She frowned at that, not sure what to think. Still, she was happy to eat well. Soon the fire was crackling merrily and she was wrapped in a blanket, her stomach full.
“You were good to come with me,” she told Count Alain. “Especially when I know you do not care much for my godmother.”
“I like her no less than she likes me,” he said.
“Do you suppose Prince Phillip could be with her?” she asked. “He was not her favorite person either, but I saw them together when we were dancing. He might have been the last person to see her before whatever befell her happened.”
He frowned. “Phillip?”
“Your sister told me he went back to Ulstead, but what if he only intended to leave? If she was abducted and he was with her, he might have been taken, too.”
Count Alain gave that some thought. “You may be right about Phillip. But I fear he may not be the subject of misfortune, but rather its architect.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Well, about a half hour after you and I parted, I saw Phillip walking toward your godmother, and there was an expression on his face I am not sure I can describe. Grim purpose, perhaps. And there was something in his hand. Some kind of dull metal. If he was the one who took Maleficent, it would explain their going missing at the same time. And it would give Ulstead power over Perceforest.”
Aurora listened to him in horror, thinking of the cold iron blade that had been found. Surely that couldn’t have belonged to Phillip. Surely he would never do such a wretched thing.
But wasn’t that what Maleficent had once thought about Stefan? Wasn’t that what was so dangerous about love: that it made you vulnerable to betrayal?
Count Alain went on. “If that’s what he’s done, he’s probably making for the border between your lands and his. Perhaps the significance of this place is that it’s where the raven lost the trail. It’s possible Phillip did something to throw us off the track.”
Aurora was trying to think of a reason it couldn’t be true. “But Phillip…”
“Always seemed so kind?” Count Alain said, a slight sneer in his voice. “I have heard things about Ulstead. You may think that your people are suspicious of faeries, but there they are despised.”
In Ulstead, the stories of faeries are even worse than those told here, and there are no Fair Folk to contradict them. He’d spoken those words. But what if he also believed those tales?
Aurora recalled the night she had discovered Phillip in the Moors.
I had to see you, he’d told her. But what if he’d gone there not expecting to find her at all? What if he’d gone for a more sinister reason?
What if he’d spent the entire banquet thinking about how he hated the faeries he was dining with?
What if Aurora’s rejection of him was the final straw? Reluctantly, she thought of Lord Ortolan’s warning.
You may have noticed that Prince Phillip has been dangling after you. I believe he is here to win your land for Ulstead through marriage. Be wary of him.
“I can see I’ve upset you,” said Count Alain.
Aurora picked at the cheese and did not answer.
“We are not so far from my estate,” said Count Alain. “Let’s make for it in the morning. I will put my soldiers at your disposal. If Phillip has Maleficent, we’ll recover her. And if you must make war on Ulstead, your country will be behind you.”
Aurora thought of the moment when she’d discovered Maleficent’s wings trapped in King Stefan’s chamber, beating against their cage as though they were living things, independent of Maleficent. She had felt such immense horror, looking at them.
Before that, Aurora had never understood what great evil truly was. But it looked like chains of cold iron. It looked like King Stefan, hurling Maleficent across the room, intent only on causing her more pain. It looked like a desire to destroy that was greater even than a desire for power or pride.
She tried to picture that expression on Phillip’s face and shuddered. Aurora was the one who had asked Maleficent to trust humans again. If only Maleficent hadn’t loved Aurora, she would be safe now.
Maybe true love was a weapon after all, no matter whom you loved.
“I will save my godmother,” she swore to Count Alain. “No matter who I have to face.”
“I know you will,” he said, taking her hand and gazing deeply into her eyes.
Chapter 26
When Lady Fiora had been a little girl, her older brother, Alain, had been her whole world. Their mother had been of a nervous disposition and found an energetic child tiring in all but the smallest of doses. Their father had barely ever been home, busy at the palace in the service of King Henry and then King Stefan. And Fiora’s nurse and tutor had been frequently exasperated with her wildness and inattention. Alain had been the one who taught her how to ride, the one who played games with her, teased her, and made her laugh. In return, she’d worshipped him.
After the death of their parents, she’d begged and begged until he finally brought her to court. There she tried to advance his interests. It wasn’t difficult. Most nobles already admired him, which seemed exactly right. To Lady Fiora, it was Alain’s due that everyone should adore him the way she did. When he’d declared his intention to win the hand of a queen, that had seemed right, too. Of course he would make the best possible king of Perceforest. Of course Aurora would love him.
So when Alain asked Fiora to do certain things, she didn’t mind. Dropping a word about Prince Phillip in Aurora’s ear during the ride through the woods, for example. Or apologizing for her brother. Or encouraging Aurora to choose Alain for her first dance. She was only helping both of them realize they would be perfect together.
And hoping to cheer her brother up. Because despite having brought her to court and occasionally asking her to intercede for him with other nobles, he ignored her a great deal of the time. He’d grown irritable. He would shut himself up with hoary Lord Ortolan for hours on end, becoming quite short with her if he was interrupted. And when he wasn’t with Lord Ortolan, he seemed to prefer to be alone. She’d spotted him heading out on errands late at night, and when she inquired where he was going, his answers were guarded.
Perhaps he’s desperately in love with Aurora, she thought, and redoubled her efforts to push them together.
But at the festival, his mood went from bad to worse. Alain had demanded she tell Aurora that Prince Phillip had left for Ulstead. He’d gripped her hard around the wrist and looked into her eyes in a way that frightened her. But it had obviously been important, so she’d done it.
The moment the words were past her lips and she saw Aurora’s expression, she regretted saying them. Well, she reasoned, trying to convince herself she’d done the right thing, Aurora liked him. They were close. It must be painful to find out he left, but someone had to tell her. And now the way is clear to love my brother.
And yet, as Aurora walked off, Fiora couldn’t help remembering the way that Alain’s fingers dug into her skin and the desperation in his eyes. Just thinking about it made her uncomfortable.
Heart beating fast, Lady Fiora went into the palace and up the winding stairs to Prince Phillip’s rooms. I just want to see for myself that he’s gone, she thought, refusing to closely consider why she doubted it.
And, truly, she expected his rooms to be empty. But when a servant opened Prince Phillip’s door, she peered inside. To her horror, she saw his trunks still resting in one corner. Books were piled up on his desk, beside a half-finished note. A sword was propped against a dresser. If Phillip was gone, why had he left all his things behind?