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I found Marienne and Anthony chatting in the library, drinking tea and munching on chocolate chip cookies.
They looked so relaxed I was loathe to interrupt, but I really needed to speak with Anthony. I directed my gaze at him. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Marienne raised an eyebrow at me. “Are my services no longer good enough?”
Oh crap! “Oh no, I’m sorry Auntie Marienne. It’s just that Anthony... you know.”
I waved my hands around, not sure how to explain why I needed him and not her. This time, she raised both eyebrows. “You mean you’re here to apologize, again, for breaking my son’s nose? That wasn’t very ladylike, Veronica.”
I scoffed. “I’ve never been very ladylike, Marienne.” Then I glanced at the prince I’d always considered a brother. “But I am sorry, Anthony. Truly. My temper... I’m sorry. I should never have done it. I was out of my head with worry.”
Anthony stood up and smiled at me. “I’m fine, Veronica. What do you need?”
I bit my lip, chewing on the flesh while I structured my question in my mind. “I don’t really know. I just had this... insane need to come see you.”
He chuckled softly. “I’m already happily married, dragon daughter. Sorry.”
“Oh, not like that.” I whacked him, gently, on the chest.
Marienne wasn’t leaving, and when I turned to her, she stayed in her seat. “I’m not leaving you alone with my son again, missy. You punched him, then sucked all the magic out of him. It’s taken me all day to get him right again.”
I gulped, and apologized, again. “I’m sorry about that.”
“No. I’m not,” Anthony said, glaring at his mother before turning back to me. “You found Iain. Saved his life. I would happily sacrifice my health for his.”
Marienne huffed, but I didn’t think it was because she disagreed. She was probably annoyed I hadn’t asked her for help.
I looked up at Anthony, who had always been at least six inches taller than me, and said the first thing that came into my head. “Would you do the premonition for me? Again? Show me my future?”
Anthony shoved his hands in his pockets as though he was afraid to touch me.
I didn’t blame him.
“Why, Veronica? I mean, I’ve shown you the future. What I’ve seen anyway. And I can’t always control what I show to others. It doesn’t work like that.”
I inhaled sharply, a twang in my gut making me desire to see it once more. “I feel like I’ve made some mistakes since then. Going to the human realm. Iain being hurt. If it’s at all possible, I’d like to see it again, please?”
I glanced at Marienne, my fear growing. “Or am I wrong? Couldn’t my fate change? Or is what is seen, set in stone?”
Marienne shook her head and gestured to me. “Come, Veronica, sit. My son can’t give you more of his magic today. He’s still recovering. But I’ll help you.”
I rushed into the seat Anthony had been occupying. “Oh, thank you.”
Marienne turned to face me, that special purple magic swirling in her eyes. “I can’t guarantee I’ll see the same thing as Anthony showed you. I don’t have any control over my visions.”
I nodded, holding out both hands. “No problem, of course. I don’t mind.”
Whatever she could share with me would be fine. I’d already re-lived that first vision so many times.
Marienne took my hands and there was a flash of black, then a cracking, like a tree breaking apart and falling. Despite the shock of the sound, I didn’t let go. Instead, I waited for the image to come.
I was here, in my room in the castle, looking out the window. Very similar to the other vision. But I wasn’t pregnant, I wasn’t smiling and there wasn’t a ring on my finger any more.
There were footsteps like before, and I waited with my heart in my throat, to see who would walk in the door. Last time it was Iain. Surely, he’d come this time, too?
But when the door opened and a man walked in, it was Anselm, in full mourning black, carrying a bouquet of white flowers and staring at me with pity in his expression.
“No!” I shouted, yanking my hands out of Marienne’s grip and jumping to my feet. “No. That’s not right. It can’t be.”
