begged as he dropped to the queen’s side, taking her small hands in his, kissing them tenderly. “She is my everything. My life. My true trésor.”
“As you wish.” Tamsin spit, her clear disgust for his choice rippling out of her. “I must see what I have to work with first, Your Highness.”
That night the callous parts of Cozette’s interior faded, and she became pure and beloved by all. The hardened parts of her slipped into the night the way the child did. She awoke a different woman. A woman Marcus didn’t know. A woman he couldn’t understand. The change in her made the choice regrettable on good days, deplorable on the bad.
Marcus grew old alone, and lonely people are rarely happy. Solitude, when forced, is a wild beast. It can make monsters of the gentlest men, and Marcus was never gentle. Now the slivers of camaraderie within him vanished, resigned to rule and conquer the world alone.
Upon hearing his plan of the ball the day before, Cozette had bowed her head and spoke, “I would do anything you ask of me, Your Grace. I promised to do so the day we married.”
Even though she had entered the dining hall looking the part of the girl he once knew, she couldn’t betray the woman she’d become. She acquiesced immediately.
He took a deep breath, remembering the girl her fell in love with once more. The girl who stood at the altar, letting him slide a ring on her slender finger. The girl who knelt low to the ground, as Marcus’s father placed the Royal Crown of Gemmes upon her head. The entire city of Éclat came to watch, but he only had eyes for her.
He remembered and it hurt him more than he expected. It hurt to look back at his life with the ability to identify the moment he lost everything he loved. Knowing the reason for the lifetime of regret made the truth inexplicably worse.
Cozette didn’t know that. She didn’t know the burden he carried. The burden of watching the woman you love transform into a creature that didn’t fit in the world built for her. She became too gentle, too kind, and too lovely. As if the hearts that had joined on their wedding day severed and the heart that he had fallen in love with died.
In losing that heart, he lost himself.
Drake walked into Marcus’s private study with a scroll in his hand. Dressed in a dark grey suit, the collar lined with glossy, black melanite jewels; he looked the part of the king’s most trusted advisor. A tall man with a sharp nose matching the king’s.
Drake shook his head and handed the parchment to the king speaking directly to him, “You need to read this. From our informant in the North.”
“What is it now? We’re already trying to solve the country’s trade problems, something more pressing than that?” the king muttered in annoyance, standing next to his oldest friend.
“Yes, but this needs to be dealt with, swiftly.” Drake pointed to the message, GEMS TRACKED: URGENT .
Marcus read it quickly, tightening his lips as he did. This informant’s note helped nothing.
“Send more men to shut this boy down. I thought we had dealt with rounding up these reckless trackers already? How do their numbers climb? They are thieves! I won’t have it!” Marcus shouted as he slammed his fist on the desk, spilling the tea on the table. “Treason! Treason calls for death!”
“But, Your Majesty, if I may add in a simple word here….” Drake paused.
“Most important, I don’t want any other country getting word. It would undermine my power.” Marcus held up the scroll as he declared his plan of action, and then crumbled it, throwing it across the room.
“Marcus, listen for a moment,” Drake pressed. No other man in the kingdom could get away with talking to him like this, but Marcus allowed it. Drake was his most loyal friend.
“Out with it, then,” Marcus declared. He was a bitter and angry man, but not a stupid one. Drake was his Head Advisor for a reason.
“What if this Gem Tracker is right? What if there
“As you wish.” Tamsin spit, her clear disgust for his choice rippling out of her. “I must see what I have to work with first, Your Highness.”
That night the callous parts of Cozette’s interior faded, and she became pure and beloved by all. The hardened parts of her slipped into the night the way the child did. She awoke a different woman. A woman Marcus didn’t know. A woman he couldn’t understand. The change in her made the choice regrettable on good days, deplorable on the bad.
Marcus grew old alone, and lonely people are rarely happy. Solitude, when forced, is a wild beast. It can make monsters of the gentlest men, and Marcus was never gentle. Now the slivers of camaraderie within him vanished, resigned to rule and conquer the world alone.
Upon hearing his plan of the ball the day before, Cozette had bowed her head and spoke, “I would do anything you ask of me, Your Grace. I promised to do so the day we married.”
Even though she had entered the dining hall looking the part of the girl he once knew, she couldn’t betray the woman she’d become. She acquiesced immediately.
He took a deep breath, remembering the girl her fell in love with once more. The girl who stood at the altar, letting him slide a ring on her slender finger. The girl who knelt low to the ground, as Marcus’s father placed the Royal Crown of Gemmes upon her head. The entire city of Éclat came to watch, but he only had eyes for her.
He remembered and it hurt him more than he expected. It hurt to look back at his life with the ability to identify the moment he lost everything he loved. Knowing the reason for the lifetime of regret made the truth inexplicably worse.
Cozette didn’t know that. She didn’t know the burden he carried. The burden of watching the woman you love transform into a creature that didn’t fit in the world built for her. She became too gentle, too kind, and too lovely. As if the hearts that had joined on their wedding day severed and the heart that he had fallen in love with died.
In losing that heart, he lost himself.
Drake walked into Marcus’s private study with a scroll in his hand. Dressed in a dark grey suit, the collar lined with glossy, black melanite jewels; he looked the part of the king’s most trusted advisor. A tall man with a sharp nose matching the king’s.
Drake shook his head and handed the parchment to the king speaking directly to him, “You need to read this. From our informant in the North.”
“What is it now? We’re already trying to solve the country’s trade problems, something more pressing than that?” the king muttered in annoyance, standing next to his oldest friend.
“Yes, but this needs to be dealt with, swiftly.” Drake pointed to the message, GEMS TRACKED: URGENT .
Marcus read it quickly, tightening his lips as he did. This informant’s note helped nothing.
“Send more men to shut this boy down. I thought we had dealt with rounding up these reckless trackers already? How do their numbers climb? They are thieves! I won’t have it!” Marcus shouted as he slammed his fist on the desk, spilling the tea on the table. “Treason! Treason calls for death!”
“But, Your Majesty, if I may add in a simple word here….” Drake paused.
“Most important, I don’t want any other country getting word. It would undermine my power.” Marcus held up the scroll as he declared his plan of action, and then crumbled it, throwing it across the room.
“Marcus, listen for a moment,” Drake pressed. No other man in the kingdom could get away with talking to him like this, but Marcus allowed it. Drake was his most loyal friend.
“Out with it, then,” Marcus declared. He was a bitter and angry man, but not a stupid one. Drake was his Head Advisor for a reason.
“What if this Gem Tracker is right? What if there
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