eyes off her."

"Let's not do this," said Violet abruptly, unable to bear her entire family witnessing her humiliation. She turned to face her sister, plastering on a tight smile. "He's free to make his own decisions. He was always intending to leave for Bansford this morning. If he decided to go a few hours early, it's no concern of ours. None of us have any claim on him." She met Zinnia's eyes steadily. "Including me."

For an awkward moment, no one said anything. Taking the opportunity while she had it, Violet hurried from the room. Her appetite for breakfast was completely gone. In addition to her embarrassment, she was conscious of concern, and with it, guilt. If Ari had truly run off in this haphazard style, he might be in danger. And she'd caused it by spooking him with her brazenness.

The morning passed painfully, Violet unable to settle to any task. At noon, Wren confirmed to her that there was no sign of Ari, and that no one else from the delegation had left. He'd simply vanished, without any of his things.

"I'm worried, Violet," she said. "It could be that he's run off to Bansford, foolishly deciding to go alone and without supplies for some kind of adventure. But if it's not that, then something's happened to him. How can we know which of those it is?"

"I wish I had the answer," Violet said helplessly. "I'm concerned as well."

Wren moved off, looking distracted, and Violet said no more. She had no doubt her brother would make appropriate inquiries and try to ascertain if there was any evidence of foul play in Ari's disappearance. Most likely someone had already been dispatched up the road that led to Bansford, to try to locate him. But for her part, she didn't place any expectation in those inquiries. She was fairly certain Ari had left by his own choice, and because of her. And if he'd left immediately after their conversation, he had enough of a head start that no messenger would catch up to him for some time.

She drew a shaky breath. There was no sense lamenting what might have been. She'd been hoping for a certain outcome, but evidently Ari's hopes were different. It was absurdly hypocritical of her to complain, after all. She'd already half-formed a betrothal with someone else.

Violet straightened at the thought of Yannick. She knew that Basil was at his wits' end over the merchant crisis. She had a real solution, and she'd let her plans stall because Ari made her heart flutter. In addition to—apparently—being baseless, that had been selfish. It was time to think of the good of the kingdom.

Violet returned to her rooms, summoning a maid to help her make herself more presentable before she joined her family for lunch. She was conscious of being a little disheveled, and she didn't want any pitying looks. She wasn't thrilled when the summons was answered by Naomi, the maid who'd hinted at Violet's interest in Ari after his first evening with them. But it didn't matter.

While Naomi fussed around selecting a more appropriate gown for the day, Violet pulled a sheet of writing paper toward her. The note she scratched out was short and to the point.

Dear Yannick

Thank you for your patience as I considered your request regarding a stay in the castle. I'm pleased to inform you that your request is acceptable, and I will undertake the appropriate arrangements.

Sincerely,

Violet

"Naomi, can you take a message to the courier for me? It's to be delivered to Yannick, the son of the merchant Ulrich. The courier will know where to go."

"Goodness, Your Highness," said the maid, with a titter that grated on Violet's ears. "I suppose it's a princess's right to keep more than one man on the hook."

"Is it?" Violet asked tersely. "You seem to have a strange idea of what princesses' lives are like."

"I'm sure I meant no offense, Your Highness," said Naomi quickly. Violet thought she sounded more sulky than penitent, but perhaps it was her own bitterness speaking. She could rarely remember feeling so bruised.

"It was nice to see little Genevieve at breakfast this morning," said Naomi. "Such a sweet child."

Violet gave a non-committal grunt.

"She and the little prince and princess must be the delight of the family," Naomi pressed, clearly determined to manage some kind of cheerful conversation. "I suppose you often look after your niece and nephew, Your Highness? You must dote on them."

"I'm very fond of them, but I'm not really called upon to watch them," said Violet flatly. "They're overflowing with both aunts and nursemaids. Not to mention their own parents."

"Yes, I've noticed that the queen is more involved with their care than I would expect for a royal family," Naomi commented. "Very admirable, I'm sure," she added quickly, perhaps taking in Violet's expressionless face.

Violet didn't even bother to respond this time, and Naomi seemed to take the hint at last. Giving up on drawing the princess out, the maid dressed Violet's hair in silence. A small part of Violet felt guilty over her rudeness, when the other girl was probably only trying to be friendly. But mostly she was just desperate to be left alone. A couple weeks ago, she'd had no dreams to speak of, and it had seemed a small matter to give her future to the kingdom she loved.

Now that she'd tasted a dream, the prospect was as painful as it was empty. If only Ari hadn't come. If she'd gone on as she was, she'd never have known what it was to feel that kind of hope. And then she'd never have known the crushing despair of watching a dream crumble around her.