Cloak, Torn: Book 2 [ON HOLD]

Chapter 12

Rowena listened in silence as the Queen explained. Her eyes swelled with hope.

"He really is alive," Rowena whispered. "It makes sense. She was always trying to keep him close, even when he broke things off. And so little of those who fled into the woods came back..."

"Rowena, I don't know for sure. It's only a theory."

"But it's a relief, Miss, knowing that there's still a possibility," Rowena said, a small, brave, smile curling up the corners of her lips. "He might still be out there, even if Jayla has him under her thumb."

If he hasn't been killed by now. Or if Jayla didn't kill him on the spot.

But despite the thought, Anna kept her face from showing her worries. She'd gotten much better at that over the years. She'd had a lot of practice.

"You never told me the whole story, Rowena," Annalise said.

Rowena ducked her head and blushed.

"Oh, there's not much to tell."

"I'm only lying here, Rowena," Anna said with a rueful smile, patting the gold bedsheets, "and you know I'm always up for a good story."

Rowena eyed the spot, seeming to hold a debate inside her head. Then she smiled an inch.

"Well," the maid said, carefully sitting down on the bed, "Denver was Jayla's childhood sweetheart. He and King Adam, back when he was still a prince, dared her to go into an old cave in the woods with them once. They thought it was deserted, but when they got inside they woke up the cave troll inside. Prince Adam and Denver ran out, but when Denver realized Jayla was still inside, he ran back and saved her from the troll.

"From then on, she always had a bit of a crush on him. No one knew but I since I was her maid. She was uncomfortable around the other girls in court I think. She used to hide out in the library with Le Morte d'Arthur all the time. She was much nicer back then. The two of you might have gotten along well. When Denver finally found out, he took it well. They courted for a long time, and no one was surprised when they got engaged.

"But something about her had changed. He noticed, I noticed... One day when I was dusting he came in looking for her. I told her she was practicing with Mage Reida, but she wasn't in a very good mood. He sighed and muttered that she never seemed to be anymore, but he looked almost relieved that she wasn't there. I asked what was wrong and I guess he was pretty overwhelmed, because he forgot the status boundary between the two of us and everything came out.

"I listened, and I tried to reassure him. I just gave him what he needed. He seemed to feel better, and from then on, he just started to notice me more than Jayla. I felt guilty for it, but as he fell out of love with Jayla and into it with me, I fell in love with him. Eventually, he broke off his engagement with Jayla, which she hated him for. Then she found out it was because of me... She, ah, she didn't like me after that.

"Anyway, when she left to train with the High Mage we thought things could work out for us. But then she came back and we learned the King and Queen were dead. We all believed her lies. And then on the coronation night King Adam found out what she had done. Denver was a knight by that time and he went after her with the rest of them, but he never came back from the forest. And then Jayla came back with the wolves and cast her spells.

"She must have transformed him. Denver is still alive. He's got to be."

Anna nodded, wrapped in thought.

"Thank you, Rowena. Thank you for the distraction."

"Anytime, Miss."

Anna paused for a moment, staring at the gold canopy above her head, but the second she let down her defenses the worries flooded back in, attacking with unprecedented ferocity. She groaned, rubbed her forehead, and gave up.