Chapter 32 The Thing About Leaning #2
“No, obviously not. It was supposed to give Anterrin and Khol enough time to alert me as to what was happening, so I could deal with the situation in a manner I saw fit.”
“Shouldn’t I be dealing with any issues that come through the quicksilver?”
“Yes, Saeris, you should. But since you keep disappearing off with your mate and not telling me where you’re going, I have to be ready to take matters into my own hands, don’t I?
” There was no malice to his words. No ire.
He flashed me a beatific smile and started walking toward the door to his chambers.
“I found this when I went to inspect the tomb for structural damage first thing this evening.” He reached the side table by the entrance to his chambers and used a black silk scarf to pick up the weapon sitting on the polished wood.
It was one of the blades Belikon’s men had been carrying the other day.
I had barely been able to affect them. They possessed unnatural properties—it had made my temples pound to even try to read the metals with my power.
Everything about the weapons had felt wrong.
Even now, this one pulled at the light and leached the air from the room.
“I do not like this dagger. Touching it nearly put me in the ground for good. It made me . . .” He pondered the ceiling, frowning. “It made me want to peel out of my skin and throw myself into a burning lake of fire. It’s evil, and I do not want it in my chambers any longer.”
He thrust it out at me, gesturing for me to take it.
I hadn’t felt the way he’d described when I’d fought Belikon’s guards, but then again, I hadn’t touched any of their daggers with my bare hands.
It probably wasn’t wise to do so now, either, just in case.
Maybe it was like a god sword. Maybe only its owner was supposed to touch it like that.
I accepted the dagger from Tal, using the silk scarf to protect my hand the same way he had.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I don’t know what it is. Orious called it a null blade.”
“Never heard the term,” Tal said. “It doesn’t really matter what it is, I suppose, just so long as it isn’t here anymore. You need to throw it into a very deep pit or something.”
“And where might I find one of those?”
“Beyond the western ridge. Ride for thirty minutes in that direction and you’ll find plenty of holes in the ground.”
There was a knock at the door. Tal opened it, and a bone-thin female with razor-sharp cheekbones and eyes as black as coal stood on the other side of it.
She wasn’t Fae. Wasn’t a high blood, either.
There were strange, frilled gills at her elongated neck; however, it looked as though they had been sewn shut.
Her straight black hair hung like a sheet of silk to her shoulders, hiding her mutilated gills for the most part.
She bowed her head, surprise flashing over her face when she registered my presence.
She was halfway to the ground when I reached out and caught her by the elbow.
“Please don’t do that,” I told her. “Not right now.” I’d well and truly had enough of all the kneeling for one day.
The female’s eyes widened, but she didn’t protest. “My apologies, Your Highness. Lord, I’m sorry to disturb you.
I came to tell you that I had as yet been unsuccessful in tracking down the venerable queen for her fitting, but it appears that the fates smile upon me tonight.
I’ve found her here with you.” The female placed her hand on her chest and bowed slightly, and the light caught on her metallic, talon-like fingernails.
Her fingers were twice as long as mine and half as thin.
There was something unnervingly spiderlike about them.
“My fitting?” I asked.
“Yes. For the ball tomorrow night. Come in, Yanica. You can take her measurements while she’s here. She’s bound to slip away otherwise. You should measure him up, too.” He gestured to Carrion.
I smiled distractedly at the female as she floated into the room. Once she was inside and had begun unraveling a black roll full of sewing implements, I turned on Tal. “I’m sorry, what ball?”
“The Evenlight Ball, of course. Don’t you celebrate that in Zilvaren?”
I was about to say no, of course we don’t, but I wasn’t able to. “We do, actually. But it’s a festival, not a ball,” I admitted.
“Madra stands on a dais and addresses the whole city for an hour,” Carrion added. “Ranting and raving about the dangers of magic and how mythical Fae monsters are trying to infiltrate the city to corrupt us and steal our children.” He grinned, waggling his fingers.
I rolled my eyes at him. “After that, she gives everyone a double ration of water and a bowl of greasy stew, and then there’s music. It’s the only day of the year when people don’t have to work.”
“Sounds delightful,” Tal said dryly. “It’s a little more fun here. Food. Wine. Dancing. Sex. Historically, there have been no grand speeches. You could change that if you’re feeling homesick, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You’re already pretty unpopular.”
“I can’t attend a ball right now, Tal. I don’t have time.”
“You’re mistaken. You don’t have a choice.
The Evenlight Ball is nonnegotiable. The ruler of the Blood Court presides over the evening and must officially open the celebrations.
The party cannot begin without their official say-so.
If you don’t attend, you will be openly shirking your position as queen here and letting everyone know exactly what you think of Sanasroth and the Blood Court.
It wouldn’t be a good look. And even if all of that wasn’t the case, it is even more vital that you attend this year’s festivities, since the Evenlight Ball is now doubling as a selection evening. ”
“Selection evening?”
“Yes. We’ve held only one before. Until fairly recently, there was another Lord of Midnight, Xarris.
He was killed by his own brother after some pointless disagreement.
A selection was held, and that’s when Malcolm named Algat as a Lord and Keeper of Records.
We must have another selection, so that candidates who wish to present themselves to become the new Lord of Midnight might be considered. ”
“I’m not overseeing that. I can’t be in charge of making that decision.”
“Well, then, your mate should have considered that before he killed Ereth. Not that I’m complaining, of course.
Ereth was a repugnant zealot with really bad breath.
But now there are only four Lords of Midnight, and there have to be five, which means that, yes, you have to hear people’s petitions, and you have to select a new one.
My advice? Do it quickly. The high bloods will get antsy if they have to wait too long to indulge their appetites. ”
My mouth fell open. “Tal!”
“And then there’s also that small matter we discussed at the Fool’s Paradise not too long ago,” he said, leaning in close.
“The ball is the perfect opportunity to take care of that as well. I would consider it a personal favor to me if you could see your way to sticking around long enough so that can be taken care of, too. And I did save your life, so . . .”
I was fucked.
Royally so, it would seem.
I gave up. “All right. A ball.” I threw my hands up, exasperated. “I’m going to a ball. Great.”
“If you could just lift your arms again for me, Your Highness?” Yanica, with her silky hair and metallic fingernails, made me jump. She hadn’t made a sound as she’d crept up behind me. Her scent hadn’t given her away, either. She didn’t smell of anything at all.
“I’m sorry, Yanica. I don’t have time for a fitting right now. There are other matters I need to attend to. I’m sure you’re an excellent dressmaker, though. Can’t you just eyeball it?”
The female stepped back, nearly dropping the measuring tape she was holding.
“Eyeball? I’m sorry, Your Highness. Far be it from me to correct the illustrious queen, but I am not a dressmaker.
I am the royal master tailor. I have served this court faithfully for the past two hundred years.
It is my privilege and right to dress the Blood Court’s nobility.
The gown you wear tomorrow evening is a showcase of my talents.
It must fit you like a glove. I’m sorry, I—I cannot just guess your measurements.
An ill-fitting garment will bring shame to my household and my name. ”
Tal said nothing. Carrion slid his hands into his pockets, giving me a shrug. “Sorry, sunshine. I don’t think you can really argue with that.”
Grudgingly, I let the woman take my measurements.
The null blade thrummed in the scabbard on my thigh as I climbed.
By the time I reached the library, my leg was numb from my hip to my knee, and I wanted to cry.
My runes ached, pain shuttling up and down my arm in waves.
I wanted to be rid of the weapon just as badly as Tal had, but without knowing exactly what it was or what it was capable of, hurling it off a cliff felt like a missed opportunity.
Orious had said that all Belikon’s guards were equipped with these things, and after what had transpired in the tomb, it was pretty obvious we were going to have to face them again.
There would be more guards. More null blades.
This was an opportunity, and, as uncomfortable as carrying the blade was, I didn’t really have a choice. It needed to be studied.
Carrion had stayed back at Tal’s chambers to be measured. He’d said something about going to fetch his sword, too, but had promised to catch up with me as soon as he was done. On the stairs, the sound of my footsteps was my only company.
When I arrived at last, the library rang with a deafening silence. Fisher’s scent hung thick in the air, telling me exactly which direction he had gone when he’d come up here earlier. But before I headed into the stacks, I needed to take precautions.
“Algat?” My cry bounced around the vaulted space.
Nothing.