A Captive of Wing and Feather A Retelling of Swan Lake - Melanie Cellier Page 0,84

stepped back, I leaped forward, launching myself at Leander. Brock blocked me with an arm, knocking me to the ground.

“Now, now.” Leander frowned at me. “None of that, please. You can’t really think you’ll be able to hurt me with my good friend around, do you?”

I put all my hatred into my glare, but he merely chuckled. When he gestured, Brock stepped back and took up a post next to the now closed door, but I could feel his eyes boring into me.

Slowly, I rose to my feet, taking stock of my surroundings. I stood inside a smaller version of the guest suite we had stumbled into on the top level—this one a single room. The canopy on the bed looked faded and worn, and the air of the room suggested no one had been here for a while. The curtains confirmed the impression—hanging askew from multiple places where the material had slipped free from the large bronze curtain rings.

“I chose it for the view,” Leander said idly, as if we had been discussing the room.

I fought with myself for a moment but couldn’t resist stepping over to pull the curtains aside, revealing a full-length window. It opened onto a small stone balcony which blocked the view somewhat, but to one side, a sliver of the lake could be seen as a dim patch of darkness, and on the other side I could still see most of the Keep’s courtyard.

In ordinary circumstances, I would have enjoyed the sight of the celebrations spread below me—the lanterns globes of light, and the greenery and flowers softening the tables and chairs and lending everything a magical feel. Dancers swirled in an unfamiliar local dance, oblivious to my abduction.

“What do you want, Leander?” I snapped, pretending I didn’t already know.

“What I have always wanted,” he replied. “To prove that we make our own destiny. To prove that I was meant for more than the minor title I was born into.” He shook his head. “My father was disgusted with my research and experiments, you know. But then he was also content to be an insignificant lord in a forgotten stretch of the kingdom—wasting what resources we had on undeserving rabble. I am a patient man, and I planted the seeds for this moment many years ago, knowing that eventually my efforts would be rewarded. And how right I have been. Soon I will have the throne, and when I hold all of Talinos in my hands, he will see how wrong he was.”

“Isn’t he dead?” I asked, cutting off his diatribe. “I mean, he must be if you inherited the Keep and the title.”

“Of course he’s dead,” Leander snapped, looking thrown off for the first time. “I had to make sure of that when he would have thrown away everything I was working toward.”

A chill ran through me.

“When your family got themselves cursed, the fool thought we should go rushing off and confront whatever evil had taken hold in Palinar. He would have gotten himself killed soon enough, if I hadn’t done the task for him. My seeds needed time to grow—and sure enough they blossomed soon after, providing just the solution that was needed. It’s taken me five years to effectively propagate caution throughout the whole kingdom, but you could say I was doing everyone a favor. No one will be heedlessly rushing to throw themselves into harm’s way now.”

The sickening smile that accompanied his words made it clear that protecting the people had nothing to do with his real motivations.

“Brock over there doesn’t look meek and mild to me,” I muttered. “I suppose you don’t care if he comes into harm’s way.”

Leander laughed, and if I’d hoped to discomfort Brock, those hopes were thoroughly dashed. He gave no sign he had even heard me.

“I assure you, Brock can look after himself,” Leander said. “As can all of my mercenaries. And if they can’t, well, they have some furry friends to help them.”

His smile showed all his teeth, and I had to suppress a shiver. But he was giving me information, whether he had intended to or not, and I needed to use it to my advantage. As I strained to think of a way to subtly ask him how he had enchanted the entire kingdom, he frowned.

“But really, there is no need for all this talk,” he said, and my heart sank. Apparently Leander had come to the same realization. “I have gone to a great deal of trouble to orchestrate this