At first, I didn’t understand the turmoil the gold was causing in my father’s life. I didn’t understand magic has a way of seeping into the soul like a poison bent only on making its victim do as it says. And the longer my father left the objects in their golden state, the more the magic pulled at him, convincing him that he needed the gold.
I toss the chair fragment back into the pile at my feet.
“Then we have to get it back,” Aris says. “For your father.”
Pheus appears in the doorway. “You shouldn’t be up here.” He’s talking to me, but his gaze switches to Aris. He starts to gesture for the duke to leave, but he must’ve overheard part of our discussion and decided it was too late for that.
“I’m all right,” I say, pulling Pheus’s gaze back to me. It’s not exactly the truth. I’d rather be anywhere else in the palace right now. Even the swan fountain.
He displays no emotion. “So, it’s gone. I expected as much.”
“Who could have taken it?” I ask. “No one else knew it was here.” Pheus had carried the table up with the help of several servants who’d been paid off. But the servants had never known about the other objects.
“I don’t know,” Pheus replies. “I’ve alerted a few of my most trusted guards to discreetly search the city and check what ships were in port this morning.”
“Why can’t we just tell the people it was stolen?” Aris asks. “It would make it almost impossible for the thieves to sell it that way.”
“If we did that, we’d have to tell them why the gold is so important in the first place,” I say. Everyone knows all the palace gold was exchanged for silver ten years ago, when my father and Uncle Pheus learned that keeping gold around me was dangerous. We’d dealt in silver ever since. Announcing the gold had been stolen would eventually lead someone to question why that particular gold had been kept, why we needed it back now.
“Whoever has that gold,” Pheus adds, “holds the fate of the kingdom in their hands. We don’t want to start an uprising, and we can’t have the monarchy appearing weak.” He clasps his hands. “I doubt they’d ransom it, and even if they did . . .” He trails off before admitting we couldn’t afford it.
The kingdom has barely survived on the meager tithes people can manage after the Orfland Wars ravaged so much.
“What else can we do?” I say. Now that I know the gold is gone, I want to leave the room and its memories behind. But if I don’t get answers now, I’m afraid my uncle will shut me out of the discussion about what should be done for my father.
“I fear there’s not much else we can do,” Pheus says. “Your father is being moved to his bedchamber as we speak. I imagine he’ll continue to weaken as the gold moves farther away. Unless my guards find the gold before the thieves smuggle it away, I’m afraid the healer might be our only hope.”
My uncle sighs. “I’m sorry, Kora.” He turns to leave, no doubt to take up vigil next to my father’s bed as he’s been doing for years.
The glow coming from the table seems to increase along with my heart rate. I try to catch Aris’s eye, but he seems fixated on the table.
His tale about his own father echoes through my mind, how he’d tried to dig his father out but had been too late. I can’t let that happen to my father.
“Wait,” I call, stalling Pheus, and praying I don’t regret my words. “I might be able to find it.”
“What?” Pheus’s eyebrows shoot up. “How?”
Aris’s eyes jump to mine.
“I can . . . I can sense the gold,” I say quickly. I wring my hands. If nothing else, it prevents me from reaching out to the table.
This isn’t exactly how I hoped Aris would find out about one of my side effects. Actually, I had hoped he’d never find out. Especially when it came to the other one.
I’d never told Pheus about my ability to sense the gold for the same reason I never told anyone else. I didn’t need everyone watching my eyes, seeing if I was looking toward the tower, waiting for the day the gold would take over my thoughts. Things were bad enough after I killed that man, and though I was young, I’d learned to keep my mouth shut, even around my family.
“What do you mean?” Pheus asks cautiously.
“Ever since . . . it happened, I’ve been able to sense the other objects my father turned to gold. That’s how I knew to come here . . .” I trail off, staring at the floor.
“Why have you never mentioned this before?” Pheus looks around the room to make sure it is secure for such a conversation.
I’m afraid to look at either of them. “I . . . I don’t know.” I can’t admit I don’t want them to think I’ll lose my mind to the gold like my father has.
“How could you keep this from me, Kora?” Pheus demands.
“I’m sorry.”
Uncle Pheus looks like he’s about to snap at me, but instead he takes a deep breath. “No, this is good news. I just wish you’d told me sooner. By now, the thieves may have already departed on an outgoing ship or have a lead on us over land. Can you sense the gold now?”
“I can’t pinpoint its exact location,” I say. “It’s more like I know when I’m getting closer.” I close my eyes and try to steady my breathing. I’ve never looked outside the palace. But I can do this. I have to.
I reach out with my mind. I don’t know how long it takes—it feels like I stand there forever, eyes closed and fists clenched. But eventually, I sense a familiar aura, and I follow the light. After the table, the tapestry is easiest to find because of its size. I locate it with the other objects. They keep sliding up and down. I’ve never concentrated on the objects for so long. I wonder if they’re bouncing up and down because I can’t control my connection with them.
I shake my head to break the connection. I then stretch out my hand in the direction they’re traveling and open my eyes. “There.” I point to the far wall. Toward the ocean. “Somehow, they’re moving. They must be on a ship.”
“This certainly changes things,” Pheus says, rubbing his chin.
“I could take one of my father’s ships and go after it,” I say. My heart, already beating quickly from having to track the gold, skips several beats at the thought of sailing out of Lagonia’s harbor and straight for the gold.
“You’re much too valuable here,” Pheus replies. “If something were to happen to your father—”
“I’m the only one who can find the gold. How long do you think my father will survive without it?”
Pheus frowns, troubled by my question. “You haven’t been out of the palace since you were a child. You’re not ready to face the world outside. It wouldn’t be safe.”
“If you’d allow me, I could go with her,” Aris says.
I shoot him a look of surprise. I can’t believe everything he’s learned about me, about what’s going on, hasn’t scared him away. His generosity, his loyalty to the crown, makes my chest swell. I haven’t encountered kindness like this in years.
“Thank you, Duke Wystlinos,” Pheus says. “But I’m not sure I’m comfortable sending my niece away with a man I don’t know.”