Page 105 of Kingdom of Feathers

Princess Azalea broke the moment with a little cheer, and Basil’s gaze moved back to the rest of the group with an easy smile.

“And,” he added as an afterthought, “since I’m making a marriage alliance myself, I’m happy to be able to guarantee that I will not be requiring any of my sisters to do so.”

“I’m not sure if I’m being rescued, or Zinnia is,” Prince Amell piped up, still grinning at the unimpressed Entolian princess.

“Both, by the sounds of it,” Prince Bentleigh cut in dryly. “Now quiet in the back, Amell. I want to hear what King Basil called us here to say. What about magic?”

“Yes, thank you,” said Basil, as Prince Amell subsided with a good-natured grin in Prince Bentleigh’s direction. “It’s come to our attention that a number of the crowns of Solstice have now been targeted by curses which have seemed too strong for the enchanters or enchantresses who cast them. Wren and I have wondered if it’s possible there’s a connection between these attacks. We hope that by discussing the matter openly, we can not only share information, but find strength in unity.”

The pronouncement was met with utter silence, and Wren made a point of studying every face. To her surprise, Zinnia looked the most shocked of anyone. Wren already knew that Basil hadn’t confided in his sister the purpose of the meeting, and knew that he had his reasons. But Zinnia’s reaction was more than surprise. It was almost horror.

Locking that information away for later exploration, Wren looked around the group. King Justin was frowning, but as if in thought rather than in displeasure. The Listernian couple exchanged a quick look, and the Bansfordians appeared a little confused. Prince Amell looked like he was finding it difficult to sit still in his chair. But Wren was fairly certain that was normal for him.

“What do you mean when you say the curses are too strong for those who cast them?” King Justin asked cautiously.

Basil sat down at last, settling into his chair as if ready for an extensive discussion. “That was certainly the case for the curse on Wren’s brothers,” he said simply, nodding in Caleb’s direction. “It’s true that the enchantress who cast it was, quite frankly, out of her mind, but while that explains the bizarre nature of the curse, it doesn’t explain its strength. The power that enchantress was born with was middling at best, and certainly not strong enough either to kill seven people on the spot, as she intended, or to turn six of them into swans with human intelligence, and trap them in that state for six years.”

“When you say it like that,” Prince Amell commented, “it does sound like some pretty potent magic.”

“King Basil is right,” said Caleb in his steady, deep voice. “The enchantress herself told us she had been offered extra power by someone. And she certainly didn’t have proper control over the power she’d been given, like she would if it had been her own native magic.”

“But Basil,” Zinnia protested, frowning. “I thought you said you’d uncovered a conspiracy of Mistrans and Entolians collaborating to turn the kingdoms against each other so they could secretly mine the contested land. Isn’t that where the extra power came from?”

Basil shook his head. “We thought so at first. But that whole operation was uncovered, and there were very few enchanters among them. Some had barely even been involved, like the Entolian farmer who simply gave Sir Gelding some power to work with, apparently not even knowing what the baronet planned to use it for.”

“So this Sir Gelding collected power from other enchanters, and gave it to the woman who attacked the princes?” Prince Rian asked, frowning. He glanced at his wife. “I didn’t even know that was possible.”

She shrugged, looking apologetic. “Neither did I. But I still know very little about how magic can be used.”

Wren cleared her throat, leaning forward slightly in her seat. “Sir Gelding didn’t give power to that enchantress. She went rogue when she attacked us, without the approval of the wider group of conspirators.”

Caleb nodded his support. “Wren is right. He was questioned extensively, with the assistance of an enchanter who can identify deception. He didn’t give her extra power. And he clearly received additional power of his own from some source beyond the magic-users directly involved in his operation.”

“What source?” demanded Princess Azalea.

Caleb shrugged. “We don’t know. Sir Gelding couldn’t say.”

“You mean wouldn’t say?” King Justin pressed.

“No.” Caleb shook his head. “We think he wanted to, but something prevented him. Some kind of latent magic around him, according to the magic-users assisting us.”

The Listernian couple exchanged a look. “I’ve experienced something like that,” said Prince Bentleigh. “When I tried to tell Azalea’s parents what I knew about her curse, and just…couldn’t. The words wouldn’t come.”

His wife nodded, sitting up straighter. “It’s not unlike what was happening to me, as well. I couldn’t communicate by word or action. The curse wouldn’t let me.”

Basil nodded. “That’s why you’re here,” he told them seriously. “Because of the curse you’ve experienced.”

Prince Bentleigh’s expression was thoughtful. “And we never found a satisfactory answer for how Montgomery’s magic became so powerful, did we?”

Basil’s eyes passed to the Alburian monarchs. “I invited you, Your Majesties, because I believe you also have experienced a curse where even the one who cast it was unable to explain its potency.”

Queen Felicity nodded, her expression troubled. “We never did solve that mystery.”

“The Mistran princes,” said Basil, nodding at Caleb, “Albury’s ruler,” to Justin, “Listernia’s heir,” a nod toward Princess Azalea, “and even Bansford’s troubles, unless I’m mistaken.”

Prince Rian took a moment before answering, his brown eyes serious as they rested on Basil’s face. “It’s not quite the same as Ben and Azalea’s situation,” he said at last. “Or King Justin’s. But it is true that there are some holes in our investigation into the magical attack we faced two years ago. Some of the things achieved by our enemies couldn’t be explained by the sources of power that we’re aware of.”

“I must say, Fernedell is feeling left out at this point,” chimed in Prince Amell cheerfully. “Why am I here, Basil? Because you thought I’d be upset to be left out?”

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