I didn’t know what to say, not that the lump in my throat would’ve allowed any words to come out.
“What will stop me tonight?” he asked. “The entire city will be in celebration, and without Arabis, the walls are not enough to keep me out.” He rose to his feet in one fluid motion, anger rolling off of him. When he glanced at me, I expected to see those dark veins around his eyes, but his skin was clear.
I tried to think logically. “The walls are thick and high, and there are guards.”
He answered with lethal calm. “The walls and guards don’t stand a chance.”
“There must be something else you can do.”
“Kryn has an idea.” His expression waivered between hopeful and defeated.
“That’s… good.”
We were quiet for a moment. He walked to the edge of the pool and stood with his back to me. He took several deep breaths, and when he came back and sat, his face was clear, his demeanor serene. As my mind whirled with questions, I felt his attention on me. He was assessing me, judging my reaction.
At last, he said, “You don’t seem very shocked about what I’ve just revealed—not like Arabis and the others were.”
“Maybe it’s because I don’t understand all the implications.”
He shook his head. “No, that’s not it. I’m sure you grasp the precariousness of my situation and what it means for a Seelie Prince to be… thus encumbered. I think maybe it’s because you are very perceptive and empathetic.”
What he was saying sounded absurd. He barely knew me, and the few interactions we’d had weren’t enough to give him that kind of insight into who I was.
“I can tell you think I’m talking nonsense.” He seemed amused by that. “But I will keep my own counsel.”
“You’re entitled to do that, I suppose.”
He grunted deep in his throat, and the sound seemed to bury itself under my skin in a way that was entirely too much like a physical touch.
Eager to dismiss the sensation, I blurted out, “I assume that this… curse is the reason I’m here.”
“It is.”
“You think I can somehow break it, then?”
“No.”
I frowned, confused. “Then what?”
“I’m not sure.”
My confusion deepened. “What gave you the idea that I can do anything about it? Why kidnap me?”
“The Envoy told me you would help.”
“The Envoy? Who the hell is that?” It was my turn to stand and be angry. I even left the rose on the bench.
“She’s a powerful seer. As the future king, I was required to visit her after my last birthday. She was supposed to tell me I would be a good leader for my people. Instead, she foretold something quite different.”
“What exactly?”
“I’m not at liberty to share all the details at the moment.”
“Why not?” I demanded.
“What the Envoy tells the prince is not to be shared with anyone else.”
“And I supposed it was this Envoy’s bright idea to send us on horseback.”