Blinding Beauty (4 page)

“
Launce, it’s your turn.” Everard
held out one of the practice swords. Launce had the urge to slap it
away, but knew better than to even fully entertain that
thought.

“
I’ll just watch
today.”

“
Come now.” Everard held the sword
out even farther. “All young men of the court are expected to
learn.”

Launce felt rage bubble up inside
his gut. He wasn’t a member of the court, and he never had been.
But Everard was the king, and he had promised to obey. Still, he
and Everard shared a long look before Launce unhappily accepted the
sword.

The weapon felt large and clumsy
in his hands as he moved into the clearing they had made for the
practice. Everard’s body melted into a ready position, like a snake
coiled to strike. Launce tried to mimic him, feeling foolish. How
much humiliation would Everard heap upon him tonight?

Norbert declared match begun.
Neither of them moved, however. When Everard stayed still for far
too long, Launce realized that the king was allowing him the first
attack. Raising the weapon high, he lunged. The king lifted his
sword just enough to block the exaggerated movement, then touched
Launce’s back with the flat side of his blade. It didn’t hurt, but
if it had been a real fight, Launce would already be
dead.

“
You communicate your intentions
with your whole body,” Everard said in a tense voice. “Don’t waste
your energy on such full movements. Keep them short.”

Launce had no desire to do
anything his brother-in-law told him to do. It was bad enough that
he’d ordered him out in front of everyone just to embarrass him.
Everard knew well how Launce struggled with the sword. Countless
forced rounds at the Fortress had already proven that. Anger
coursed through Launce’s body as he threw himself in for another
attack. Again, it seemed Everard hardly flicked his wrist before
disarming Launce completely.

“
Slow your breathing!” Everard
said as he circled a weaponless Launce. “You’ll pass out before the
fight is half done.”

Launce just stood there, hoping
the torture would be over soon. His hopes of being left alone,
however, were dashed as Everard pointed with his sword at Launce’s
blade where it had landed in the sand across the clearing. Launce
glared at him a moment more, but Everard’s stone face never moved.
With a huff, Launce slowly went to pick up his sword, wishing the
whole time that his sister had not married the king. The punishment
for trying to bloody his brother-in-law’s nose would have been less
severe. For now, Launce could only fantasize.

It didn’t matter how many times he
suffered defeat. Familiar shame filled him as everyone watched him
fight once more without so much as ruffling the king’s fine golden
hair. How many times would his brother-in-law insist on humiliating
him this way before he stopped demanding Launce’s obedience and
participation? How many times would Launce be able to stand there
as everyone watched him flail about helplessly like a clumsy child?
He didn’t know if he could take it very much longer.

One more desperate attack, and one
more infuriating stumble later, and Launce refused to stand or
raise his sword any more. He crouched in the dirt where Everard had
left him, pebbles cutting into his palms and knees. Only the fact
that his sister and her maid were watching them kept him from
turning and throwing himself at Everard in anger, the way he would
have at any other man who would dare to treat him in such a
way.

“
Ever.” Isa’s voice broke through
the tension that had suddenly filled the clearing. Everard didn’t
move, however, as Launce tried to calm himself. When he didn’t
respond at first, Isa called her husband’s name again, warning
thick in her voice this time. “That’s enough.” A moment later, the
king stood before him, offering his hand to help Launce up. Launce
looked up at him, but the gallantry of the act was overridden by
the disgust written all over in the king’s face.

Launce stood on his own, ignoring
Everard’s outstretched hand, but Everard grabbed and pulled him in
as if congratulating him. In Launce’s ear, however, he whispered,
“Acting like a child will do you no good. Try to learn something
once in a while.” When Everard finally released him, Launce shoved
away from the king, perhaps a little too hard.

“
I believe it’s my turn for a
beating.” Edgar was quick to pop off the rock he had been seated
on. As he walked between Everard and Launce, he good-naturedly
tapped Launce’s sword with his own. Launce nodded his thanks before
going to sit by himself at the edge of the circle.

Eventually they all had their
turns, and everyone was seated again as they stared into the embers
of the fire. It was high time everyone was in bed, but the chill of
autumn made it cold enough that no one wanted to get up and
actually lie down. So instead, they sat around the fire passing
around wine and ale, telling stories.

“
I propose a toast.” Norbert
raised his wineskin. “In honor of our queen’s first official
outing. May she strike the ladies with jealousy and the kings with
admiration, and then find it all terribly boorish and want to
return home as soon as possible.”

“
I’ll drink to that,” someone
chuckled. Even Everard cracked a smile and looked down at Isa, who
was curled up at his side, with an expression that nearly convinced
Launce that the king truly did love his sister.

Nearly.

CHAPTER FOUR

A Brother Never
Forgets

It had
taken a good deal of Ever’s self-control for him not to march over
to Isa’s brother and strangle him when she’d returned from their
argument with tears in her eyes. He’d restrained himself, however,
because he knew she would have been even more upset if he’d
interfered. So instead, as he had listened to them argue, Ever had
contented himself with imagining how miserable he would make Launce
during the sword practice he’d planned for later that
evening.

Isa’s relationship with her family
was a mystery to Ever. She was different when she was around them,
more like a child, more comfortable with who she was. And for that
reason, a part of Ever balked whenever she wanted to spend time
with them. They were so cohesive. Everyone, from the father to the
youngest daughter, had a place and a function. They squabbled and
laughed and teased each other continually. And yet, part of him
relished the chance to study her among the people that had produced
such an unusual creature as his wife.

Though it had been five months
since the wedding, and the curse on the Fortress had kept them
together for the entire winter before that, Ever felt uncomfortable
sometimes when he realized how little he truly knew Isa. And it
wasn’t for a lack of trying on her part.

Just a few weeks before, Isa had
waltzed into his study with two goblets of wine and a basket of
fruit and sweets. “I spoke with Garin, and I know your afternoon is
free of politics, councils, and hearings.” She had raised her
eyebrows, daring him to challenge her. “We are going on a picnic,
and Garin is not to disturb us unless the Fortress itself is on
fire.”

Ever had walked around his desk to
properly greet his wife, chuckling at her scheming. “You’ve had
this planned for a while, haven’t you?” he’d asked, peeking under
the basket to see his favorite meat pies. As she beamed at him, he
noticed that she wore a new dress. Its midnight blue matched her
eyes, just as the jewels in her curled hair matched their sparkle.
The pink of her lips suddenly had him wishing it were proper to
scoop her up and escape the Fortress entirely as fast as his legs
could carry them.

“
When you leave on all of these
diplomatic visits, it does give me some time to think.” Isa’s tone
was just a touch reproachful. Smiling, Ever had leaned down to
indulge himself with a kiss, but she’d grabbed his right hand
instead and thrust the basket into his other hand.

“We’re going
now
, before Destin finds some other
way to fall apart and desperately need you.”

Laughing, Ever had allowed her to
drag him towards the door. Just as they’d reached it, however, a
knock sounded. Isa’s face went white, and Ever had inwardly groaned
as his favorite general stepped in.

“
Your Highnesses.” Acelet bobbed a
bow at both of them. “I—” He stopped short though when he saw the
basket Ever carried. “I am so sorry,” he said in a soft voice, “but
I fear I must interrupt.”

“
What is it?” Ever had growled in
an attempt not to moan like a spoiled child, which was exactly what
he had wanted to do at that moment.

General Acelet held up his hands
apologetically. “The king of Siamji is here, demanding to speak
with you.” Ever had felt his eyes nearly pop as he stared at his
general, then at Isa. He knew what was coming. Acelet looked at the
ground again. “I honestly am sorry, Your Highness,” he spoke, this
time to Isa. It was exactly what she had predicted. “But you know
how he is...”

“
Let’s just go.” Ever had handed
the basket back to Isa and stormed out the door. “The sooner we see
him, the sooner he will leave.” And so their lovely escape had
turned into an afternoon and then an evening of listening to the
whiny king pontificate about how another king had slighted him, and
Ever had been forced to sit across from his dutiful wife, watching
her as she fought the tears she deserved to cry.

Ever was adamant that his marriage
not end up like his parents’, but finding that balance was proving
to be a much greater struggle than he’d anticipated. He had
desperately hoped this trip would give them a chance to step away
from his normal duties, to simply enjoy one another. Then she had
asked to bring Launce along.

His immediate reaction had been to
tell her no. This trip was supposed to be for them. True, they
would bring along a few servants and guards, but that was to be
expected. Ever hadn’t planned on bringing the insolent young man
who seemed intent on provoking him every chance he got.

Still, he’d wondered if having
Launce along might not open new doors to Isa’s true self. It wasn’t
as if he thought she was hiding anything from him purposefully. But
Ever sensed that deep down, there was much more to her that she had
buried, perhaps even unbeknownst to her. And although Ever didn’t
like to admit it, there was something about being around her
brother that brought down her walls. Perhaps, if Ever learned how
to find the true way to Isa’s soul, she might find her full powers
and her peace. And if nothing else, having one more set of eyes on
Isa couldn’t be a bad thing, particularly when her powers at
present were so unpredictable.

So far, however, no good had come
of Launce’s presence. After their long exchange, Isa had hardly
spoken a word all evening. She didn’t even attempt to use her
strength during their practice. Every time he glanced at her now,
snuggled up against his arm with the fire’s shadows flickering on
and off her face, it became more apparent how upset she really was.
His attempt at using this journey as a time to break down her walls
was off to a dismal start.

“
Launce,” Norbert said in his
song-song fashion, interrupting Ever’s musings, “queens like ours
do not learn bravery overnight. Surely you must have a tale about
your sister from when she was young.” Ever kept his face smooth,
but was immediately grateful to his eldest guard for the
suggestion.

Launce hesitated as the others
looked at him eagerly, his eyes flicking to his sister and then
Ever. Ever made sure his nod was grave enough that the young man
wouldn’t think him desperate. Isa didn’t look at him at all, just
stared straight ahead into the flames as they licked the cool night
air.

“
Come now, lad,” Norbert prodded.
“Give us a tale for sweet dreams.” Launce looked once more at Ever
before finally nodding in consent.

“After the accident,” Launce
started. Ever felt his jaw tighten at the mention of the
accident
, as they called
it, though Isa’s fourteen years of pain had been wholly his own
fault. “My father wanted to give Isa a way to get around. We had an
old mare, but Father used her for business, so he and Mother
decided they would buy Isa her own horse.

“
Father worked extra hard that
year, driving bargains he’d never dared to before, and Mother went
without a new dress that winter. Gifts were small on that Sacred
Star Day, but we didn’t mind. By spring, Isa had her
horse.”

Everyone sat, spellbound, as
Launce spoke. Only Isa wore a distant look. Suddenly, Ever was
uncomfortable. Something told him this wouldn’t be a tale with a
happy ending.

“
Isa changed after the accident,”
Launce said quietly. “The other children used to wait for her at
first, but when they realized she wasn’t going to get any faster,
they usually left her behind. Sometimes she would follow
along—”

“
Launce.” Isa interrupted him, her
voice unusually sharp. “You can skip that part.” They shared a long
look before Launce finally nodded. Ever suddenly wanted desperately
to know what her brother had been about to say, but Isa seemed
adamant, so Launce continued.

“
Father got the horse from a
neighbor who was moving to Bas Riviere. It was a spindly, brown
thing named Doux, and he and Isa were inseparable. When she and
Doux were together,” he whispered, “they were invincible. She
stopped worrying about keeping up or looking like everyone else...”
He paused, then shook his head as if to clear it.