The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen, #2)(69)



I hope all is well. Everything is different without you as my constant shadow.

Life is proceeding as expected. Uncle Herman has gone back to West Pass Watch, along with another regiment of soldiers. Reports from the west have not been good. I don’t want to fight two wars, but I’m afraid that may happen if Lien can’t be contained. I don’t know what the answer is, though. I don’t trust my uncle. I don’t trust Wilhelmina right now, either, as grateful as I am for this way to communicate. The wraith boy . . . I don’t know. Something must be done.

Please write daily. I hope to hear from you soon. Give Wilhelmina my best.

Tobiah

I handed the notebook back to James. None of it was a surprise.

“There’s something I wanted to tell you.” James piled all our dishes onto the tray and set it by the door. “Earlier I said I asked to come along. There’s a reason.”

“Spying,” I reminded him.

“Besides that.” He flashed a smile. “After I was shot the night of the Inundation, I healed. I don’t even have a scar. Your friend Connor wasn’t responsible for it.”

“No.” I stood and folded the table back into the wall, and fastened it shut with a small hook. “I told you what happened. Tobiah said you were well, just not awake. He called me in to use my magic on you, even though it doesn’t work that way—”

He nodded toward the wraith boy’s wardrobe. “It doesn’t work that way, either.”

“You’re right. But he is made of wraith. You’re just a man.”

“Am I?” James squeezed the notebook. “Normal men don’t heal like that. And he”—James pointed at the wardrobe—“keeps whispering that I’m not real.”

“I’d ask him what he means by it, but he specializes in non–answers.”

“I don’t recall ever being hurt after the One-Night War, either.” James was quiet for a few minutes, building up to whatever he needed to say. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with me. When I asked Tobiah about it, he swore we’d investigate, but every time I try, he puts off even beginning the investigation.”

How surprising: Tobiah was hiding something.

“We fought about it last night.” He sat tall and proud, hiding his anxiety. But I remembered his conversation with Tobiah during the coronation ball, the ghosts of uncertainty that stole over him any time someone brought up his healing.

“Was it a bad fight?”

“Aren’t all fights with your best friend awful?”

“They are.” At least with the entangled notebooks, the boys could discuss the issue from a safe distance. “To you, there’s no one more important than him. And to him, there’s no one more important than you. You’ll work it out.”

“And so will you and Melanie.”

“I know we will.” That was the only good thing about all of this: seeing Melanie again. Already, I could feel our connection pulling tighter as I drew closer to her. I wondered if she could feel it, too. “You and I can look into the mystery of your healing. If you want.”

“Thanks,” he said, “but I only told you that to help with my spying efforts. Did it make you want to tell me what you and Colin were discussing?”

“You’re shameless.” I touched my own notebook, the one connected to the Ospreys. “Prince Colin threatened my friends. Theresa and the boys. They’re all competent fighters, and very clever, but there are only four of them.”

“What did he want?”

“He wanted me to use him”—I inclined my head toward the wardrobe—“as a weapon against Patrick.”

“Would that be terrible? You did send him after Lien to begin with.”

“It wouldn’t be just Patrick. It would be the people who are fighting under him, in my name, because they believe I’m a hostage. It would be hundreds—maybe thousands—of innocent people. And you saw what happens. He’s chaotic. I can’t unleash him against my own people. Not even to get at Patrick.”

James closed his eyes and sighed. “You might not have a choice. Prince Colin might not leave you with one. I will warn Tobiah to put extra security on the Ospreys, and you can alert them, too. But the crown prince has many resources. After the wedding, he no doubt has people in the Order who’d be willing to risk their careers.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” I hugged the notebook to my chest. “The Ospreys are everything to me.”

“I know. I’ll do everything I can to help you keep them safe.” James bent to pick up our dinner tray. “Is there anything else you need before I go?”

“Where are you going after you return that?”

“There’s a wagon for officers. I have a bunk there.”

“I want you to stay here instead.” It wasn’t asking for help if I made it a royal order.

He glanced at the door and shook his head. “That would be inappropriate. If this is because of Prince Colin, I could have one of the night guards stationed outside your wagon.”

“And put my life into a stranger’s hands?” I deepened my voice. “I need someone I can trust to keep me alive. They won’t feel guilty if something happens to me. They’d look the other way.” Not that I’d blame them. The cathedral was one thing, but the wedding was an entirely different matter.

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