Chapter 43 #3
Vanya welcomed me into their conversation with a kiss on my cheek.
She giggled freely, something I’d never seen her do.
Princesses didn’t swoon. But a part of my heart broke for her.
If she hadn’t told Prescott the truths she’d told me yet, then the moment those came to the surface, she could drown under his rejection.
And while I didn’t blame her for wanting this badly enough to hide the truth, I didn’t like it, either.
Hiding the truth wouldn’t save her, in the end.
I stifled a laugh and smiled at the boys fawning over her. As Prescott told a story about a hunting trip he’d taken with a count, my attention drifted. I thought of Myth, of what awaited us tomorrow night, and my shoulders stiffened. Vanya didn’t notice, her face still fixed on Prescott.
At one point, when Prescott went for drinks, she leaned toward me and whispered, “Just look at all this. They say it’s a fundraising ball, and it’s like each person here is trying to reveal just how deep their pockets really are.
” She waved a hand at a pack of second-year girls from House Diamond.
“Look at all the diamonds they’re wearing. ”
Her words brought back something I’d written about in an essay months ago.
My research on that obscure queen, Queen Isobel, I’d been assigned had turned out to be quite fascinating.
Three hundred years ago, Isobel had reigned briefly, only to be mysteriously killed one night as she slept.
She’d been the mother of the queen who’d founded Cardan Lott, a queen with a long and illustrious resume of notable deeds.
The woman I’d studied, on the other hand, had done little, other than get murdered, according to the textbooks.
She had apparently been found, throat slit, with a note under her pillow that simply said pay attention.
Her killer had never been found, but she clearly had known she was in danger and had assumed the killer would be easy to spot if one merely looked.
My mind pictured the emerald we’d found at Rush’s townhouse. I spun until I looked at a pair of girls from House Emerald walking by.
Vanya chatted on about the finery on display, but my mind was racing. House Diamond. House Ruby. House Emerald. House Sapphire. My eyes darted to each of the stones fixed to earrings, tiaras, or necklaces around the room.
The stones. The doors in the courtyard. The houses. It was all staring me in the face.
In some rural regions of Cavaria, humans buried their dead with precious stones on the caskets to keep the evil spirits away.
I’d always thought it a wasteful superstition.
But many superstitions had roots in reality.
The founders of Cardan Lott knew the truth about magic, and they built this place as a mausoleum to that truth. A stone grave, bedecked with jewels.
Vanya drifted away with Prescott, but I stood in the center of the room, transfixed with this new idea.
A girl wearing a green dress and two emeralds at her ears strolled by.
The emerald in the book at Rush’s townhouse had altered the text of the book.
House Emerald was for the servant-hearted, the creative minds, the fiercely passionate.
Those stones had been used to recreate history, according to the intentions of the Archivists.
The day Myth had swallowed an emerald, we’d won the contest against Scarlett in training, but I couldn’t be sure our victory was from the stone.
Either way, we’d flown well that day, almost like Myth understood my need not just to win, but to show Scarlett what I was capable of.
Maybe emeralds had magic related to desires or intentions.
I whirled on the spot, looking over at a group of girls from House Diamond.
Kindness, generosity, loyalty. Diamonds almost all had magnetic personalities, and they were known for being socialites, the life of every room they entered.
What if the magic of a diamond was in its ability to move things or maybe it was related to light?
There was so much more to test now that I had theories.
Just then, Scarlett sashayed past, and the rubies in her headpiece caught my eye.
House Ruby was for ambition. For winners, Luther had said at the start of the year.
If I were the betting type, I would bet that Duke Covington used rubies to win his races.
Before I could figure out what sapphires might be used for, a man peeling swiftly through the crowd drew my eye. He was dressed like a footman, and he whispered something in Rush’s ear that made Rush set his drink down and walk out of the party.
My eyes trailed Rush until he vanished through the doors. I couldn’t see the duke anymore.
One glass of champagne had been more than enough for me, and I chastised myself for not realizing what it would do to me. The floor had started to wobble beneath my feet.
I glanced around for Shep, who was now standing across the room, chatting with his mother and father and Headmaster Vaughan. He noticed me looking for him, and he excused himself, making his way toward me.
When he approached, I clung to him, thankful for his steadier presence at my side.
“Whoa, there,” he said, smiling at me. “You all right?”
“I’ve never had champagne,” I admitted. I’d only ever had wine once, at the midwinter meal.
He chuckled. “Then you might want to sit down for a bit. Eat something. It’ll help.”
I nodded and let him lead me toward a table, where he also delivered to me a crystal plate filled with chocolate-covered strawberries and crisp toast topped with a delicate white cheese and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. There were candied nuts and thin slices of cured meats.
These weren’t even the meal, which was to be served later in the evening. I forced myself to eat slowly, to savor the flavors and textures, reminding myself this was all real and not a dream.
But on my second large strawberry, visions of my little sister’s face swam before me. She loved strawberries, but to us, they were a rare treat. We only ate a few from our garden, knowing they’d fetch a handsome price in the market. A basket of them could feed us for a week.
“What’s wrong?” Shep asked, brushing my arm with the back of his fingers.
I flinched a little at his touch, and he withdrew his hand. I wanted to tell him not to stop, that I desperately needed to feel like I was not alone, but I couldn't bring myself to admit that. Couldn’t let him know how much my heart ached.
“Excuse me,” I said to Shep, stepping away from the table. “I’ll be right back.”
I strode under the weeping greenery, out into the small atrium where a few guests made their way to and from the lavatories.
I slowed my steps, listening for Rush’s voice.
But I heard nothing. Then, as I turned toward the lavatory, I spotted him at the other end of the hall, charging back toward the party with heavy steps.
He wore a hardened expression that made him look almost frightening.
His cheeks were flushed, and his hands hung in fists at his sides.
When his eyes met mine, his fingers relaxed and his gaze softened.
I stood still as he closed the distance between us, his shined shoes filling the hall with the echo of my heartbeat.
“Ari,” he said, a roughness to the edges of his voice. His eyes were wetter than normal, glistening in the glow of the gaslamps.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
His eyes raked the hall behind me, then fell back to my face. “Nothing.”
“Liar.”
He huffed. “My father. When he arrived, he said if I lose tomorrow…” He paused, rubbed a hand down his face, and said, “He’ll pull me from Cardan Lott.” Without hesitation, Rush stepped forward, wrapped his arms around my back, and pressed my face into his fine white shirt.
His chest was warm, his heartbeat as fast as mine beneath his suit jacket.
He held me. And for a brief moment, I forgot about what lurked ahead of us tomorrow.
At least if Rush lost, the consequences weren’t as severe as they’d be if he won, but I didn’t like the idea of continuing at Cardan Lott without him.
At least, if I won, Fairfax would be pleased, and no dragon would have to die.
I just had to find a ruby for Myth to swallow and hope my theory about them was right.
“My father is suspicious. He doesn’t believe that I helped you steal Myth solely because I hate him. It’s a weak lie, and he knows it. So I had to give him a good performance tonight with Scarlett. To make him believe I don’t care about you.”
Then I realized how foolish we were being, out here in the open, where anyone might find us. I stood straight. “I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
“Wait. Stay.”
“No, I should…”
He stared down at me. “It’s an act; you know that, right?”
“I’m not sure, Rush. You said yourself you’re a good actor.”
His arms around me were like the tethers that held me to the dragon saddles. Without them, I might fly away.
His eyes dropped to my mouth as he tugged me against him. “Here’s the lesson. Ready? Don’t miss it this time.”
“I’m listening,” I said, daring someone to walk around the corner, to interrupt this. In this moment, I didn’t care. It was a gamble I was willing to take.
He tipped his head toward me and let his lips trace along the edge of my jaw.
“When a man does this, it means he doesn’t want other women.
” He tilted his head and kissed the side of my mouth, his thumb trailing along my neck until it slid into my hair.
“When a man does this”—he let his lips hang against mine, his breath mingling with my own—“it means a man is showing you what he wants.” He pulled my face to his, and for a moment I was lost. Like a powerful flood, this kiss would change the landscape of my life forever.
This wasn’t just a kiss. It was the reordering of my world.
His eyes flicked up at the sound of approaching footsteps.
Then he stepped around me, casually raking a hand through his hair as he strode down the hall once more.
I sucked in a breath as the sound of heels clattering met my ears moments before three girls rounded the corner behind me.
I half turned to see them, to watch Rush vanish around the corner, before heading into the lavatory.
Shep informed me that it was tradition for the third years to close the party down, and so he couldn’t leave until all the other students left. Upon seeing how tired I was by midnight, he kissed the top of my head and told me I didn’t have to wait with him.
Thankful, I nodded and stole from the ballroom, feet aching and head buzzing with the memory of Rush’s kiss. I staggered into the common room, ready to collapse in my bed.
The first thing I noticed was Rush, sitting wide-legged on the massive leather couch facing the fire, one arm draped on the armrest, the other stretched across the back, behind Scarlett, who leaned against him, her eyes closed.
Prescott was slouched on the smaller couch, feet propped up on the table, arms crossed at his chest. Their bowties were undone, missing.
Rush had removed his collar and unbuttoned the top of his shirt.
He glanced up at me as I entered, his eyes lingering.
A faint snore rose from Prescott, and I realized he was asleep.
Scarlett didn’t move, other than steady, even breaths.
I stopped and stared a moment at them, at her.
What would her parents do, if they knew she was sleeping in the presence of two boys, unaccompanied?
I blinked, attempting to hide how much pain was coursing through my body at the sight of them, and snaked around the tables, composing myself to walk by Rush without another glance. He might be acting, but this was pushing it.
As I strode past the couch, where Rush’s arm rested, my eyes flicked down to his rolled-up sleeve, the veins ridged along his skin.
Stop that, I chided myself. He had a woman draped against him.
A brush of skin against my arm halted my steps.
I looked back down. The back of Rush’s fingers had slipped off the armrest of the couch, and his knuckles traced up the edge of my wrist.
Lightning danced down my every nerve.
Our eyes met.
His hand didn’t move, and the flames inside me roared to life.
I was breathing through parted lips. I tensed to move, but his two longest fingers hooked through mine and suddenly my eyes were squeezed shut, my entire body balancing on the points where his firm grip held me.
When I opened my eyes again, Scarlett shifted against Rush and his fingers slipped down, away. Her tiara teetered from her head to the floor behind the couch.
I caught it.
The rubies glittered.
And an idea took shape. A last desperate hope. It didn’t take much force to pry one small ruby loose. “See you tomorrow, Rush.” I set the tiara back on the couch beside Scarlett and pocketed the small gem.