Page 77 of The Mirror and the Curse

Eddi inwardly cringed. Raquel must have witnessed Fidelio’s stolen kiss. Probably from her pavilion. After all, they’d been standing right out in the open. Most likely, she ran off in tears and totally missed Eddi’s rebuff.

And now Kai knew about the kiss. Great.

“Sorry for springing that on you, my friend. Your expression reveals you weren’t in on the action.” After a moment Geoff continued, “I believe I hear our assembly approaching. I did send for Prince Fidelio and other pertinent people before heading here.”

Kai said nothing, but his mother’s querulous voice filled the stable. “You! How dare you send that horrid creature after us! You have no right—”

“What’s happened to the princess?” Cog interrupted, sounding concerned. Eddi heard his quick footsteps approach.

“Ah, thank you both for coming.” Geoff Bryant stood exactly where Eddi’s one slitted eye could see him. When he shifted his gaze her way and winked, she knew he intended her to see and appreciate his show. The pest.

“Why is the princess sleeping on a bench?” Tea demanded. Eddi couldn’t see her, but she could easily imagine her scowl. “Kai, get back. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Why shouldn’t he?” Cog exclaimed. “You know how he feels about Princess Eddi.”

“Don’t we all know?” Geoff said quietly. But before Eddi could process Cog’s revelation, Geoff turned toward the main entrance. “Ah, your Majesties!” He spoke with deep respect and a proper bow. “Welcome to the fterotá stable. We have a situation here with your daughter—”

“Eddi!” Without so much as acknowledging Geoff, King Koldo rushed to Eddi’s side. Cog and Kai evidently made way, for she caught a glimpse of her father’s wide dark eyes filled with terror as he leaned over her. “What’s wrong? What happened?” His hand felt for her pulse, and she heard the tension leave him in a rush of breath. “She’s alive!” He gripped her shoulders and shook gently. “Eddi?” Her hand came loose and hit the floor again. Ouch.

Eddi briefly glimpsed Jakinda’s skinny jeans before a cool, gentle hand touched her forehead. “Is she asleep? Injured? Has a doctor been summoned?”

“If you’ll wait one moment more, our final guest will be here, and I’ll explain the situation,” Geoff said. Eddi suspected he’d laced a little magic into that suggestion, because her father straightened and stepped back.

“She seems to be all right, Koldo,” Jakinda murmured for his ears only. “Probably exhausted, poor girl.”

More footsteps sounded at the stable door. “What’s happened?” Fidelio sounded utterly worn out. “Is Ruggero ill?” Eddi’s heart gave a twinge. He might have saved her life that day, but she really didn’t want to see him again so soon, especially not with Kai present.

“He’s fine,” Kai said from somewhere nearby.

“Eddi!” Fidelio spoke from directly beside the bench, his voice filled with dread. Eddi caught glimpses of his arm. “What happened?”

“Ah! This, at last, is my cue to tell the tale.” Geoff then briefly explained about Raquel’s three attacks during the summer. “Miss Cambout has no magical ability, so she acquired a magical artifact from her ailing grandmother, a somewhat infamous enchantress in her day, and used it to influence people, convincing them to do her will. First, she convinced a talented potion maker to concoct a sleeping potion with a time trigger, which she used on Snow White’s identification ribbons before the Sangiovese Stakes. When the potion released, both the princess and her horse gradually fell into a deep sleep yet somehow managed to land safely. I transported them from a remote hillside to the palace gardens, and the princess herself invented a cover story.”

Eddi heard her father’s exclamations and a few snide comments from Tea, but the others were silent until Geoff continued his tale: “One week ago, at Miss Cambout’s behest, the same potion maker brewed a time-released terror spell and applied it to the buckle of Snow White’s saddle band, set to release at a certain time. Overcome by terror, the horse left the princess alone on a mountainside. Kai Longthane, here, located and rescued her.”

“Really?” Cog sounded delighted. “Good work, son.”

“Why have I heard none of this before?” King Koldo complained.

“Few people knew about it, sir; the situation was handled quietly because we didn’t want to tip off the culprits. Today, Miss Cambout directly attacked Princess Eddi with a common explosive device that gently bounced off my protective spell and detonated when it struck the mountainside. How she managed to acquire and smuggle an explosive into the resort will require further investigation.” He sounded irked. “After that attack failed, she pulled out the magical artifact. Exactly what she intended to do with it we’ll probably never know, because Prince Fidelio and his horse knocked it from her hand. Did you know about the weapon, Your Highness?”

“No,” Fidelio said, his voice sounding strangely dull. “I saw Raquel’s first attack and thought she planned to repeat it. But then she pulled out that thing—it looked like a hand mirror—out of thin air. And Tirador, her horse . . . he looked maddened. Did she use the magic mirror on him too?”

“Yes, but he is no longer under its influence.” After a brief pause, Geoff continued his story: “We apprehended Miss Cambout, and a short time ago she unintentionally revealed the method for waking Princess Eddi. A common enough curse and cure, but this one comes with a twist.”

“So, what is it? What do we do?” the king asked, his voice gruff with emotion.

“Princess Eddi must be awakened by—”

“True Love’s Kiss?” Jakinda blurted. “Oh! Pardon me, sir.” Eddi could easily picture her stepmother’s embarrassed expression. “I-I’ve never attempted a sleeping potion, but pretty much every potion enchanter knows about that one.”

“Your Majesty.” Geoff made a little bow, sounding mildly amused.

But . . . wait. Eddi’s mind buzzed. Now that she knew Jakinda better, she was certain her stepmother would never try to harm or kill her. But could Raquel have used that mirror to influence Jakinda? It would have been possible in Vetricia, and maybe Raquel had preordered the terror potion for the summer attack . . . Jakinda might have poisoned and planted the apple without even knowing she’d done it.

“True Love’s Kiss should be simple enough,” King Koldo said. “I’m aware of my daughter’s fascination with Prince Fidelio. Go ahead and kiss her, son.”

Eddi cringed inside.Dad! Really?

---