Page 5

Mother always seemed drawn toward the past when she was upset. As the silence stretched, I knew which painting she’d turn to next: the portrait of my father, hung in a chipped gold frame on the wall. Long dark hair, blue eyes, thin lips. I took after my mother, mostly, though my father had a smile similar to mine. His pure white cravat and his red brocade coat spoke of his title, Comte Luc de Bouchillon. According to Mother’s stories, they first met when hecommissioned a portrait from her.

I joined my mother by the painting as she brushed her fingertips against his painted hand, resting on a saber at his hip.

“Did he ever fight any Shadows?” I asked.

“No. He courted me at Le Château Enchanté. There were no Shadows there.”

A thrill zipped through me like a bird flitting through open air. Mother had many rules; the most important being that I was to nevereverspeak of Le Château or her time there. Sometimes she would let slip some detail about the marvelous gardens, the grand canal, the fountains. But if I asked her too much, her eyes would turn cold and hard.

“I—I had heard stories about such things in the town market,” I murmured. “It’s true, then?” I touched the topic so carefully, just brushing against it. I knew if I said the wrong word, she’d never speak of it again.

Mother nodded with a far-off look. “The gods built Le Château for His Majesty. The ground it’s built on is blessed. The walls, the statues, the gardens, every inch of it is sacred, they say.”

They say.

“Is it not so?” I asked.

“I’m not sure what I believe.” She shivered from some wind I could not feel. A memory perhaps, cold and invisible. Once more, she turned her gaze to the painting of Father. “There are no Shadows at Le Château. That I know; I lived there in safety.”

In my smallest voice, I said, “We couldbothlive there in safety.”

Mother shut her eyes, a tear dripping onto her cheek. “You’re just a child,” she whispered.

“I’m seventeen now. I—I think I’d flourish at court, actually.” I fidgeted with my dress; I shifted back and forth on my heels, my heart pattering, hoping,desperatefor this chance. “You know Le Château well; it’s not as if it’s a whole new world. And you could find me a tutor there instead of having to teach me yourself. Think of all you could paint there. I could sit out in the sunshine, and you wouldn’t have to fret over me, and I would—”Be happywas at the tip of my tongue, and I only just choked it back. “Itwould be good for me. I could meet other people. I could learn about the court, and I’d become more independent. And perhaps... well, you met Father there, perhaps I could... find someone, too.”

“Ofelia.”

I bit down on my tongue, feeling an ache already unfolding in my chest. She’d never approve of it. I’d stay in this manor, alone, bereft of all beauty and romance and intrigue, until I was old and gray.

Mother bent close, resting her hands gently on my cheeks. She took a long, shaky breath. “We no longer have a choice. It is the only safe place in the kingdom,” she said. She gave a grim nod. “In the morning, I shall go to petition the king.”

My heart was overflowing. I was made up of a million brilliant butterflies, finally about to be set free. I squealedwith delight and wrapped her in a crushing hug.

“Oh, Mother, Le Château! I can’t wait to see it! Is it really true that the grand canal is so big the king has galleons sail on itfor funand that you can borrow a gondola and—”

She pressed her finger to my lips, a stern furrow in her pale brow. “I will go first. Alone. It’s too dangerous a journey for you to take. I’ll hire a carriage, and once I arrive at Le Château, I will ask His Majesty for a place for us. Then I’ll return for you with his knights and a royal coach.”

I groaned. “Mother, I can brave the journey! I should come with you, introduce myself to the king—”

“No.” The ferocity in my mother’s usually gentle voice shook me. I blinked, as startled as if she’d struck me. With delicate fingers, she brushed baby hairs from my brow. “It’ll only be a few days. A week at the very most.” She pressed her locket against her heart. “I will be fine. I’ll have you with me.”

“So you don’t forget what I look like?” I asked with a grin.

Mother kissed the crown of my head. “For luck.” Her lovely blue eyes were as hard and flat as turquoise. “Ofelia, some things will be different once we start our new lives at the palace. I tried all my life to keep you from having to go to a place like that, a place with such—” My mother’s voice caught, and she took a deep breath before continuing more calmly. “You must stay by my side always.”

The idea made me squirm. It was too much like how things already were. “Mother, you needn’t fasten yourself to me all day—”

“If we go to Le Château,” she said, the sweetness in her voice giving way to cold finality, “you have to do what I say.” Her fingers trembled as she tucked a curl behind my ear. “It’s the only way to keep you safe. Do you understand?”

So it was a bargain she proposed: I could go to the palace but only on her leash.

“What are you keeping me safe from?” I murmured. “You said there were no monsters there.”

“There are no Shadows. But monstrous people? They are not hard to find in that place.”

I did not have the same wiles that one might gain from spending their whole life at court. But I had read hundreds of novels about it. I was quite adept at detecting the emotions of others; even Lope had told me so. I knew a great deal when it came to people, and my heart was a compass: I was sure it would easily determine whether those I spoke to had good or bad intentions.

Now I could finally prove this to my mother.