Before Beauty (21 page)

“
What are you saying?”

“
I am offering to let you join me.
You will be no one’s captive, and your power will be sung of for
generations to come! If you allow me, I can help you reach heights
of glory you never dreamed of! Together,” she leaned forward and
lifted Isa’s wrist, “we could heal you, erase the scars that he
inflicted upon you! There would be no limit to what we could
do.”

For a moment, her words painted a
picture in Isa’s mind. Release from the agonizingly slow gait, and
being recognized as more than just the cripple. What would it feel
like, Isa wondered, to go wherever she wanted? Could she truly make
her own destiny? A part of her yearned for that, for the freedom to
go where she wanted and to do as she wished. No rules, no
restrictions, no one to tell her she was incapable.

It was then that Isa noticed the
thin young man standing behind the woman. Ashen and glassy-eyed, he
watched Isa numbly. Isa felt her mouth drop in horror at the sight
of the familiar face.

“
What’s your decision?” The
woman’s voice snapped her attention back to their
conversation.

“
My decision?”

“
Be my ally!” The woman’s eyes
were bright and fierce as she leaned forward and put a hand on
Isa’s shoulder. “Together, we can take him down! You can have your
revenge after all these years! You and I could rule this land
together! Make it what we want!”

“
I don’t want revenge,” Isa
whispered. And as the words left her lips, Isa realized in her
heart, that she had forgiven him. When had that
happened?

As Isa was wondering over this
sudden revelation, the woman’s eyes went flat, and the golden
flames roared.

“
Then you have made your choice.”
Abruptly, she stood, and she and the sickly young man began to
retreat into the darkness.

It only felt like seconds had
passed after they left, when the room suddenly began to move from
uncomfortably warm to scorching. Sweat dripped down Isa’s temples.
When she blinked again, Isa was back in her room, but her return
brought little relief, as the room was now ablaze with the golden
tongues of fire that had been dancing in the woman’s eyes. Tied to
the chair once more, Isa screamed until her throat
ached.

The flames grew higher, and the
smoke made it harder to breathe by the second. Gasping, Isa tried
to stand so she could pull herself to the door, but all she
succeeded in doing was tipping her chair over so her face was even
closer to the blaze. She cried out in anguish as the flames began
to lick her body. Spots began to fill her vision. Just as she was
about to give in and let the blistering room take her, however, a
faint voice called her name.

She was too weak to respond. Agony
filled Isa as she realized that she was about to die in the inferno
alone. And yet, the voice called again, slightly louder this time.
And it didn’t stop. Something cool touched her hand. Then her
head.

Slowly, Isa began to realize that
the voice that called to her was actually singing. It was Everard’s
voice, and the words he used were in the ancient tongue he had
serenaded her with in the Tower of Annals. Little by little, the
flames were quenched, and the cool of the night began to touch her
burned, charred body.

It seemed like years, but
eventually, she was able to open her eyes, and to her surprise, she
was still in her room. There was no fire. Not even a single candle
burned. Only moon drenched the room in its blue light. Anxious
faces were everywhere. A female servant changed the cool cloth on
her forehead.

What surprised her most, though,
was Everard. His eyes were closed and his face was strained. His
whole body shook as he still continued to sing, blue light
encircling their clasped hands.

Isa stared at it in wonder. She
tried to find her voice, and only after a full minute of trying
could she croak out his name.

“
She’s awake!” Gigi, the kitchen
mistress, cried. The other servants surrounding her seemed to let
out their breath at the same time. Finally, Everard opened his eyes
and stopped singing. He continued to grip her hand,
however.

“
What happened?” she asked
faintly.

Everard took a deep, slow breath,
as if it was difficult to even speak. “It appears our enemy has
noticed your growing strength. Unfortunately, with strength comes a
greater sensitivity to the darkness she harnesses.”

“
I don’t know what that
means.”

“
It means you had a night terror.
Nevina must have returned from gathering men.”

“
She spoke to me.” Isa tried to
swallow, recalling the woman’s cruel words.

“
Yes, she sometimes does
that.”

“
Have you had one of these dreams
before?”

Everard nodded grimly. “My
sensitivity to the presence of the Tumenian power began when I was
seven.”

Isa tried to imagine young Everard
with the type of night terror she had just experienced, but that a
child should suffer so was too horrible to dwell on.

Everard finally let go of her hand
and leaned back in his chair. “Garin had to stay outside my door at
night for a whole year while I learned to manage the
dreams.”

“
Do you still have them?” Isa was
nearly too afraid to ask.

“
I do, but they no longer
disorient me so. They simply remind me of what I am protecting my
people from.” In the moonlight, a strange look crossed Everard’s
face as he suddenly studied Isa with a critical eye. “What did she
tell you?”

The question caught Isa off guard.
While the woman who had tried to kill her was anything but
trustworthy, Isa suddenly wondered about her warning that Ever was
using her. Could any of it be true?

“
She told me lots of things,” she
said cautiously. “But it was more whom I saw that frightened me.”
Ever looked at her expectantly, so she continued. “There was a
young man standing behind her. He didn’t speak, but he held her
weapons. His skin was pale, and looked as though he might be
starving.

“
I knew him as a child,” she
sighed. “He was born with a bad lung. His parents fell into poverty
as they searched far and wide for healing, but no herbalist or
healer could help him. I haven’t seen him since–I haven’t seen him
for years,” she quickly amended, realizing she’d nearly told
Everard of the Caregivers.

While the prince had certainly
changed since she had arrived, Isa wasn’t sure she wanted to tell
him about how her young friend’s parents had sent him off in hopes
of a better life in Tumen. She doubted he would understand the
desperation of the sick and their families that had led them to
make such a decision.

As if to confirm her concerns,
Everard was already shaking his head. “He’s a Chien.”

“
A Chien?”

Everard nodded, a look of disgust
on his face. “It’s the soldier’s term for Destinian traitors. They
are servants in the Tumens’ royal court, homes, and on the battle
lines, although the term slave might be more accurate. Anyhow, they
leave Destin, thinking our northern neighbor, Nevina’s father, will
welcome them into the arms of grace for a long and happy
life.”

Isa felt her heart falter for a
moment. The young man had most definitely not looked happy or
healthy. “What do they do with them?” she asked
unevenly.

“
They cut their tongues out to
ensure their silence and complete dependence. When they are
thoroughly beaten in both body and spirit, they are given away to
nobles and royalty, sometimes even influential commoners as free
labor.” Everard shook his head. “They often accompany their
benefactors to royal gatherings.” Under his breath he added,
“Serves them right for leaving.”

At this, Isa’s face grew hot, and
her resolution to keep quiet about the people’s Tumenian salvation
dissolved. “Well, thanks to you, I was nearly one of
them!”

Everard stared at her, and Isa
continued angrily. “Do you think those people leave because they
want to? While your father was cutting off all supply to the
churches for the sick and the lame, the Caregivers began telling
people they could come with them, that they would hide them in
their supply carts and bring them to a place where they would
receive food and clothing. It was a new start, they promised, one
that would allow the unfortunate to begin new lives, to find work
and make a living for themselves.”

“
What stopped you?” The prince
frowned unhappily.

Exhausted from the dream and the
outburst, she leaned back into her pillows. “Our neighbors urged my
father to send me for years. I might find a husband there, they
argued, one who didn’t mind a damaged wife. He outright refused
though, until he met you.”

There was a long silence that
stretched between them. The servants had slowed their frantic pace
by now, but seeing her fatigue, Gigi gently laid another compress
on her forehead.

“
You musn’t push yourself too
hard,” she murmured gently to Isa before giving Everard a very
pointed look at the door.

He missed it or ignored it,
however, and spoke instead, a fierce look on his face. “How did you
know how to find these Caregivers?”

“
They always wear black metal
rings.”

At this, the fire in the prince’s
eyes leapt. “Another misstep,” he murmured, his voice nearly
inaudible.

“
What?”

“
My family,” he said slowly,
rubbing his eyes with both hands, “has long valued strength above
all else. In earnest, we’ve sought to protect this kingdom as well
as we can. But it seems in so emphasizing the strong, we’ve
forgotten the weak. And now our enemies are in the heart of the
kingdom being welcomed, even sheltered, thanks to our
negligence.”

The sky was beginning to lighten
as he stood up and turned to go. “Perhaps the Fortress is right to
strip me of my power.”

Even though the servants and
prince filed out soon after that, leaving her alone to rest, Isa
could not sleep for a long time. The fear that the dreams would
return mingled with what Ever had said.

Whether the woman from her dreams
believed so or not, Everard was changing. Though anxiety still
lingered when Isa thought of the woman’s words, the touch of his
hands, the way he had trembled while he’d worked to bring her out
of the dream was a comfort. No. The woman could not know everything
as she pretended.

As Isa considered these things,
Gigi walked back into Isa’s room and gently pushed her back into a
sleeping position. “You don’t need to be afraid, my dear. Ever will
guard your dreams until Garin gets back. My guess is that she chose
tonight because Garin had to stay in town for the storm. It is
easier for two men to be on guard than one.”

She seemed ready to move into the
next room, but something in Isa’s expression must have changed her
mind. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed and drew Isa into a
warm, soft embrace. Isa could have stayed in that hug forever. It
was like feeling her mother’s arms around her once
again.

Isa must have been more tired than
she knew, however, for soon Gigi was gently laying her back into
the pillows, where she drifted into directionless, unmemorable
dreams.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

Make It Right

Ever couldn’t remember a worse night since the
curse had fallen. Drawing Isa from the dream had taken more power
from him than he had expected. And he’d nearly been too
late.

After Garin had left with the
message for Isa’s family, everything had gone on as usual. Supper
had been enjoyable, and Isa had even seemed to enjoy dancing with
him. When they had parted ways, the air had smelled of rain. Ever
had looked forward to the sound of a thunderstorm lulling him to
sleep. He’d hoped it would drench Nevina’s men as they continued to
wait at the foot of the mountain. They were untrained, and with
Nevina still gone in search of more men, they might not know what
to do in the face of such a storm.

But the feeling of peace couldn’t
last. He’d felt it before the servants had run to him, the
princess’s return to the valley jolting him from his sleep. Her
heavy, stifling aggression had wafted into his dreams just moments
before the servant, Isa’s childhood friend, had come pounding on
the tower door.

“
Your Highness!” the servant woman
had cried. “Gigi says you must come to Isa’s chambers!” Ever could
hear the panic in the young woman’s voice. “She says it’s a night
terror!”

Ever had leapt off his pallet so
quickly that he had nearly tripped and fallen on the floor. His
sore bones and stiff muscles protested as he moved, but he hardly
noticed them. Staggering through the great halls as quickly as he
could, he had begged the Fortress to protect her.

He was furious with himself for
not foreseeing this. Of course, the princess would choose to return
from gathering more men for her army the very night that Garin was
gone. Soudain was a decently large city, but word spread fast. Any
spies Nevina had planted there would have reported quickly that
Garin was in town, away from the Fortress.