“What girl wouldn’t leap at the chance to be a princess and your bride?”
“You,” he pointed out drily.
She nearly flushed in chagrin, biting back the explanation that she wasn’t human and therefore he couldn’t judge by her reactions. “If Thorn agreed, it would be one way to foil Clotaire’s plan. You could keep her from going to simply another prison.”
“Could she handle being court sorceress, though? Or would you do that and we’d explain that you’re twins?”
She was already shaking her head. “No one else can know there are two of us. Promise me that, Sebastien.”
“I would never hurt you, Rose. Not like that.”
“Thank you. Thorn can be court sorceress. She has the power; she just needs to be taught. You can find ways to do that. Clotaire has some initial tutors lined up to handle the basics. We’ll go along with that. Then, once Thorn is your bride, she can learn and practice in secret. It won’t take her long. She’s immensely talented.”
“Marry Thorn,” he mused.
“After all, you already have the ring,” she pointed out lightly.
“I couldn’t give her that ring.”
“Why not? It’s a beautiful ring. It was extraordinarily thoughtful, the way you chose it and why. You should give it to Thorn.”
He glanced at her, surprised. “You think so?”
“I think she’ll like it,” Rose said slowly. “I won’t pretend to know anything about love, but I think you two can build it together.”
“And you, Rose?” he asked in a soft voice. “What would you do? Thorn would take your place in all ways. You’d be sacrificing everything for us.”
Laughing a little, she shook her head. “No earthly clue.”
“I think it might come down to whatyouwant to do, Rose, by the sound of it,” Sebastien said gravely.
She nodded reluctantly. “Maybe so.”
“You know that Thorn and I will want you happy. Whatever you decide, we’ll support you.”
“Thank you,” Rose whispered, surprised by the surge of emotion at his words.
He squeezed her hand and then dropped it. “Friends forever. You have been one of the best parts of my life, Rose. I’ll never forget that. I am always here for you, even if you don’t need rescuing.”
She smiled ruefully. She felt in need of rescue at the moment,but couldn’t think of anyone who could help her. “Then it’s settled. We’ll appear to go along with Clotaire’s plan. Once Thorn has signed the contract—and hopefully married you—I’m going to deal with Clotaire so he can’t betray or manipulate any of us. He’ll be punished for what he did to Thorn.”
“He hurt you, too,” Sebastien said with steady intent. His face was subtly older now, with a kind of hardened determination. “Clotaire deserves to suffer for that, too.”
“Oh, he will.” Rose wasn’t sure how or when, but she would find a way. “He will.”
26
An unprecedented sense of peace settled over Thorn after Sebastien rode off on Kismet, the adorable, pony-sized Bunny leading the way, Nonna looking like a puppy trotting beside him. She tucked in Nessie—darling, heroic Nessie, who worried about her—and the equally loyal chickens for the night, ate a simple supper, and went to bed early. As she curled her hand under her cheek, she realized that she no longer felt so alone. People out there cared about her. Sebastien had worked himself to bloody strips trying to free her.
She believed he would be back. So would Rose, and their mother, and perhaps their father. Sebastien had been fine after all, not in the least harmed by her meddling in his dreams—or, at least, not so much that Rose hadn’t been able to fix it—so perhaps Rose would forgive. No matter what happened, Jada would no longer rule her life. The light of freedom glowed strongly and she felt such hope as she’d never had before. Though she slept dreamlessly, she trusted that one day soon, she would have her dreams again.
She could maybe even have true love, after all. Sebastien hadn’t spoken the words, but… she’d felt them humming between them, resonating in his gaze, in the way he looked at her. He’d curled his elegant hands around the rose canes, ignoring the prick of wards and thorns, and she had nearly felt that caress against her skin.
And he’d asked to see her again. What bliss.
The next day, however, as the quiet hours passed, doubts crept in, worming into her thoughts like the pale heads of earthworms emerging from the damp and crumbling walls of the root cellar.What if Rose didn’t forgive? She might decide to keep Sebastien for herself—and Thorn could hardly blame her. Even as she reminded herself that she didn’t know how far away HASP was—she hadn’t thought to ask Sebastien that, but it had sounded like it took a long time to get there and back—she worried.
She found herself anxiously peering over the fence and glancing out every window she passed as the day wore on and she finished one chore after another, watching out the kitchen window as she made some of her specialties, thinking she could pass food through the fence to him, anticipating what Sebastien might like. She considered sending another bird to Sebastien, just to find out where he was, what he was doing. She fretted over the waiting so much that Nessie bleated at her in concern and the chickens fluttered about nervously.
