Page 66 of Feathered Thief

A gasp rose from the people in the crowd who realized that the golden horse had spoken.

“Iga is six years old,” Kazik answered, sounding almost like a protective father as his charger shoved her head into his chest, snorting softly. “Aren’t you a bit old for her?”

“Ahem. Not unless she thinks so.” Geoffroi whickered, his nostrils fluttering.

Iga turned her head, gave Geoffroi a cool once-over, and returned her attention to Kazik.

Helena laughed merrily at the golden horse’s expression. “Geoffroi, perhaps you’re out of your league. I saw Iga in actionat Kazik’s first melee. She held her own amid the stallions, and Kazik’s team won.”

“Hmph.” Geoffroi’s ears tipped back. “She’ll grow to appreciate me.”

Just then, a voice from the crowd exclaimed, “ItisPrincess Helena! I just heard her voice and her laugh. Now, you, out of my way! Let the old woman through!”

Helena’s heart soared as the woman, beaming in delight, made her way between people toward Geoffroi. “Babka!” the princess called. “Oh, Kazik,PaniKucharska taught me how to bake cookies, cakes, and pies!”

Pure happiness made her voice tremble. For the first time ever, she would be able to share her home and her people with Kazik, while also showing off her handsome young man.

He bent close to speak for her ears only, “You are amazing, Helena. Your people obviously love and respect you and King Ryszard.”

Torn between her past and her future, Helena held his gaze as he stepped back, focusing his heart-stopping smile at her until the old cook swept her up with soft, thick arms and held her close, rocking from side to side.

“I don’t know how you managed to grow into a fine lady overnight, but your old Babka knows our princess when I see her.”PaniKucharska happily called forward a few other servants, including the princess’s chambermaids, who all verified Helena’s identity as they shyly approached. Helena greeted each one, grateful that she remembered most of their names.

“Never you fear, our princess hasn’t changed. No one has a sweeter spirit than Princess Helena,”PaniKucharska declared to the other servants gathered around. “Now, where is our king? Don’t tell me he’s still sleeping! Before anything and anyone else, our girl needs to see her papa.”

Ladies-in-waiting and personal maids gathered around their princess, and Helena allowed herself to be shepherded into the castle and upstairs. At some point during the bustle, she realized she’d lost sight of Kazik. She craned her neck, hoping for glimpse of him, but he had somehow vanished into the crowds.

Even though reason told her she would see him again soon, she felt incomplete without him at her side.

19

COUNCIL AND FAMILY

Watching from the sidelines with one hand on Geoffroi’s shoulder and the other on Iga’s, Kazik observed and appreciated the genuine love and respect being showered on his sweetheart. When her people escorted her to see the King, he knew she was in good hands, and he would see her again soon. Speaking privately with her father should be her top priority just now.

Solara rustled her feathers, their music sending a tingle down Kazik’s spine. “If you all agree, I shall find Madame Euzebia and the Council to request their aid with the fox while you all rest and meet with the King.”

“No need, Solara!” A familiar voice preceded the speaker’s appearance by a heartbeat. “We have come to you.” Madame Euzebia and the entire World Magic Council stepped into view on the castle’s broad front steps.

Still magically projecting her voice, Madame Euzebia introduced herself and the other mages from distant parts of the world. To Kazik’s amazement, the dignitaries all looked to her for direction. Watching his once quiet and retiring mother manage a uniquely difficult situation with unexpected composure, even mastery, rocked his world. Seeing her alive andwell took a load off his heart, but she had yet to explain where she’d been for the last five years.

To address the crowd, Madame Euzebia magnified her voice: “Today, members of the Council will meet with King Ryszard, who, like most of you, has just awakened from the five-year sleeping curse of Castle Valga, which was broken this very day by none other than your own Princess Helena! Her kiss of True Love freed the enchanted prince and awakened all of you.”

His mother held the crowd rapt in the drama and romance, and Kazik felt heat roll into his face. No one looked his way, but after five years of almost complete solitude, he discovered that crowds made him uncomfortable.

The World Magic Council’s arrival at Castle Valga would precipitate world-impacting legal matters. But how and when could he gain a private audience with King Ryszard amid all this celebration and change? He couldn’t barge in on the king’s reunion with Helena. He wasn’t family. Not yet.

And maybe never. What loving king and father would give his daughter to the son of a shyster, thief, traitor, and aspiring emperor?

Euzebia was still talking: “Your king will soon appear to address you all, and later this evening, at His Majesty’s invitation, the World Magic Council will conduct an essential meeting in Castle Valga’s Great Hall—purely business. However, the return of Princess Helena and the end of your very long nap is worthy of a great celebration!”

She paused briefly while the crowd cheered, then added, “A few moments ago, His Majesty, King Ryszard, asked me to invite you all to a celebration supper tomorrow evening. His Majesty would have liked to celebrate with you tonight; however, we shall respect the kitchen staff’s request for a day’s notice toproduce a banquet. And never fear! Tonight, the castle kitchen offers all of you unlimited bread, porridge, honey, and milk. Your fellow staff members are even now preparing to serve everyone.”

Another roar of approval went up, no doubt mostly for the immediate promise of food, but Kazik also identified a growing sense of hope and new beginnings. He glimpsed several boys sidling toward the castle, no doubt hoping to claim places at the front of the porridge-and-honey queue. Amused, he was briefly tempted to join them.

His mother must have noticed the slinkers too, for she wrapped up her speech in a heartbeat. “So, without further ado, I propose you all head inside to join Castle Valga’s porridge party.” Her suggestion produced a laugh, and when Kazik stepped out of his obscurity to give a rousing (and slightly magic-optimized) whoop and threw his hat in the air, people all over the courtyard copied him, producing a resounding shout of enthusiasm.

No matter how lonely he’d been for five years of his life, he knew that bitterness and self-pity would only extend the misery and hurt his loved ones, so he deliberately junked it all. And he would do so again as often as necessary.

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