He tries again. “Torch wounded your father during the massacre twenty years ago. He’s bleeding from the same place right now. The apples may be stronger than the water, but Idon’t think he’s ever fully healed. It’s not just about staying young, it’s about staying alive.”
Rapunzel raises her hand.
Verette purses her lips, and the roots surge with light. “I think I’ve got the hang of it now. We don’t need to keep humming.”
“Gothel—” Rapunzel’s voice cracks. “When my hair was cut and the magic left, all of the aging she’d delayed came back at once. Maybe the king’s wound comes back like that too, but slowly.”
“So if we destroy the tree, Enver dies with it.” Leona’s dry tone implies an additionaleveryone wins.
Verette’s fists clench.
Leona cocks her head. “Are you all square with that, Your Majesty?”
“It’s fine.” Verette’s face hardens. “Maybe—maybe we can grow him edible plants in a container watered from the Starlight Spring. Or make preserves with spring water. Or something. I don’t know, I’ll—I’ll figure it out.” She looks over her shoulder. “But wehaveto stop the fleet. And I think I know how. We just have to be stealthy.”
“We don’t have long before Enver notices none of us have come back to the party,” Eugene points out. “This could be our only shot at the apple.”
Leona nods, grim. “He can lose the ships and still keep the throne. You need the apple to force him to yield.”
“Then we split up,” Rapunzel says. “I’ll take Leona and getthe second group through the roots and into the spring, if you and Verette can stop the fleet.”
Eugene’s chest tightens. He’d rather sacrifice another cheese fountain than send Rapunzel off on her own, but sheisstill the girl who played chess against herself for years. “I can do that.”
Verette catches Rapunzel’s sleeve. “Can you give me the rest of the seeds?
Rapunzel passes them over. Then she steps closer to Eugene and stands on her tiptoes for a swift, anxious kiss. “Be careful,” she tells him as his hands settle on her shoulders.
“Is that a royal command?”
Her eyes flash. “You know what? Yes.”
“You know how good I am at following orders,” he jokes, “but maybe I’ll make an exception this time.”
Leona clears her throat.
“Fine, fine, we’re going.” Eugene releases Rapunzel, then adds with more sincerity than he usually allows, “You be careful, too.”
He tries to quell the churning of his gut as best he can as Rapunzel slings Leona’s arm over her shoulders and sets off, humming under her breath.
Eugene turns to Verette. “All right. So how are we stopping the ships?”
Verette starts jogging down the tunnel. “We can’t hurt the sailors, and salt water kills the roots, so I can’t sink them from below.” Her voice drops as they near the entrance back into the underground harbor, which is a lot noisier than Eugeneremembers. “So if we can’t sink them, we stop…” Her voice trails off as she looks down into the cavern.
Eugene peers through the entrance at a chaotic scene; sailors crawl all over the ships, either searching or loading what looks like some serious ordnance, as a red-faced and disheveled Erwan storms onto the docks, bellowing.
“He’ssupposedto be tied up,” Verette sputters, “he—he’s going to warn Father—”
Eugene grabs her elbow. “So we skip the sneaking and cut to the chase.”
Verette sucks in a breath, then points to the opening of the cavern, where the ships will leave. “If I can blockthatwith roots, even from the waterline up, it should hold them in.”
Eugene scans the area. One watch station on either side of the cave mouth, most attention on Erwan. “Doable,” he says. “How do we stop Erwan?”
“You take this seed to the closest watch station.” Verette hands him a very bizarre-looking apple seed and points. “I’ll go to the far one and seal the tunnel exits on my way. He can’t tell my father anything if he can’t get out, either.”
“Devious,” Eugene says approvingly. Now, in light of everything, he’s pretty sure Enver’s being his father would have been the worst possible outcome…but he can’t lie, he wouldn’t have hated having Verette for a sister. “Ready?”
“Ready,” Verette says.
