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Six Weeks Before Imprisonment
Oak jammed his hooves into velvet pants.
Have I made you late?
Lady Elaine asked from the bed, her voice full of wicked satisfaction.
She propped up her head with an elbow and gave a little laugh.
It wont be too much longer before you dont have to do anything at their beck and call.
Yes, Oak said, distracted.
Only yours, right?
Doublet only halfbuttoned, he tried desperately to remember the fastest route to the gardens.
Hurry, you scamp, one of the palace laundresses called after him.
It will look ill if they begin without you.
And fix your hair!
He tried to smooth down his curls as servants veered out of his way.
And so, few noticed how much the prince had changed.
By the time he made it to the gardens, Oak was out of breath.
Panting, he took in the garlands of flowers and musicians, the courtiers and revelers.
No High King or Queen yet.
That meant he had a chance to make his way to the front with no one the wiser.
But before he could slip into the crowd, his mother, Oriana, grabbed hold of his sleeve.
It pinked them so they matched the rosy color of her eyes.
Where have you been?
Her fingers went to Oaks doublet, fixing his buttons.
I lost track of time, he admitted.
She dusted off the velvet.
Then she licked her finger and rubbed a smudge on Oaks nose.
He grinned at her fondly, letting her fuss.
His gaze went to the crowd, looking for his guard.
Tiernan was going to be angry when he understood Oaks plan in full.
But flushing out a conspiracy would be worth it.
And Lady Elaine had been so close to telling him the names of the other people involved.
She squeezed back, swift and punishingly hard.
You are heir to all of Elfhame, she said as though he might have missed that bit.
Its time to start behaving like someone who could rule.
Never forget that you must inspire fear as well as love.
Oaks gaze went to the crowd.
He had three sisters, but he knew which one she meant.
Oak kept his expression every bit as grave as she could wish.
She wore no blade at her waist, but her hair was done up in her familiar horns.
Oak was almost certain she hid a small knife in one of them.
She would have a few more sewn into her garment and strapped beneath her sleeves.
He winked at Oak, and Oak smiled in return despite his intention to remain serious.
As Oak made his way forward, the crowd parted for him.
His other two sisters were among the throng.
Beside her, Vivienne giggled with her partner, Heather.
Vivi was pointing to Folk in the audience and whispering into Heathers ear.
She did, however, still keep up on the gossip.
Jude beckoned to Oak, as theyd practiced.
A hush came over the gardens.
All subjects of Elfhame.
Allhissubjects, he supposed, since he was their prince.
Not a one of them afraid of Oak, no matter what his mother hoped.
Not a one afraid, no matter the blood on his hands.
That hed tricked them all so handily frightened even him.
He halted in front of Jude and Cardan and made a shallow bow.
Let all here bear witness, Cardan began, his goldrimmed eyes bright, his voice soft but carrying.
Jude bent down to take a circlet of gold from the pillow a goblin page held up to her.
Not a crown, but not quitenotone, either.
Let all here bear witness.
Her voice was chilly.
Now that she was queen, she never let the Folk feel entirely safe around her.
Oak, Cardan said.
Will you accept this responsibility?
No, Oak yearned to say.There is no need.
The both of you will rule forever.
But he hadnt asked Oak if hewantedthe responsibility, rather if he would accept it.
Of course, theyd never ask for that, or anything like it.
They wanted him to be safe, and happy, and good.
Wanted to give him the world, and yet keep it from hurting him.
Which was why it was imperative they never discovered what he was really up to.
Yes, Oak said.
It must have been enough, though, because a moment later, he was asked to kneel.
He felt the cold metal on his brow.
Then Judes soft lips were against his cheek.
Youll be a great king when youre ready, she whispered.
Oak knew he owed his family a debt so large he would never be able to repay it.
As cheers rose all around him, he closed his eyes and promised he would try.
Oak was a living,breathing mistake.
Never known for fidelity, he had other lovers, including Oriana.
All his life, Prince Dain had planned to rule Elfhame after his father.
So, when Liriope fell pregnant, Dain wasnt going to let his byblow mess things up.
Better both mother and child should die, and Dains future be assured.
Dain poisoned Liriope while Oak was still in the womb.
Blusher mushrooms cause paralysis in small doses.
Thats how Oak came into the world, covered in poison and blood.
Slashed across the thigh by a toodeep cut from Orianas blade.
Held desperately to her chest to smother his squalling.
No matter how loud he laughed or how merry he made, it would never drown that knowledge.
Oak knew what wanting the throne did to people.
He would never be like that.
After the ceremony,there was, of course, a banquet.
Oak sat at the right of Cardan, in the place of favor.
His sister, Jude, at the opposite head of the table, slumped in her chair.
Oriana was put at Judes right.
But they were still his family.
They made a beautiful bower.
He would have probably appreciated it more had it been in anyone elses honor.
Oak realized hed been so lost in his thoughts that hed missed the beginning of a conversation.
He held a threepronged fork aloft, as though to emphasize his point.
The excess of songs hasnt helped, nor has their longevity.
Truly, the celebratory air about the whole business has been excessive.
I could have always done that.
I could do that now.
echoed Jude from the other end of the table.
Cardan grinned at her.
Yes, if thats what they like.
He snapped his teeth at the air as though to demonstrate.
No one is interested in that, Jude said, shaking her head.
Taryn rolled her eyes at Heather, who smiled and took a sip of wine.
Cardan raised his brows.
Just to see if someone would write a song about it.
So, Oriana said, looking down the table at Oak.
You did very well up there.
It made me imagine your coronation.
I dont want to rule anything, no less Elfhame, Oak reminded her.
Jude kept her face carefully neutral through what appeared to be sheer force of will.
No need to worry.
I dont plan on kicking the bucket anytime soon, and neither does Cardan.
Oak turned to the High King, who shrugged elegantly.
Seems hard on pointy boots, kicking buckets.
When Oak was Leanders age, Oriana hadnt wanted him to be king.
But the years had made her more ambitious on his behalf.
Perhaps shed even begun to think that Jude had stolen his birthright instead of saved him from it.
Dont make me choose, he thought with a ferocity that unsettled him.
This was a problem that ought to solve itself.
Mortals conceived children more easily than faeries.
If she had a baby, it would supplant his claim to the throne.
Considering that, his gaze went to Leander.
Eight, and adorable, with his fathers fox eyes.
The same color as Oaks, amber with a lot of yellow in it.
Hair dark as Taryns.
It gave him an ugly feeling, something that was anger and guilt and panic all mixed up together.
Leander noticed himself being studied and pulled on Oaks sleeve.
Want to play a game?
he asked, harnessing the guile of a child eager to press someone into the service of amusement.
After dinner, Oak told him with a glance at Oriana, who was already looking rather pained.
Your grandmother will be angry if we make a spectacle of ourselves at the table.
Cardanplays with me, Leander said, obviously well prepared for this argument.
And hes theHigh King.
He showed me how to make a bird with two forks and a spoon.
Then our birds fought until one fell apart.
Cardan was spectacle incarnate and wouldnt care if Oriana scolded him.
Oak could only smile, though.
He had often been a child at a table of adults and remembered how dull it had been.
He would have loved to fight with silverware birds.
What other games have you played with the king?
And he tells me funny stories about my father, Locke, Leander concluded.
At that, Oaks smile stiffened.
He barely remembered Locke.
It had been one of the moments that had made Oak realize that magic wasnt fun for everyone.
Her hair was in microbraids with strands of vibrant, synthetic pink woven through them.
Her dark skin glowed with shimmering pink highlights on her cheeks.
His gaze went to Taryn next.
Lockes wife and murderer, tucking a lacy napkin into Leanders shirt.
It would be no wonder if Heather was nervous to sit at this table.
Oaks family was soaked in blood, the lot of them.
Jude asked abruptly, raising her eyebrows.
Vivi shrugged and nodded in Oaks direction.
Hed been the one to see their father last.
In fact, hed spent a lot of time with their father over the past year.
Keeping out of trouble, Oak said, hoping it stayed that way.
After dinner,the royal family rejoined the Court.
Youre certain you’re free to go through with this?
she asked him, breath hot against his neck.
She wore a dress adorned with threads of gold, as though already auditioning to become his queen.
And if he shuddered a little at her touch, she might imagine it was a shudder of passion.
I have been looking for just this opportunity.
And she, misunderstanding in just the way he hoped, smiled against his skin.
And Jude isnt your real sister.
At that, Oak smiled back but made no reply.
He knew what she meant, but he could never have agreed.
She departed after the end of the dance, pressing a last kiss on his throat.
Hewascertain he could go through with this.
Though it led inexorably to her death and he wasnt at all sure what that meant about him.
Hed done it before.
Members of three conspiracies hed undone in the past, tricking members into turning against one another and him.
In this garden full of asps, he was a pitcher plant, beckoning them to a tumble.
Sometimes there was a part of him that wanted to scream:Look at me.
See what I am.
See what Ive done.
Youre making a scandal of yourself.
Conspiracies were often foolish things, wishful thinking combined with a paucity of interesting Court intrigues.
Gossip and too much wine and too little sense.
But he had a feeling this one was different.
Shes arranging the meeting.
Tiernan cut his glance toward the throne and the High King lounging on it.
Oak had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
But someone overheard something.
The rumor is that you want to put a knife in his back.
Hes not going to believe that.
Tiernan gave Oak an incredulous look.
His own brothers betrayed him.
Hed be a fool if he didnt.
Oak turned his attention to Cardan again, and this time the High King met his eyes.
There was a challenge in his gaze and the promise of lazy cruelty.Game on.
The prince turned away, frustrated.
The last thing he wanted was Cardan to think of him as an enemy.
He ought to go to Jude.
Tomorrow, Oak told himself.
When it would not spoil her evening.
When he learned who was behind the conspiracy.
After that, hed do his usual thing pretend to panic.
Tell the conspirators he wanted out.
Attemptinghismurder was what he planned on their going down for, rather than treason.
Because multiple attempts on Oaks life allowed him to retain his reputation for fecklessness.
No one would guess that he deliberately brought down this conspiracy, leaving him free to do it again.
And Jude wouldnt guess hed been putting himself in danger, not now and not those other times.
He needed to ensure his family never truly knew what hed turned himself into.
Once the traitors were caught, Cardan might forget about his suspicions.
Maybe nothing needed to be said to anyone.
Oaks friend Vier pulled free from a knot of young courtiers to sling an arm over Oaks shoulder.
Come celebrate with us!
Oak pushed his concerns aside with a forced laugh.
It was his party, after all.
And so he danced under the stars with the rest of the Court of Elfhame.
A pixie approached the prince, her skin grasshopper green, with wings to match.
She brought two friends with her, and they twined their arms around his neck.
Their mouths tasted of herbs and wine.
He moved from one partner to another in the moonlight, spinning beneath the stars.
A sluagh pressed herself to him, her lips stained black.
He smiled down at her as they were swept up into another of the circle dances.
Her mouth had the sweetness of bruised plums.
Look at my face and I am someone, she whispered in his ear.
Look at my back and I am no one.
I dont know, Oak admitted, a shiver running between his shoulders.
Your mirror, Highness, she said, her breath tickling the hairs on his neck.
And then she slipped away.
Hours later,Oak staggered back to the palace, his head hurting and dizziness making his steps uneven.
In the mortal world, at seventeen, alcohol was illegal and, by consequence, something you hid.
He staggered toward the royal chambers.
What are we doing here, exactly?
Tiernan asked, catching the princes elbow when he stumbled.
Looking for a remedy for what ails me, said Oak.
Tiernan, taciturn at the best of moments, only raised a brow.
Oak waved a hand at him.
You may keep your quips spoken and unspoken to yourself.
Your Highness, Tiernan acknowledged, a judgment in and of itself.
She can look after me from here.
Tiernan didnt like leaving him too long alone for lots of reasons.
The ogress stood up straighter.
The High Queen is not in residence.
Those would be for his sister, who couldnt see in the dark the way the Folk could.
Oak found the Walgreens bag tossed onto a painted table to one side of the bed.
He dumped the contents onto the elaborately embroidered blanket thrown across a low couch.
There were, in fact, three bottles of storebrand ibuprofen.
He opened one, stuck his thumb through the plastic seal, and fished out three gelcaps.
He tossed the pills back and dryswallowed them.
Now what he needed was a lot of water and his bed.
Swaying a little, he started shoving the contents back into the bag.
As he did, he noticed a packet of pills in a paper sleeve.
Curious, he turned it over and then blinked down in surprise that it was a prescription.
Jude was only twentysix.
Lots of twentysixyearolds didnt want kids yet.
Of course, most of them didnt have to secure a dynasty.
Most werent worried about cutting their little brother out of the line of succession, either.
He hoped he wasnt the reason she was taking these.
But even if he wasnt the only reason, he couldnt help thinking he was in the mix.
And on that dismal thought, he heard steps in the hall.
Cardans familiar drawling voice carried, although he couldnt make out the words.
The door opened a moment later.
Cardans pointy boots clacked on the tiles, followed by Judes soft tread.
As soon as Oaks belly hit the dusty floor, he realized how foolish he was being.
Why hide, when neither Jude nor Cardan would have been angry to find him there?
It was his own shame at invading his sisters privacy.
Guilt and wine had combined to make him absurd.
His sister sat on one of the couches with a vast sigh.
We cannot ransom him, Cardan said softly.
I know that, Jude snapped.
I am the one who sent him into exile.I know that.
Were they speaking of his father?
Oak had been with them most of the night, and no mention had been made of this.
But who else had she exiled that she would care enough to want to ransom?
Then he remembered Judes question at dinner.
Perhaps she hadnt been asking after Madoc at all.
Perhaps shed been trying to determine whether any of them knew something.
Jude opened something out of the line of Oaks sight.
Tangled in her fingers was a chain, strung with a glass orb.
Inside it, something rolled restlessly.
The message speaks of Melliths heart.
I think she looks for an excuse to hold him.
Then he wanted you to forgive that former falcon his bodyguard likes for trying to murder me.
Those words were laced with suspicion, although Cardan was smiling.
His mistrust hardly mattered beside the danger their father was in, though.
Oak got mixed up with the wrong people, thats all, Jude said wearily.
Cardan smiled, a curl of black hair falling in front of his face.
Hes more like you than you want to see.
If whats happening is anyones fault, its mine, Jude said with a sigh.
For not ordering Lady Nores execution when I had the chance.
Generosity of spirit is so uncharacteristic in you.
They were silent for a moment, and Oak saw his sisters face.
There was something private there, and painful.
Mind slowed by drink, Oak was still putting all this information together.
Lady Nore, of the Court of Teeth, held Madoc.
And Jude wasnt going to take a stab at get him back.
Oak wanted to crawl out from beneath the table and plead with her.Jude, we cant leave him there.
We cant let him die.
Lady Nore was from the old Court of Teeth.
After allying with Madoc and attempting to steal the crown of Elfhame, her entire Court had been disbanded.
Their best warriors including Tiernans beloved, Hyacinthe were turned into birds.
Madoc had been sent into exile.
And Lady Nore had been made to swear fealty to the daughter she tormented: Suren.
The little queen with the sharp teeth that Cardan mentioned.
Oak felt a flush of something he didnt want to examine too closely at the thought of her.
Remembered running away to her woods and the rasp of her voice in the dark.
His sister went on.
If we delay, she has time to build up her forces.
But attacking her stronghold would mean my fathers death.
If we move against her, he dies.
We can wait, Cardan said.
If she steps from that Citadel, I will cut her throat from ear to ear.
Cardan drew a dramatic line across his throat and then slumped exaggeratedly over, eyes closed, mouth open.
You need not make fun.
Have I ever told you how much you sound like Madoc when you talk about murder?
Cardan said, opening one eye.
Oak expected his sister to be angry, but she only laughed.
That must be what you like about me.
he asked, his drawl becoming exaggeratedly languorous, almost a purr.
She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
The kings arms came around her, and she shivered once, as though letting something fall away.
Watching her, Oak turned his thoughts to what he knew would happen.
Hyacinthe would be dragged away for questioning.
Probably both, one following on the other.
He might well deserve it, too.
If Hyacinthe was responsible, Oak would cut his throat himself.
But what would come after that?
No help for their father.
Lady Nore bought herself time to build the army Jude described, but eventually Elfhame would move against her.
When war came, no one would be spared.
He had to act quickly.
Melliths heart.Thats what Lady Nore wanted.
Theyd been friends once.
Moreover, Lady Nore had sworn a vow to her.
She had the power of command over her mother.
One word from her could end this conflict before it started.
The conspiracy would wait.
It wasnt as though they could make their move without a candidate for the throne standing by.
Oak would save their father.
He could make a run at measure up to them.
They would have all forbidden him from going,of course.
But before they had a chance, he was already gone.
Adapted from THE PRISONERS THRONE.
Copyright 2024 by Holly Black.
Reprinted here with permission fromLittle, Brown Books for Young Readers,a division of Hachette Book Group.