The Blood Spell (Ravenspire, #4)(87)

“Mother—”

“I’d be glad if my son kept to his schedule so that I didn’t have to reassure head families, reschedule the hairdresser, and make excuses to any number of people who showed up at the castle today for their appointments only to be told the prince wasn’t in residence.”

“I left a note for—”

“For your secretary. Yes, he showed me. Unfortunately, it was far too late to notify your morning appointments. And so three days before your betrothal ball—three days—you had members of various head families here to see you, to bring you their concerns or their suits, but you weren’t here. What do you think they assumed from that?”

He risked a look at her face and wisely decided not to reply. She was far from finished.

“Now you have the Roches thinking you’ve already chosen against them since you didn’t bother to meet with them. You have the Evrards thinking you aren’t committed to finding justice for Marisol. And—”

“Now, wait a minute—”

“And you have Dinah Chauveau here spreading the word that instead of being in the castle where you belong, you were on a picnic with Blue. A picnic.” She threw the last word at him like it was a weapon.

“Not just a picnic,” he said and waited to see if she was ready to listen.

She frowned but stayed silent.

“After our conversation yesterday on the docks, I decided I should check the Wilds. Make sure the wraith was still there. And yes, I took Blue with me. She was able to identify the spell used to burn people. If there was something wrong at the wraith’s prison, I thought she could be helpful.”

And he’d needed a day with her. Maybe he hadn’t kissed her like he’d dreamed of doing, but he’d had her by his side. No Dinah. No mother. No interruptions. It was the closest thing to getting what his heart wanted as he was ever going to have, and he refused to regret it.

“Kellan,” his mother said on a sigh, “didn’t you think that three days before your ball, with the head families pressing their suits and a murder investigation underway, wasn’t the best time to go?”

“Yes,” he said, and her brows lifted in surprise. “But when will there be a good time, Mother? After the ball when I’ll be busy placating the families who weren’t chosen while simultaneously taking over control of the throne? After I’m crowned king and all the responsibility lands on me? You heard Hansel and Gretel yesterday. We have to get control of this situation with the missing children and the rogue witch, and we have to do it fast.”

A tiny frown etched into her forehead. “You could’ve sent anyone to check on the wraith.”

“I don’t want to be the kind of king who uses others to do the most dangerous tasks.”

“And it didn’t hurt that you got to spend the day with Blue.”

His pulse jumped, and this time he couldn’t stop himself from tugging at his collar.

“Son, I’m not blind. I see the way you light up when you talk about her. I noticed how you two looked at each other yesterday. I adore Blue. But she’s a commoner. You can’t fall in love with—”

“We found the children,” he blurted, as much to get the news out as to stop her from saying what he didn’t want to hear.

He knew he wasn’t allowed to be in love with Blue. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure his heart was paying attention to the laws of his kingdom.

“You found them?” The queen took a step toward him. “Where?”

He met her gaze and tried to keep his voice steady, though the horror of what he’d seen was a slick, oily rock lodged in his stomach. “At the wraith’s gate.”

She stumbled back, hit the edge of the settee, and sank onto its cushions. “No.”

“It was horrible. There were . . . someone has been feeding the wraith all this time.” His voice shook.

“All this time,” she repeated, staring at him with horror in her eyes. “The gate?”

“Still closed. Locked securely, as far as I could tell, though I’m not an expert.”

“No, but Blue is. Her mother created the spell that locked it. Did Blue seem to think it was weakening?”

He was in no mood to discuss Blue’s strange reaction to the wraith or the gate or whatever had happened to make her stretch her hand out toward the lock. “She didn’t say anything either way.”

The queen drew a shuddering breath. “The wraith—Marielle, that cursed witch—cannot be loosed again, Kellan. It took Valeraine, Marielle’s sister, and nearly one-third of your father’s army working together to lock it away the first time. The streets ran red with blood spilled by that creature.”

He nodded. “Then we have to figure out who is feeding it. Stop the food supply”—he choked over the memory of all those small bones and cleared his throat roughly—“and you weaken the wraith. Maybe even starve it to death.”

“I’ll order the magistrates to continue efforts to round up any homeless children in their quarters. I’ve already found acceptable housing for them. For now, I’ll send some of our staff to run the children’s shelter, and after the ball, we’ll figure out how to make it all work so they can be safe and cared for.”

“I’ll talk to Blue and—”