Page 4

Chapter Four

T he fog of morning dreams dissipates from my mind as I sip my cup of hot tea from the armchair by the fireplace and stare at the frog soaking in a shallow dish of water on the counter. I did not dream Kai was a frog prince. The frog is Kai, and he has, indeed, been cursed.

Nowhere in my mother’s grimoire does it mention a counter curse.

Acorn smacks his lips and curls up into a ball on my pillow, letting out a little purr like he normally does when falling asleep.

“What’s the plan?” Kai asks.

I shake my head, take another sip of tea, and set the cup down on the corner of the island. “We need to get the ball and take it to the royal sorcerer your father fired. Or to the university library so I can do some research into breaking you from this spell.” I cross the room to the wardrobe and pull out the purple dress I had on yesterday. “Turn away, I’m getting dressed.” I glance over to watch him turn his body so he’s facing out the window.

I really hope there’s some god or goddess or magical godmother who can give me an idea how to save him, because I need some divine intervention.

I’ve only just replaced my nightgown with my underdress when Kai says, “Elowyn, soldiers are coming.”

“What?” I scramble to pull my dress on, but I haven’t tied the front bodice before there is a knock so loud it rattles the frame. “One moment!” I call. My hands start to shake as I tie the knot. I can’t get it to tie.

There’s another knock. “Open up!”

I unlock the door before opening it. “I said one moment,” I reply firmly. “I was getting dressed.”

A man with broad shoulders, wavy chestnut hair, and cold blue eyes stands on my porch. “We need you to come with us.” He appears to be around the same age as Kai, or possibly a little older. I can’t really tell because of his facial hair. He has stubble on his jaw, but a rather unflattering mustache, so wide it curls at the tips, rests beneath his nose. I’ve always hated mustaches.

Three more soldiers stand behind him. Wait. They have the same pin on their cloaks as Kai wore yesterday, marking them as palace guards, but their cloaks aren’t blue. They’re gold with blue embroidery, meaning they are the king’s guard.

My stomach knots.

“I...” I swallow the lump growing in my throat. “I haven’t received a fine or summons.” I try to offer a smile, but my heart is pounding.

The man withdraws a parchment from somewhere and flicks it in the air as he sticks it out toward me. “Consider this your summons. Let’s go.” He tries to grab my arm.

I jerk free. “First of all, you never grab a woman like that. Especially when I’m not under arrest. Second, you need to give me time to read.”

He folds his arms, lips tight. Clearly, he doesn’t want to be here any more than I want him here.

I open the parchment. There is an official seal at the bottom and a very short note which only reads: Elowyn Grace Rotish, you are here ... b ... here ... by ... hereby? What a strange word. Hereby summoned to the castle. The letter offers no explanation as to why, though there are two I can choose from: 1) the rally–unlikely given the current circumstances, and 2) well, the current circumstances.

When I lift my gaze, I realize the three men behind the mustache man have their hands on their weapons. They must have been given orders to force me should I refuse to come willingly.

Clearly, I have no choice.

I clear my throat and glance sideways at Kai. I should make him hide. “Give me one moment. I need my shoes and a few things.”

Whiskers puts his hand on the door forcefully, though I’ve made no movement to close it.

“Relax,” I mutter. I go to where I left my boots the night before, which conveniently places me near Kai. He has climbed out of the dish and left water blobs on the counter behind him. “Do you want to come?” I whisper as I tug on my first boot.

“Absolutely. You aren’t leaving me.”

I scoop him up and collect my shoulder bag in the same movement. It allows me to slip Kai into my dress pocket so I can put Acorn in my pouch.

“What else do you need?” Whiskers barks.

“My hedgehog. There’s a stray cat by the barn who keeps trying to get him.” I pick him up and show him to the man, who appears entirely unamused. “You’re such a delight,” I say sarcastically and put Acorn away.

The last thing I take is my wide-brimmed purple hat. “Lead the way, I guess.”

The leader turns sharply, but the others wait until I pass them before they pick up the rear, leading me to a waiting wagon with an open top.

Panic strips my throat of moisture and I desperately try to swallow. Is this what Mother felt like when Kai arrested her? I look back at my home and can’t imagine leaving my daughter behind. I swallow hard.

The journey into Parshen feels longer than usual, and I constantly have to remind myself to breathe through the cold rush of fear that ebbs and flows like a wave.

The castle rests at the top of the only hill for miles, and the city spreads out beneath. The road travels up it in a slow incline that curves with the hill in almost a complete circle before reaching the front gates. When I step out of the wagon, I take a moment to really take in the beauty. As a child, I never entered through the front doors. The castle is stunning, with thousands of stones piled carefully atop one another. One wide, square tower juts up in the center with smaller circular towers jammed up against its sides and a low, wide building in front. The stones are covered with vibrant green and yellow moss, and deep-brown slates adorn the roofs.

I’ve never noticed the colors of the windows from so far, but they are tall and each has a beautifully crafted section of stained glass at the top in the pattern of trees, vines, or flowers. A vine of morning glory has entombed the north corner of the castle and stretches its tendrils through the grooves of the stone, preparing to take over the entire northern face.

The brass hinges of the arched oak door groan with effort as the soldiers push it open to allow me to enter. I don’t have time to take in much of the detail of the interior, only that it is one massive open space to the right and a grand staircase at the back, with two soldiers standing guard on either side of the double doors at the top. I wonder if the large flower arrangements standing everywhere are left over from the wedding the day prior.

I am guided into the throne room to my left. The king—wearing deep royal blue with gold and green accents—paces in front of his throne. His wife sits with what appears to be a war metal in her hand, her eyes vacant and distant. The woman I saw yesterday, Kai’s wife, kneels at the queen’s side, holding her hands. Genoa still has wings and pointed ears, and I have half a thought to take Kai out of my pouch and show him how Genoa is in fact a fairy, but I decide against it when all three turn to face me.

“You seem suddenly nervous,” the mustached guard states flatly. He’s standing directly behind my right shoulder, and his unexpected statement makes me jump.

I scowl up at him. “ Suddenly ? You’re clearly not observant. I’ve been nervous the entire way here.”

His eyes slowly move to look down at me. “Is it because you feel guilty?”

“Guilty of what?”

King Willard’s face contorts in anger. “You. What did you do with my son?” He stalks over to me.

I step back, fear taking control. “Your son?” I blurt. I know what he means, but I’m too scared to say anything else.

The blonde-haired fairy climbs to her feet. “This morning, I woke to find my precious new husband trapped in the body of a frog!” Her makeup is as perfect as it was yesterday, and there isn’t a wrinkle on her gown.

I feel my eyes pinch. This morning? Kai was definitely a frog yesterday. Why lie about the time? “How do you know he is a frog and not just out on a walk?” I don’t mean to sound condescending. Or do I? Because I don’t like her, and if she really did turn Kai into a frog, I have a good reason.

She scoffs and looks down her nose at me. She evidently doesn’t like me either. “I know what a frog looks like. He was a human, touched something, and became a frog. Tell me that isn’t an enchantment.”

My brows dip. How could she know he touched something if she had just woken up? I shift my attention to the king and place a hand on my chest to play with the strap of my shoulder pouch. “I’m sorry, but why am I here?”

“I had you brought here to explain yourself,” he says flatly. Okay, so he does believe I am the one who did it.

I burst out in laughter, because my frozen mind thinks that’s the best reaction in this situation, and I force myself to stop. I clear my throat. “I’m sorry. I don’t have that kind of magic. My expertise is in enchantments and medical remedies. Not transforming people.”

“Which is why you are guilty.” He says guilty so sharply it echoes in my mind. He used the same tone when sentencing my mother. King Willard stands over me, his intimidating presence threatening to squash me. “You have always been a thorn in my side. You’ve been a terrible influence on Kaison his entire life! He was turned when he touched the golden orb. An enchanted orb.” The king snaps his fingers loudly and points to me. “Show her!” He wheels and I flinch, anticipating a blow that doesn’t come. He storms over to his throne and sits.

Golden orb?

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to connect the dots between a golden orb and Princess Genoa being a fairy, but there has been a legend of a golden orb tied to fairy folklore for as long as I know. Which makes me believe not only did Genoa know Kai would be turned into a frog, but that she planned the entire event.

“We...couldn’t find it,” a servant standing at the edge of the room answers. I hadn’t even noticed him.

“Perhaps Princess Genoa can assist you in finding it?” he says through gritted teeth.

Genoa appeared startled that he would recommend she help, and her eyes narrowed. “I will not get on my knees to search. It disappeared. I don’t know where it went!”

“Then bring forth the prince!” The king snaps his fingers.

A young woman steps forward, carrying a pillow with a frog resting on top of it. When the servant stops in front of me, I note the poor amphibian’s throat quickly moving in nervous breaths.

“You must be terrified,” I say gently.

It bellows out a low croak, and I’m the only one in the room who hears a single word in that croak: “Home!”

I shake my head. “They’re going to be very disappointed.”

“Why would we be disappointed?” the king interjects.

“Careful,” Kai whispers.

I straighten my spine and round my shoulders. “Because this frog is an ordinary pond frog. It isn’t Prince Kai...son.”

King Willard’s eyes widen. “How do you know this?”

I feel my pocket shift and slip my hand into it to push Kai back down. It’s not the right time to reveal he is with me. I understand Kai may want to tell him, and that he hopefully wants to protect me from his father’s wrath, but I cannot help but feel that showing Kai right now will only confirm his father’s accusations. Besides that, if Princess Genoa is actually the one responsible, we don’t know the reason why, and I’m not about to let Kai be snatched up now. She’s acting innocent, but her calculating eyes and tight lips tell another story.

“I can...” I draw a breath, reluctant to admit this as it seems too convenient, but what else can I say? “I can speak with animals. This is just an ordinary frog, likely from the castle pond, who possibly slipped inside for a bit of warmth and couldn’t find its way out. It’s nothing but an ordinary frog.”

The king scoffs. “If you can speak with animals, would you tell me if it really were Prince Kaison?”

“Why would I lie?” I shoot back. “He is my friend and I don’t want anything to happen to him.”

King Willard’s jaw grinds and he leans back against his throne. For just a moment, the blink of an eye, his cold exterior falters just long enough for me to see his desperation. But I don’t feel any pity for him. “Why should I believe you?” he asks.

The uncomfortable tightness in my chest squeezes a bit tighter.

I manage to swallow. “What is the real reason you sent for me? I’m nothing but a common witch. Not even a highly powerful one, at that.”

The king scowls. “You were seen with him yesterday prior to his wedding.”

Of course he had Kai followed. I wonder if Captain Mustache was the spy who saw us.

“Because I was with him, you think I turned him into a frog?” I ask flatly.

“Who else do you think would do something like this?”

I keep my voice even. “What would I gain? I already know you don’t like me. You’ve arrested my mother and left me to fend for myself. If you have a spy on Kai, you know I barely see him now. Turning him into a frog would only get me arrested.”

The queen reaches out and places her hand over her husband’s. She looks older than she should. Her eyes are rimmed red from tears of worry. Did she cry like that when Kai was deployed to war?

“Ask to go to my room,” Kai suddenly whispers.

I cough over him, hoping no one else heard his noise. I swallow. “May I see his room? I might be able to find the artifact and use that to find him.”

“I don’t feel comfortable with her entering our room,” Princess Genoa says sharply.

There must definitely be something hidden.

King Willard eyes me up and down and then stands. “I will take you myself. Captain Bath, take up the rear.”