Solaris’s expression snapped right back to pissed off. “I’m well aware that nothing is as it should be. My own body tells me that. My wings are a quarter of the size they used to be, and the vines that grew from my hair are gone. And my skin…” He trailed off and gulped.
Actually, that was good. Something personal was messed up for him, and I was sure that made things more real in his mind.
“And I haven’t been able to make anything grow or ripen in three years,” he went on. “I should be able to sustain this entire court through a drought, like when Hydris withheld the rains. But I can’t.”
I was already nodding but now stopped and held up a finger. “Who’s Hydris?”
“My younger brother, the Prince of the Spring Court. Manipulating the weather was one of the many ways we warred with each other.”
Oh, yeah, their dad made the curse. Little dumbasses. Who goes to war with their own brother? Yes, fine, the Civil War came to mind, and okay, some people were stupid like that. But what could they?—
“What did you fight for?”
“Trade rights.” He shrugged. “Or simply because we—” He cut himself off and frowned at me like I was the one who said something wrong.
“Simply because you got bored,” I said with a smile. I pitched my voice higher, mimicking him from earlier today as I said, “Nothing was wrong with the courts before the curse.”
He crossed his arms and looked away from me, practically pouting. “I don’t sound like that.”
“But you’re acting that stupid.”
Solaris stood up fast, like he was about to rush me. I held up a hand to stop him.
“Even now, you’re refusing to just go home and do everything you can to fix this mess. I’ll uncuff you, if you’ll promise to make this journey willingly.”
I didn’t think he was expecting that because his face smoothed out and his body relaxed. Maybe being chained up for half a day was enough to get through to him.
“I promise.”
I studied him, not quite sure that was entirely sincere. It was only seconds before he was back to frowning. A moment more and he laid down on the bed, facing the wall.
“I’m just not sure I trust that you won’t fly right out that window,” I said quietly, “and I’ll never be able to find you again. Even if there’s not one thing you personally have to do to break the curse and free your people from their struggles, I still believe you need all of us to see you trying.”
He never said another word for the rest of the night. I went about washing up, taking our dinner trays, and eating without him participating at all. I only knew he ate when I saw his tray in the morning. I sincerely hoped I’d given him a lot to think about when we climbed into the carriage to continue toward the castle.
But he never mentioned taking the cuff off.
Chapter 7
The heat inside the carriage was getting to me. Yesterday, we’d had a breeze come through occasionally, but not today. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of high temps and direct sunlight, I had to get out of that box for a while.
I knocked on the carriage wall and called out, “Hold up!”
When Frank had us stopped, I stepped out. I could feel Solaris’s eyes on me, but since he hadn’t said a word to me all day, I didn’t bother explaining myself to him first. I left the door open so he could listen.
“Anyone want to ride inside? I need to do something else for a while.”
Red went ahead and got right down from his horse. “I need to get off this horse.”
Pink Nick flexed his back, nodding, and Purple did about the same thing. It had me wondering if maybe they didn’t spend as much time in the saddle as I’d thought they did.
“Alright, how about you all ride inside, and I’ll drive? Can’t be that hard.” I walked around and stood by a wheel, looking up at Frank. “Give me a quick lesson and then you can go in, too.”
“I’ll show you.”
That had been Solaris. I turned to find him standing just behind me with his arms full of chains. No hostility, no frowns. It made me uneasy, but if this was him turning a corner and becoming open to my ideas, I’d accept the changes.
“Okay. Get up there then.”
