Ugly Girl Page 32

  Henri charged as well, meeting the onslaught just as it started. The Wildman cast down his flute and pulled out a sword, clashing with Bayard, whose heart, I could tell, wasn’t in the throwdown. Maybe it was a brotherhood of the horsetail thing. Bayard kept him from running off toward the soldiers, but none of his slashes were aimed to kill.

  Bastien didn’t pull punches, especially when he was armed with a knife against a sword. I yelped into Lot’s palm as Bastien stabbed with a quick hand and twisted his knife in the soldier’s side. Henri made a quick slice along the throat from behind, and the two lowered the soldier to the grass as he choked on his own blood. I saw Bastien whispering something in the soldier’s ear, and guessed it was the same army deathbed prayer he’d given Silvain. My heart sank for Bastien, and I worried at how many of his former friends he would have to kill before his world was put right again.

  My internal scream was on repeat in short bursts of horror as I watched the gutting and then the cover-up. The blood on the ground was quickly covered with torn bits of grass and dirt. The soldier was wrapped in his own red cloak to stem the flow of blood. Bastien hoisted up the 5’11” Chewbacca and marched him into the woods, not coming out for five minutes until the body was sufficiently hidden.

  Lot kept me crushed to the ground, in case I tried to run off again. I didn’t, though. As soon as the soldier died, the desire to run to him and spill the big secret deserted me in the next second.

  Henri came back to us, catching his breath at the very inappropriate position we were in. “Lot, get up right now. Young lady, you’ll control yourself. It’s just a little song. You can’t go running off after every distraction that comes into your ears.” He huffed at me. “Even children know that.”

  “Apologies, Princess,” Lot offered for Henri’s sake. “Are you okay now?”

  I nodded, letting my body go limp with compliance. When he let his hand move from my mouth, I bit my lip against my embarrassment. “What was that? I couldn’t stop myself. It’s like, the whistle called and I couldn’t keep myself from running to him to rat out Reyn. I’m so sorry!”

  “The Wildmen are gifted with the ability to persuade behavior through their music. Most feel the pull, but the simpler the mind, the more easily it can be coaxed into following the tune.” Henri looked down his long nose at me imperiously, not bothering to hold back his true feelings about my usefulness on this trip.

  Lane sneered at him as she helped me to sit up, patting my back in support. “You’re calling the Princess of Avalon a simple-minded fool?”

  “If not for Morgan’s rule that only children born into the crown could sit on the throne, then Gwen would also be a Princess of Avalon. In fact, before Rosalie showed her face, Gwen was the closest thing our kingdom had. Gwen would never have been so easily persuaded by the Wildman’s flute. My adopted daughter is of the highest quality.”

  It was like being punched in the gut and then repeatedly pushed until you were a pile of nothing on the floor. I kept my head down, lest Henri know he was right on the money. I wasn’t smart, and I had the mediocre grades to prove it. Judah could glance at his books and ace his exams. I had a tutor, notecards, study sessions, meetings with professors and countless lucky guesses on tests to get a mostly passing grade.

  Lot stood, squaring his shoulders to Henri. “Know your place. Morgan le Fae is the queen, and we are only dukes. Your children and any that I may bear will not share equal status with Rosalie.”

  Henri postured, looking down his nose at Lot. “Of course yours wouldn’t be on equal status. You didn’t marry or come from a Daughter of Avalon. You were merely next in line to rule Province 5 when there was no more bloodline to speak of.”

  Lot’s nostrils flared, but he kept on-topic. “Simply being born Morgan’s daughter puts her above even us. You’ll not run down a member of our Council.”

  Henri and Lot invested twenty seconds in a staring contest before Henri broke the tension with a lofty scoff. “If this is the state of the royal family, I think a revolt is in order. I shudder to think of the damage such a suggestible girl could do to Avalon.”

  Lane pulled me up, rolling her sleeves and gearing up for a reckoning on my behalf. “Rosie, go get the others. Tell them to get ready to move to wherever we’re holing up for the night. I’m going to have a few words with your uncle.”

  “My adopted daughter won’t be accompanying us on the trek,” Henri informed us. “It’s not proper for a woman to travel with a pack of Wildmen and an Untouchable. She was allowed to come this far only because you all needed an escort. I have high hopes for Gwen, who had no trouble at all resisting a simple flute, and no trouble resisting giving her affections to two different men.” He narrowed his eyes at Lot in accusation. “Damond will be escorting his adopted sister home.”

  “Duke Henri?” Damond questioned. I could tell by his shrink back into his turtle shell that the simple address was on the furthest edge of daring he could go. I started hobbling away towards the direction I’d seen Seven kamikaze herself, but I could still hear them all well enough to crumple my shreds of self-esteem into a ball and throw them all in the trash can. So much for getting my new uncle to like me. He’d guessed right – I was stupid.

  “That’s up to you,” Lane replied. “Gwen’s your daughter.”

  Uncle Henri’s nose rose in the air. “Yes, and there’s still plenty of hope for her to marry well, though I can see you’ve given up hope with your daughter. I won’t have Gwen’s reputation tarnished.”

  “Screw you!” I barked, picking up the dazed bird and clutching her tight. I pressed the side of her head to my breast and stroked her feathers, cooing gently to her to make sure she knew I appreciated her sacrifice. I was no good with people; my place was with the animals, who never once implied I was stupid, or cared about the odds on my marrying marketability.

  Lane put her hand on mine when I hobbled back into the fold, quieting me without shutting me up. “Henri, you hold the scepter in your province, but out here, we’re equals. If anything, Rosie’s in charge. She’s the one we’re counting on. It’s her you’ll need on your side if you want us to find the missing Jewels of Good Fortune and save Avalon with them. You haven’t had to think about how you talk to people in a long time. Probably not since I left Avalon. But here it is now. Learn to follow, or go home.”

  “You dare speak to me like that?” Henri’s chest puffed out, looking kingly and a little scary. Marquis was worried and stood with the other horses. Abraham Lincoln roared at Henri, scaring Seven, who flapped her free wing to fend off my bear.

  Bastien ran to us, stopping short when he saw me holding what was apparently the deadliest bird in Avalon. “Whoa! Rosie, let go of that bird!”

  Lane stood, her fight face firmly in place as she squared her shoulders to Henri. “You don’t get it, do you. All she has to do is announce herself, and she could have you bowing to her in front of the whole kingdom. She’s above you, Henri. She’s above me. She’s Morgan le Fae’s daughter! She’ll have the best of the best suitors lined up around the block, no matter what you think of how she was raised.”

  My head whipped to Lane in time with Henri’s scandalized gasp. “Is that true?” I asked. Bastien’s expression hardened, but really, what else was new? He was always pissy about something.

  “Of course it is. Morgan owns the most land after she took the flailing provinces as hers. She has the most power, and you’re the only heir to her throne. You’re second in power only to her.”

  I could tell Henri wanted to retaliate with either physical force or a royal edict, but his face grew purple with the rage he stuffed inside. “Very well,” he said, his voice barely controlled. “This is where my household leaves you. Come back with the gems, and I’ll forgive all your offenses.”

  I scoffed, my hackles raising. “We won’t be even till I black your eye for smacking Lane around. Say what you want about me, but don’t you touch what’s mine.” I pointed my finger to the dirt, my sneer firmly
affixed to my lips. “Lane’s mine! You got that, son? You keep that in mind when your people are starving, and you have nothing to choke down but the pride that landed you with no allies in all of this.”

  “Please!” Damond spoke up, coming to stand between Lane and his father. “Let me stay as your representative, Duke Henri. Then when Rosie finds the jewels that have been lost, and those that have been stolen by Morgan le Fae, all will be forgiven and our land can heal. Please, Henri! Take Gwen and preserve her reputation. Tell the kingdom I’m off breaking a new foal or something. Don’t throw it all away just because you don’t like the princess. Your feud with her isn’t as important as the safety of the entire Second Province!”

  In that moment, I saw clearly that Damond fought for his people, and Henri fought for himself. I promised myself on the spot that I would learn from Damond. I would do what I could to help Avalon, not just myself.

  Henri sneered, looking like a snake. I couldn’t believe I’d ever wanted an uncle. “Very well. Damond can stay as the vote for my province. See to it he’s returned to me without the lack of grace your daughter has.”

  Bastien’s eyebrows pulled together in the center of his forehead as he put together enough pieces to form an opinion. “Hey, now. The whole point of the Council is that we’re allowed to speak like equals. Just because we’ve never had women in the tribunal before doesn’t mean anything’s changed.”

  “Bastien, get Lane over there with the others,” I said, doing my best to amble up to Henri without jostling Seven too much.

  “No, Rosie. It’s over,” Lane insisted. “You’re not fighting this one for me. I told you, it’s got nothing to do with you. It’s all old stuff.”

  I handed Seven to her, despite the bird’s insistence she stay with me. “I don’t give a crap what it’s about. No one’s allowed to hit you. Not while I’m here. Would you let someone smack me around? He hit you, so I get to black his eye. Fair’s fair.”

  Lane didn’t answer, but she pointed her finger in my face, her lips taut with a silent command that I back down. I was supposed to be able to understand hidden languages, but I didn’t need that gift to hear her unspoken words loud and clear. She would handle her shiz how she handled it, and I would accept her decision.

  “I was scared for you,” I admitted in a whisper, lowering my shoulders to submission. “I don’t like that guy.”

  Lane’s shoulders lowered, and her expression softened. “Oh, Ro. I know, baby. Me neither.” She wrapped me in a hug that sandwiched Seven between us, transferring my bird’s body back to mine, where she felt safest. “I love that you would’ve clocked him for me. The very second I’m ready for that, I’ll let you know.”

  “I’ve got you,” I reassured her. It had made me rally when Bastien said that to me, and apparently the sentiment was transferrable as I watched Lane straighten with self-respect not even Henri could strip away when our hug ended. I held her gaze with concern for her shining in my eyes. “I know who you are. Don’t you listen to a word any fool says who hasn’t seen you in twenty-one years. He doesn’t have a clue.”

  “Thanks, baby.” She broke out in the giggles. “‘Texas Justice.’ That was awesome.”

  Bastien made his way to my side, clicking his tongue at his horse to come over to us. “Oh, man!” I said, holding my damp shirt to my nose. “You stink like you bathed in farts, Bastien!”

  He rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb over at Rousseau, who was with Remy helping Reyn out from under the bridge. “That’s him. He lets it fly when he’s nervous. Being so near the bridge while the army was crossing over was no joke.”

  “Well, then let’s get going. Hopefully the ride will blow some of that stink off you. Ho! It’s like rotten eggs!”

  “You’re saying you don’t want a piece of this anymore?” He lifted the tail of his flannel shirt to present his perfect posterior to me, giving it a graceful shimmy to lure my eye and draw out my giggles.

  I swatted at his butt. “You overestimate your good looks. Nothing can overpower that stench. Let’s go.”

  His hands went around my waist to hoist me up, but my feet remained planted on the grass. He pretended to lift me as if I was a small car, making dramatic “oof” noises with his face pulled into the most comical strain. “Too heavy! Can’t lift you!”

  He pretty much deserved my elbow in his solar plexus, which was exactly what he got, letting out a real “oof” and doubling over. “Am I the first woman you’ve ever met?”

  Lot, Damond and Henri all backed up, their gasps flying and their hands up to make it clear they hadn’t been the ones to lay a hand on the Untouchable. Bastien waved off their concern that he would have me hanged because I gave him a taste of what he deserved. He rubbed his stomach and leaned his hand on the brown horse. “You’re hardly my first,” he jabbed, a suggestive smile teasing his lips. “Up you get.” This time he was smarter and lifted me easily onto the horse.

  “Are you two about ready?” Lot asked, trotting by us with a resigned look.

  “Just about.” Bastien cast up a dimpled smile, though I could tell he was just as uncomfortable as I was in our damp clothing.

  Henri shook his head at me. “This is exactly the kind of behavior I was talking about. Crass and uncivilized. It’s a good thing you’ve got your birthright, Rosalie. No one would be so foolish as to follow you otherwise.”

  Lane rose to my defense, but Bastien’s slow motion turn held more of a threat. He moseyed up to Henri like a cowboy, staring him down with nostrils flared. “It’s a good thing you married well, because no one would believe you were a man otherwise,” Bastien growled. “Get on your horse and ride back to your castle, palace boy.”

  “Always big words from an Untouchable. You’re responsible for no one. I have a whole province to think about. A fool on the throne is almost as dangerous as the wicked queen we have now.”

  I swallowed down the hard truth Henri doused me with. He’d nailed it right on the head. I was a fool. I couldn’t read. No one would elect a president who couldn’t read the Constitution.

  Bastien let out a cruel snigger, his finger raising in Henri’s face. “I’ve always known who you were behind the gallant waving to your people. I see you. Talk down to Lane or Rosie again, and we won’t need words. I’ll just…” Before he could finish his sentence, he popped Henri across the face with his solid fist. “That’s for calling the Lost Princess of Avalon a fool.” Then he turned to Lane. “Did he lay a hand on you?”

  Lane’s mouth was open wide in shock, but mine was still functional. “He slapped Lane across the face and insulted her.”

  Bastien gave me a nod of solidarity, knowing I’d needed to punish Henri for hurting what was mine, and that Lane stopped me. He didn’t hesitate to finish the job, and socked Henri again in the same spot. It wasn’t full-force, but it would leave a shiner for sure. “That one’s for the Lost Duchess of Province 9.” I postured that he’d landed the blows I hadn’t been permitted to throw. Bastien wasn’t finished, and tugged Henri forward, bringing his knee up into his groin. “That’s for going against the Council. Rosie and Lane are in the circle, and I won’t have you talking down to them. Go home and enjoy lording your power over people who still fawn over that sort of thing. We’ve got actual work to do.” He let Henri collapse in gasps and curses into the dirt. Bastien’s hand settled on Lane’s back, causing her to posture. “I hear about you smacking around a woman again, and I’ll take my turn using you as my punching bag. Represent your province better, Henri, or I’ll have something to say about it.”

  40

  The Wilderness Beasts We Are

  Henri held Bastien’s gaze a few beats before spitting a mouthful of blood into the grass. When he’d gathered his bearings after Damond righted him, he summoned his daughter with too much bravado in his voice. “Gwen! Get on your horse. Leave the beasts to the wilderness.”

  My hand found its way into Bastien’s when he moved from Lane’s side to my horse. Maybe his fingers si
fted through mine to calm himself down, maybe to calm me down – I wasn’t sure. Either way, Bastien met my guarded expression as I looked down at him from my place on the horse. He squeezed my fingers and spoke quietly to me. “Henri is not Avalon, Rosie.” He took a chance and did something gallant, kissing my knuckles like a true Prince Charming. Something feminine and tender welled up in me at the sight I knew I’d be playing on repeat for a while. “I am Avalon, and I’ll follow your lead any day.”

  I mouthed my sincerest thanks before he mounted behind me, wrapping one arm around my waist and taking the reins with the other.

  The people and the horses were sorted out so we each had one (except me and Lane), and Henri and Gwen would ride back on one together. Gwen was confused when she joined our group with Reyn, Remy, Bayard and Rousseau, but her downward tilted head told me she knew better than to question her father. Damond hugged his sister, whispering something in her ear that made her stiffen as she nodded.

  I could tell Gwen wanted to say something in parting to me, but she kept her mouth shut, nodding discreetly to the smile and wave I conjured up for her. They rode off, and the tension began to simmer down among the ranks.

  So soon our little group lost two of its members, for better or worse. I didn’t know much about Avalon, and even less about carrying out the mission we’d tasked ourselves with, but I knew we couldn’t do it fighting the whole way. Duke Henri hated me, and if he was any indication of how the rest of Avalon might receive me, I didn’t have high hopes for sticking around after the wrongs in the land were put right.

  I kept my eyes on my shoes after Lot saddled up on Marquis with too much hesitance. Lot met Bastien’s eyes, saying more than I wished he would in that span of silent warning.

  “Let’s go,” Bastien said, his voice hard as his arm tightened around my stomach. It wasn’t possessive, but there was an air of belonging that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I couldn’t decide how I felt about that, since Bastien so clearly belonged to someone else. His chin looped over my shoulder, so our conversation could remain between us while the others climbed up on their horses. “You’re tensing against me. I need you to relax.”