CHAPTER 08

URBAN

I had two bushels of grumpackers bought before Brentley found me again.

As I handed over my coin to pay for them, he shook his head. “Grumpackers? ~That’s~ what you came here after? You should’ve told me that was your goal before we left on our jaunt. There are plenty of them at the castle if you wanted some, you know. All you needed to do was ask; we would’ve supplied them for you. There was no need to travel all the way down here to ~procure~ them.”

I shrugged and refrained from explaining that they were supposed to be a gift, a gift I’d felt the pressing need to purchase with my own gain. I mean, if a man couldn’t claim his one true love and be with her in every way he dreamed possible, then the least he could do was buy all the presents he gave to her in secret from his personal funds instead of having them given to him first. Right?

Curious, I took one of the grumpackers from its basket and studied the odd thing. “I wanted to explore the area, anyway,” I said aloud to Brentley, setting the grumpacker back on the pile. “Get a feel for the area.” And now that I knew how important this place was to my one true love, the explanation was actually becoming true. This was her land, her people, her passion. Thus, I wanted to know as much about ~it~ as I wanted to know about her.

My explanation seemed to appease Brentley. He nodded and made a sound of understanding from the back of his throat.

After tying the baskets to either side of my horse’s saddle, I climbed on and started out of the village, Brentley tagging along like an eager kind of shadow.

“So, selling clear rock is how Donnelly built its wealth, huh?” I asked as we meandered back toward the castle.

“It is.” The portly prince’s chest puffed with pride. “We’ve been very fortunate with it.”

I nodded. “I must admit, it’s pretty impressive stuff. I’ve always wondered how it was made.”

“Oh.” Brentley’s grin fell before he scratched his temple. “You know, I’m not rightly sure. They use the sand somehow.”

“Ah.” I arched an eyebrow. “So all that desert’s useful after all. Interesting. But ~how~ do they make it so solid? And transparent? And smooth?”

“Melt it, if I’m not mistaken,” was Brentley’s answer, as if he didn’t really care how clear rock was constructed, just as long as it kept him comfortable in his iron-plated castle.

But that answer had me tilting my head curiously. “Melt it? Melt ~sand~?” I gave a low whistle. “That would take more than your average campfire. How do you get an inferno going hot enough to melt sand?”

I’m not sure why I asked since I already knew he wouldn’t have an answer. Which he didn’t. “Well. The same way they get a fire hot enough to melt metal into swords and the like, I would expect.”

Right. But it just seemed as if it would take ~a lot~ of hot fire to make enough clear rock to swell a kingdom’s coffers as heavily as it had Donnelly’s. Glancing around, I didn’t see any raging infernos anywhere in Mandalay. So where exactly did they ~make~ clear rock?

This time, I was wise enough not to bother inquiring.

Besides, Brentley asked me a question about Allera, wondering what her favorite flower was, and the rest of the trip back to the castle was spent discussing her. That was fine with me. I wanted my sister to have a pleasant marriage, and if Brentley was going to ask, then I was going to give him pointers—which I did aplenty.

When we reached the drawbridge, an eagerness filled me, a part of me realizing I was going to be able to feel my mate’s nearness again. I couldn’t wait to get her back into my bloodstream and be reassured she was close and okay.

And there, when I finally felt her, I breathed out a relieved sigh, pleased by the tug at my mark, directing me to where she was.

Brentley seemed eager to part ways as well, saying he had some plan devised to woo my sister into his good graces. I watched him hurry off after we left our horses at the stables and had to shake my head sadly.

The poor sap had it bad—for ~Allera~, of all people.

God help him.

And God help me; I obviously didn’t have it any better. I glanced at my two baskets, heaping with blue fruit.

How the fuck was I going to sneak these to Lady Vienne without anyone knowing about it, especially ~her?~

Well, it wasn’t an easy task. I’ll tell you that. The first person I spotted when I stepped foot inside the keep was her husband, Sir Dickhead, chastising some guard at the other end of the corridor.

Not wanting him to spot me with so much of his wife’s favorite fruit in tow, I turned down a smaller passageway to avoid him and ended up getting myself lost for a quarter of an hour.

After a while, I grew so fed up with trying to find my way back I gave up on trusting my eyes and simply followed my draw to her, and that led me straight to where she was. When she felt particularly close, I paused at a closed door. After I glanced across the hall, where one door was cracked slightly open, I saw there was a bedroom inside. So maybe this was the wing where the royal family resided. And maybe this closed door led into Vienne’s personal bedchamber.

I drew in a sharp breath, exhilarated by the prospect that this was ~her~ space. But I didn’t have time to loiter like an idiot, drooling over a closed door. I heard footsteps approaching.

Not wanting anyone—not even a gossiping servant—to catch me here with two bushels of grumpackers, I set them down outside her door and took off in the opposite direction as I heard the footsteps. But before I went, I snagged a single grumpacker for myself.

I waited until I returned to my own chambers in another wing of the keep entirely before I bit into it.

The bitter flavor made me wince until I remembered, shit, Allera had mentioned it was supposed to be peeled like an orange first, hadn’t she?

Feeling like a moron, I spit out the peeling and then tore the rest of the outer shell away from the fruit until I had a sliver of pale blue in my hand. Slowly, I lifted it to my lips, feeling as if I were sharing the moment with Vienne, experiencing my first taste of her favorite food.

My teeth sank into the tender core and the first bit of juice hit my taste buds.

“Mmm,” I murmured, nodding my understanding. It was sweet without the tang of citrus tart, but not so sweet as to be overbearing. I popped more into my mouth and chewed heartily. Its flavor was actually more subtle than I thought it would be, but then, if it were too rich and overpowering, a person could only handle small portions at a time, while this… This was easily gorged upon without consequence.

It reminded me of Vienne herself, what little I’d observed about her, anyway. She definitely wasn’t the overpowering type, but sneakily unassuming, so much so that I had a strong suspicion I could soak up more of her than I’d originally thought possible—and still want more.

A tap on my door made me jump and nearly drop the uneaten half of my grumpacker.

Without waiting for my reply, the door opened and Allera hurried in. “Oh, there you are. Good. I thought I was going to have to go searching, and to be honest, I haven’t a clue where to look for anything in this place yet.”

I snorted, not believing her, because Allera had a freaky-sharp sense of direction. In fact, I bet she had the entire castle already mapped out in her head. Flopping down into a chair, I took another bite and declined to tell her how long I’d been lost inside the castle myself.

“What do you want?” I asked unceremoniously, my mouth full.

With a small frown, she sniffed. “How many times have I told you not to talk with your mouth full, Urban? Dear God, it’s like you’re a—Oh!” Her eyes lit up when she saw what I was eating. “You’ve discovered grumpackers as well! Aren’t they just delicious?”

Perching herself on the armrest of my chair, she snagged a slice from me and plunked it into her mouth. “Mmm. I just love them.”

I scowled, dryly muttering, “Help yourself.”

“Thanks. Don’t mind if I do.” With a jaunty grin, she grabbed the rest of my grumpacker from my hand and hopped off the chair so she could eat and pace the floor.

I would’ve taken my snack back because I knew I could wrestle it from her with ease, but I had more important things on my mind than taking up chase and possibly running her off.

“Well?” I demanded. “Have you talked to her yet?”

It was best that she not know I’d eavesdropped on her conversation with Lady Vienne. She’d no doubt warn me away from such a risky move, which would be useless advice. I’d keep doing it no matter how much she lectured, so I decided to save her the speech and keep that part to myself. I was too eager to hear her opinion to wait through an entire lecture, anyway.

“Yes, I did, actually,” she reported, finishing the last slice of grumpacker. “And I must say, Brother. She honestly doesn’t seem like your type.”

I frowned, not expecting to hear ~this~. But seriously, how the hell could she say such a thing to me?

“Oh?” I said, darkly. “And how did you determine that?”

“Well… She seems pleasant, sure, but quite standoffish.” After tossing the fruit’s leftover peeling on a nearby table, Allera sent me a flippant gesture. “She’s really kind of boring. Not at all reminiscent of the bold, viper-tongued girls you chased back at—”

I didn’t like thinking about anything I’d ever done ~before~ Vienne, and besides, “How the hell could you possibly say that about her?” I cut in. Then I waved a hand. “Never mind. I don’t wish to hear your opinion of her character any longer.” Because, frankly, it was all wrong. “I just want to know if she seems ~happy~ to you?”

“Oh, yes. She seems quite content,” Allera went on, earning another scowl from me, because I wouldn’t have gone so far as to say ~quite~ content, though she hadn’t seemed necessarily miserable.

“Whenever I asked about her baby, she lit up with so much excitement.”

Pain pierced through me to even think about the baby, the child who belonged to my one true love—and another man. But it was a bittersweet pain, because even though this increased the likelihood that I could never be with her, I also liked to hear she would be a good mother. Since I’d never known my own, I’d always been fascinated by mothers and how they could love so wholeheartedly without even meeting their children first, and all without having a mark encouraging them to do so. Vienne obviously loved her baby already, which endeared me to her all the more.

“And her husband?” I pressed. “She… She likes ~him~?”

I had my own perception of that answer, but I was curious about Allera’s take on it.

My sister shrugged dismissively. “She seems to, I guess. It was an arranged marriage, of course, so it wasn’t a love match or anything, but she doesn’t talk ill of him or seem frightened by him. She seems accepting, though maybe not head over heels in love or anything.”

I nodded, deciding we shared that observation, at least. I wasn’t sure if I was happy about it, though. I wished Vienne could be more content than anyone in all the realms, yet the idea of her loving another man hurt, bitterly, so I was also happy she didn’t have a great romance with him, which meant, honestly, this outcome was probably the very best I could’ve hoped for… That is, if I couldn’t have her for myself.

Which I couldn’t.

“What does she like?” I asked, wondering how much Allera had kept talking to her after I’d left to fetch grumpackers. “What does she not like? What are her biggest dreams and fears? Is there anything she needs?”

“Good Lord, Urban. I talked to her for maybe fifteen minutes. That’s not exactly the kind of thing you open a conversation with.”

I shook my head, not caring. “But I have to know.”

Allera sighed. “Okay, then, fine. I’ll find out. Eventually. I have a feeling Lady Vienne is going to become my new best friend.”

“She better,” I warned. “She’s more important to me than anyone in all creation. And if I can’t get near her, then ~you~ better become closer to her than her own damn husband is.”

Allera groaned and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “My God. You’re going to be quite annoying about this, aren’t you? But fine. ~Fine~. I’ll befriend her. Better her than her sister, anyway. I wouldn’t trust leaving a venomous, spitting-mad python near that beast. The queen has fangs, Brother. She hides them behind her pretty smile, but mark my words, I wouldn’t cross her if I were you.”

I frowned, confused. From the conversation I’d overheard in the East Salon, Queen Yasmin had seemed vain and inconsiderate and full of herself, but nothing so smart and devious or concerning as Allera made her out to be.

“I have no idea why I would ever ~need~ to cross the queen,” I said dryly. “Now, can we get back to the subject of her sister? I want to know everything.”

“Well, there’s just not that much to tell. Lady Vienne wasn’t exactly forthright with her personality. She holds back. Observes. Getting her to share with me won’t be an easy task.”

Yes, I’d noticed that as well. I liked it about her, though. I’m not sure why, because I’d always been pretty open myself, but I did. It just seemed like someone of her temperament could complement someone of mine or help to mellow some of my more impulsive decisions. We’d make a good team.

Not that we’d ever be teaming up.

Not that we’d ever do ~anything~ together.

Depressed by that notion, I glanced toward my sister. “In other news, have you discovered anything we can ~do~ around this place to keep ourselves busy?”

I wasn’t made for a life of indolence. Allera and I had always managed to stay occupied at High Cliff. I’d go crazy if I didn’t have something to do here, as well. Extra crazy since I had a certain woman to pine over and obsess about on top of everything else. Besides, this place was important to my one true love, so I might as well do my part to help upkeep it.

“I’ve not found anything yet,” Allera admitted glumly. “I asked about working and whatnot, but I was met with more blank-eyed stares than helpful suggestions.”

I sighed, making a face. “I feared as much. We might have to be stealthy about—”

Before I could come up with a plan for us to do our share in strengthening Donnelly, however, a muffled knock came from the direction of my door. Except it wasn’t coming ~at~ my door.

Then a voice called, “Princess Allera? Are you in there, my lady?”

Allera and I exchanged glances before she hissed, “Does that sound like Prince Brentley’s voice to you?”

I nodded. “It does indeed.” Pushing from my chair, I went to the door and cracked it open. After peering discreetly into the hall, I glanced back at my sister and whispered, “He’s knocking at ~your~ door.”

Her eyes widened with alarm. “He is? Oh God, what do I do?”

She looked so worried about the prospect of actually talking to her fiancé that a wickedly mischievous thought overtook me. I threw the door open wide and called, “She’s over here, old mate.”

Brentley whirled around to expose a fistful of daffodils clutched in his hand. “Oh!” he said breathlessly, his gaze instantly moving past me to settle on Allera hovering behind me. “Hello there, my lady.”

Allera shifted stiffly to my side and curtsied. “Prince Brentley,” she answered hesitantly before glancing at me as if seeking advice.

Brentley smiled. I swear, the man was pleased she’d merely remembered his name. “Here.” He thrust the flowers at her. “I brought these for you.”

“You…” She blinked at the flowers before sending me another glance as if she had no idea what to do with such a gift. Then she turned back to her betrothed. “That’s so nice,” she said, her voice full of surprise. “Daffodils are actually my favorite. Thank you.”

She glanced at me again, her face full of confusion, before she reached out and accepted the bouquet.

Brentley glowed from his accomplishment. “It’s my honor, my lady. And also, I was wondering if you might like to accompany me for a stroll around the gardens. I could give you a tour, show you the different varieties of flowers we have here at the castle, anything you like.”

Allera’s lips parted and her eyes blinked slowly. She honestly didn’t know how to answer him. So I did it for her. “I think that sounds like a smashing idea.” Nudging her forward from behind, I winked at Brentley. “You two need to get acquainted with each other, anyway.”

“Yes.” He nodded, his smile affable and eager. “My thoughts precisely.”

“Oh… Well, okay then,” Allera said slowly. She glanced at me as if she wanted me to accompany them. But I thought it would be best if she got to know the man on her own. I knew I could trust her in his care. Plus, it always amused me to torture her in any small way possible.

“Well, you two have fun,” I said, waving them away, then shutting the door between us as soon as Allera stepped fully into the hallway.

With a chuckle, I wiped my hands together, feeling accomplished as I wished her an awkward, stilted time with Brentley. It served her right for stealing the last of my grumpacker.