Brightly Woven(78)

North and I were silent.

“And in any case, if the king is dead, the war will be over before it even began,” Oliver said.

I felt North nod once before resting his cheek against the top of my head again.

Oliver hesitated a moment before leaving. “Are you going to…put it back on?” He looked at North, lifting his wrist slightly. I felt North shift beneath me, and I realized what he was asking.

“Yes,” I said. “He’ll put the bracelet back on.”

Oliver relaxed. “I’ll be on the upper deck, then.”

“Commander Swift,” I called as he began his ascent up the staircase. “Thank you for coming.”

He shrugged halfheartedly. “I didn’t come for you. I came for my friend.”

I waited until Oliver was gone before looking up into North’s face.

“You don’t think he meant the queen, do you?” North said. “Because that would ruin a rather touching moment.”

I elbowed him. “When things settle down, you should try talking to him again.”

He leaned his head back against the wall.

“And I do want my bracelet back,” I told him.

“I can hardly believe that,” he said.

“You gave it to me.” I could still picture it in a coiled heap on the floor of the queen’s chamber. “Of course I want it back.”

“With or without the magic?” he asked.

I bit my lower lip. “Either way you think best,” I said after a moment. He reached into the pocket of his trousers, retrieving the thin chain.

“Just to hide your magic,” he promised, fastening it over my wrist. “To contain it. I’ve added a clasp, so you’ll be able to take it off if you need to.”

He drew me closer to him once more, his fingers stroking my loose hair. The boat released a beastlike groan as the anchor lifted from the water. We felt the exact moment the wind caught our sails and set us in the direction of home.

I let my eyes drift shut, perfectly at ease. For a moment or two, I thought North might have fallen asleep.

Just then, he whispered in my ear.

“Syd,” he said. “What did they do to your hair?”

After less than a day at sea, we reached Provincia. We landed in the courtyard of the palace, at the bottom of the stairs. The Sorceress Imperial was pacing the length of them, accompanied by a few members of the Wizard Guard. I remembered standing there several days earlier, seeing the queen for the first time. It seemed like a distant memory now.

Before she could say a word, I held up the bracelet for her to see, and she nodded in acknowledgment. I wore borrowed trousers and a shirt that North had scrounged up, but the Sorceress Imperial’s extravagant robes no longer had any effect on my confidence.

“I need to speak with you,” I said. “Immediately.”

North looked at me in surprise, but Hecate’s face did not betray her curiosity. After a moment she nodded again.

North took a step as if to go with me, but Oliver held out an arm and blocked his path. I cast a reassuring smile over my shoulder at him as we walked up the steps into the castle.

We made our way through the long halls and winding staircases in silence. The castle felt different to me now, subdued and dark. Everything in Auster had been so bright and clean, so well cared for, that in contrast Provincia seemed in danger of collapsing under the weight of dust and grime. How had the city—the kingdom—fallen into such neglect?

The interior of the Sorceress Imperial’s quarters was sparse, decorated only with maps and shelves of musty old books. She sat down in a leather chair, never taking her eyes off me. I sank down onto a settee. A portrait of a dark-haired family—a husband, wife, and their mischievous-looking son—looked down on us from the fireplace.

“I have very little time to waste on you,” Hecate said sharply. “If you’re expecting some sort of apology, you should realize how blessed you truly are that I haven’t had you killed.”

“What would killing me solve?” I asked bitterly. “I’m surprised you won’t just throw me out to the battle, hoping I destroy Auster without harming Palmarta.”

“Keeping you alive poses more of a threat. I only allowed them to go after you so Auster wouldn’t use you against us,” she said.

I shook my head, my anger building as she continued.

“Having you here is an even larger risk. If any one of us were to obtain your blood, he would become the most powerful wizard alive. You do know what you are, of course, but you have no idea what your presence does to the balance of magic in the world. In the past, jinxes have always been put to death for this very reason.”

“So why am I still alive?” I asked. “Why not kill me now and take the power yourself?”

Hecate held my gaze. “Why did you wish to speak to me?”

“I have information for you about Auster,” I said.

“You and my son have already provided me with information.”

“The situation has changed,” I said. “The king may be dead.”

“What madness is this?”

“They believed I was the vessel of their goddess, and asked for my blessing,” I began. By the time I had finished relating the story, Hecate’s face had gone stark white.

“Is there any proof of this?” she asked. “I won’t base the policy of this country on the word of a silly girl.”