Page 23 of Disillusioned (A Lay of Ruinous Reign #2)

As Adelaide uttered something intelligible for the firefly to stop and pulled on the reins, Garin was already passing her, leaping out of the slowing carriage. Lilac jumped out and followed as soon as it stopped.

“The lantern, please,” Garin shouted, sounding heavily irked.

Adelaide scowled and unhooked the oil lamp, then shoved it toward Lilac. She brought it back to him just as he was lifting the back door.

Laid across the top of her trunk of belongings with his hands and mouth tied in cloth was a tearful Giles. His downward-turned eyes lit up as soon as he recognized them.

She unsheathed her dagger and, before Garin could say anything, tore through the material binding his wrists.

“Careful,” he said, hastily snatching the hilt from her, and she felt him slide it snugly back on her hip as she undid the knot at the nape of Giles’s neck.

“I wasn’t going to cut him,” she retorted as Garin shooed her to the side.

“No, but I would like to return him in one piece.”

As Garin lifted him out, Giles bowed and began to sputter his broken thanks to the both of them, to which Garin returned the bow and replied, “Of course, Father.”

Halfway into a curtsey, Lilac froze, horrified. Father?

The old man was trembling. His cap had fallen off, revealing a haphazard, choppy haircut. “Father Guillaume is our coachman?”

When she said his name, the old man shivered and nervously met her gaze, though none of the undercutting disgust he’d once regarded her with was present. “You may call me Giles, Y-your Majesty.”

“Does he know?” she mouthed, confused. She didn’t think she’d ever witnessed anyone entranced before, and this wasn’t what she thought it would look like.

He seemed… present. She’d assumed Garin had given him a new identity and sent him off somewhere, or even had him tied up at the Sanguine Mine.

He’d been at the castle this entire time.

Garin silenced her with a look and patted Giles on the back as he led him around to the front.

Speechless, she stomped after him. The priest’s beard had been chopped considerably, and she never knew what his head looked like, as he’d always worn some sort of hat or hood adornment when they’d interacted.

How had she missed it?

As Giles mounted into the driver’s box, he turned halfway around and said, “Who is this Father Guillaume?”

“Apologies, sir,” Garin said calmly. “I had confused you with a spiteful religious fellow from the castle.”

“Oh. Is that why the witch tied me up?”

“It is likely. Let there be no mistake, Giles is our Master of Travels and now, keeper of secrets” —Garin shot a pointed look at Lilac—“and will not, under any circumstances, tell anyone in town that she is the queen. Thus, he remains leader of the reigns. Up front .”

Behind Giles, Adelaide rolled her eyes so far back into her head,the whites of her eyes were visible. Giles grinned in response to Garin’s announcement, and suddenly, something clicked. Lilac had never recognized him because Father Guillaume never smiled.

The man in front of her seemed proud, albeit embarrassed even, to be driving her.

Father Guillaume had always been of the party outwardly regretful that Lilac was Henri and Marguerite’s only child, that they hadn’t tried for a future king.

He’d become even more opinionated about her future reign when her Dameon Tongue was discovered, only holding the vile things she knew he wished to voice because of his duty to Henri.

Garin glanced down at Lilac, maybe to see if there was something she’d like to add.

There was nothing. She was still shaken to be this close to the man she had spent much of her life avoiding.

He’d treated her like most did—a stain upon her father’s bloodline, and even defended Sinclair when he’d attempted to assault her on her birthday.

“Yes,” Garin continued, holding his gaze when Lilac said nothing. “And do you remember how I told you we wouldn’t tell anyone of the plans of our little excursion to The Fenfoss Inn until the queen made them known to her parents and their council?”

The priest nodded, sniffling, emotion seeming on the verge of spilling out of him.

“The secret we must keep this time is the queen. Understand?”

Giles nodded again with a small smile at Lilac. It was so unnatural. It was… grandfatherly. Paternal . But the man he was behind Garin’s entrancement was anything but.

She swallowed. Lilac wanted him to drive them and nothing more. But as she glared at him, she noticed his face was more sallow than usual, almost gaunt, even for an elderly man. His lips were chapped, and she’d felt his robes. They were thin.

“When was the last time you ate?” She couldn’t help herself.

“Erm,” he answered, and she felt Garin’s questioning eyes on her as she reached into the carriage. “Your witch friend’s soup. The friendly one,” he added, glancing sidelong at Adelaide.

The bag Lorietta had given them was under one corner of her seat; it was a large cloth satchel pieced together with leather—a welcome replacement of hers from the castle.

She thought she’d seen a garment there. Lilac climbed into the carriage and felt around until her fingers touched thick cloth.

With a tug, a long, woven blanket crafted in fine threads of sunset unfolded.

She then quickly grabbed a handful of what she could from the basket under the other bench, emerging with a cheese wedge and bread end.

“Get ready to move,” Garin instructed, leaning against the frame, shielding her. “They’ve noticed us stopped for too long, and two of those guards are paying more attention than I’d like.”

She squinted. It did look like two of the pinpricks of torches in the distance were slightly larger. Lilac hoisted herself all the way in and reached through the window to pass Adelaide the bundled blanket and food, which she reluctantly settled upon Giles.

Lilac caught Adelaide’s irked grimace as Garin settled beside her. “What?” she snapped. “You’re the one who tied him up.”

“I’m not sure how these will work for you.” Adelaide’s hand shot through the open window. There was a small bottle of vibrant blue liquid in her palm. “I don’t sell these to mortals.”

Lilac accepted it. “What is it?”

“An illusory tonic. It will glamor you. Magic folk can dictate what the change will be, but the more complex the change, the more skill required. Sometimes it’s a different hair color, a new wardrobe. Sometimes a new face or gender completely for experienced magic folk.”

“And how do I do that?”

“Heavy concentration, but it doesn’t matter. Your glamor will come at random.”

Lilac turned it over in her hands and made a face. She didn’t know how much she trusted another potion from Adelaide .

“Or don’t take it, I don’t care.”

“They’re discussing coming to investigate to see if we’ve broken down,” Garin said quietly, placing his hand lightly upon Lilac’s knee. “Start the carriage, Giles, or I’ll have to do something about them.”

“You will not.” Adelaide’s eyes glowed yellow and simmered as her head snapped back to them. “Some of us live here. We don’t need either of you ruining everything for us again.”

Lilac watched the torches stop, then slowly bob closer. “My parents and our castle guard know I’m supposed to be in town today.”

“Yes, and they’ll help you ,” Adelaide spat, fixing her hair.

“The rest of us will be thrown in the dungeons for kidnapping you. Trust me, it’ll be easier if these people don’t know the queen is in this carriage.

” She glanced ahead, where even Lilac could now make out the silhouettes of the guards.

“Although at this point, it won’t happen fast enough.

” She groaned. “No, better to drink it. Swallow every drop. And don’t look out of the window or open those curtains until it takes effect. ”

“Fine, and how long does it last?” Lilac asked, heart hammering.

“It fades the moment you consume food or drink, so don’t do that.”

“And you?”

“They already know me,” Adelaide said, eyeing the guards. “They fear me, and that’s enough.”

Lilac looked down at the bottle in her hand, then at Giles. “No one will notice him, will they?”

“If no one recognized him at your stables, they won’t here.”

Adelaide had a good point. Garin was watching her expectantly, looking a little flustered as he peeked through the front window at the beginnings of Paimpont in the distance.

“Well?” he snapped. “Are you taking it or not?”

The carriage jerked into motion. Lilac popped the cork off and tossed it back. It tasted like burnt blueberry jam. “What about you?” Lilac managed, suddenly feeling selfish. He was probably the last person Adelaide cared about being recognized.

“No one will recognize me,” Garin said quietly.

“The last time I was in the area was when we were at the farmhouse. And the time before that, the night of the Raid. I haven’t been back in the years since.

” His eyes were trained on the road ahead, but his hand slipped onto her lap and fumbled around a bit until she placed her free hand in his.

He grasped it. “Easy now. We should pass through no problem, then veer off north or south.”

“Or continue straight,” Adelaide optioned. “Into the Low Forest.”

She hoped not.

They passed the guards who had sauntered onto the path, and she pressed against the seat in case anyone could see through the slits in the curtains.

There were no changes yet; she didn’t feel any different besides a slightly sore throat from swallowing the potion.

She wanted to ask how long it took but decided not to speak.

They were all silent as they neared, and the tiny glowing bug led them straight into town.

The guards eyed Giles and Adelaide but didn’t stop them as the dirt path turned into cobblestone.

“A bit early for foraging,” one of them called out to Adelaide.

The other chortled as they rolled slowly past. “All that’s a bit much, don’t you think?”