Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy, #1)(40)

“Thank you,” I said, smiling at them. “Are you by any chance the Vincent that sat on His Highness’s face when he was a child?”

He shook with laugher. “Yes, indeed, my lady. Though I couldn’t manage the same feat now. Tristan would toss me across the city.”

“True,” Victoria agreed. “No one out-magics Tristan, except for his Majesty. And Ana?s.” They said the last bit together with an eye roll. “She’s a looker, our Ana?s,” Vincent said. “But she’s got the personality of one of those prickly fellers. You know, the ones with the quills.”

“Porcupines?” I guessed.

Vincent pointed at me. “That’s the one. Personality of a porcupine.” He sighed happily. “I do love alliteration.”

“I trust you two can manage to keep the lady entertained for the time being?” Marc asked. “I suppose I should make an appearance at my own party.”

“Would be our pleasure,” Victoria said. “Could we interest you in a contest, my lady?”





After eliminating such options as rock tossing and jumping to see who could touch the highest point on the wall, we settled on archery. Victoria and Vincent easily hit the bull’s-eye on the target. Mine landed right between theirs.



“Perhaps if we back up a few paces,” I suggested. We did so, but still, all three of us easily hit the bull’s-eye.

“There’s no sport in this,” Victoria complained.

“I agree,” I muttered. “We need a moving target.”

The twins looked at me with interest.

“Not me,” I clarified.

“That would be a bit more of a challenge,” Vincent muttered. Then his eyes brightened. “I’ll be right back.” He dashed through an open door and returned moments later carrying a moose head, horns and all. “This creature is a moose, isn’t it?”

I examined the dusty old thing. “Perhaps a few centuries ago.”

“’Twill do,” Vincent muttered. The moose head flew out of his hands and began to dance around the yard. I laughed, noticing that several other trolls had come out to watch our game.

“You there, boy!” he shouted at a page. “Make this thing dance about while we shoot arrows at it. Be sure to make it erratic.”

It didn’t take long for the contest to be modified so that we all were standing on one leg with our right eyes closed shooting arrows at a flying moose head. I was laughing so hard tears ran down my cheeks and my ribs ached beneath the tight stays of my corset. Then out of nowhere, a steel spear as thick as my arm shot through the air and pinned our moose against the wall. The three of us spun around. Tristan was brushing his hands off, looking exceedingly pleased with himself. Ana?s stood next to him in a brilliant red gown. Smiling, she rested a hand possessively on Tristan’s arm.

I felt my temperature rise, anger and perhaps… jealousy? Surely not. What did I care about how he spent his time?

“No one likes a show-off, Tristan,” Victoria shouted.

The two of them strolled towards us and I became acutely aware that I was sweaty, dusty, and my hair had come loose from jumping about. “How do you know it wasn’t Ana?s?” Tristan asked, looking fondly at the beautiful girl on his arm.

“She’d burst out of her dress if she even tried,” Victoria sniffed.

“That a challenge?” Ana?s’s voice was sultry and low.

Victoria pointed a finger at her. “Always.”

We all watched as she hoisted one of the spears off the rack. “If you wouldn’t mind, Tristan.”

He shrugged and the moose pulled away from the spear, which clattered onto the stone floor. With a surprisingly unladylike grunt, Ana?s launched her spear, pinioning it to the wall. “What do I win, Victoria? Do I get to be Baroness for the day?”

The twins rolled their eyes as if to say I told you so. I raised a hand to get their attention and recited: “The perfectly pretty porcupine perfumed the palace with the putrescence of a porky pig.” They both fell to the ground in hysterics.

Ana?s crossed her arms. “What is she going on about?”

“Inside jest,” Victoria laughed, wiping tears from her face. “Had to be there.”

She sniffed. “Perhaps you’d like to give it a go, my lady.” Picking up a spear, she tossed it my direction. I caught it, but the weight of the metal spear sent me stumbling backwards. I wasn’t strong enough to throw it more than a couple of feet much less hit a target. “It’s what we use to hunt sluag for sport,” she said. “Afraid your little arrows wouldn’t do you any good.”

There wasn’t much I could say to that – she was right.

“I’m surprised you use weapons against them at all,” I snapped. “Why not just use magic like you do for everything else?”

Ana?s rolled her eyes. “Magic doesn’t work against sluag – they nullify it. I’ve killed five of them,” she boasted.

I clapped my hands loudly, doing my best to be patronizing. “And here I thought your sole purpose was to walk around looking pretty.”

“Jealous?” she sneered.

“Not hardly,” I lied.

“You’re lying – I can tell.”