My first attempt had me dragging my ass to the top where I’d needed time to recover before I went back down. The second day, I learned to pace myself better. I was now on day five, and I could finish the climb without feeling like I needed an oxygen mask.
The hill wasn’t the only challenge I’d thrown myself into. I trained on the staff for two hours every morning with Faolin or Faris. After that, I practiced alone for an hour, and my hard work had paid off. Within a few days, I’d advanced to sparring, which I enjoyed a lot more than going through the moves alone.
Most days, Roswen and her guards were in the training room, and we made time to chat. I liked all of them, and it felt good to be making friends here outside of Lukas and his men. They even took turns sparring with me, although they had to go easy on me. As the personal guard to the princess, Parisa and the others were among the top fighters in Unseelie, and Roswen was almost as good as them.
Feminine laughter drew my attention from the lake to the group of four people walking beside the lake toward me. My good mood dulled when I saw Rashari and another blonde I now recognized as her friend Delphine. They were accompanied by a dark-haired male I’d seen them with before and Sereia, the rude tailor who had made my first wardrobe here. Why was I not surprised to see her in the company of Rashari and her friends?
I thought about cutting across the grass to avoid them, but Rashari had already seen me. There was no way I was letting her think for a second that she had scared me off. I turned back to the lake and waited for the group to reach me.
“She looks positively wild,” Rashari said, and I heard the sneer in her voice. “Does she even bathe?”
“Careful. She might be feral,” Delphine quipped, and it was followed by titters.
Sereia spoke. “She won’t wear the clothes I made for her.” She lowered her voice but not enough that I couldn’t hear her. “And I heard she trains with the guards every day.”
Rashari scoffed. “What do you expect from someone so low-born? I still cannot believe she was given those quarters on our level. It is an affront to us all.”
I smiled at the water as I listened to them talk about me. It was no secret they disliked me and my friendship with Lukas, so none of what they said bothered me. They were speaking in Fae, which meant they probably didn’t mean for me to overhear their conversation. Only the people I spoke to often knew I was now fluent in the language.
Rashari switched to English as they drew near. “Hello, Jesse. Out for your daily trek in the wild?”
I faced them with my smile fixed in place and replied in English. “It’s very refreshing. You should try it.”
She looked down her perfect nose at me. “I have better ways to occupy my time.”
I knew how they spent their time. Except for those in service to the crown, most of the blue bloods living at court focused their time and energy on gaining or keeping favor with the royal family. It involved a lot of socializing, parties, and scheming, and it sounded like a miserable way to live.
I nodded. “It must take a lot of work to be as beautiful as you are.”
She smiled vainly until the double meaning of my words sank in. Then her eyes took on a satisfied gleam, and I knew what was coming next.
“I confess I do like to take a little extra time to prepare when I’m invited to dine with Prince Vaerik at the king’s table.” She cocked her head slightly to one side. “Twice since he’s returned to court.”
The barb hurt, but not as much as she intended. Roswen had complained yesterday about having to attend her father’s boring “matchmaking” dinners for Vaerik. I hadn’t been able to hide my reaction fast enough, and she’d hurried to say that Vaerik hated them even more than she did. According to her, the only people who truly enjoyed the parties were the females invited by the king to sit beside Vaerik.
Delphine slanted a dark look at her friend that told me she was a lot more upset by Rashari’s comments than I was. It made me wonder if they were real friends or two competitors keeping their enemies close.
“I can see why Prince Vaerik keeps her around,” said the male in Fae as he leered at me. “She’s different, and I bet she’s a fun plaything when she is clean.”
“More like a half-breed pet,” Rashari retorted in their language, and they all tittered. “She can’t even dress herself properly.”
“You don’t like my clothes?” I asked in Fae, taking delight in their shocked expressions. “Roswen sent me her personal tailor to make me the same outfits she and her guards wear. I think I look nice.”
None of them spoke. Sereia looked a little horrified. The male shifted uncomfortably. Rashari and Delphine seemed to be trying to figure out how to respond without inadvertently insulting the princess.
“But then,” I went on cheerfully, “maybe these clothes are not to your taste. I think I heard somewhere that lake slime is the newest fashion.”
Delphine sucked in a breath. Rashari’s eyes narrowed into slits, and she balled her hands into fists. I tensed in anticipation of an attack that never came.
“Jesse.”
The five of us turned to look at Lukas striding toward us. One glance at his serious expression made me forget all about the others. He was supposed to be in meetings with his father all morning, and his presence here could only mean one thing.
I brushed past Rashari and ran to him. “Something happened to my family. Are they okay?”
He placed his hands on my shoulders. “They’re okay. Your father sent word that your mother had a small setback, and he asked me to bring you to them.”
A setback? Fear churned my stomach. It had to be bad for Dad to send for me, and I knew the thing we’d worried about had happened.
Mom’s memory had returned.
Chapter 13
Dad was waiting for me when Lukas and I stepped out of the portal into the large living room of Lukas’s island house. The exhaustion stamped on my father’s face had me running into his arms. He enfolded me in a tight embrace for a long moment like he would never let me go.
“God, I missed you,” he said hoarsely against my hair.
I hugged him tighter. “I missed you, too. How’s Mom?”
He let out a breath and released me. “She’s sleeping. I have her sedated with the pills her doctor sent home with her, and she’ll be out for a while.”
My heart sank. “That bad?”
“She’ll be better when she wakes up and sees you.”
Lukas set my bag on the floor. “Is there anything I can do to help? I can have a doctor flown here if she needs one.”
Dad gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you, Lukas, but I think all she needs is Jesse. Our doctors told us it’s normal to have emotional setbacks in the first six months outside the hospital, and it’s been harder on Caroline with us away from home.”
Lukas nodded and looked at me. “I’ll stay in case you need me.”
I glanced at my father. His lips were pressed together, and I knew there was more he wanted to tell me, but he couldn’t say it in front of Lukas.
“You should go back. The meeting with Seelie is only a week away, and they need you there to prepare for it.” I went to him and took his hand. “We have your guards here, and one of them will let you know if we need anything.”