Twist and Turns, page 13
She could hear Jiff’s voice as he repeated what Malvo had said. Braken interrupted halfway through. “Jiff, would you be so kind as to inform your master that I am perfectly capable of hearing him without having you repeat everything?”
Jiff dutifully repeated Braken’s words, only to be interrupted by Malvo again, who told Jiff to tell Braken that it was rude to interrupt someone carrying a message from a nobleman. Braken then interrupted to tell Jiff to tell Malvo that all messages he received from noblemen were returned unheeded.
Linetta let out a cry of frustration and sank beneath the waters, her chance at a restful break evaporating like the steam rising from the hot springs’ pools.
They were back on the road less than an hour later, identical scowls on both Malvo’s and Braken’s faces. The nobleman was glued to her side, making idle chat, and since Linetta knew she wouldn’t get a break from his talking, she decided to steer the conversation in a useful direction. “How about we play a game, Lord Malvo?” she suggested brightly.
“A game? On horseback?” He frowned. “It’s not a race, is it? Because I’d rather not risk your precious frame on something as dangerous as a horse race.”
“It is not a race. On the contrary, it’s a game of questions we can play while we continue this sedate pace.”
“Too sedate,” Braken grumbled from behind them. “At this rate, it will be Kingsday before we reach the capital.”
Malvo ignored the other man. “I would enjoy playing a game of questions with you, though I must admit I have not played one before.”
“It’s a courtship game,” she said flirtatiously. “It’s meant to prove how well a suitor knows the woman he’s courting.”
“You females and your games.” He laughed, shaking his head. “All right then, I accept your challenge. Allow me to prove my eternal devotion.”
“Good,” Linetta said, clapping excitedly. “Family is first, of course. Tell me what you know of the Cimmera clan.”
“Your line is very old,” he answered. “One of the oldest of the Fae noble lines. I know that your grandfather held a governorship in the south for many centuries. He received your southern estate at his appointment, an estate rich in vineyards, orchards, and grain. That is how your family also became one of the wealthiest of the nobility.”
“Very good,” she said, nodding graciously while making note of every tidbit of information he revealed. There was little time to spare, now that the capital was so close. This game might provide the means she needed to learn everything she could about herself before she was put to the test in Exeria.
“What of my siblings?” she continued.
“Ah, but you’re trying to trick me,” he said, wagging his finger at her. “You have no siblings. A rare only child among the Fae. Your parents dote on you because of that fact.”
No siblings. She wasn’t sure why that felt wrong to her, but it did. Chalking it up to lingering anxiety, she ignored the feeling. “What of my traits? What do you know of them?”
She hoped to understand herself better. Her likes and dislikes. Her place in society. Malvo’s lips quirked as he spoke. “Well, I’ve heard you are famed throughout the Realm for your singing voice. Perhaps you’d like to entertain us with a song as we ride?”
“Yes, Lady Linetta,” Braken said in a faux rabid tone. “Please bless us with your song! We must hear this famed voice of yours.”
“Another time, perhaps,” she said coolly. There’s no chance in hells that I’m going to risk croaking off-key if I’m a well-known singer. “We’re still playing the game.”
“Right, my apologies, beloved.” Malvo scratched his chin, deciding what to say next. “I’ve also heard you are known for your tiny pencil portraits of birds.”
Bird portraits? She heard Braken sniggering and wanted nothing more than to turn around and punch the man in his smug face. Linetta nodded, hoping there was more substance to her than the things Malvo had just mentioned. She felt like she was assembling a collection of facts that had no bearing on who she was inside.
“And, if I may be bold enough to discuss your personal life,” the nobleman continued, “you are courted often but never married, not after the sudden death of your husband nearly seventy-five years ago.”
Linetta held still, trying not to show a reaction. I was married? To a husband who died so long ago? How can I not remember that?
She had loved and lost, and not one memory remained of that time.
“Of course, your beauty is such that suitors cannot resist you, even if most feel that it is hopeless to pursue you.” His tone was even, but Linetta knew he was wondering how he stacked up against the others she’d rejected.
Braken sniffed, and this time Linetta turned around. His eyes were burning into her, and she didn’t know why, but she wanted to ask him what he knew about her. Malvo might be able to list a bunch of random facts about the woman she was supposed to be, but as of now, she felt that Braken was the man who truly knew her, knew her fears, knew her quirks.
Knew how to make her smile. Knew how to hold her when she cried.
Knew how to kiss her like he couldn’t breathe without her lips against his.
She turned away, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. You aren’t considering suitors, Lady Linetta, she told herself. You’re finding out information, vital information you’ll need when you reach the capital. As it is, it looks as if you won’t recover your memory anytime soon. These facts are the only thing you’ll be able to arm yourself with to convince people that you are who they say you are.
“Correct,” she said after a moment. “Let’s move on. I’d like to hear about the gossip people say about me.”
Malvo’s eyebrows rose. “My lady, you know that rumors are just that. There is likely not a grain of truth among them.”
“Amuse me, then. What do people say about me when I am not around?”
Malvo licked his lips, and she could tell he was couching his words carefully. “You are a hard woman to get to know,” he said slowly. “You raise your defenses at the first hint of probing. Some call you cold, others calculating. Your nickname around Exeria is the Ice Princess.”
“Ice Princess,” Braken muttered. “Utter nonsense. You’ve got more fire in your veins than any Fae female I’ve ever seen.”
She wasn’t sure if he was speaking for her to hear or not, but she perked up, pride filling her. Talking about herself in the abstract was like learning about a different person. But Braken was speaking from experience, very personal experience. She knew she should ignore him and stick to the task at hand, but it wasn’t easy.
“What else?” she asked after a moment, still hungry for information. I have to learn all I can, know myself inside and out.
She told herself it was because she would be confronted soon by people who knew her, not like Malvo who knew of her, but people she’d met and spent time with. Friends. Relatives. Suitors.
Deep down, however, there was another fear lurking, one she didn’t even want to acknowledge. I have to know everything about myself, because if I don’t, the doppelganger might return and steal my life from me.
She might become me.
Then who would I become?
Chapter Twenty
Today they would enter the capital. She’d seen it last night, when the lights of the city were bright enough to emerge as a glow in the distance beyond the walls of the hilltop town where they’d stopped to rest.
Anxiety coursed through her as they rode toward Exeria. She was relieved that their journey was near its end, but the part of her that knew she faced an even greater danger in the capital was frightened by what was to come.
Jiff had ridden out early that morning to prepare Lord Malvo’s house for his arrival, which meant there were only five of them now, but the roads this close to the capital were well-patrolled. Not only did brigands and cutthroats avoid the area, but the Wilds were now a full league away from the road on either side. Farms, homes, and other signs of civilization now filled in the margins, growing more populous with every step they took toward the gleaming white city before them.
Although the feeling of being watched had subsided, a new worry knotted up Linetta’s stomach. What would she do when they entered Exeria? Braken would insist on accompanying her home. But she had no idea where home was. And even if she were able to surreptitiously obtain the address, what would she find when she arrived?
Either no one would recognize her, and she’d be arrested for attempting to impersonate a Fae noble, or worse, they would recognize her and welcome her with open arms, only to discover that she didn’t remember large swaths of her life. Maybe a family member is responsible for my memory lapse, she thought. I could be walking right into a trap.
The glimmering walls of the capital drew closer by the hour, and her anxiety grew along with it. It wasn’t all driven by her worries about what might happen when she arrived. Part of it was driven by certainty, not speculation. The only thing she knew for certain was that when she arrived and Braken ushered her home, he would consider his mission complete.
He would return to his unit, and she might never see him again. The only person who knew her was about to abandon her, making her feel more lost than ever.
They picked up fellow travelers as they progressed, with more and more bodies filling the roads. A few were on horseback like they were, most seeming to be shuttling back and forth between the city gates and the rapidly expanding infrastructure outside Exeria’s walls. Their pace was forced to slow, but Linetta didn’t mind a little prolonging of the inevitable.
A woman carrying a small Fae child walked alongside her for a stretch, and she smiled at the babe, making funny faces until it squealed with laughter. The mother looked up at her, quickly assessing her rank, and inclined her head in acknowledgement. That’s something I’m going to have to get used to, she thought. Malvo might make a big deal out of her social status, but she’d felt like everyone else for the most part. That, too, was about to change.
I should turn around. Flee. Seek answers elsewhere. I’m not ready for this.
“Almost home,” Braken said, having ridden up beside her without her noticing. “You’re probably eager to be back among your own kind.”
Linetta wasn’t sure if she could bear to look at him, even with his double-edged comment. She stared straight ahead as she responded. “It will be a relief to be out of the saddle,” she said, ignoring his implication.
Braken chuckled, then sat silent in the saddle, not falling back to his position behind her but remaining near her side. She snuck a glance at him, noting once again how strikingly attractive he was. Even now, women in the crowd were making eyes at him. She imagined how much female attention he must get in his uniform and tried to suppress a scowl.
“Maybe you are the ice princess that Malvo mentioned,” Braken said in a quiet tone that might have been for his ears only, but she doubted it.
“I beg your pardon?” She turned to him then, unable to help herself.
“No need to beg, I’ll give it freely.” His grin irritated her. “I thought he was incorrect about your nickname, but I can see it sometimes. You can be a hard nut to crack.”
“Would you prefer I was an easy nut? Perhaps like the redhead you couldn’t keep your eyes off of at the market in Gelder’s Glen?” She watched his face carefully for a response.
A look of confusion took over his features. “What are you talking about?”
“I saw your eyes practically fall out of your head watching her, just like her...assets...were practically falling out of her dress.”
“I remember her,” Malvo said suddenly, his voice wistful. He’d been riding near Corvo but had allowed her to catch up without Linetta noticing. “She is nothing compared to you, of course, milady,” he hurried to add, then coughed nervously.
Linetta ignored Malvo, not caring if he ogled fifty Fae females in front of her. Braken shook his head, his expression unchanged. “I have no idea who you’re talking about. I was keeping my eyes peeled for danger.”
“Oh, she was dangerous all right,” Linetta muttered. “She could have easily smothered you to death.”
Malvo tried to hold in a gasp of laughter, not doing very well at it, but Braken still looked as if he had no clue what she meant. Either he wasn’t looking at her, or he was an excellent liar. As far as she knew, he’d played things straight with her so far. A little tingle bubbled up inside her, and she tried not to enjoy the sensation.
“We’re approaching the gate.” This was from Finrik, who was riding point. The men pulled in tight around her so that they’d enter the city together. Guards in uniforms like the one Braken had been wearing the first night she met him flanked the wide gate on either side, their eyes trained on the masses who flooded into and out of the capital. A flurry of nerves had her muscles tense, but they rode through the gate unimpeded.
Linetta let out a long breath when she was on the other side. I’m home, she told herself. So why doesn’t it feel like it?
The buildings in the capital city were a white so bright they nearly hurt her eyes. She was stunned for a moment by the architecture. Exeria was more like a work of art than a living, breathing city, even though the streets were teeming with people. Roofs curved in elegant ways, then were embellished with intricate scallops, swirls, points, or shapes. Some resembled white flames, others birds, and everywhere she looked, something new and fantastic presented itself.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Braken said, leaning over to speak softly.
She nodded, too overcome to speak. The streets were wide, paved in large white stone blocks. In the distance, she could see a white bridge curving over bright blue waters, its sides decorated in intricate patterns that almost hurt the eye to view. Beyond the bridge, a large tower rose to dominate the landscape. It looked like a carved spiral that looped up to the heavens, its windows almost blending into the sophisticated brick and plasterwork.
“Surely you’ve seen this all before,” Braken said, affecting a bored tone. “Nothing special, right?”
She wanted to contradict him, to tell him the city might be one of the most special things she’d ever had the privilege of seeing, but she knew she couldn’t, not if her big lie was to stand. “Right,” she said, then yawned. “You’ve seen one capital, you’ve seen them all.”
She thought she saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes, but it quickly faded. “Point me in the direction of your mansion, and I’ll make sure to deliver you there posthaste,” Braken said.
“My lady,” Malvo called, reaching a hand to touch the pommel of her saddle and hold her in place. “Before you depart for home, may I invite you to my townhouse for refreshment? I would be honored to say that the Lady Linetta graced my doorstep with her exquisite presence.”
Well, how can a girl say no to that request? Relief flooded her, now that she had an excuse to delay giving directions she didn’t yet know to Braken.
She inclined her head to Malvo. “You are very kind, my lord. I am feeling parched.”
“Oh no,” Braken interrupted. “No more delays. I’m taking you home, and that’s that.”
Malvo scowled at his rival, shaking his head. “I have been polite for as long as I can, but I will not stand for this inferior mass of muscles with little sense dictating the terms of your existence anymore. If your mistress wishes to visit my townhouse, then you’ll follow along like a good little boy and say nothing.”
“A little boy? Is that what you think I am?” Linetta could see that Braken’s hand had moved to his rapier. His voice was low, his face carved of rock. “You aren’t the only one who’s been behaving himself. I don’t take orders from some jumped-up minor noble who is getting too big for his britches.”
Malvo’s mouth opened and closed, reminding Linetta of a fish out of water. Linetta moved her mount to block Braken’s path, cornering him and cutting him off from the target of his wrath.
“Lord Malvo and his men have been very kind to accompany us back to the capital,” she told him in an even tone. “The least we can do is accept his hospitality for a few minutes.”
“My orders command me to see you home, and that’s what I mean to do, without another leafing interruption.”
“You will complete your mission, never fear,” she said, trying to keep the weariness out of her voice. All he cares about is this bloody mission of his. Is he so eager to be rid of me? “I will reward you handsomely if you’ll be patient just a little while longer.”
Braken let out a burst of air from his nostrils and said nothing. He lifted his hand and gestured as if to say, lead the way, and Linetta turned her mount to follow Malvo’s.
She took the time she had before they arrived to gather her thoughts. They’d finally reached the capital, and her memory had yet to return. Maybe I can find a way to determine where my house is without having to admit to Braken that I don’t know.
They turned down a narrower street, tightly packed with residences of the two- and three-story variety. They were still ornate, but less so than the ones that had been built along the main street. She watched Finrik stop at a gate that had been outlined in black to stand out against the whitewash of the rest of the street. He knocked his fist against it, and it opened a moment later.
Linetta guided her horse through the gate and into a small courtyard. There were attendants in livery waiting there to help them dismount and to collect their horses and see to them. Malvo wasted no time leading her inside, his pride in his domicile showing on his face.
He puffed out his chest as he showed her down a corridor crammed with portraits and landscape paintings in ornate frames. There didn’t seem to be an inch of bare wall among them. The corridor opened on both sides to other rooms that were stuff to the gills with gaudy and expensive furnishings. Malvo has done quite well for himself if he can afford all of this, she thought. I wonder what my house must look like since I’m apparently a hundred times wealthier than he is.
