The Wish Granter (Ravenspire #2)(44)
“Maybe we should talk about what you’ve been doing instead of coming to lessons or sleeping or eating.”
Her smile disappeared, and her shoulders slumped. She watched the waves toss themselves relentlessly against the shore for a long moment, and then in a quiet voice, she said, “Thad made a wish.”
Sebastian’s stomach sank. He’d suspected it, of course. But there were other ways the king could’ve become mixed up with Teague. Knowing now that the stakes were the king’s soul, and that the princess wasn’t the kind of person who would stop trying to save her brother, filled him with dread.
“It was before the royal family died. We were running for our lives. Mother had just been killed in front of us because she took a blow that was meant for Thad. Teague found him when Thad was thinking about jumping off a cliff and into the sea so that I would be safe from the queen’s hunters. Thad tried to just wish for my safety, but Teague would accept nothing less than a wish for Thad to be king.”
“He owes Teague his soul, doesn’t he?” Sebastian asked.
She nodded, tears glimmering in her eyes. “That’s why the barn is being built. Ajax has contacts with hunters on Llorenyae, and he’s killed rogue fae with them before. He’s ordering some beasts to protect the palace grounds, and he’s working on a plan to assassinate Teague, but he wasn’t discreet enough, and that’s why Daan was sent to visit Thad. Ajax seems to think he can kill Teague as easily as he’s killed other fae.”
“Teague isn’t just any fae. He’s the Wish Granter, and he has to be at least a century old.”
“I know.” She wiped at her tears and sat up straighter. “I’m working on a better plan. I just need time to get all the information on Teague. To see the picture clearly. He might be powerful, but he isn’t immortal. He can die, and somebody out there has to know how to kill him.”
He couldn’t bear to see her be crushed beneath the weight she was carrying, even if he did think that there was no way her brother was going to get out of losing his soul when the contract came due.
“Tell me everything you’ve learned. Maybe talking it out will help you see a solution,” he said. And then he listened as the sun slowly moved across the sky, and the sea hurled itself against the cliff while the princess talked herself hoarse before falling asleep against his shoulder.
NINETEEN
ARI’S LIFE FELL into an exhausting rhythm. She’d get up early to help with breakfast—overriding Mama Eleni’s objections because if she was going to be required to attend every Assembly meeting, then, by the stars, she was going to have the joy of making pastries in the morning first. Besides, in the past two months she’d lost her mother and her anonymity, learned that the Wish Granter was real and was going to take her brother’s soul, and killed a man. She desperately needed the small sense of normalcy that shrugging on an apron and burying her hands in butter and flour provided.
After breakfast, she’d head to the library for a few hours of research on Llorenyae and contract law in Súndraille. Stars knew, they owned a lot of books, and so far not a single one of them had given her the key to getting Thad out of his bargain with Teague, although it would help significantly if she had a copy of the actual contract. Not that she believed the law would be binding over a magical contract, but she had to try every option that came to mind.
When she’d finished with the library, she’d spend an hour or two sparring with Sebastian, talking through what she’d learned, and convincing him to share her lunch. Afternoons were reserved for Assembly meetings and sitting in on Thad’s discussions with city officials who told harrowing tales about outbreaks of violence in the merchant quarter and grew increasingly frustrated and resentful of the king’s reluctance to send in the city guard. Knowing that Thad couldn’t use the guard without violating his contract, Ari tried to suggest other solutions, but it was hard to think of anything effective that wouldn’t incite Teague.
Sometimes she’d receive a letter from one of her contacts in another kingdom, but so far none of them had any insight into the Wish Granter beyond vague recollections of hearing the story as a child. Most nights she stayed up researching and taking notes long past when the rest of the palace had gone to bed.
She’d kept up this routine for nearly three weeks when something happened to bring everything in the palace to a halt.
“They’re here!” Cleo ran into the library, her eyes wide with excitement.
Ari yawned. “Who’s here?”
“The bounty hunters from Llorenyae. They just got off a ship an hour ago, and they brought two big crates with them.”
Ari shot out of her chair. “Who saw them arrive? Did they use the palace dock?”
If Teague got wind of this, he could easily decide that Thad hadn’t paid attention to his first warning and send another. Of course, if these beasts really could kill Teague, as Ajax promised, then the man himself was welcome to come calling.
“Yes, they used the palace dock.” Cleo grabbed Ari’s arm and pulled her out of the library. “And I don’t know who saw them arrive, but everyone is paying attention now.”
Ari’s stomach dropped. “Everyone?”
“Trust me. Nobody could possibly look away from this. Come on.”
Together they hurried out of the library and down a long hallway lined with pictures of previous kings and queens, cut through the east parlor, and reached the entrance hall just as Thad and his guard finished descending the stairs from the royal suites.