The Last Witch (Incenaga Trilogy) (9 page)

Emmeline smiled. “Blue by day, silver by night. I made up a song about them when I was little, but I’ve forgotten it. My father didn’t like me singing it.”

Adelia looked away.

“Do my eyes frighten you when they are silver? You seemed startled the other night.”

“No
, not at all, My Lady. It’s just…”

“Yes?”

“Your power is greater when they shine. You are more susceptible. He would be especially angry if he knew I looked at you at night.”

“Who would be angry? Mahlon?”

Adelia nodded. “Only because he doesn’t want you to be compromised.”

Emmeline rolled her eyes. “Or because he is power hungry.”

“That isn’t it. The King trusts him, so I trust him.”

“I don’t.”

Adelia walked to the bed and sat on the edge. “How much do you know?” she asked.

Emmeline
followed her and leaned against the bed post. “Not much.”

“
You never felt your power?”

Emmeline’s memory turned to the cliff.
Other than the incident with the soldiers, she’d never felt anything strange before or since.

“Even if I have felt
something, it hasn’t helped me here.” Emmeline said.

“There is a reason for that.”

Emmeline straightened. “What is it?”

“If you haven’t figured it out, I won’t be the one to tell you.
Especially after what you did today. I won’t unleash that on the palace.”

“This is absurd. I’ll find out even if you won’t tell me.”

Adelia shrugged.

“Where are the other witches? Can’t one of them marry the
prince? Perhaps one of them wouldn’t mind being locked up for the rest of her life.”

Adelia chuckled. “Don’t worry, Mahlon will ease up once
the Prince returns.”

“And if he doesn’
t? Could we find another witch who might like this lifestyle?”

“
You’re being a witch is only half the reason the Prince is marrying you. And besides, you’re the last one. There are no others. That is why you are at such great risk.”

Emmeline
frowned. “What happened to them?”

“
Someone discovered a way to control their power. The worst of it happened before I was born, and my mother too, I think. One by one they were controlled until they had no more magic left in them. Or life.”

Emmeline shuttered.

“They just couldn’t sustain that level of demand and they couldn’t stop it either.”

“
How does it happen? How can I stop it?”

“
I don’t know the particulars, but it is said that a person must withstand the heat of a thousand fires burning from the witch’s eyes and not look away.”

“
My eyes don’t get anywhere near that bright! Maybe this won’t be a problem for me after all.”

“No,
it’s different, I think. Something else has to happen first.”

“What?”

Adelia shrugged.

Emmeline eyed Adelia, convinced she was
purposely evading her questions. What reason could she have not to help her protect herself?

“Anyway,” Adelia continued,
“if they are brave enough to look, they become her master. They can request anything of her and she must fulfill their demands, however horrendous. Essentially, they own her.”

“Own her? The Crown Prince wants to
own
me, like some personal genie in a bottle? Does he think I’ll be able to prevent the war for him? Or that by forcing me to marry him I’ll hand my power over to him?”

“What do you mean
force you? I thought you were sent here by your father, to honor your betrothal?”

“No! Mahlon burned my house down, beat my father and dragged
me off.”

“Oh my!” Adelia put a hand to her chest. “I had no idea. The Crown Prince
would never have agreed to that, nor would’ve the King. Granted, Mahlon can be a little intense when it comes to the good of Dolmerti, but the Crown Prince would be furious if he knew you were brought here under such circumstances.”

Emmeline s
cowled. She doubted the Crown Prince would care. He hadn’t even bothered to return to Dolmerti to welcome her, and the King had yet to summon her for introductions. No, they didn’t care. She was just a prize to be won and a key to prosperity.

“
You said my being a witch was only half the reason the Prince was marrying me. What is the other?”

Adelia raised her
eyebrows. “Because of your father, of course.”

“What does my father have to do with this?”

“He never told you?”

Emmeline shook her head and Adelia’s eyes widened.

“My Lady, your father was King of Pamizak. You are a princess of Pamizak.”

A
whoosh of breath swept into Emmeline’s mouth, filling her head with noise. She held it for awhile, willing it to calm her. But the effort failed her. She released her breath and let her shoulders drop.

“This is a mistake,” she said. “
My father couldn’t have been King. And I’m not a princess. I’ve lived in the middle of nowhere my whole life!”

“You are Pamizak’s o
wn.”

“
Does everyone in the palace think I’m a Pamizakian princess?”

Adelia shook her
head. “Most of them were told you are just a foreign princess, although some of them suspect otherwise. Only a few of the palace staff know of the Crown Prince’s intentions to honor the Pamizakian betrothal. He’s afraid the more people who know who you are the more likely someone might figure out you are also the last Incenaga. He’d like to keep that part of your identity a secret as long as possible, or at least until you wed.”

“What difference would marrying him make? I’ll still be the last Incenaga.
I’ll still be in danger.”

“
He is hoping the threat of his army will be enough to deter anyone from coming to enslave you. We have the strongest army, the fastest horses, the most skilled knights,” Adelia said with pride. “The Crown Prince himself is skilled with many weapons. You will be safe here.”

Emmeline wasn’t so sure. Mahlon treated her with harshness. She didn't feel safe with him anywhere near her. Until she figured out what her powers were and how to use them, she
doubted she would feel safe anywhere.

“
I just want my life back with my father.”

Adelia shook her head.
“It wouldn’t take long for someone to find you again. It’s a miracle he hid you this long. I don’t think you understand how many are searching at this very moment for the last Incenaga. The danger is too great.”

“
My father never spoke of any of this,” Emmeline said in disbelief. “He would have told me if I were in danger.” But even as she said it she recalled the way he always seemed to know where to find her around the farm, or how he never went to bed before her, or never let her wander too far from their cottage. Even when she rode Filia she wasn’t allowed to ride where he couldn’t see her.

“
I suppose I’m not surprised he hasn’t told you, considering his past. The people of Dolmerti still lament over what happened to your mother.”

“You know
what happened to her?”

Adelia’s nodded, her eyes moistening.

“Will you tell me?”

She
shook her head and slid off the bed.

“Please?”
Emmeline pleaded.

Adelia walked to the door. “I can’t,” she said. “You shouldn’t hear something like that from me.”

“Please!” Emmeline repeated, desperate for answers.

Adelia shook her head
in two quick jerks and left the room.

Emmeline
collapsed onto the bed and pounded her fists into the fabric. Why did everyone feel the need to keep things from her? Pulling a pillow to her face, she screamed. She felt trapped in every sense of the word. Trapped in a palace, trapped in a life chosen for her, trapped in ignorance.

Emmeline sat up and moved to the window.
Rather than spend the remainder of her day in frustration, she resolved to understand everything she
had
been able to pry from Adelia. For hours she contemplated what she had learned. Never mind that she was a princess. She felt no more like royalty than she did a witch. But at least as a witch she might be able to do something interesting. She focused on what she had learned about the witches, hoping to fill in some of the holes. They were all dead and that left her as the sole target for anyone seeking power. Because somehow her power could be controlled. Through her eyes? Or because of her eyes? She wasn’t sure. Did they control it forever, or could she break free of them? And what exactly was her power? She had so many questions!

She wondered if Erick recognized her and wanted to control h
er. He wasn’t afraid to look into her eyes and Adelia had said something about bravery being a factor. He had even invited her to ride outside of the palace walls, into the countryside. She began doubting her initial instincts about him, second guessing everything he had said. He had been so kind, so inviting, and yet he was so mysterious.

Emmeline
brushed her uncertainty aside. She needed
someone
to trust in Dolmerti and who better than the one person who had made her smile. Not that she would ever see him again. Mahlon, Adelia, the Crown Prince, everyone, seemed to believe it was their responsibility to protect her from magical slavery. There was a good chance she would live and die in her chambers. But what if she didn’t want their protection? What if she found a way to protect herself?

Emmeline smiled
and moved to the bed. Yes, she might be able to find a way to keep herself safe. And alive. With a smidge of hope lessening the pain in her chest, her body relaxed and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

Emmeline awoke with a start. The flutter of wings whispered from her dark window, sending a shiver up her spine. There was a chill in the air and a silence so heavy it pressed on her ears until they hurt. Her stomach rumbled and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, an uncomfortable reminder that she hadn’t eaten at all the day before.

Famished
, Emmeline decided she would brave the dark in search of the kitchen. She moved to the edge of her bed and groped for her robe. The night was too cold to walk the corridors without it. Her fingers grazed the soft fabric and she threw it around her shoulders, shivering against the cold. She shuffled to the door as her legs tingled. She lifted the latch and it clicked in the darkness. She jumped at the sound, the last shadow of sleep dispelled from her mind.

T
wo guards leaned against the stone wall outside her door. Both were fast asleep with their chins slumped onto their chests. She was surprised the latch hadn’t awakened them until she glanced down the corridor at an open window. A breeze tossed a heavy curtain back and forth against the marble windowsill, making plenty of noise on its own.

Not bothering to wake them, s
he tiptoed down the hall to the stairway. The marble pressed cold against bare feet. She pulled her robe tighter, trying to ignore the darkness creeping around her.

Two flights down, she found the rear corridor
. Sure enough, two guards were stationed at the mahogany doors. They were both asleep as well, their jaws slackened. She rolled her eyes. So much for Dolmerti’s strongest army.

L
ingering aromas from the kitchen filled her nose and pulled her forward. Her stomach growled louder and her thoughts drifted to visions of a large turkey sandwich or a steamy bowl of minstrel soup. But a distant sound caught her ear. Whispered shouts scratched at the night air and echoed into the empty corridor. Dashing into the nearest room, she crouched behind a barrel of grain just as footsteps tread into the kitchen. The sound of creaking wood took over the footsteps and Emmeline guessed they had sat down. She lowered herself to sit on the cold floor and prepared herself to wait them out. 

“That is too soon,” whispered
someone. “I thought Prince Weldon was traveling to Griet. He shouldn’t be back for another month.”

“He
decided to return early to prepare for his brother’s wedding,” whispered another.

“We won’t be ready by then! The girl has not been groomed. She doesn’t know what is expected of her.”

“She is young and naïve. She’ll do exactly as she is told.”

“She won’t be strong enough.”

“She’ll have to be.
Once we enlighten her of the consequences, it won’t be difficult for her to see that she has no other choice.”

“And what about
the King? What will he tell her?”