Blooms of Consequence (Dusk Gate Chronicles Book 4) (13 page)

“True enough.”

He kissed her on the lips then, a gentle, chaste kiss, and then pulled back far enough to study her face. “You know, the important question is not whether your mother is happy about it, Quinn. Are you sure it’s what you want?”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, searching herself. For just a moment, she imagined herself saying no, but that was a black thought, a physical pain inside her chest. She was sure. “Yes, Will.” She opened her eyes again, and met his gaze, looking deep into his gray eyes. “I’m not sure about the timing, or my mom, or anything else that’s going on. But I’m sure about one thing. I’m sure about you.”

THE DOOR TO STEPHEN’S office was closed as they approached, and Quinn was suddenly nervous – a feeling that grew stronger when she realized that she hadn’t seen Stephen at all since she had returned. She wondered if he, too, was angry with her, and her heart started pounding as Nathaniel reached for the doorknob.

“Did you tell him?” she asked quietly.

He turned around and looked at her. “No, I didn’t. This one is yours.”

She swallowed hard, and then nodded.

Nathaniel reached for the door again, and William squeezed her hand. “You’re sure you’re ready for this?”

“Yeah.” It wasn’t exactly true, but she also knew that she was
never
going to be fully ready, and that waiting wasn’t going to make it easier. The only thing that was going to settle her anxious nerves was just doing it.

When they stepped inside the room and she saw Stephen, though, her resolve almost faltered. He was alone, sitting behind his giant desk, and he didn’t hear them enter at first. His head was resting on his hands, and he was pale.

She looked up at Nathaniel in alarm. He squeezed her shoulder gently, and then turned to close the door, but as he did so, a hand appeared around the edge, pushing the door back open. A second later, Alvin stepped into the room. “Mind if I join you?” he asked, looking at Quinn.

Stephen looked up at the sound and rose immediately to walk toward them.

“Um, no. Of course not, please come,” Quinn said, a little flustered by Alvin’s sudden appearance. She wanted to ask him what he was doing here, but was afraid that would sound rude.

“Somebody had to come and name the baby,” he said, and it took her most of a minute to remember that Rebecca had just had the baby, and that she’d been wondering why he was here.
Could Alvin read her mind?
He smiled and winked at her, which, at that moment, didn’t exactly make her feel better.

 They met Stephen in the middle of the room, near the circle of couches and armchairs that surrounded a large, low table. He wrapped William in a hug that was so forceful it surprised her, and he didn’t let go for several minutes. When he finally did let him go, he stepped back and gave him a severe look. “Don’t ever do something like that again. Do you even begin to understand what could have happened? Do you?”

William stared at the floor. “Yes, Father. I know it was stupid, and I’m sorry.”

“And you.” He turned his attention to Quinn. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. I’m okay.”

And then he hugged her, too, gently but tight, and her confidence returned. When he pulled away, she looked him in the eyes. “Are
you
all right, Stephen?”

He sighed. “Not very, Quinn. My kingdom is under attack. My
family
is under attack.”

Her insides clenched down hard. “What do you mean?”

“Come and have a seat. We have a little while before I meet with my council.”

William led her around to one of the armchairs before looking up at his father. “Do you want me in here?”

Stephen looked around, at Quinn, and then at Alvin and Nathaniel, who had taken seats on one of the couches. Nathaniel nodded slightly. Alvin shrugged visibly, smiling as usual, and Stephen turned back to William. “So long as Quinn wants you here, son, you’re welcome to stay. Nothing I say is going to be private information for much longer. I will be sharing this with your mother later this afternoon. Simon knows already – he’s discussing things with Marcus right now.”

“Quinn?”

She nodded. Yes, she wanted him here. The decision they’d made this morning – whether they were ready to share it with anyone or not – meant that anything she did affected him, too. She was surprised to discover that thinking about that calmed her, rather than scared her.

William sat down in the chair next to her, and Stephen sat across from them.

“After you disappeared, Quinn, we were finally able to get some more information out of Gavin.”

Quinn’s hands balled into fists in her lap. Gavin was William’s cousin who had been caught spying and passing information to Tolliver.

“He believes that Jonathan was sent here by Tolliver to gather information about certain things taking place here in our kingdom. Those “refugees” who’ve been appearing near the bridge for most of the last moon were not refugees at all, but a small group of forces under Jonathan’s command.”

Quinn took a deep breath and nodded – she’d sort of guessed that herself, after what Jonathan had told her in his tent. “Have they been planning an attack?”

“Not exactly – not this group of forces anyway. It appears they had two main objectives. Jonathan was to learn as much as he could about the possible existence of a gate to another world – which he has probably done – although Gavin thinks it’s unlikely that more than a few of his men knew about that. That part is very secret.”

“Then what’s the other part? Why did the soldiers think they were here?”

Stephen’s expression grew so dark that it made her shiver. “To accomplish what has always been Tolliver’s objective – to return to Philotheum with Linnea.”

The room was silent for several moments as the impact of that statement settled over all of them.

“He’s never going to give up on that, is he?” Quinn finally asked.

“No. I can only guess that he really believes in the importance of the prophecy. Or someone does. Hector, perhaps. It may be that Tolliver is having a difficult time getting the support of his council to take the throne without fulfilling the prophecy. Certainly he’s having a hard time holding the support of a good number of his people. If he just takes the throne, it’s possible he could have a revolt on his hands, but if he had fulfilled the prophecy...”

“And they really think that kidnapping your daughter will unite the kingdoms?”

Stephen shook his head. “They don’t see it that way, Quinn. What they see is a royal family on their side who has run out of options. There are no legitimate heirs, things are going wrong – but there’s a simple solution. A prophecy that will unite them with a family that has produced an exceptional number of royal children. And we’re blocking them, refusing them what they believe they’re supposed to have.”

“Linnea doesn’t get a say in that?”

“I suppose they think she should be grateful – a sixth-born princess with the opportunity to be queen.”

Quinn felt her nausea returning. “And so they’re willing to go to war for it?”

“More than willing. One of our western villages was invaded late last night.”

Yes – it was definitely nausea. “So we’re at war.”

Stephen’s eyebrow went up just a little. “We? Yes, I suppose so. There’s been no official declaration of anything. I suspect the invasion of Anwin is more a show of force and a distraction than anything else. But it certainly requires a response.”

“
Anwin
? Isn’t that where Charles is?”

“Yes, that’s where Charles’ home is, and where Ellen has also been staying. I’m sure it’s some kind of message to them as well. Fortunately, they all left early yesterday morning to finally begin traveling here to the castle. Unfortunately, that means they’re out there traveling, and they’re not well-guarded.”

Quinn suddenly felt guilty that she’d been glad that so far Ellen hadn’t made her promised trip to the castle. She’d liked Ellen the one time she had met her, but her coming here felt like more pressure for Quinn to make a decision. She didn’t know what Ellen’s feelings were on Quinn being the rightful heir to the throne.

She was even more worried about meeting Charles for the first time. He had a daughter, Gianna, who, if Quinn didn’t exist or choose the throne, would be the only rightful contender against Tolliver.

Worries notwithstanding, though, right now she only hoped they were all safe. Whether she knew them well or not – they were her family. More than that, now, she realized. They were her responsibility.

One more deep breath and she would be able to say what she came here to say. “How will it change things when they find out I’m the real heir, and that I intend to take my throne?”

Her words had the intended effect. Stephen’s eyes widened and he grew very still. “I was wondering if that’s what you had decided, when I learned that you told Jonathan who you are. That was very risky.”

“I know. I’m not sure I meant to tell him – but I don’t regret it. I’ve made the decision, Stephen, and I’m not going to change my mind.”

“What about your mother?”

Quinn sighed. “I started to tell her last night, but she isn’t ready to hear it.”

William reached for her hand as Stephen nodded. She hadn’t told him quite how badly that conversation with her mother had gone.

“This has to be very difficult for her,” Stephen said. “It will take her some time to get used to the idea.”

“I doubt she’ll ever get used to it.”

“She may never like it, but I think she’ll accept it, eventually, if we take it slowly, Quinn.”

“We don’t have time to take this slowly.”

“If I may interrupt, Lady –
Princess
Quinn,” Alvin said, “I should think there’s always time to do the important things right.”

She turned to look at him, already feeling the stress of the conversation getting to her. “What is that even supposed to mean? We’re about to be at war.”

Alvin didn’t appear to be fazed by her tone at all. His blue eyes sparkled as he answered her. “If you’re going to be the queen of a kingdom, milady, this is something you need to learn. You must have your own affairs in order before you can hope to be successful at managing those of others.”

She knew that the irritation that was rising inside of her was largely the result of the stress of the last few days, and she tried to keep herself calm. At the moment, she didn’t trust herself to respond.

“So what do we do for now?” William asked.

“Right now, there isn’t much to do,” Stephen said. “We need to wait for Charles and Ellen to arrive here and discuss things with them. I’ve sent some forces to Anwin to see what we’re dealing with there – and we’re still dealing with the fire. Everything is as under control as it can be. Quinn, I think this might be a good time for you to recover, and to spend some time with your family. This is likely as calm as things will be for a while.”

“And tonight, you’ll celebrate,” Alvin said. “There’s a gorgeous new baby to name, and I believe I smelled a delicious roast on the way up here. I may just stop by the kitchens and make a request for that chocolate cake, too.”

Quinn took a deep breath – wondering how her mother felt about Naming Ceremonies.

“NICE ONE.”

Quinn spun around, startled at the sound of William’s voice. Behind her, a straw-filled dummy plopped to the ground, a small dagger embedded in the center of its chest. “Thanks.”

He walked up to her and put his arms around her waist, kissing her on the tip of her nose. “I’m surprised you two are still in here doing this.” She saw his eyes drift to her still-bandaged leg, but – wisely – he didn’t comment.

“If she’s out here, then she can avoid talking to her mother,” Linnea said, pulling her arm back and letting her knife fly, neatly beheading another dummy.

Thomas shot a look at his sister, but Linnea didn’t even notice.

Quinn rolled her eyes. “I’m not avoiding her. I talked to her at breakfast.”

Linnea raised an eyebrow, and Quinn’s heart sank. “Whatever, Nay. It’s not like she’s exactly talking a lot to me, either. I’m not going to hang out upstairs and just stare at the walls with her.”

“It’s true – throwing knives is much more exciting.” William said, clearly trying to lighten her mood. Letting go of her, he reached down into a wooden box and withdrew a rough metal ball, slightly larger than a tennis ball. As Linnea crossed back over to them, he pulled back his arm and lobbed the ball at the dummy. It wobbled as the ball grazed the side, and then sailed past, landing about five feet back.

“You’d be deadly if you could aim,” Thomas said.

William shrugged. “Not everyone can be you.”

Quinn picked up another one of the balls. The first time she’d held one, she’d been surprised at how heavy it was. She took a step, and launched it overhand, connecting squarely with the dummy’s head and sending it toppling over again.

William whistled appreciatively. “I’ll stick to patching up the ones you two injure.”

His tone was joking, but his words made her stomach flip. “I don’t ever
want
to injure somebody.”

“I know.” He pulled her into his arms again. “Hopefully it will never come to that.”

“Hopefully not.” Right now, she didn’t know what anything was going to come to. In the two days since she had informed Stephen of her decision, she had developed a new appreciation of an aspect of this world that she’d sort of been aware of, but had never really understood.

Things happened slowly here.

Last night, Ellen and Charles and the crew they were traveling with had finally arrived at the castle, but Quinn hadn’t seen any of them yet. And if she was being totally honest with herself, she was out here mainly to work off her nervous energy at the prospect of encountering her aunt and uncle for the first time since finding out who they were. Actually, she would be meeting Charles, her father’s oldest brother, for the very first time.

Avoiding her mother was only a secondary benefit.

Things hadn’t improved much between her and her mom in the last two days. They’d tried talking several times, but anytime they went deeper than sharing niceties at mealtimes, the same main argument would break out over other small issues. Last night, when she’d tried to spend some time with her mom after dinner, it had become about her birthday.

“You really think you’re just going to stay here?” her mom had said. “What about celebrating your birthday? Richard and Denise are planning on driving up from Denver this weekend.”

Celebrating her birthday was the farthest thing from Quinn’s mind. Nobody knew enough about how the time between the two worlds worked to be able to pinpoint what her exact birthday would be in this world. Charlotte had told her she could pick whatever day she liked, but she didn’t think a birthday was all that important right now. Clearly, though, it was important to her mother. “I can have a birthday party here, mom. I can celebrate with you before you leave,” she’d said, mostly to placate Megan.

It hadn’t been what her mom wanted to hear, though, and Quinn had ended up retreating to her room well before bedtime.

“You know, Quinn, your mother is going to keep treating you like a child for as long as you’re acting like one.” Linnea’s voice sliced into her reverie.

“How exactly am I doing that, Nay? If anyone is acting like a child here,
she
is.”

“She’s not out here hiding from you.”

“I’m not hiding. She could ask anyone where I am – she could come out here if she wanted to.”

Linnea shrugged. “She really doesn’t know how serious you are. She’s still using her anger to try to convince you to see things her way, where you’ll be at home with her and you have time to work all of these things out. But you know better – and you’re wasting it. You’re letting the fact that she’s not happy about it get in the way of this time you could be having together. It’s hard for you, and you’re acting on your emotions. If you want her to see you as an adult, then you need to act on your truth, no matter how hard it is.”

Quinn sighed. William squeezed her shoulder gently, though he stayed silent beside her. Thomas started stacking the practice knives back into their crate. “How do I do that, Linnea?”

“For starters, you could stop hiding things from her. Last time I checked, adults tell their families when they decide to get married.”

“She is not ready to hear that, Linnea!”

“This is what I’m telling you. It’s not about what you think she’s ready to hear or not hear. It’s about what the truth is, and what you’re excluding her from. If you’re enough of an adult to make that decision, then you’re enough of one to tell your mother. And, honestly, William,” she looked up at her brother, “that goes for you, too. This is not something that should be secret.”

Without waiting for a response, Linnea turned and started walking back toward the castle.

Thomas stared, wide-eyed at her retreating form for several seconds. “I guess I’ll go talk to her,” he said, making his own awkward exit.

It took Quinn a long moment before she could compose herself enough to look at William. She knew her cheeks were pink.

He looked a little taken aback, too, but he managed a small smile. “I tried to warn you about her.”

Her chest relaxed as she started breathing again. “She’s your sister.”

“I take
no
responsibility for that,” he said, holding his hands up in the air.

Quinn chuckled. “I suppose I can’t hold it against you.”

He put his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine – I’m just trying to wrap my mind around everything she said.”

“Yeah.”

“She’s right, isn’t she?”

William took a deep breath, and then he nodded. “I think she probably is.”

Pulling away from him, Quinn paced back and forth for a few minutes, suddenly very nervous, though she didn’t understand why. Finally, she went and sat down on one of the hay bales. William watched her for a long moment before coming to sit down beside her.

“Are you really sure it’s what you want?” His voice wobbled, and she realized that he was just as nervous about this conversation as she was – maybe more. She sighed, Linnea was right – she wasn’t acting like an adult – she wasn’t really owning her decisions, and that was going to hurt everyone.

She took his hand in hers. “Yes, Will. I told you when I said yes that I was sure. And I’m sorry that I haven’t been acting like I meant it. She’s right. This shouldn’t be a secret – this should be huge, happy news. That is – if you’re sure it’s what you want.”

He didn’t answer her right away. Instead, he stood up and took a step back, sending her heart plummeting into the depths of her stomach.
Oh no
…

But then she realized that he was fishing in his pocket, and before she had time to think about why, he was dropping down on one knee on the ground in front of her. Suddenly, her heart was back where it belonged, but racing like a hummingbird.

“Quinn Katriel Robbins Rose, I love you. I think I might have loved you the first moment I saw that you’d actually followed me through the gate, maybe even before that, I don’t know. But whenever it started – I know where I want it to end – somewhere on the other side of forever. And I promise I will love you, and stay with you, and support you in your decisions, and even make some of them with you ... if only you will agree to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

It didn’t matter that he’d already asked – that they’d already agreed. Tears streamed down her face, obstructing her view of the little purple silk drawstring bag he placed in her hand. Both of their fingers were shaking enough that they had to work together to untie the little ribbon at the top, which made her giggle enough to stop some of the tears, so that her eyes were clear when he turned the bag over and the little ring fell into her hand.

“Diamonds aren’t really a thing here,” he said apologetically as she held it up to examine it. “I didn’t have any way to...”

“Shh...” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.” And it was. A delicate rope of gold braided around an identical line of silver – the colors of their kingdoms intertwined, making one precious whole. “It’s perfect.”

“This finger, right?” he asked, stroking the ring finger of her left hand, reminding her of just how much thought he’d put into this – into giving her a proposal and a ring the way it might have someday happened in her world, even though he didn’t know much about it. Her
other
world she thought now – somehow this world had come to feel just as much like home as Earth. Maybe even more so, since this was the one she’d chosen.

She nodded, and he slipped the ring onto her finger, kissing it gently before he stood again, pulling her up into his arms.

He kissed her mouth then, a long, slow, deep kiss that was filled with emotion from both of them. A kiss that made her feel safe and cherished and hopeful. One that let her know that no matter how difficult it was going to be to share their news, in the end, it would be worth it.

She wasn’t sure how she was ever going to pull the rest of this off – fighting a war, taking a throne in a kingdom she knew nothing about – but this part with William she could do.

“So what do we do now?” she asked, when he finally pulled away.

“I guess we go and tell our families. I think we should probably tell your mother first – it’s only right, since I didn’t ask her. And I don’t think it would be good if she found out from someone else.”

She was nodding when she was startled by the sound of someone clearing his throat.

They both turned around to see Nathaniel standing there, looking uncomfortable. And he wasn’t alone. Standing next to him, immediately familiar from the trip she’d taken to Philotheum, was Lady Ellen Fisher – her aunt. Quinn’s face grew very hot again as she wondered how long they had been there.

“Sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean to interrupt... I just... Quinn, you remember Ellen.”

“Yeah. I mean, yes, of course I do.” She walked up to them and extended her hand. It’s lovely to see you again.”

“And you as well, my dear.”

“Did your journey go well?”

She saw Ellen steal a glance at Nathaniel before she answered, but her expression didn’t change as she answered Quinn. “Yes, it was fine, thank you.”

Nathaniel, though, never noticed his sister’s hesitation. His eyes were locked on Quinn’s left hand. She quickly hid it behind her back.

“Did I just... Sorry,” Nathaniel was clearly flustered. “Quinn, we were looking for you. Charles would very much like to meet you. Also, Andrew and Natalie Gramble traveled here with them, and they’re anxious to see both of you again.”

“Oh!” William said. “How are they doing?”

“They’re quite well,” Ellen answered. “They would like to thank you again, William.”

“Do they have the baby with them?” William asked.

“Yes, they do.” Ellen gave Nathaniel another surreptitious glance, but this one was different...
Almost … pleasant?

Andrew and Natalie had been with them the afternoon that William and Quinn had spent locked in Ellen’s basement in Philotheum, and that was when Natalie had gone into labor. William had delivered their little girl – the first and only baby he’d delivered on his own. Quinn had often thought about the young couple and wondered how they were doing.

William had obviously wondered, too. She could tell he was intrigued, and happy at the idea of seeing them again.

“Are you ready, Quinn?” Nathaniel asked. “Is now a good time?”

No, she wasn’t ready, but she wouldn’t be ready later, either – would never be ready. She was just going to have to do it. She nodded.

As they all started walking back to the castle, Nathaniel hung back slightly, positioning himself just behind Quinn. She felt her face grow hot again as he studied her hand.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked quietly, when he finally looked up to meet her eyes.

She looked down at her hand, running her finger along the braided silver and gold, unable to look at him as she answered. “Yes.”

She heard him let out a breath, but she still couldn’t bring herself to look and see his reaction. Her heart was pounding, and her hands had started shaking when she suddenly felt Nathaniel’s hand on her shoulder, and then his mouth was near her ear. “I couldn’t be happier, sweetheart.”