Chapter 21
ARIEL
I stared at my reflection in the window and the darkness beyond as time ticked away.
I’d cried in the bath until the water ran cold and one of Vesstan’s maids came to drag me out. She’d insisted upon dressing me, and I’d eventually relented just to get her out of the room. Five minutes and a few muttered curses later, she’d closed the door on her way out, leaving me to peer at the night sky in a white dress that seemed to sparkle like the stars themselves.
“Where are they?” I whispered to the world beyond the glass, as though it might answer.
Instead, there was a knock at the door. The surly maid had returned. “It’s time, Miss.”
I exhaled hard, then turned to face her with a shy smile on my face. I had a role to play and a job to do, and I would do both until news of my friends reached me. They’re alive, I repeated over and over in my mind as I crossed the vast room, nearly tripping on the edge of the ornate rug beneath the bed. The maid watched me like a hawk until I crossed the threshold into the hallway beyond.
Kaplyn’s manor had been the most majestic home I’d ever seen before that night, and it paled in comparison. The ceiling of the hall extended even higher than the bedroom, crowned with a dome of glass that allowed the moonlight to shine down on us as we made our way through the gilded corridor. So many glossy black doors lined the way that I eventually stopped counting them.
How many lived in this mansion?
At the end of the hall was an archway far taller than the other doorways I’d passed, leading to a room glowing gold with the warmth of firelight. The maid stepped aside and gestured for me to continue on. With a nervous swallow, I nodded and walked into a room fully enclosed in glass from the floor up. In the center was a table long enough to seat a village, and at the far end of it sat Vesstan. The moonlight shining down upon him made his pale skin appear even paler. His white hair was pulled back tightly, and it gleamed in stark contrast to the coal-black coat he wore, buttoned up high along his neck.
“Ariel,” he said as he pushed his chair back to stand. “Join me.” He extended his hand to the chair on his right, and I made my way toward it. “You look stunning, as I knew you would.”
As I neared, he pulled the chair out for me. The delicately carved wooden back was difficult to adjust my wings around as I sat, but I did my best to manage as elegantly as possible. Once I was settled, he resumed his position at the head of the table.
“Thank you. It’s a beautiful dress.”
“Not as beautiful as the woman wearing it.” His heavy gaze fell on the plunging bustline, then drifted back to my face. “I trust your room is to your liking?”
“I couldn’t imagine anything better.” I pulled the napkin from the place setting before me and situated it on my lap, smoothing the fabric more times than necessary.
“And yet something still bothers you.”
I snapped my attention to the man next to me. His expression was neutral, but there was a note of irritation once again lacing his words; one that promised to escalate if I did not play my part more convincingly.
“I’m just a little out of sorts after everything that’s happened,” I said with a dismissive wave.
Like being drugged and brought here against my will…
“There are some…unsavory effects of the magic I used on you. An unfortunate consequence, but a necessary one, I assure you.”
“To keep this wondrous place hidden?” I asked as I reached for the cut-crystal glass at my setting.
“Precisely, though I have other measures in place to aid in that effort.”
“I can see why. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“And you never will. It is a marvel all its own. Nothing can rival it.”
Servants entered with silver platters piled high with intricate dishes, as though the table would soon be filled with dozens of others joining us at our meal. But as they set all the trays and plates down at our end of the table, I realized it was all for us.
“I took the liberty of telling the cooks to make all my favorites in the hope that one might also be yours. I’m sure you must be starving after your travels.”
“I am.”
“You never mentioned the reason for your voyage that led you to my little island when we met,” he said calmly as he watched a male servant scoop some type of cooked bird onto his plate.
“Did I not? I can’t remember. It’s all a little hazy.”
“Perhaps it will be clearer once you eat something.” He gestured to the taller male closer to me, and he began placing small amounts of everything onto my plate.
I used that opportunity to change the subject. “I love all the glass ceilings here. They make everything feel so open and free—” I gasped in surprise as something hot fell into my lap. The male serving me looked at me with terror in his eyes. “No, no, it’s fine. I’m fine. It just startled me.” His fearful eyes turned to Vesstan, who looked on with a steely glare.
His palm pressed flat to the table, and ice began to web across the dark wood. “Don’t you have something to say to our guest?” His even tone belied the obvious rage swelling within him, and it seemed it wasn’t just the servant who was now afraid.
“Honestly, I’m all right. It was just an?—”
“ Apologize !” he yelled as his calm fa?ade shattered in the blink of an eye. The way his booming voice shook the glass surrounding us, I feared it might too.
“I’m so sorry, Miss,” the young male said, bowing his head as he backed away. “Forgive my clumsiness, please?—”
“You do not deserve her forgiveness. Leave us. I will deal with you later.”
“Vesstan, I’m sure it was just an accident?—”
“ Leave !” His roaring voice made me jump in my seat and sent the poor servant skittering from the room. I watched as he disappeared into the hallway through the only exit; knowing how to escape suddenly felt more pertinent than ever.
I stared at my plate, feeling vulnerable without my leathers and my staff. Then I heard Hemming’s voice in my mind. A lion dressed as a lamb… That was exactly what I was, and Vesstan had no idea. Not who I was, or what I was capable of. And the longer I kept it that way, the better, especially while I awaited my friends’ return.
I kept my eyes averted while I waited for him to speak, unmoving. Seconds passed before I heard him inhale deeply, then slowly let it out. “Is the food not to your liking?” he asked, that same note of thinly veiled irritation in his voice. I lifted my gaze to find him staring.
“It looks delicious.”
“Then why aren’t you eating?”
“I...I thought it polite to wait until you were finished admonishing your servant,” I said, hating everything about those words as I said them.
Again, his features relaxed into a pleased expression. “What a delightful surprise you are, Ariel.”
“That’s me,” I said with a smile.
“I feel as though you must have interesting stories to tell.”
I took a sip of soup as I nodded. “Many.”
“Should you start with what brought you to my island?”
I could tell by the way that question was framed that it wasn’t really a question at all. I swallowed hard, then carefully patted my lips with my napkin. Vesstan’s gaze lingered on my mouth while I weighed how much truth to incorporate into my tale. The Oracle might have been something I shouldn’t have known about, and mentioning it right away might be tantamount to sticking my head in a noose. But what other plausible motivation could I have? Vesstan seemed far too shrewd to believe a blatant lie fabricated in haste, and a false pretense would leave me vulnerable to his inevitable follow-up questions. My only hope was to play the Oracle card and see how it fell.
As I laid my napkin back in my lap, I took stock of where the largest knives on the table were. “I must warn you before I start,” I said, turning in my chair to better face him, “this tale will sound farfetched.”
He leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table to rest his chin on his folded hands. “Now I’m even more intrigued.”
I took a deep, dramatic breath before starting. “My homeland has been cursed, and my people are dying. I decided I had to find a way to help.”
“Fascinating,” he said, leaning back in his chair, “but I must admit, sweet Ariel, I still fail to see how this landed you on my shores. Not that I’m ungrateful for your presence.”
I shied away from his heavy stare to maintain the ruse. “I’m reluctant to tell you this part because…well…I’m afraid I’ll look foolish once I do.”
“Foolish? How could you possibly?”
“Because it sounds ridiculous, like I’m a child chasing a character from stories of old—or a song.” I looked up at him through my lashes. “I don’t want you to laugh at me. I don’t think I could survive that.”
His hand reached out to pluck mine off my lap. “I would never. Now, tell me.”
I relaxed my shoulders and took a deep breath for effect, while keeping my blade-wielding hand well out of his grasp. “The Oracle,” I said with a heavy exhale. “I know, I know—to risk my life for such a legend is madness, but I was told that it exists and that, from it, I could learn the way to break the curse.” I placed my right hand on the table as I braced for his reaction. My body language said ‘please don’t laugh at me,’ but my mind was saying ‘try something and that carving knife will be carving you next.’
“How did you hear of this?” he asked in a neutral tone, but it couldn’t eclipse the hint of suspicion creasing his brow.
“An old crone—one of the only elders to survive the plague that devastated our lands. She is blind and failing in many ways, but when she heard some of us discussing the curse, she told us of the stories she had heard.” I hesitated for a moment, then pulled my left hand from his. “You really think I’m a fool now, don’t you?” I stood abruptly and stepped away from the table, maintaining the act with every passing breath. “I wish I hadn’t told you...” I gathered my billowing skirts with my left hand and turned toward the door, keeping Vesstan clear in my periphery.
“Ariel,” he said in a commanding voice before softening it a touch. “I do not think you’re a fool.”
I counted to five before turning slowly to face him, dropping my skirts back to the floor. “You don’t?”
“No, but I will be personally offended if you walk away from our dinner.” He unfurled his strong body from his throne at the head of the table and reached his hand toward me. “And I do so hate to be offended.” The tinkle of warning bells echoed through my mind.
It wasn’t the mention of the Oracle that would set him off.
But rejection certainly would.
With that in mind, I made my way back to my seat. Once my wings and dress were situated, he bent over and plucked my dropped napkin from the floor. He reached it over to me, and when I went to take it, he caught my hand in his.
“The Oracle is as real as you and me,” he said, leaning his face so close that I could smell the sweet wine on his breath, “but there is a price to pay to see it.” His eyes drifted to my lips once again as he licked his own. “And I must trust you.” My heart rammed against my chest for all the wrong reasons as he pressed closer still. “Can I trust you, Ariel?”
Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run.
As my silence began to stretch out, the sound of heavy footfalls cut through the tension in the room like a blade. I pulled away in time to see Thallen enter the glass room. I could practically feel Vesstan seething at the interruption.
“What is it?” he snapped.
“You asked me to report once the tracker returned,” he said with a stiff bow. “He has.”
I gripped the armrests of my chair tightly, heart in my throat.
“Well, did he find anything?” Vesstan asked. “I’d like to put this matter to rest.”
“He did.”
I itched to run over and strangle the answer out of his rigid servant.
“ And ?”
“They are waiting in the young lady’s room until you decide what to do with them.”
“They’re alive ?” Vesstan asked, genuine surprise raising his tone an octave.
“They are.”
I forced myself to stand as slowly as possible, then turn to Vesstan. “I would like to see them.” I placed my hand on his forearm and gave a gentle squeeze. “I would not have made it here without them—would not have found you . Please let me repay their sacrifice with the same hospitality that you have shown me.”
The combination of submission and permission was evidently the perfect meal to feed Vesstan’s ego. “Fine, then. Bring them in,” he called to Thallen, though his eyes remained solely on me. “Let me meet the men who brought me my newest treasure.”
I smiled my approval, then turned my attention back to the entrance. Thallen disappeared into the hall, and shallow breaths fluttered through my body as I tried to suppress my relief and excitement. No matter how desperate I was to run to Hemming and throw myself into his arms, that would have to wait. I was playing a dangerous game with a dangerous man.
One slip on my part could have deadly consequences for us all.
The sound of boots on wooden floors announced their approach long before they reached the dining room, and I clenched the back of the chair in my hands to steady myself for our reunion. As their footfalls grew louder, Vesstan slipped behind me and looped his arm around my chest. “Consider them a gift, sweet Ariel, in honor of the trust bond between us. One I can take away at any moment should you break it.”
Unadulterated fear coursed through me as he leaned down and kissed my cheek just as Thallen led Shayfer, Eldrien, and Hemming into the room.