At some point he had stopped defending himself. She was right: he was a villain who would stop at nothing to achieve his ends. And looking at her now, drenched, dirt-smeared, but unbowed, he realized had further to go yet.
If anyone could find a way to break a blood oath, she would. He must find some other way of holding her fast.
Or even better, find a way so that she would not wish to leave, even if she could.
But he could think of nothingyet.
That is enough for today, he said, pocketing his wand. Time for school.
It was a sunny morning. Uniformed pupils exited residential houses in a steady stream. Along the way, junior boys clustered around various holes-in-the-wallsock shops, the prince called thembuying coffee and freshly baked buns.
He took her to a bigger place, not exactly a proper restaurant but an establishment with two interconnected dining rooms, catering exclusively to senior boys. She ate a buttered bun and observedit never hurt to know who was popular, who had information to share, and whom to avoid.
But even as she assessed her new surroundings, she felt herself similarly appraised. This was not new. Ever since they first met, the prince had watched her intenselyafter all, he believed her to be the means to his impossible ends. But since their exit from the Crucible, his gaze had seemed more . . . personal.
What do you want now, Your Highness?
He raised a brow. I already have you. Should I want anything else?
She pushed away her empty plate. You have that scheming look in your eyes.
He turned the handle of his own coffee cup, from which hed yet to take a sip. That is terrible. I should only ever sport a condescending look. We never want to give the impression that I am capable ofor interested instrategizing.
Youre fudging your answers, prince. I want the truth.
The corners of his lips turned up barely perceptibly. I was thinking of how to best hold on to you, my dear Fairfax who would leave me at the first opportunity.
She narrowed her eyes. Since when is a blood oath not enough to keep a mage enslaved?
You are right, of course. I should not doubt my own success.
Then why do you doubt your own success?
He looked her in the eye. Only because you are infinitely precious to me, Fairfax, and the loss of you would be devastating.
He was speaking of her as a tool to be deployed against the Bane. She didnt know why she should feel both a surge of heat and a ripple of pain in her heart.
She rose. Im finished here.
The school was old, a collection of faded, crenellated redbrick buildings around a quadrangle, at the center of which stood a bronze statue of a man who must have once been someone important. The cobblestones of the courtyard had been worn smooth from centuries of shuffling feet. The window frames looked as if they
could use another coat of paintor perhaps some fresh lumber altogether.
I expected something more elegant, Iolanthe said. Shed attended grander, lovelier schools.
Eton has a tendency to make do. They used to stuff seventy pupils in a broom cupboard and conduct class with the door open in winter.
She could not understand. Why this school? Why a nonmage school at all? Why not just stick you in the monastery and give you incompetent tutors?
The Bane has his own seer. Or hadI have not received intelligence on the seer in years. But apparently he once saw me attend Eton in a vision.
The first principle in dealing with visions was that one never tampered with a future that had already been revealed.
Destiny, then?
Oh, I am destinys darling.
Something in his tone made her glance sharply at him. But before she could say anything, several boys came around and shook her hand.
Heard you were back, Fairfax.
All healed, Fairfax?
She grinned and answered the greetings, trying not to betray the fact that she had no idea who anyone was. The boys went on their way. The prince was listing their names for her to remember when she was jostled from behind.
What the
Two beefy boys chortled to each other. Look, its Fairfax, said one of them. His Highness has his bumboy back.
Iolanthes jaw dropped. His Highness, however, was not the least bit flustered. Is that any way to refer to my dearest friend, pretty as he is? Or perhaps you are just jealous, Trumper, since your own dearest friend is as hideous as a crushed turnip.
So Trumper was the thick-necked one and Hogg the one with a broad, pale, and somewhat squashed-looking face.
Who are you calling a crushed turnip, you limp-wristed, mollycoddled Prussian? bellowed Hogg.
You, you big, virile Englishman, of course, said the prince. He placed his arm around Iolanthes shoulders. Come, Fairfax, we are running late.
Who are they? she asked when they were out of hearing.
A pair of common bullies.
Are they alone in thinking that we share this particular relationship?
What do you care?
Of course I care. I have to live among these boys. The last thing I want is to be known as your . . . anything.
Nobody has to know, Fairfax, he whispered. It can be our little secret.