“Go away.” Brea rolled over on her bed and threw her blanket over her head. Everyone in the palace had knocked on her door over the last two days, but she refused to come out or let anyone in. She was so done with this place and everyone in it. After her one trip to the stables, she realized nothing could take her mind off Myles and decided she’d rather wallow in bed.
“Regan has Myles.” She whispered the words that sounded impossible. Here she was on the other side of the fae world with no way to help him. No one could get inside Fargelsi now that Regan had completely sealed the borders.
“Lady Brea, get out of bed this instant.” Rowena peeled the covers away from Brea.
“Ugh, how did you even get in here?” Brea had barred the door on the inside and barricaded it with her dresser and half the furniture in her sitting room. It was all still piled in front of the door.
“I have my ways.”
“You can walk through walls?” Brea’s eyes widened.
“Walk through walls? You are in sore need of an education in magic.” Rowena pulled her from the bed and steered her toward the bathroom. “Walk through walls, honestly.”
“Then you can apparate?”
“Stop speaking nonsense words and get in the bath.” Rowena already had the sunken tub filled with hot water and all manner of scented oils and flowers. “You will stop acting like a spoiled child and attend the ball this evening.”
“Nope.” Brea turned to retreat to her room. “I’ve had enough of fae parties to last me a lifetime. No thanks.” She slammed the bedroom door behind her and slid the lock in place.
“You will attend this party as your mothers’ guest.”
Brea whirled around to find Rowena stripping her bed. “How are you doing this?”
“Get in the bath, Brea. You smell like one of your horses.”
“Fine. But I’m not going anywhere, so you can go out however you came in.” Brea stomped to the bathroom where Rowena had opened the doors and windows to let in the fresh air.
Stepping into the warm bath, Brea let out a moan as she sank up to her chin. The tub was large enough for four people and almost deep enough to be called a pool. Clearing her mind of all things Myles, she let herself relax in the bath, washing away days of sweat and tangles from her hair.
“That’s enough, now. Time to get out.” Rowena laid a bath sheet on the rack beside the tub and marched out of the room. “Hurry up child, we have to get you ready for the ball.”
“I’m not going. Besides, isn’t it still afternoon? Don’t balls happen at night?”
“Not in Eldur. Here they happen at dusk. You have an hour to eat something and get dressed. The queens expect you in the courtyard at four.”
“Whoever heard of a ball at four in the afternoon?” Brea slipped under the water to rinse her hair, contemplating not coming back up, if only to escape Rowena’s ministrations. There was no way that woman wouldn’t deliver Brea to the courtyard on time without a hair out of place if that was what Queen Faolan wanted.
“You will ride up to the gardens with the queens. Now, out with you.”
Brea reluctantly left the safety of her bath and wrapped the bath sheet around her. She barely winced this time when Rowena used her magic to dry Brea’s hair. Every drop of water from her hair splattered on the tile floor behind her, leaving her hair soft and dry.
“I need to learn that trick once my magic figures out what it’s doing.” She crossed her sitting room to the vanity that had only moments ago blocked the door. Rowena had moved everything back while she was in the tub.
“Sit.”
“Yes ma’am.” Brea flopped onto the chair, resigned to the fact that she was going to this ball tonight whether she wanted to or not.
“So what’s this party about? We celebrating fae Flag Day now?” Brea had lived among the fae long enough to know they would use any excuse to throw themselves a party.
“I don’t know what Flag Day is, but tonight we are celebrating your eighteenth birthday, and you are Queen Tierney’s guest of honor.”
“It’s my birthday?” Brea slumped against her chair. She couldn’t get out of this or ditch out early. Tierney had been nothing but nice to her. She owed it to her mothers to be there. “I’ve lost all track of time with the weird Fae calendar.”
“Humans don’t know how to keep the proper time.” Rowena busied herself with Brea’s hair. “I hear a rumor that they don’t live long past one hundred.”
“Most don’t live that long.”
“With all their fancy medicines and doctors, you’d think they’d be the ones to live the longest.”
“How old are you, Rowena? If you don’t mind me asking.” She was a grandmotherly sort so Brea had always assumed she was in her seventies, but she was beginning to suspect Rowena might be the oldest person she’d ever met.
“One-hundred-and-eighteen on my last birthday.”
“Wow. Will I live that long?” Brea picked at the scones on the tea tray Rowena brought for her. There was even a pot of Eldur Brew she poured for herself. She hadn’t eaten anything in more than a day, and her stomach growled in angry protest.
“Oh you’ll live much longer, I’m sure.” Rowena tugged on her hair, twisting it into an elegant style she couldn’t manage on her most patient day. “Royals always live longer than commoners.”
“I’m not a royal.” Brea sipped her coffee.
“You might not feel like one, love, but it doesn’t change the fact that your mother is a queen, which makes you of her royal blood.”
“I suppose all the nobles will be in attendance tonight?” Brea changed the subject anytime the conversation went anywhere near the word ‘princess’ in regards to herself.
“Birthday celebrations are a special occasion in Eldur. Tonight, commoners and nobles alike will dine with you and your mothers.”
“Oh no,” Brea groaned. All the commoners she’d met in the marketplace would know who she was by the end of the night. There would be no hiding her link to the palace now.
“That’s right, the whole of Eldur will know you as Lady Brea after tonight.” Rowena chuckled.
“And what must I wear?” Brea had visions of the ridiculous dresses she’d had to wear in Fargelsi and didn’t relish the thought of donning a gown that weighed more than she did.
“It’s a lovely sea foam green silk. I think you’ll like it. The queen chose it for you. She said she wanted you to be comfortable.”
Brea doubted that was possible, but she went through the motions, putting on her underthings, surprised when Rowena skipped the corset.
Rowena held the dress aloft as Brea slipped it over her head. A cloud of soft sea foam silk fell around her, light as a feather. Long, sheer sleeves cascaded to the floor.
“There’s a slit in the sleeves for your hands.” Rowena helped her adjust the fitted sleeve that hugged her arms from the base of her shoulder to her elbows, leaving the rest to flutter behind her when she walked.
With a slit up to her hip, it was a far cry from anything Regan would have put her in.
“It’s beautiful.” Brea gazed at herself in the mirror. The simple dress left her shoulders bare, and it was as comfortable as her sleeping gowns. “Good job, Mom.” She turned to admire the gold trim along the neckline and the gold sandals she would have worn in the human world.
Rowena had threaded a string of golden beads through her hair. It reminded Brea of a tiara, which she didn’t like, but the effect was perfect for the dress.
“I guess I have a birthday ball to get to.” Brea heaved a sigh. It was the last thing she wanted to do when her best friend probably sat in the dungeon in Fargelsi and didn’t have a clue what was happening or why he was involved.
“Now, be on your best behavior and don’t embarrass your mothers.” Rowena held the door open for her.
“Thank you, Ro-Ro.” Brea leaned down and kissed her rosy cheek.
“Oh, be on with you.” Rowena shooed her down the hall to meet her mothers.
“Brea, darling you look lovely.” Tierney crossed the courtyard to greet her. “Happy birthday, dear.” She folded Brea into her arms, and she had to admit, Tierney gave the best hugs.
“We are so sorry to hear about your friend, Myles.” Faolan linked her arm through Brea’s. Both queens wore simple silk ballgowns adorned with exotic flowers in the queen’s colors. Queen Regan wouldn’t have deigned to wear something so simple, but both of Brea’s moms looked lovely. “We will do everything we can to bring him and Alona back to us. I give you my word, he is every bit as important as Alona.”
“Thank you … Mom.” Brea decided in that moment the name didn’t feel awkward at all. “He is the most important person in my life. I can’t sit back and do nothing to save him.”
“We will figure this out, darling.” Tierney linked her arm around Brea’s free arm and together they headed to the carriage awaiting them. “But please, try to enjoy your party tonight. It was supposed to be a surprise, but we decided you probably wouldn’t like that.”
“Good plan.” Brea laughed. It warmed something inside her that her mothers really were learning who she was and what she liked.
“Your eighteenth birthday is an important milestone, Brea,” Faolan explained as their carriage rolled along the cobblestone streets. “In the next few days, your magic will begin to change, and you’ll have more control over it. We’ve arranged for you to have a tutor to help you. You’ll have lessons each afternoon once you return from your apprenticeship at the stables.”
“Thank you both. I hadn’t even realized it was my birthday. I’ve lost all sense of time since I arrived in the fae world.”
“We hope you will one day think of Eldur as your home, but for tonight, we just want you to have fun and know that we are working to bring Myles home.”
It was a relief to hear they realized how important he was. Not that Brea would ever stop worrying about him until she laid eyes on her best friend again.
~~~
“Lady Brea.” Lochlan reached to help Brea down from the carriage.
“Loch, how are you feeling? Should you be here?”
“I wouldn’t miss your birthday.” His lips twitched. “With your lack of control, you’re liable to set the whole place on fire. Wouldn’t want to miss that.”
“Very funny.” She took his hand, noting how pale he was. Despite the facade of his fine clothing, he was in no shape to attend a ball. She’d only ever seen him in his black leathers or soldier’s gear. Even in Fargelsi, he always wore simple black clothing.
But tonight, he was in full Eldur fashion, and Brea approved. His long fitted jacket matched the dark blue of his eyes. Trimmed in silver brocade with slitted sleeves, it fit him like a second skin. His silver undershirt buttoned high, with a stiff collar, and his fitted trousers were of the same dark hue as his jacket. A pale blue and silver sash tied at his waist, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow hips.
Following the queens, Brea walked silently beside him through the tiered garden, up to the highest level, her arm tucked tightly around Lochlan’s. They passed commoners and merchants, each bowing as the queens strolled past. Cool breezes swept through the crowds as if called here by magic, which was probably the case. Fires in a rainbow of colors danced in the braziers as the sun met the horizon.
“Isn’t it odd to have a ball so early in the evening?”
“Not in Eldur,” Lochlan said with a frown. “Surely someone has taught you that much about Eldurian magic?”
“I still know nothing.” Brea shrugged.
“I thought Griff taught you how Eldurians draw their magic from the sun.”
“And in Iskalt, you draw your magic from the moon. And in Fargelsi, from nature.” Brea remembered that much, though she didn’t know what it meant.
“So, if your people harness magic from the sun, and mine from the moon, what would be the logical conclusion?” Lochlan pushed her to find the answer for herself.
“Oh!” She gazed around the gardens at all the obvious displays of magic, and it clicked. “They can only use their magic during the day?”
“And I can only use mine at night. But, at dawn and again at dusk, we are both powerful.”
“What does that mean for Fargelsi?”
“They can use their magic anytime, which grants them a certain advantage, but they are not nearly as powerful as Iskalt and Eldur.”
“I see.”
“Now that you are of age, it is important that you learn to harness your magic.”
“The queens have arranged for a tutor.” Brea and Lochlan followed the queens to their thrones for the evening. They took up their place behind the queens on the dais. It was all so familiar. Brea fought the urge to yawn, pasting on her fake smile instead.
Nobles and commoners alike came to wish the Lady Brea a happy birthday, offering her little trinkets and baubles from the finest gold to the most common beads and stones. Brea found she preferred the simple gifts from the common folk. They were more heartfelt. A young woman shyly offered her a fuzzy white baby pigmy goat Brea refused to let out of her sight.
“You’re supposed to eat that, you know.” Lochlan stared at the baby goat in her lap. “It’s delicious roasted with rosemary and onion.”
“Shut your face, Lochlan O’Shea.” Brea held her hands over the baby goat’s ears. “Her name is Rosie, and she’s my pet.” Brea scratched the goat’s head eliciting a lazy bleat.
“If you’re going to keep that thing in your rooms, you need to get it a friend. There’s nothing more destructive than a bored goat.”
Brea leaned forward to ask her mothers if she could explore the gardens.
“Don’t go far, dear,” Tierney said. “We have an announcement to make soon, but take Lochlan with you.”
Brea left the dais with Rosie in her arms, not overly concerned if Lochlan followed her or not. She made her way through the crowd, offering smiles and nods to those who looked like they wanted to talk, but she kept moving until she saw a familiar face near the buffet.
“Breee-anne of Tarth,” Finn slurred, sipping from a flask. “How’s the birthday girl?”
“I’m fine, thanks, but you’re clearly drunk.” She took his flask away, taking a sip of the contents for herself. “Yuck, that tastes like burnt leaves. Try the champagne.
It’s delicious.” Brea snagged two glasses from a passing waiter.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Finn poured a healthy splash of his flask into the champagne flute.
“Leave him be, Brea.” Lochlan took her glass of champagne from her and drained its contents in one gulp.
“Hey, that was mine.”
“I’ve seen what happens to you after you’ve had too much fae wine. I don’t relish taking another swim in the fountains tonight.”
“It happened one time.” Brea turned toward Finn, ignoring Lochlan.
“What’s wrong, Finn?”
“What’s right?” He laughed, his eyes red rimmed like he hadn’t slept much since his return.
“It’s Alona’s eighteenth birthday too, Brea,” Lochlan said sadly.
“Oh, right. I’m sorry, Finn. I know you miss her. We’ll get her back. Myles too, if I have anything to say about it.”
“How?” Finn turned frantic eyes on Brea. “How can we get them back when they’re fully out of our reach?”
“Brea, leave him alone,” Lochlan moved to stand between them. “You don’t know what he’s lost. What any of us have. You can’t possibly understand.”
“I can’t?” She gave him a shove. “I don’t know what it’s like to lose the most important person in my life? I can’t understand how utterly helpless everyone feels about poor Princess Alona? Screw you, Lochlan O’Shea.”
Brea stormed away, making her way back to the dais to sit with her mothers. Alona’s mothers. She might have been born of Faolan’s body, and they might be trying to force a family bond with her, but at the end of the day, Alona was the one everyone wanted, not her.
“May I have your attention, please?” Queen Faolan tapped her champagne flute. “Tonight is a special night. Princess Alona’s eighteenth birthday. Though she isn’t with us, our hearts and minds are always with her in her captivity.”
“Why did I ever think this party was supposed to be about me?” Brea turned to leave. She didn’t need to be here for this.
“But tonight is even more special because we have a very important guest of honor here with us.”
Brea stopped long enough to catch her mother’s eyes, pleading with her to stay.
“Some of you know her as Lady Brea Robinson, guest of the queens. But may I present her as Princess Brea Robinson—”
“How could she?” Brea wanted to disappear. She wasn’t ready for this. She wasn’t some kind of replacement for princess Alona.
“—Of Fargelsi.”
Wait, what? Brea turned accusing eyes on her mother.
“Brea is the rightful heir to the Fargelsi throne. Yet the false queen has kept her prisoner there for years. Brea has recently escaped the clutches of our greatest enemy and has come to Eldur to help us fight. With Brea’s help, we will bring Princess Alona home, and we will work together with our allies to bring an end to Regan’s reign of terror and place the rightful heir—and ally—on the throne.” Faolan lifted her glass to the cheers from the crowd.
There it was. The third shoe dropping right on her head just when she wasn’t expecting it. With Faolan as her Eldurian mother and Lord Brandon as her Fargelsian father, she would always be a pawn to these people.
Noblemen and courtiers crushed around Brea, vying for her attention even more now than they had before.
“Please, excuse me.” Brea hung her head. Clutching Rosie in her arms, she let the crowd sweep her away from the queen. Her mother. The woman who just betrayed her and settled one more lie on the house of cards that was Brea’s life.
That house of cards crumbled around her like a pile of ashes.
Brea didn’t stop until the brick path beneath her feet turned to grass. Looking up, the last rays of the sun began to fade away, and the party was in full swing behind her. Stumbling across the grassy lawn surrounding the tiered garden, Brea made her way toward the familiar building in the distance. The stables were her favorite place in the whole city. Her one refuge that made her feel normal.
“Lady Brea?” Master Arturo frowned at her dress, the tears in her eyes and the goat in her arms. “You know what? I don’t want to know. Come with me.”
“Sir?” Brea stumbled after him, her heels sinking into the soft dirt.
“You said you wanted to know when Raven was ready to give birth.”
“Really? She’s having the twins now?”
“Yes, and I could use your help. Just don’t tell the queen I had you do anything beneath your station. And don’t get that pretty dress dirty. You can find an apron and boots in the storage closet.”
“Where can I put my goat?”
“’In the stewpot’ is probably not the answer you’re looking for, is it?” The stable master rolled up the sleeves of his fine tunic, and she realized he probably came from the party too.
“No.” Brea put a protective hand over Rosie’s head.
“Put her in the last stall with Penny. She’ll take care of her.” Penny was Arturo’s faithful dog who liked to mother all the creatures she came upon.
“Thank you, Master Arturo. I’ll be quick.” Brea darted for the supply closet, eager to visit Raven and meet her twin foals who would likely share Brea’s birthday with her and the great princess Alona.
~~~