Page 13 of Feathered Thief

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WISDOM AND CHOICES

From a window in the southwest tower that held Solara’s pocket world, Kazik watched King Ryszard’s royal coach carry Helena away from him until it vanished from sight. Clenching his fists, he slammed them on the sill. He should have had the courage to tell her goodbye, to stand up like the man he wanted to be and wave until her carriage was out of sight.

Unfortunately, as his father often stated, he was nothing more than a foolish boy. He’d felt all strong and protective while teaching Helena to shoot an arrow and then shielding her from the scoundrels among the trainees, but as soon as she was out of sight, his insecurities assailed him. He’d skipped this morning’s drills, so why hadn’t he behaved like a normal person and gone down there to see her off? He just . . . couldn’t.

And now his chest ached.

It could be another full year before he saw her again. It could be never.

He’d hardly so much as glimpsed Helena after that amazing day at the archery range. Sometimes he wondered if he’d dreamed the whole thing.She allowed me to touch her.Even the memory made his blood rush through his veins.

He let out a shaky breath, thankful she hadn’t noticed how his hands trembled when he grasped her slim waist. She would likely have burst out laughing or slapped his face for imagining that a beautiful girl like her could ever love a fat littleglupieclike him.

Even with her golden hair braided and mostly hidden beneath a frilly cap thing, she was his idea of what a sprite or a dryad must look like. Her eyes melted his soul. Czwarty and Twardo both thought she was skinny and frail, but they’d never seen her hit a target with his bow. Helena Tarnowska was his ideal.

But always in the back of his mind loomed the fact that his father planned to betroth him soon, and he couldn’t help dreading the day. The grand duke would choose a daughter-in-law for his own political advantage, never once considering his son’s preference.

“Stop this moping.”

Kazik glanced at the golden bird perched in a small tree. “Stop judging me. I’m not moping.”

Solara tilted her head. “You are.” She shook herself, making her tail plumes jingle. “If I may quote an apt proverb, ‘There are plenty —”

“Oh, please don’t!”

“—of birds in the trees.’” She fluttered to perch on the window frame, partly blocking his view. “Why set your heart on that one?”

“It’s supposed to be ‘fish in the sea,’ and it’s a useless adage either way. Besides, I know you approve of Helena. Did you ever have a mate?” The question was a deflection, but he was genuinely curious.

She instantly puffed up. “Why do you ask?”

“I just wondered. Are there many birds like you? I mean, with feathers of gold and all. Do you lay solid-gold eggs?” He’drealized years ago that contemplating how such a creature could exist was an intellectual dead end.

Solara seemed to deflate. “I had a mate long ago.”

He hadn’t expected that answer. His heart gave a twinge. “Had? What happened to him?”

“He vanished.”

That would explain the bird’s occasional bad moods. Guilt rushed through him. “I’m so sorry. Someday, when I have the resources, I’ll do my best to help find him for you.”

Solara produced a sorrowful chirp and flew to her usual perch in a flowering tree unlike any he’d ever seen in the real world. “I hardly think a human, no matter how magical, could find him. He vanished long ago, most likely back into the fay reality. Nevertheless, your sincerity is commendable.”

She abruptly tilted her head. “Someone is searching for you.”

Without stopping even to say goodbye, Kazik charged down the tower’s spiral stair and exited at the second level near the library. After a quick dive into the room, he claimed a chair, controlled his breathing, and opened a book to appear studious only moments before steps echoed along the hall and one of his father’s lackeys stuck his head through the doorway. “Ah, Your Royal Highness. His Grace, your father, desires your presence in his study.”

Kazik looked up, blinking slowly. “Thank you. I shall be there shortly.”

In no hurry and giving his heart rate time to normalize, he climbed the central staircase with the servant at his heels and proceeded to his father’s study, refusing even to speculate what the man might want from his son and heir.

“Enter,” the grand duke answered his knock.

He found his father gazing through a north-facing window. When the duke beckoned him closer, Kazik joined him, taking in the view of a sparkling lake, a river, and miles of forestedhills. How far had Helena’s coach traveled by this time? It might already have reached the border of Zyrardów. He could picture the castle, her home, in his mind’s eye. Only the parts he’d seen, of course, but that was enough for his imagination.

“Ah, Kazimierz. I assume your mother has mentioned our plans?” The grand duke spoke in his usual abrupt way, looming over his stumpy son. Kazik noticed his father had shaved his beard.

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