Of Deceit and Snow

CHAPTER ONE

The last time my mind took me to the woods, it’d been a good thing. A much-needed escape from my prison of Tarasynian walls.

Not this time.

This time, my breath came quick. My heart pounded painfully against my ribs. Shadows taunted the corners of my vision.

My beating heart morphed into beating hooves. Shadows became flashes of hunters riding through snowy evergreen trees. The horse beneath me glided through the forest at a blistering speed, but I had little idea where I was. I was too focused on outrunning my hunting party.

But my prey wasn’t an elk or a wildcat or a fox. No. It was something invisible, yet so tangible I could taste it on my tongue as it stretched toward me through the evergreens. The robust, full-bodied earthiness of home. My kingdom. My people.

But just as fervently as I reached for my kingdom, I too was pursued. A beast I’d come to know all too well was hot on my heels. As I caught my first hopeful glimpse of the low-lying Beryl Foothills of home through the dense trees, an armored hand caught my billowing cloak. I turned sharply and found myself face to face with my beast’s deep blue, red-flecked eyes—

I hardly registered the book slipping through my fingers. The cover slapped shut on the floor. I struggled to rein in my ragged breaths, my hand clenched at the base of my throat. I looked down at my feet, safely planted on the stone floor of my rooms, but my heart continued to race against the pounding of hooves. I still felt the cold of the frozen forest in my lungs.

I shuddered violently against the cold. I tried to shake my head free of the panic, but to my body, my captor was still so close.

The walls—were they closing in? No, they weren’t walls anymore. They were dense evergreen trees. I felt scrapes of branches against my face, heard the rush of water from a nearby stream.

You are not on horseback, Rose, I told myself. You are not in the woods of Tarasyn. You are not outrunning anyone.

Then, most painfully: You are not anywhere close to home.

But it’d felt like I was.

Then the world tilted, and the corners of my vision blackened.

No, no, no. Not again. Gryffin would be walking through my door any moment.

I shot shakily to my feet and grabbed hold of the nearest branch—no, it was my windowsill. Windowsill, Rose.

I heard a muffled voice in the distance, full of concern. Your Grace?

As soon as the door opened, I would bolt.

I would. I would do it this time. I had to get home.

But in my mind, there was no door. Only thick woods.

But I heard it, the lock of the door releasing and the creak of the hinges. I took a step in that direction, then another.

Rosemary? A hand reached for me, and it was a familiar hand, rugged and calloused from too many long nights of riding. My heart sang.

Zeke.

What’s wrong with her? I heard him demand, but it was not Zeke’s voice.

I reeled away from him and fell into a thick patch of bushes—no, a person. Two people. My chambermaids.

Your Grace, come. Sit here.

And as much as I wanted to fight, as much as I knew I needed to get through that door, my body followed the gentle instruction of my chambermaids. My eyes closed as I lay back, and a cold cloth found my forehead.

Has she been this way all morning?

No, Your Majesty. I-I’m not sure what happened to her. The genuine concern in Cassia’s voice—I could place it now, the voice of my head chambermaid—warmed my chest, and my galloping heart slowed.

Gryffin’s concern, not so much. Rosemary? Are you all right?

I hated these bouts of panic. And this one all from a stubborn daydream that had escalated into something more. They made me feel weak when I knew I was not. They made me feel as though everything were out of my control, which, indeed, most things were.

But there was one thing I knew I could still control. I prepared myself to see the red-flecked gaze of my captor, and, slowly, I allowed my eyelids to flutter open as I reached for his hand.

The black ring around my vision was gone, as were the dense trees. Instead, I was back in Snowmont’s guest quarters, with Gryffin and Cassia peering at me with creased brows. One of my other chambermaids, Vasilie, was warming a pot of water in the fireplace.

Gryffin? I asked as warmly as I could.

He laid a hand on my cheek, and I fought against the urge to cringe. Rosemary. How are you feeling?

Tired, I answered honestly. These episodes always wore me out, and this one was nothing like I had ever experienced.

A warm cup of tea was put into my hands, and I nodded my thanks to Vasilie.

Gryffin squeezed my hand. What happened?

You, I wanted to shout. Your eyes. Your betrayal. Your ax hanging over my head.

But I couldn’t say any of that. I had a game to play. A daydream, I responded. I have too much time on my hands these days.

It was one of the most truthful things I could have said. Too much time to try to fill. In fact, I’d read every book on the tiny bookshelf in these rooms at least once since I’d been held here. Wait—what had I just been reading? A glance down at the book lying on the floor where I’d dropped it reminded me—ah, yes, The Fawn and the Fanciful Frog. Again. It was a happy little story, at least, though I’d read it three times now. Its familiarity slowed my heart to a steady trot rather than an outright gallop.

Aside from reading, I picked up weaving again—something I hadn’t done since I’d been a small girl—with the help of my handmaids. I was almost finished weaving an entire square foot of blue sky. That was about twenty hours sitting at the loom. Exhilarating.

I memorized the tapestry of the elk hunt that hung upon the wall opposite the bed. Probably the source of my earlier daydream that sent me spiraling. Fourteen hunting dogs, all very large with long, wiry coats. Six men on horseback, three bay horses, two chestnut and one white. Four bows, two spears. Seven trees, twenty-three bushes.

If Gryffin didn’t kill me first, my boredom and anxiety would surely do the job.

Would you like more books then? Gryffin asked. I’ll have some sent up. Or maybe you’d like to learn an instrument? I can have a flute made—

Why was he so bent on keeping me merely occupied?

"I want to leave these rooms, Gryffin." It wasn’t the first time I’d asked. After all, I’d been locked in here for an entire month.

Yes, today marked one month.

One month of no word, no suspicion of foul play, and no sign of a search party. With no correspondence from my people and with Gryffin as my only informant, I had no knowledge of what was going on outside these castle walls.

Or inside, for that matter. Playing prisoner in Tarasyn certainly wasn’t the most enlightening position to be in.

I glanced at Gryffin as I massaged my temples softly, my fingertips grazed the raised scar above my left eye. That scar was yet another reminder of why I needed to get out. The woman who’d killed a Tarasynian soldier would have a difficult time gaining any citizen’s respect. Even if that woman were to become their queen.

Their queen.

Another shudder ran down my spine.

I would get out of Tarasyn before that happened.

It was not as if I couldn’t bear it here, however. Gryffin hadn’t kept me in chains or locked in the castle’s dank dungeons as I’d thought he would.

On that first night, Gryffin had led me instead to the castle’s guest chambers. My arrangements were actually quite comfortable.

True, the guest chambers of Snowmont were in severe need of updating, seeing as they haven’t welcomed guests in seventy-odd years. But the plush chair I sat in now, with its furred cushions and wide arms, was admittedly more comfortable than any of the furniture I’d had in my own rooms in Hillstone.

The difference was that my rooms did not feel more constricting with each day.

Not to mention the tightly locked door.

The long silence and Gryffin’s hard, narrowed eyes made me realize that I’d sounded harsh in my request, so I lowered my voice to a modest timbre. I want to see the rest of the castle. You’ve always talked so highly of the work you and your brother have been doing to make improvements. That wasn’t a lie either. I’d have to be committed to the asylum if I wasn’t at least curious to see what lay beyond my wooden door. I squeezed his hand gently. I’d like to see what you’ve done.

He looked down at our hands, and his expression softened. When he looked back up to me, there was a new twinkle in his eyes that almost disguised the red flecks. Of course, Rosemary. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll gladly show you around. You aren’t a prisoner.

That was when I felt his Talent pressing to make me trust his words. A slight pressure nudged against the curves and corners of my mind. I’d grown to expect it, but that didn’t mean it didn’t scare me. I still didn’t know what I’d done in the woods to ward off Gryffin’s Talent. As a precaution, I’d started building a castle.

Anytime I felt that pressure, I immediately began laying down bricks and stones, mortaring them tightly together. I knew better than to believe I was not a prisoner. That I wasn’t one misstep away from being disposed of.

One turret. One battlement. I told him what he wanted to hear. I know, Gryffin.

He held my gaze for a moment, and slowly, I felt the pressure of Gryffin’s Talent subside. He smiled. Good. Are you hungry?

Not in the least, I wanted to say. My stomach felt queasy more than anything, and the only thing helping was the warm tea in my hands. But before I could say anything, a castle worker from the kitchens came waltzing through my door with two plates of steaming food followed by another with a bowl heaping with fresh fruits. They placed the food with a flourish onto a little table at the foot of the hunting tapestry and left just as gracefully as they’d come in.

What a show.

What Tarasyn lacked in warmth, they made up for with their food. The meat tasted different here—better. I think it was altogether a bit fattier. And the fresh produce! In this frozen place? They must have had acres upon acres of greenhouses. The smell alone of the plate in front of me urged me to take a bite. So, despite my roiling insides, I dared a morsel of roasted ham.

Gryffin continued his own end of the conversation—how he’d slept the night before, how his sword practices had been going, how Roderich’s memorial service had gone yesterday. I’d refused to attend the service, though it would have given me an excuse to leave these rooms. I couldn’t bring myself to be around people who were mourning a man who’d threatened my kingdom and almost killed me.

Gryffin had told his people the truth—for the most part. He’d told them that Roderich had been power hungry, and that he’d gone about conquering surrounding kingdoms in a brutal, wasteful way. He’d told them honestly that he had killed Roderich, for Roderich had been standing over me—the love of his life, his queen—with his sword poised to kill.

That last part was a bit of an embellishment.

And of course, with Gryffin’s Talent, there was no doubt in his subjects’ minds that killing their former king was the right thing to do. There was no ill will whatsoever toward the man that had killed his own brother. They all accepted their beloved prince—their new king.

But Lecevonia would know better . . . once I made it home.

I nodded along through Gryffin’s rambling while nibbling at my crisp pear, cutting myself a larger slab of ham, and tearing apart a piece of bread. Their bread was not quite as fluffy as Lecevonia’s, but the plump raisins that they added were nice. The food was acceptable to my stomach after all.

Gryffin had just finished telling me of the latest on his brother Yaris, who was technically the older of the twins, when he suddenly said, I’m going to announce our engagement to the citizens.

I froze mid-nod, and I felt another wave of panic drumming through me, my stomach pitching again.

No.

An engagement. The one thing keeping me alive, and the one thing I thought I could control. But I couldn’t let it happen, not yet . . . I slowly placed my raisin-studded bread back down onto my plate and sat a bit straighter in my chair. Gryffin, I’d . . . I’d like more time—

Before I could venture further, Gryffin laughed. "So, she can still speak!"

A sigh that was a confusing mix between relief and frustration escaped me. Of course he knew how to get a response out of me. So, I began again, steeling myself to tell a lie. Gryffin, the thought of marrying you brings me a joy I didn’t know I could have. But I can’t. Not yet. I practically spat my last few words, but I tried to keep my voice soft. I don’t want our marriage to start on any mistrust.

As if that were possible.

If Gryffin knew I never planned to marry him, he’d kill me. He’d killed his brother for standing in his way, and if a marriage to gain access to the Lecevonian throne hadn’t been so valuable to him, he’d undoubtedly already have done the same to me. But he wouldn’t, not until he was certain that our marriage was a lost cause.

No, I would never marry him. I knew this was a dangerous game I was playing. But I needed to give Amos more time. And Zeke and Isabele—surely, they were back from Port Della by now. So, I needed to continue to stay alive.

Gryffin looked at me with such convincing remorse that I almost believed that he felt sorry for what he’d done. Almost.

Rosemary, he said. "You’ll see that everything, from the moment I stepped foot into Lecevonia, was all for us. For our kingdoms, and every kingdom across the Peninsula."

"It was all for you." My words were sharp like shattered glass, instantly cutting through the façade I’d been so carefully holding.

From the very moment the words escaped my mouth, I regretted them, for a shadow of anger darkened my captor’s features. He glared hard at me, then down at the table, the knife he’d been using clenched tightly in his white-knuckled fist.

Angering him was not what I should be doing. Showing him how disgusted I was by his actions, even less so. But I’d meant what I’d said, and he knew it. We sat in a lengthened silence, the tension across the table as taut as a bowstring.

Finally, Gryffin took a deep, shaking breath. You’re wrong. He turned his gaze up to me, and thankfully it had softened to a tired grimace. "Everything, Rosemary. The use of my Talent, my imprisonment in Lecevonia, Roderich’s death, my bringing you here. I carried out and endured all of it with only the sake of the Peninsula in my mind."

And Thomas’s death? I wanted to ask him, but I refrained. I knew my loyal guard’s murder was only for Gryffin. To make his goal of getting me alone easier. Besides, he’d already told me during one of his past visits that he regretted it now. A waste of life, he’d said. That he should have just used his Talent on both of us, especially since his actions pushed me to see through his Talent.

He’d also admitted that his imprisonment at Hillstone had not been part of his plan. Yes, he’d known from the moment I rode through those woods that dreaded morning that his and Roderich’s false assassination attempt would work flawlessly. And afterwards, when things had no longer gone according to his plan, he’d known without a doubt that his brother had been behind the attempt on my little sister’s life, the one that had instead claimed our beloved Sterling. But he hadn’t expected to be caught knowing such things.

So, he’d come up with the ridiculous lie of chasing after my heart. He had truly played me like a perfectly tuned harp, thrumming across my heartstrings with each deceptive stroke.

He told me that he’d almost lost me in the prison—that he’d felt my will slipping away from his control. I’d almost been free from his power, had my sheer stubbornness to trust him been a little weaker.

Would you have ever told me? I asked him abruptly.

But Gryffin hadn’t been in my head, reading my thoughts. He only looked at me with puzzled eyes.

About your Talent, I clarified.

He was quiet for a moment, weighing his response. Finally, he leaned his elbows against the table. I hadn’t truly decided. Possibly, in a less direct way. In some way to make you see it as a useful tool rather than a deceptive one.

So you would have still lied to me, I said flatly.

He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. We’re only going to go in circles this morning, aren’t we?

I parted my lips, ready to let some equally snide remark fly, when a heavy knock on my door reverberated throughout the room. When neither of us acknowledged the interruption, the door opened, and a deep voice called from the hallway. Your Majesty.

We both turned our heads to the doorframe sharply, though I did so out of reflex. I knew I wasn’t the one being called for, and Gryffin was His Majesty now, no matter the means of how he’d obtained the title.

What is it, Campton? Gryffin answered gruffly.

You’re needed in your office, Your Majesty.

There was the shortest second of tense silence, as if Gryffin were deciding whether or not he was willing to shirk his duties a bit longer for the sake of winning our argument. But in the end, he was nothing if not dedicated. He nodded his head once. I’ll be there in a moment. Tell Fendrel to make himself comfortable.

The man named Campton bowed and padded away down the hallway. With a heavy sigh, Gryffin put down his fork and knife. My chambermaids immediately began clearing the plates from the table, but I kept my hands hovering over mine, signaling that I wasn’t quite finished. They nodded quickly and backed away as Gryffin stood from the table. I suppose I should let you get some rest then.

Yes. You should. I was done playing my part this morning.

After a silent battle raging in his eyes, he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it with surprising tenderness before letting go. I’ll see you tonight.

Then, my captor strode from my chambers, the bolt of the door’s lock sliding into place behind him.

What took the most effort to acclimate myself to was the cold. True, my capitol city saw snow almost every winter, but the rising temperatures of spring always melted away the powder and slush. Here, the frigid crispness of the air was perpetual. I was thankful every day for the thick furs and the burning fireplace that kept me warm, but that also meant that I opted to keep my window shuttered most of the time to trap in the heat and block the most unwelcome chill. Which usually led to another round of utter tedium.

This evening, however, I kept my window open, for I refused to go another moment with only that tapestry to look at. I stayed cocooned in my brown fur blanket and let the breeze escaping from the frozen world outside nip at my cheeks.

The reason the snow clouds skirted the capitol city still evaded me, but in a way, I was grateful for it. I was always amazed by the colorful vibrance of the city. Even in the courtyard below my window, trees of blues, reds, and oranges stood out starkly against the evergreens of the forest. Sterling would have been astounded.

The sun had already set behind the low snow clouds, dinner had come and gone, and the courtyard torches in the had been set aglow by the time Gryffin returned. This time, I knew I needed to play nicer, and I looked forward to the click of the bolt and the creak of the old hinges. When he appeared through my door, I stood from my windowsill to greet him with an exuberant smile on my face.

Hello, Gryffin.

He looked shocked for a moment, and the familiar prick of his Talent immediately dissipated.

I had to admit that my mood felt very out of place. Even my unease at the sight of him was more subdued than normal. But he’d told me that I could leave my rooms, and I was ready to hold him to his word.

As he came forward and took my hands in his, a smile of his own stretched from cheek to cheek, all traces of our earlier argument gone. Ah, my Rosemary. Now you’re looking more like yourself.

I continued to smile despite the ice settling in my veins. Truly, how would he know? The only me he’d known had been trapped under his Talent. But I kept my tone light to hide my thoughts. Well, I’ve been thinking of your offer this morning, and I’ve decided.

Oh?

I nodded eagerly. I’d like to go now, and I’d like to go anywhere, I said, answering his when and where stipulations. Anywhere did not give him a reason to say no, and I was determined to see anywhere else but this room as soon as I possibly could.

He raised his eyebrows at my response, but his unwavering smile told me all that I needed to know: he’d agree, as long as my mood stayed this happy. After a second of thought, he asked, How about I take you to the conservatory?

Snowmont had a conservatory? How . . . classy. Or pretentious. One of the two.

It’s something that I’ve been wanting to show you, he continued, and I think you’ll be impressed. His laughter shook his dark curls, which I had found charming once upon a time. He offered his arm to me, and I looped my arm through his as if it were still as natural as ever.

The release I felt as we stepped through my door was insurmountable. It was as if my lungs had just drawn a lifesaving breath after having been tightly bound for far too long. Even the narrow corridor felt freeing. I stretched my shoulders with a little hum and a roll of my head, relishing the new space.

Every candelabra along the hallway had been lit, illuminating our way. They signaled that the king was home.

For a fraction of a second, I considered my appearance. It was the first time anyone in Tarasyn would see me, aside from my guards and chambermaids. I was not really dressed to be seen by the public. At least, not to be seen as a queen. The gnarly knot of hair upon my head would have made Hazel cry.

I gathered quickly that the guest chambers must have been in the original part of the castle, for the dark stone hallways pressed together tightly beneath the low ceiling. New candelabras had been added amidst the older to give more light, but the smell was musty and dank from too many years without the sun.

I’m sorry that this is the first you see of Snowmont, Gryffin said with a bit of chagrin. We hadn’t focused on renovating the older section. Only adding the newer.

‘We’ as in you and Roderich? I asked, doing little to hide the murderous accusation in my voice. Then I chided myself. I’d lose my new freedom before I even get to enjoy it if I couldn’t keep my tone in check.

To my relief, Gryffin didn’t seem phased. He even smiled. And my other siblings, of course. They have a say too.

There was no door separating the old section of Snowmont from the new section. From the moment we stepped through the gaping entrance at the end of the corridor, it was as if I’d been dumped into a new world.

As the hallway suddenly opened into a massive room, the first thing that caught my eye was the exorbitant amount of color. The large stones that built the walls had been painted just as they had been on the outside, in great swaths of reds with shimmering accents of golds, and countless hues of blues, greens, and yellows. It reminded me of the stained glass nerys lily in my chapel, without the definitive shapes.

The ceiling soared above our heads, with rafters crossing over one another in complicated arrangements. From the rafters hung banners of what must have been the Tarasynian crest: a crimson sun peeking around a white mountain, embellished with green and gold grape vines around the border. I thought I heard the croaky call of a crow and shuddered. I quickly averted my eyes from the rafters and instead studied the tapestries that covered every wall.

They certainly liked their needlework in Tarasyn. I wondered absently if insulation from the cold had anything to do with it as I studied the different scenes depicted on the tapestries: another hunting party, though this time they seemed to be hunting rabbits with a pack of dogs and large red-tailed hawks; a quaint garden where two women in extravagant clothing were conversing with one another; the same women in the same garden, but with a little girl running around them with a scruffy white dog now; a regal throne room with a grand king accepting the fealty of one of his subjects. Smaller tapestries also hung above the mantle of the colossal fireplace, but I could not see what scenes those had been woven into.

The warmth emanating from the blazing fire caressed me even from a distance, which was more impressive than anything. Though, with a fireplace large enough for even my towering former guard Roger to step into with ease, I supposed it shouldn’t have surprised me.

Gryffin must have seen the reluctant awe on my face, for he chuckled quietly and announced, Snowmont’s new Great Hall.

As I shrugged off the fur blanket I’d kept wrapped around my shoulders, I ran a hand over the nearest burgundy velvet couch—one of many that were spread throughout the room, all with plush rugs lying underneath them.

This was surely not what I’d expected the castle of two killers to look like.

Come, Gryffin said, nodding his head toward the left end of the room.

As he led me across the Great Hall, I found that my earlier concern for my appearance had not been needed. Each couch and chair in this grand room was empty. No one stood by the fire’s warmth. No stragglers from supper conversed around the edges of the room. Despite the heat from the fireplace, the absence of another living soul left the room feeling cold. I thought it odd—surely it was not that late in the evening?

We came upon a set of large, brass double doors, and Gryffin’s mood lifted even higher. With a growing smile on his face and his shoulders proud, Gryffin held one of the doors open for me. I walked through, and I found myself in a glass globe.

The conservatory made me feel as if I were standing in a gigantic soap bubble that had settled onto the ground outside. The icicles on the snowy trees along the edge of the castle grounds danced and twinkled in the moonlit breeze, yet it was still warm inside our bubble.

Innumerable plants surrounded us, lining the cobblestone walkway that curved through the conservatory. I noticed plants of all different varieties, most of which I hadn’t seen before in my life. The low-growing plants with large, plump leaves and trees bending overhead with shady fronds looked like they belonged along the lush, tropic beaches of Loche. Others were more familiar, such as roses and violets. I thought I caught the pink petals of a peony peeking from around a linden tree, bringing Sterling’s kind, sun-wrinkled face to mind.

When I looked at Gryffin, he wore the smuggest look I’d ever seen. Well? he asked.

It was ostentatious. It was arrogant. It was domineering.

But it was beautiful.

Anyone with any appreciation for nature would have to admire the sheer amount of life in the room. What’s more, this globe felt more alive than any dining hall and courtyard I’d experienced. These plants had the same energetic buzz as the evergreen trees out there in Tarasyn’s forests had. But here, in this controlled environment,