Page 67 of Feathered Thief

Minutes later, once the crowd had mostly dispersed, Kazik hurried to his mother and found her in the entry hall, unobtrusively using her magic to detect possible threats. “Mama!”

“Kazimierz!” She spun to face him, looked him up and down, and burst into tears. “Oh! How you’ve grown! I wouldn’t have recognized you in the crowd! But I sensed you were here. Bogumil confessed what he’d done to you and Castle Valga, but I couldn’t do a thing about it.”

Kazik simply wrapped her in a bear hug. “I know, Mama. None of this was your fault.”

“But it was! If I hadn’t been so stubborn?—”

“Come on.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders. “I know of a private little garden just through that door. We can chat while everyone else is enjoying their porridge.” He escorted her along a hallway and into a tiny courtyard with flowering vines draping its walls, where they sat on a wrought-iron bench. One look at his mother’s face, and he drew a clean handkerchief from his surcoat. She accepted it and mopped her tears.

“Let it all out, Mama.”

More sobs followed before she could speak again. “I did my best to be a good wife and a positive influence, but I was never enough for him. Oh, Kazik, he now has not only the heart but also the appearance of a beast! He has schemed and cheated and lied and who knows what else to bring about . . . what? Chaos and tyranny for our land? And I never once confronted him.”

“Mama, you are not responsible for your husband’s choices any more than I am responsible for my father’s.”

“But Kazimierz, I am responsible formychoices. I was so fearful.At home I lived a double life: the dutiful wife and the secret mage. I tried to protect you from your father’s evil influence while encouraging his positive traits, but I played control games instead of confronting him outright. I thought I had convinced him that marrying King Ryszard’s daughter would be advantageous for you, but he simply humored me while all along he was planning your marriage to one of his nieces. That last day, I intended to take you with me to my hiding place after the melee, hoping we could wait him out. But your father outmaneuvered me.”

“And he might have conquered me,” Kazik admitted. “Now I know that Bogumil turned Father into a fox and stripped muchof his power to protect me. As soon as I broke free, I searched everywhere for Helena, couldn’t find her, so I rode straight here, thinking she’d gone home with her father. Nothing went exactly as anyone planned.”

“Yet now, here we are,” his mother said with a sad little smile. “Do you know what happened to Helena?”

“Not exactly, but the magical toy horse you convinced me to make for her became a lifeline for both of us. Or maybe a heartline.”

“Oh, I’m so glad! That is lovely. When Bogumil found Helena weeping in a golden-apple orchard confined in one of your father’s pocket worlds, convinced that you had broken your betrothal and no longer cared for her—no doubt through one of your father’s machinations—that foolish mage sent our dear girl to the king of Trinec’s palace, along with one of your father’s golden-apple trees.”

“Why would he do that?” Kazik asked.

“Bogumil told me he thought she was a mistreated servant girl and hoped living in his beloved homeland would heal her heartbreak. How she stumbled into that pocket world with the orchard, I don’t know, but I suspect your father’s magic was involved. Or maybe the trees took pity on her. Who knows? What a tangled web we all created! When Bogumil told me about Helena, I sent word to Solara, and she and Geoffroi took over from there. But without Helena’s honor and kindness, all our efforts would have failed.”

While Kazik tried to grasp these new details, she continued, “You know, plotting conquests was a game for Warin and your grandfather. Neither I nor any of your other relatives could keep track of their magical maneuvers and deviousness. They hoped and plotted to marry you off to one of your cousins, and eventually your grandfather, as archduke, intended to claim allof Wroclaw, including the three vassal states, Ostrów, and the archduchy all the way to the North Sea, forming a dynasty.”

Shaking his head, Kazik admitted, “I guess I focused my inherited devious tendencies on evading their plans. No matter what that pair of power-hungry dukes might have hoped, their scheming would certainly have brought about continental war.”

After a moment of thought, he tilted his head and raised one brow. “Which puts Bogumil’s curse into a very different light. Five years of treasure hunting, exile, and magical suspense seems like child’s play in comparison to what might have been.”

“Very true. We all owe a great deal to Bogumil. I did my best to hide away, but time and again, he dragged me back into the craziness.” She choked up but smiled. “My secret hideaway, the Crossroads Inn, became the gateway to his treasure hunt.”

“Bogumil messed up too. I expect everyone involved in this ordeal has regrets, but most of us did what we believed to be good and wise at the time. I felt utterly helpless.” Kazik laughed, shaking his head. “Being labeled the Golden Princess was an ego-crusher—and yet I always held on to hope. My magical connection with Helena kept me sane, Iga helped too, and I knew you would never let me down.”

His mother nodded, still mopping her tears and swallowing hard. “I haven’t c-cried until now.”

He pulled her head to his shoulder, patting her back. “Then you’re due, little Mama. Let it all out before the inquisition. I know that you and the Council Mages will seek justice for all.”

She looked up at him, wincing a little. “I’ve been asked to join the WMC. By every single mage. Would you mind if I accept?”

Kazik laughed aloud. “Mind? I think you’ll be awesome at it! You’ve never let anyone see how strong you are, and I don’t mean just your magic. Have you ever had it tested?”

She shook her head. “To be honest, it has always frightened me.”

“That’s probably a good thing, I mean, respecting your power and responsibility.” He nodded decisively. “We should eat something before that kitchen magic runs out. Is Bogumil here?”

Euzebia’s brows drew slightly together. “Yes, he is here but hiding.”

“I’m not hiding!” A hooded figure stepped into view from the vine-covered wall. “I was eavesdropping, a very different thing. And the food magic will last as long as it’s needed.” He gave Kazik a hangdog look. “Glad you’re free again. I seriously botched things here, but you and Princess Helena fixed it. You’re a lucky dog. She’s a whole lot prettier than you are.”

“Thanks for that.” Kazik couldn’t help laughing.

“Oh, by the way, I sensed the fox in the guardhouse here, so I brought along his whole pack. If foxesdopacks . . .” He pondered. “Whatever. They won’t be pleased by whatever the WMC does with them.”

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