Blooms of Consequence (Dusk Gate Chronicles Book 4) (23 page)

William swallowed hard.

“So what can we do?” Quinn asked. “How do we start searching for Linnea?”

“At first light, we will attempt to locate Zylia and send her searching so that we can follow. But they may have a lead of over twelve hours on us and with the rain...”

“What can
I
do?” Her voice was a little more forceful this time, her hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

“You can do nothing Quinn. At least nothing to directly search for Linnea. In a few hours, you will begin your journey to Philotheum. You’re our best hope for ending this thing. Ellen and Charles are already packing. Henry is going with you, but Thea and her children will be staying with us.”

Marcus stepped forward from his position behind Stephen’s desk. “Ben and I will be also traveling with you. As we’ve discussed before, we need to be able to protect you, but still keep our group as small as possible to avoid notice. We also need to leave some trustworthy guards here at the castle. As tonight’s events have more than demonstrated, we can’t take for granted our trust of
anyone
.”

Quinn’s gaze swung back to Stephen. “You’re sending your two most trusted guards with
me
, when you need them here – when they could be searching for Linnea?”

His father took a step toward her. “Marcus is not
my
guard, Quinn. He never has been.”

She frowned.

Marcus cleared his throat. “Since the beginning, Princess, my family has held a special position. It is a task that belonged to my father, and to his father before him. We guard the heir to the Philothean throne. My son and I intend to travel with you – to restore our family’s honor, to return the new heir to her rightful place. My father never got over losing Samuel – he was eventually hung for treason when he dared to accuse Hector of the truth, of plotting to kill your father. As for me, I held out hope always that I would live to see you, to guard you, for my family to continue serving yours, as it was meant to be. Will you allow us the honor?”

Marcus and Ben both knelt in front of her then. The single tear that fell down her cheek was the only break in Quinn’s composure during that meeting.

“REMIND ME NEVER TO go that long without riding, and then try something like this again,” William said, coming up to where Quinn was leaning against a tree.

“I don’t remember planning it that way this time,” she reminded him.

“Are you holding up okay?” He glanced down toward her leg, which was a lot better after a week of healing, but he had only just taken out her stitches before they left.

“I’m fine.”

“Liar.”

“There’s not really another option, is there? Besides, I spent all that time throwing knives and stuff in the practice arena. I’m in better shape for this than you are.” She pushed playfully at his chest.

He raised an eyebrow as he captured her hand, pushing it out of the way so that he could move in close to her. “Is that right? I seem to remember keeping up some form of exercise lately...”

She giggled as he leaned in to kiss her, and she stretched her arms up around his neck, but then she remembered why they were out here, and her laughter stopped abruptly.

“What, love?”

“It just feels ... wrong to be playing and smiling about anything when Linnea’s missing.”

He sighed. “I know it does.”

“What if she’s hurt or something?”

William closed his eyes. “We can’t think like that, Quinn. Not that I’m not thinking the same things, but ... she’s probably safe, wherever she is. Unhappy, I’m sure, but Tolliver wants her so he can marry her. Whoever took her has to be under orders not to harm her.”

“It feels so wrong to be leaving instead of searching for her.”

“I know.” He pulled her tight against his chest. “But this is the best thing we can do for her. We need to get to Philotheum, and see if we can get all of this sorted out, and then he won’t
need
her.”

“And what if we get there and Queen Sophia doesn’t agree? What if she turns around and has us killed or something?”

“I’m sure we’ll have a plan by the time we get there that doesn’t have us just walking to our deaths.” He tried to sound confident. “And you do realize, don’t you, that Queen Sophia is your grandmother. That has to mean something.”

“She has no way of knowing that, Will.”

“Maybe not, but we can’t think like that, Quinn. You have the exact same color hair she does. And from what I hear, you look very much like your father. Maybe she’ll recognize you.”
No
, she hadn’t known that. She’d known her hair color was the same as her father’s, but she had no idea that had come from his mother. She wondered who William had been talking to about her looking like her father. Those conversations hadn’t included her.

“Yeah, maybe it will just be that easy,” she said, placating him because she really didn’t want to think too much about that right now.

 “Do you want some dry clothes?” he asked, after a few minutes, running his hand against the damp material of her shirt.

“I was getting there.” The first couple of hours they’d traveled away from the castle, it had still been drizzling. The slick riding coat she’d been wearing hadn’t been enough to keep out all of the moisture.

About an hour ago, the sun had finally peeked through the heavy gray clouds, slowly warming them, though there was still a crisp fall chill in the air. They’d stopped now, in the secluded safety of a thickly wooded area, to rest and let the horses drink.

“Will! Quinn!” Nathaniel called from down by the river.

“Come on,” William said, taking her hand. They hurried down to where the small group was huddling on a circle of rocks.

Ben handed each of them a sandwich before they sat down, and Quinn noted that he looked terrible. There were black circles under his eyes, and his complexion was ashen. She wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his fault that nobody blamed him, but she had a feeling that he didn’t want to hear it. Yesterday, at the wedding, Ben had asked Linnea to dance with him twice, and another time she’d seen him carrying two drinks toward a table far to the side of where most of the socializing was happening.

She was afraid his devastation now ran far deeper than feeling he’d failed in his duties, and she felt overwhelmingly guilty that Ben was here now, guarding her, rather than searching for Linnea.

“Marcus and I have been discussing the best plan for our route today. We’ll rest for a little while longer here, and give everything a chance to dry out and warm up,” Nathaniel said, nodding toward a small fire someone had built on the riverbank. “Then we’re thinking we can make it to Cloud Valley before dinnertime.”

“Are we actually going to stay in Cloud Valley? Is it safe if Eli knows?”

“Eli is a member of the Friends of Philip.”

“What? Since when?”

“For a long time now,” Marcus said. “Eli’s father was one of my closest friends, and a personal guard of King Jonathan’s.”

“So he’s from Philotheum?”

Nathaniel nodded. “Eli’s clinic is one of the places we’ve been sending refugees as we find them. Cloud Valley is secluded and quiet; many people don’t even know the town exists. The people there are loyal to our history and the united crowns. It’s been a safe haven.”

“Does Eli know who you are?”

“Yes. He is one of the few people who do. He doesn’t know who you are, though I think we need to tell him. We’re going to need the support of more Friends of Philip to get to that castle.”

“How are we going to get across the border?” That task had been difficult the last time they’d done it, before they were at full-blown war.

“It’s a good question,” Marcus said. “But it’s not one we’re facing today. It’s still another day and a half of solid traveling before we reach the place where we’re going to try.”

Quinn nodded; she knew they were taking a very long way around. The capitol city of Philotheum was in nearly the opposite direction from the way they’d been traveling. But if they’d tried to travel straight there – taken the route they’d gone the last time they’d made a journey like this – they would have had to go straight through the center of the fighting, and eventually they’d have crossed main thoroughfares in Philotheum.

“Okay, then,” she said. “Cloud Valley by nightfall.”

*          *          *

For a little while after their break, the weather was perfect for traveling. Sunny, but not hot, and the overnight moisture had brought out the vibrant colors in everything. This was William’s favorite time of year. A few leaves had started changing from green to yellow, but only enough to give a splash of color to the landscape; most of the leaves still clung firmly to their branches.

But the best part of many of the trees was the fruit. The smell of ripe apples, pylinas, and peaches permeated the air as the sun evaporated the rainwater on the heavy limbs of the fruit trees. In many places, the crop was so plentiful that overripe fruit covered the ground below, and the birds, small animals, and honeybees were feasting.

“What are you thinking about?” Quinn asked, letting Dusk fall back a bit so she was even with him.

“Nothing, really. Why?”

“I don’t know. You just had this look on your face, like you were thinking about something good and I could use a little good right now.”

“Oh” He smiled. Determined to be strong for Quinn, and not let his own anxiety get the better of him, he had been forcing himself to pay attention to the scenery and focus his mind on pleasant thoughts. It had worked, he guessed. He’d lapsed into daydreaming when she caught him. “I was thinking about you, actually. About us.”

“What about us?”

“About how different this trip would be if this was a real honeymoon. If we were out here enjoying the fall, just us.”

“Hmm...” She looked around. “I could get behind an idea like that. What would we do?”

He smiled, taking note of the playful tone in her voice. “We could pack a picnic, maybe race the horses on the way out to the middle of nowhere, pick all the fruit we wanted, go for a swim, set up a blanket under a tree…”

She closed her eyes, trusting completely in her control over and relationship with Dusk as she allowed herself a moment inside his daydream. Even dressed in plain, rugged traveling clothes, with her hair braided tightly and tucked under a heavy, wide-brimmed hat, she took his breath away. And it struck him, then, that she was his
wife
. He was going to be able to catch glimpses of her like this for the rest of his life.

An irritated sound from behind them was an instant and unwelcome reminder that he and Quinn weren’t alone at all. William’s stomach sank as Charles’ horse suddenly sped and went around them, not slowing again until Charles was well ahead of the group.

Quinn’s eyes were open now, and they widened as she watched. “What was
that
about?”

He shrugged. “I wish I knew what his problem was.”

She glanced around them. Most of the group was ahead of them, and she slowed a little, falling further back from Nathaniel. William matched her pace. Only Ben was behind them, and he was too far to hear anything they were saying.

“Do you think it’s really that he wants his daughter to be the queen?”

“I don’t know. I asked Nathaniel about it the other night, after that meeting where Charles was so… whatever he was. But Nathaniel doesn’t think that’s what it is. I guess Charles has always been very protective of his family, and he wasn’t happy about bringing Gianna to the castle, even.”

Just then, something wet landed on his hand. He looked down, frowning. There was a big drop of water on the back of his hand. He looked up to see where it had come from, and another one hit his cheek.

“It’s raining,” Quinn said, and they both looked up at the sky.

Where only moments before, the sky had been clear and blue, it was now filling with thick, gray clouds. As they watched, the sun disappeared, and the air around them grew cool. Quinn grabbed for her hat as a sudden breeze nearly blew it off.

A few seconds later, the scattered drops multiplied, and the rain began in earnest. Within five minutes, it was coming down so hard that William could barely see Quinn, though she was only a few feet away from him. Ahead of them, Marcus rode off the trail into a thick stand of trees. Everyone quickly followed.

Even the thick foliage offered little protection from the downpour as Marcus led them to the highest ground he could find. As soon as they found a place where most of the water was running downhill, rather than collecting, the men went to work. Within moments, they’d erected one tent.

“Get inside, Princess Quinn!” Ben shouted, using his body to shield the entrance from the downpour as he held the flap open for her.

She shook her head. “How can I help?”

Ben looked stricken. “Please, Quinn.” William’s heart pounded as he noted that Ben was too upset to bother with the formalities.

Nathaniel’s voice was suddenly right in William’s ear. “Take care of that,” he said. “Get her in there. She doesn’t understand, and you have got to help her.”

William felt Charles’ steely gaze boring into him as he dropped the edge of the second tent they nearly had standing. He crossed the short distance and grabbed Quinn by the elbow, nearly pulling her around Ben and into the tent, both of them landing on the floor. The flap snapped shut, and William could feel the structure vibrate as Ben tied some of the bindings.

“What in the
hell,
Will?” Quinn shouted, jerking her elbow away from him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But you were about to make Ben have a stroke.”

“How?”

“By not getting into the tent.”

“Excuse me? I was just trying to help, to work the same as everyone else.”

William took a deep breath. “I know you were,” he said quietly. “But that’s the part you need to understand. You’re not the same as everyone else.”

“Why? Because I’m a girl?”

“No, Quinn. Because you’re the heir to the throne. If this whole adventure goes the way it’s supposed to, you’re going to be the
queen
. It is Ben and Marcus’ whole job to protect you. They don’t need you to help them put up tents, they need you inside where they know you’re safe so they can concentrate on what they’re doing.”

He could see that she was trying to listen, but that she wasn’t
hearing
him yet. “And if I wasn’t a girl – if I was the potential
king
, they wouldn’t let me help?”

He closed his eyes for a second, trying to figure out how to make her understand this without making her more defensive. “Honestly? I’m sure the fact that you’re a girl freaks them out a little more, makes them even more protective,
but,”
he held up his hand, silently begging her to let him finish, “if my father was out here, he would not be putting up tents. He would be inside one so that his guards could feel like they were doing their job – so that they could duck inside their own shelters as soon as they have them up, and not have to check up on him – and he would be inside making decisions about what’s going to happen next.”

She scooted back a few feet from him, as far as she could go in the small space, her gaze dropping to the floor. “That’s what I’m supposed to be doing, isn’t it? Running this show?”