First Light (35 page)

His voice was as I remembered, but his words were more polished. To be sure, he didn’t smell as awful as the last time we’d met, though his clothing was in worse shape, and even in the dim light, I caught glimpses of the appalling condition of his hair and teeth.

“Thank you, but I am quite fine.”

“‘Course you are— being a fairy and all.” He scratched his beard, as if considering something. “I never heard of no fairies carrying on like you were. What’d they do— kick you out or something?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re speaking of,” I said.

“Yeah, right.” He grunted. He raised his deformed foot then rested it on the log. “You only outrun my horse last time we met. Takes magic to do something like that.”

“I was scared,” I admitted. “And you’d taken something of mi— Merry Anne’s. She’d asked me to get it back.”

“And do you always do as you’re told?”

“No,” I said, thinking again of the stolen kiss.

My answer amused him. “And you’re crying ‘cause tonight ye slipped up.”

His perception was rather unnerving. “My tears are none of your concern. Why are you here?” I asked, shooting the questions his direction. “Have you come for the pearls again? Because you can’t have them. I understand their magic now, and I won’t hesitate to use it.” Feeling bold, I pulled the necklace from my bodice and held it up in the moonlight. The two pearls glowed as bright as ever, though they remained cool.
So odd.

“That’s not the real…” He stared at them for several seconds, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Why do
you
have them? Did you steal them from the princess?” His tone had turned angry, and he pulled his foot from the log, advancing on me.

“I did no such thing.” I moved away from the tree and took a step backward. “All I’ve to do is wish you surrounded by the Canelian guards or sent to the castle prison or—”

“I
know
how it works,” he grumbled. “But why do
you
have it? The charmed bracelet is supposed to protect Princess Cecilia until her wedding.”

“Maybe she has one of her own,” I lied.
And what does it matter to him?

“Impossible.” He shook his head, scraggly hair flying in all directions. “There is only
one
charmed bracelet to be found each century, and only a fairy can retrieve it. She must travel far, to the ocean’s shores, and then to a magical island where the mermaids gather. If her cause is worthy enough, she can persuade the mermaids to give up their rare treasure.”

“I’ve never heard such a far-fetched tale.” Nor could I believe Merry Anne would have forgotten to mention such an important detail.

“It’s true.” The outlaw took another step forward. “What have you done to the princess?” he practically snarled. He raised a hand, dagger poised to strike.

“Nothing,” I said. “Nothing at all— I— I only kissed her betrothed.” Despite my efforts to hold them back, fresh tears spilled from my eyes. The thief froze, the strangest look crossing his face.

“You kissed Prince Cristian?” He sounded astonished— and perhaps angry.

I nodded miserably.

“Are you— do you care for him?”

I didn’t answer, though my tears likely said it all.

“And he must have interest in you as well,” the outlaw mused, more to himself than me. “If he kissed you.” His gaze grew fierce as he looked me over. “You stole the pearls and used one to cast a spell on him, didn’t you?"

“No!” I practically shouted. I held the pearls out again. “These were a gift from Merry Anne. I tried giving them back, but she said they were meant for me. And I did
nothing
to the prince. The kiss just— happened. We were friends. The only thing I’ve ever used the pearls for was to escape from the gypsies.” To my own ears, my story sounded false.

“Gypsies?” the outlaw asked. “What nonsense is this? Gypsies haven’t been in this part of the country for nearly two decades. They don’t like to get too near Baldwinidad, don’t want to chance Mother getting a look at ‘em and hauling them in for her service.”

“There were gypsies on the mountain, just beyond the place I escaped you. They kidnapped me. It was a wretched couple of days,” I added.

“Why didn’t you use your gifts to escape?” he asked.

“I— how do you know about those?”

“Everyone knows that fairies have gifts— and
maaagic
." His over-emphasis of the last word came out as a hiss, and he was close enough I could smell the ale on his breath.

“You’re drunk,” I accused.

“Aye.” He didn’t deny it. “Tell me, fairy, why didn’t you fly away from the gypsies as you flew from me?”

“Do you see any wings here?” Keeping a careful eye on his knife, lowered now, I half turned, so he might see my back. “I
ran
away from you.” He was frustrating me greatly. “A wild boar provided a distraction, and I ran back to the road.”

“Make yourself smaller. Show me your wings,” he ordered.

“I’m
not a fairy
! I am only the kitchen help.”
Why is this conversation about me?
“Who are
you
to be lurking in Canelia’s woods?”

“Not a fairy…” He put away his blade and scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Kitchen help, you say?”

I nodded. “And you would be?”

He straightened to his full height, pulling his misshapen foot closer to his body. “I am Hale, Prince of Baldwinidad.”

Baldwinidad.
I took several steps back. If he’d intended to frighten me, he’d succeeded. I remembered both Mason and Cristian’s awful tales of that country, its ruthless ruler and her monstrous son. Though Hale seemed more unkempt than monstrous. “What are you doing here? What have you
done
?” A feeling of dread came over me as I glanced in the direction of the castle.

“Nothing to harm your precious prince,” Hale said. He, too, backed away, returning to the log he’d sat upon earlier.

“Cecilia?” I breathed.

His eyebrows rose. “On a first name basis, are you? Difficult to imagine, what with you kissing her betrothed and all.”

I felt a blush heat my face. “It was a mistake. I
like
Cecilia. She’s good. She will make a good queen.”

“And Prince Cristian?” Hale asked. “I cannot believe him her equal when he’s off dallying with a kitchen maid just days before his wedding.”

“It’s not like that. It wasn’t dallying. Just
one
kiss.”
A long one
. “Cristian and I have been friends for some time, and it was a farewell of sorts, before he weds.”

“Mmmhmm,” Hale said.

“Who are you to be accusing me of mischief, when no doubt you’re in these woods, bent on some evil turn yourself?”

Hale’s head bobbed up and down as he again took out his knife. “Fair enough.” He bent over, retrieving a half-carved figure from the ground. “I was sent here to fetch the princess’s— heart.”

I gasped, my hands automatically covering my chest as I watched Hale remove a compact, wooden box from his tunic.

“I was to bring it back to my mother in this.” He flipped open the lid, revealing only a lock of long, dark curls. “Cecilia gave me a piece of her hair. She hoped I might trick Mother with it.” Hale looked up at me. “What do you think? Will my mother fall for the ruse?”

I thought back to all I’d heard about Queen Nadamaris. “No.”

Hale made a
tsking
noise, then closed the box and put it in his inner pocket. “I didn’t think so, either.” He sighed. “Likely, she’ll expect another heart as payment.”

My breath caught at the meaning of his words.
Another heart… mine?
Was that why he’d waited while I cried? Though he could have killed me then. As it was now, I held the bracelet and could defend myself— or, at the least, get away. I clutched the pearls in my fist. Looking down, I thought frantically of what I must wish for— that I was safely back at the castle, that Hale would fall and break his other leg? I knew I couldn’t wish him dead. It was one of the limitations Merry Anne had told me.

Merry Anne also said the pearls would always grow hot to warn me of danger.

But now they were cold.
What if the magic no longer works?
Had I ruined it somehow?

Hale tossed his carving aside, sheathed his blade, and shifted from the log to the ground. “Well, if you’re all right then, I’m going to catch some shut-eye. Got a long walk tomorrow.”

“You’re going to sleep?” It was a stupid thing to ask— stupid to prolong this encounter when I should have been running for my life. Yet I felt as if some invisible pull held me to this spot.
Black magic?

Hale shrugged. “Not much else I can do. Be traveling all day to get home by this time tomorrow. If I prolong it, she’ll find me anyway, and someone else is likely to get hurt.”

“You’re going
home
? Back to Baldwinidad
without a heart
?”

“Got one right here.” He thumped his chest. “It’s a great deal more tainted than the princess’s, but it’ll do for Mother to take out her wrath upon.”

“I don’t understand. You’re not— you’re not going to…”

“What?” Hale lay back, arms folded behind his head. “I was sent to the ball tonight to kill the princess. I didn’t, so Mother’ll have me killed— after she’s made me pay, of course. It’s that simple.”

“Why go home then? Why not go somewhere else far away?”

He gave a short laugh. “There isn’t anywhere far enough that I’d escape her. And no point in taking others with me. You’d best get back to your kitchen. If Mother regains her strength and happens to see us talking…”

“She can
see
you?”

Hale yawned. “Sometimes. Though not likely tonight. The
good
spell it took to fix me up for the few hours of the ball set her back some.” He rolled on his side, away from me. “Goodbye, Adrielle. Take care with those pearls, and leave the prince alone.”

“I will,” I murmured, then started edging away, still not trusting him to turn my back to him. When enough distance separated us that I felt certain I could outrun him, I called, “Why
didn’t
you kill Cecilia?”

He sat up faster than I’d have imagined he could. “What is it to you? Not wishing your prince were a free man, are ye?”

“No! No,” I hastened to convince him. “I only wondered why you came this long way and then changed your mind about killing the princess.”

“Never said I changed my mind. Never planned to kill her in the first place.” Keeping his eye on me, he lay back again. “You’d best be as harmless as you seem.” His lips pressed together in a stern line.

It was I who couldn’t contain a laugh this time. “
You’re
worried about
me?”

“Aye. Shouldn’t I be?”

“No. Though I’m sure I’m right to be worried about you.” My hands went to my chest again.

Hale gave me a disgusted look. “I’m not after your heart any more than I was after Cecilia’s.”

“Then why?” I asked, moving closer, my curiosity getting the better of me. “Why did you come?”

Instead of answering, Hale rolled away from me. “Don’t know as it’s any of your business.”

“I suppose it isn’t. Though as you once took something from me— and tried to chase me down with a horse— I’d think the least you could do is answer a simple question. Then I’ll be on my way.”

“
Shoulda left you cryin’.” He said nothing more for several seconds, then gave a weary sigh. “I met the princess once— long ago. It was shortly after the fairies advanced her age to eighteen, so she might avoid the curse from my mother.” He paused again, this time staring off into the dark night.

“Go on,” I said, nearing the tree where he’d first found me.

“My mother wanted to negotiate— not apologize or anything of that sort,” Hale hastily added. “But she tried to figure a way for a marriage between the princess and me to still be arranged. Of course it wasn’t.”

I detected a trace of bitterness in his voice.

“Cecilia and I had a few minutes together in the garden. She was very quiet and shy… and kind.”

“She is kind,” I agreed.

“She wasn’t disgusted by my leg,” Hale continued, warming to his story. “But she asked about it. She wanted to know if it pained me much, and she was impressed I could walk and ride and do some things close to a normal man. ”

Hale’s voice was filled with loneliness and yearning, two things I well understood. I waited, wondering if he would say more.

“I’ve never forgotten that day,” he said at last. “I came tonight because I wanted one more chance to be with her. I wanted to see if she was as kind and lovely as I remembered.”

“And?” I prompted.

“She was even more.”

Long after Hale had succumbed to a drunken slumber, I stayed in the clearing, wide awake, a tumult of thoughts churning through my mind. While I reflected on the strange night it had been, I started a fire and kept it going so we both wouldn’t freeze before morning.

It seemed as if days had passed since I’d kissed Cristian in the hidden garden. Since then, my world had been turned even more upside down. And all because of the man sleeping a few feet away.

I watched his steady breathing and felt the same surge of sympathy I’d had when first seeing his deformed leg the night he stole the pearls.
My
pearls.
Why
are
they mine? The longer Hale and I had talked, the more convinced I’d become that he spoke the truth about the bracelet. Had I been wrong to leave the castle with it— especially with the princess’s life in such imminent danger?