Destined for Doon (14 page)
“Duncan and I found this grotto when we were wee ones and claimed it as our own. We’ve kept addin’ to it over the years. It’s our private training room and weapons store.” I could hear him moving closer as he spoke.
I turned and threw him a teasing look. “Kinda like a medieval man cave.”
Jamie looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “More like a brother cave.”
“That’s perfect.” I laughed, and then realized he would’ve been as worried about his brother as I’d been about Kenna. I reached for his hand. “You must be happy to have him back.”
“Mayhaps.” He pressed his lips together, trying not to smile, and then gave into a dimpled grin that lit his entire face. “But dinna tell him tha’. Or I’ll never hear the end of it.”
I stepped toward him, drawn like a magnet to steel. His expression went neutral, a furrow appearing over his left brow as his dark eyes searched mine. I moved closer and rose onto my toes. He stepped back, withdrawing his hand.
“I’ve much to do before meeting with Duncan and Mackenna.” He ambled over to where his shirt lay draped over the back of a chair, grabbed it, and pulled it over his head.
I tried to ignore the rejection burning in my gut. Had I ruined things between us already? Did he not want me anymore? Destroying relationships seemed to be my superpower. “Um . . . okay.” I cleared my throat as I rotated on my heel and headed for the door. “I’ll see you in a few hours then.”
“Verranica.”
He’d said my name, not,
“Yer Highness.”
I stopped in my tracks.
“If ye insist on leavin’ the castle in
that
— ” I turned to see his eyes pause on my lycra-clad backside. “Come and get me first, aye?”
From the inscrutable look on his face, I couldn’t tell if he wanted to accompany me on my runs or talk me out of wearing these clothes. But either way, that bit of protectiveness gave me hope that he hadn’t given up on us yet. I swept into a deep curtsy. “Aye, my laird.”
Silence followed Jamie’s words, and the five other people sitting around my dining table appeared as dumbstruck as I felt.
“Well I, for one, think it’s a horrendous idea.” Kenna slouched in her chair and crossed her arms under her chest.
“I concur,” I said into the unnatural quiet. And it wasn’t just because it was Jamie’s suggestion. Or that he and I had just gone ten rounds over whether or not to tell the kingdom what Kenna had seen inside the limbus. Duncan and Kenna pretending she had returned to Doon to accept her Calling with the younger prince had “tragic ending” written all over it. She hadn’t given any indication she was staying once we averted Doonmageddon. Her word, not mine. I didn’t believe we were at DEFCON 1 quite yet.
“Vee! I thought you would at least agree with me,” Kenna huffed, hitting me with wounded puppy-dog eyes.
“Ken, I concur with you.” She arched a fiery brow in my direction, forcing me to clarify. “I
agree
with you.”
“Oh, good. Because three against one is totally unfair.”
“Make tha’ four against two.” Fiona glanced at Fergus, who nodded his head in agreement. Fiona turned back to Kenna. “If
we aren’t going ta tell the people about the limbus as yet, then why else would ye have returned, Mackenna?”
I shot Jamie a glare across the table. I couldn’t believe that even after Kenna and Duncan had relayed their horrific story of Muir Lea’s disintegration, he wouldn’t budge on telling the kingdom. He met my gaze steadily and offered a small smile. I turned away. How much longer could we keep it a secret? I shuddered at the thought of the people’s reaction if they found out from someone other than their queen. Wasn’t I supposed to have their best interests at heart? The temptation to call a general assembly that very afternoon was almost overwhelming, but I’d agreed to give Jamie time to survey the borders to determine the rate at which the limbus was growing. In the meantime, I’d be spending every waking hour making sure the people steered clear of the infected areas, and the time I should be sleeping searching for answers.
Tuning back in to the conversation, I heard my BFF spout something about alien babies and flying monkeys.
Jamie cut her off mid-rant. “Mackenna, ye be a fair actress. If anyone can — ”
“Why” — Duncan leaned forward splaying his large hands on the table — “has no one asked
me
if I’ll go along with this plan?”
Jamie raised his eyebrows in surprise. Every head in the room focused on the younger prince as he continued, “’Tis a lie.” His gaze flicked to Kenna and he swallowed hard before turning back to Jamie. “And I’ll no’ be a party to it.”
Jamie’s spine went ridged and he challenged, “Even for the greater good, brother? Isna that why we’re hiding the truth about the limbus?”
Duncan shoved his chair back with a loud screech. “This is not the same and ye know it!”
“Oh no, here we go again,” Fiona muttered, scooting closer to Fergus.
I grabbed my new purple ceramic vase from the center of the table, clutching the delicate white tulips to my chest.
But for once, Jamie didn’t take the bait. He leaned back, stretched his legs out in front of him, and linked his fingers over his abdomen. “Tha’s fine. You’re just afraid you can’t pull it off. I understand.” He lifted one shoulder in a lazy shrug. “We’ll think of something else.”
The moment he said it, it was as if the cloud of my own stubbornness lifted from my eyes and I could see the perfection of his plan. I set the vase back on the table. If we could get Kenna and Duncan to act out the feelings we all knew they were hiding from each other, then
maybe
they would eventually accept they were meant to be together. And Kenna would stay.
Kenna stared out a nearby window. If she sunk any lower in her chair, she’d disappear under the table. I opened my mouth, not even sure what I would say, but before I could speak, Duncan grunted, “Nay.” He’d been watching the girl beside me as well.
His focus shifted to the opposite end of the table. “Jamie, your plan makes the most sense.” Then, with a crooked half smile, he turned back to my friend. “Mackenna, I’m willin’ if you are.”
“Fine.” She met his gaze, her cheeks glowing crimson, but she brazened it out with a lift of her chin. “Just leave the acting to me.”
Duncan’s grin faded as he arched a brow. “Is that so?” An enigmatic look passed between him and his brother, prompting Jamie to shake his head and roll his eyes, the corner of his mouth tilting.
Duncan stood and cleared his throat, drawing the attention
of everyone in the room. Striking a pose, he opened his hands as if beseeching and he began to speak. “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!”
Each word forceful and deep, he moved around the table toward Mackenna as he continued his impassioned rendition of Romeo’s speech to Juliet.
“It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night.” Duncan lowered to one knee, taking her limp hand in his, dark eyes intent upon her face. “Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!”
After several beats of silence, Duncan sprung to his feet with a wide grin and swept into a bow.
I burst into applause. One glance at my best friend, who sat like a parody of a statue with her mouth unhinged, and I blurted the first thing that popped into my head. “Wow, Duncan. If I’d known acting could be like that, I would’ve raced to join the drama club!” I fanned my face with my hand and winked at him, doing my best to draw his attention until Kenna could gain control.
“Thank you, my lovely queen.” Duncan inclined his head in my direction and took his seat, looking like he’d just hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth. Which, judging by Kenna’s stunned expression, he had.
“He doth nothing but talk of his horse,” Jamie mumbled with a shake of his head.
Something resembling a croak escaped my throat as I tried to cover my laugh with a cough. I recalled the quote from a reading we’d done in Advanced Lit of
The Merchant of Venice
. The MacCrae brothers sure knew their Shakespeare.
“That may be, brother. I have missed Mable somethin’ fierce.” Duncan wiggled his brows, his eyes full of mischief. “But me thinks I’ve proven I can handle a wee bit of acting.”
Kenna rose from her seat, pink cheeked but composed. “I
concur
.” She shot Duncan a fleeting glance, and then turned to me. “If this meeting’s over, I’d like to return to my room.”
At my nod, she turned on her heel and headed for the door. Maybe this ruse wasn’t such a great idea after all.
W
hoever said knowledge is power obviously had no other marketable skills . . . and no Wikipedia. As a member of the digital generation, I struggled to see any merit in wandering through shelves of dusty tomes in hopes of finding a literary needle in a haystack.
During my last visit to Doon, I’d successfully managed to avoid the library, mostly by staying in the dungeon. As I entered the stadium-sized room, I debated which — the library or the dungeon — was more enjoyable. I hated the way knowledge smelled; dusty with a faint tinge of mildew. Not that I didn’t enjoy learning, I was constantly expanding my audition song repertoire. But books seemed flat and impersonal . . . and hard to finish. That’s why I always opted for the movie version if available.
At least the space was airy, with large windows and high ceilings. Cozy little nooks of overstuffed chairs and divans, perfect for napping, existed in every corner. Which would be tempting, if I wasn’t actively trying not to think about my farce with Duncan.
It was my very own messed-up version of
Victor Victoria
, a silly, pointless musical that had never held much appeal for me. I was faking being in love with a boy that I was pretending not to be in love with, but was really head-over-heels crazy about.
I worried over what this little stunt would do to our truce. Duncan was finally starting to act like himself again. Faking a Calling would be a painful reminder of my betrayal and all the reasons he had to doubt me. Maybe this was fate’s way of telling me I didn’t deserve another chance.
Footsteps echoed across the marble floor. I turned toward them, intending to chide Vee for being late, but she wasn’t there. A curvy girl with dark bangs, a sad-yet-determined smile, and a clipboard strode toward me wearing a sky blue maxi dress. “Her Majesty’s running late.”
Who?
It took me a moment to realize we were talking about Vee. “Oh, okay. I’m — ”
“Mackenna. Yes, I know. I’m the queen’s personal assistant, Emily Roosevelt.” She held out her hand and I gave it a shake.
So this was the girl whose future had been destroyed by the zombie fungus? Her nose was a little larger than I’d pictured, but for the most part she was exactly as my bestie had described her — a lost soul in need of a project. Looking at the poor girl, I decided I could forgive her air of self-importance under the circumstances. She’d lost her other half. Even if she did move on with her life, she would forever be incomplete. Something I understood all too well.
“The queen will be here shortly. In the meantime, she’s requested that I bring you and Analisa up to speed on the project. Shall we get started?”
“It seems to me we’re a person short.” Despite Vee’s assurances that Analisa wasn’t “too bad,” I didn’t relish spending the afternoon with a felon. Hope blossomed that the forger’s
absence meant she’d be a no show. “Maybe Analisa can’t make it.”
“Or maybe she’s already here and sitting right under your noses.”
Holy Hammerstein!
Clutching at my chest, I stepped back from the clipped London accent coming from the furniture directly in front of me. The voice seemed to emanate from thin air, but on closer inspection I detected the motionless form of a girl molded into one of the high-backed chairs.
Taking her sweet time, the girl rose to her feet in one fluid, feline motion. Unless she’d just materialized, Analisa had gotten to the library before me. She’d seen me enter. But instead of identifying herself, she sneakily intruded on what I thought was a moment alone. Had she heard me muttering to myself about Duncan? I hoped not.
Analisa tucked the long side of her platinum-over-jet-black bob behind her ear and crossed the floor with the smooth, lanky strides of a supermodel. Her Vee-inspired dress swirled bewitchingly around her legs as she approached. I disliked her more with each step. Girls that looked like her tended to think the rules of mere mortals didn’t apply to them.
As she joined us, she gave me the once-over with a perfectly arched brow. “So you’re the actress from Chicago. Funny, I thought you’d be . . .” She trailed off, and I couldn’t help picking up where she left off.
Thought I’d be
. . .
what? Prettier
,
more petite
,
older
,
thinner . . . Please don’t let it be thinner.
Analisa’s cat-like eyes blinked as she shrugged. “Never mind. You are what you are.” By way of dismissal, she turned to Emily. “Shall we get started then?”
Emily, who’d been studying the notes on her clipboard, nodded. “Yes. Her Majesty wants to compile a complete history
of Queen Lynnette Elizabeth Campbell MacCrae. She was married to the king who invoked the blessing, but didn’t live to see her kingdom delivered. She passed away while Doon was still under attack.”