Chapter 61 #2
“Audrey—don’t look, but Venissimir is flirting horrendously with poor Elsie!
” The information was dumped in my ear by a woman whose name, shield, and familial ties all skimmed through my mind like information on flipping pages even as I sighed and shook my head.
Giving her the expected response was easier, especially as the speaker hurried on past with a giggle, the group of women she was with looking at me in anticipation of my reaction.
The night before, Luca had made the ball pass by in a blur. I resented that, by comparison, every moment tonight seemed to drag. I didn’t dare lean on Kadan and his friends, circulating instead to as many pockets of the room as I could.
I was in the middle of the floor when I saw people glancing over toward one of the doors.
There was something about their mannerisms that made me recall the way they used to look toward my father.
Dread kicked me in the belly so hard I missed a step.
My partner fumbled, but I didn’t care. In the middle of a crowded dance floor, I felt myself lift from my own body and look down on myself.
If I was pretending to be a kraken, I was surrounded by very real sharks.
The real kraken was coming. I could feel his reach, the spread of his power returning, like the bite of winter wind or ink spreading across parchment.
Not tonight, though. Tonight, when I followed the gazes of the people around me, it wasn’t my father’s figure that drew my attention. In fact, the man couldn’t have been more different.
It was Chay standing and letting them all look at him as he assessed the lay of the land. Chay, Darrius on one side, face clean shaven and boots polished, in his plain black tabard and wearing weapons no others were permitted. They looked from he to me, then back.
I’d heard the whispers about us. Little did they know we’d been there, done that, and opted for a different path forward.
He’d saved me from having to choose whether I ought to name him, today. After last year, it was a mercy I was grateful for.
He’d wanted to be his own champion.
He’d been doomed to a life of championing me.
“You look so serious,” said the man whose hand sat too tightly on my hip and who kept trying to bring us closer.
“I can’t imagine why. Running a city during wartime, re-doing all the old trade agreements and hosting festivals to invigorate the economy is such a light-spirited endeavor, sir, don’t you think?
” I stepped out of his too-tight grasp, putting my hand on another man’s shoulder to forestall the objections, then moving on from him with a smile.
They still weren’t taking me seriously.
I saw, on the flanks of the room, Kadan’s men gathering. I knew if I got caught up one of them would appear and ask me to dance. I’d end up far away from whomever irritated me and, truly, in better company.
I didn’t like it.
“I think I need floppy boots,” I told Chay, making it to his side.
Chay didn’t blink. “Riding, or walking?”
And that was why we got along well. I sighed and took Darrius’ arm. “How have you recovered?” I asked Chay. If I had my father’s imminent arrival in the back of my thoughts, who could blame me?
“I’ve had more strenuous days in the last moon than today,” he said, with a shrug.
Darrius nudged him, his eyes full of mirth.
“You think it, lad, you don’t say it.” From where I lingered, just a little above myself, I watched as Darrius reached over and changed the angle of one of the flowers woven into my hair.
“Gorgeous work. Your tailors are fantastic, and your florists will be weeping with joy after tomorrow’s ball.
I’ve heard many plans to replicate this hair. ”
That had been my hope. I’d used dried flowers specifically so they could be replicated.
“I can’t wait to see how others do it,” I agreed, selecting a nonalcoholic drink offered to me by a servant.
They knew what I liked, and I was grateful they always had something that would help my head remain as clear as it could.
Chay excused himself to go linger with Kadan and I focused my attention on the older group of nobility Darrius moved around.
I could feel my energy waning faster than the moon was travelling across the sky and opted to leave relatively early.
I floated along the halls, briefly alone, having left both Chay and Thomas back in the ballroom with minimal apologies.
If anyone wanted to attack me, they could try.
The way I felt in that moment I wouldn’t have stopped unless they physically removed my heart.
He’d be back soon. One more day, and then it’d become any day now.
First, the melee.
My mind bounced around all the parts of tomorrow I needed to keep straight.
The winner’s buckles, which I’d present at the final feast. The deal I’d done with Saf Co for dried medicinal herbs that I needed to have copied for them before they left.
The bonnet Yasmine had left with me I needed to return to her.
The bonus pay for additional hours everyone was working—in place of the bribes and tips that were expected and now were illegal.
Inside the tower it was quiet, but not dark.
The single candle Isolde liked to leave on the table in the center of the room had burned down to halfway, and the plate of food I’d brought earlier was empty.
She wasn’t immediately visible as I glanced around, shutting the door behind me, but she was probably abed at this hour.
I paused, though, when I saw a familiar hat on the arm of the low couch that had been shoved out of the way at some point last night.
The stink of burning flesh had been replaced by the smell of the ocean and light, herbal scents from whatever tisane Isolde had prepared.
The remains of it lay on the table before the fire, another piece of evidence that she’d been up.
I touched the pot and found it holding onto the last little bit of warmth, but my eyes were on the battered, sweat-stained hat.
I knew a certain captain who’d worn a hat just like that.
Picking it up, I ran my fingers along the brim. A fine dust of salt came off. I took a breath and felt the flex of fabric over my flesh as I sank back into my own skin.
Elnyta was here.
Lifting the stiff fabric to my nose I breathed in the smell of them, salt and sweat and sea, and beneath it, the person who’d slipped their way into my heart so effortlessly.
They shouldn’t be here. The relief, the excitement that bubbled through me was fine and well, but they weren’t safe. I’d explain that and have them out of the city long before my father arrived. Meanwhile, I could enjoy some moments in their company.
But I paused before going upstairs, spotting Elnyta stretched out across another long, low couch, one arm over their face and their chest rising and falling slowly.
I approached quietly, circling around to enjoy the sight of them sprawled out, a cushion captured beneath one coiled arm and their hair a fine mist that had doubtless been freshly washed before they arrived.
The softness of their sleeping face and the peace of the scene was underscored by the big, bold tattoos they bore.
My fingers ached to whisper along the curve of their cheek, their velvet lips.
I wanted to curl up against their body and fit myself into the dips and curves of their form.
But the gnawing worry for my mentor wasn’t easy to put aside.
Upstairs, I padded quietly to Isolde’s room.
She was abed, curled up on her side. Her curls were hidden beneath her sleeping bonnet, and the knife she kept beside her was sheathed and neatly in its place.
She’d let Elnyta in, clearly, then gone to bed.
I wanted to linger there, looking at her. Watching her breathe. It was quiet, here, and peaceful.
I hated that I’d let Luca into that.
I’d known better.
Turning away lest I startle Isolde, I eased myself out of my elaborate dress, shedding flowers as I went. I closed the door to the common room, but Isolde knew Elnyta. If she’d let them in, surely, that was a sign it was okay for them to be here?
Though I was quiet, I heard their breathing change, then one leg, bare from the calf down, stretched out and Elnyta’s arm lifted from their face. They blinked big, sleepy eyes at me.
The joy in my heart took me off-guard.
They scrubbed their face with one hand, rolling off the couch and coming to me. “Let me.”
I did, though the words were half lost to their yawn and their fingers were slow and clumsy with sleep. The questions that surfaced in my mind I put aside. I’d done enough questioning for one day, and certainly enough responding. Elnyta was clearly tired.
Their hands eased the cloth down my arms, following its passage. The roughness of their palms was contrasted by the warmth of their touch. I shivered. The dress, no longer held up by the ties at my back, and weighted by the fabric that had been on my arms, slithered down over my hips.
Elnyta’s hands tightened around my wrists. Still, I glanced toward the door that led up to where Isolde was.
“She told me to keep it quiet,” they murmured. “And that you need tenderness today.”
The words made me feel suddenly raw. I let Elnyta take my weight and wrap their arms around me. “Princess,” they murmured, the words so sweet they made me tear up. “Let me look after you.”
The words were warm against my neck. Feeling exposed and vulnerable, but entirely cherished, I tilted my head further to the side to enjoy the sensation.
“Do you want to sleep?” they asked. The suggestion stroked over my skin, across the curve of my neck and disappeared down my back.
I hadn’t thought about sleep. I knew it was a requirement, but I’d withdrawn not from tiredness, but because I was going to start making errors. Was that tiredness? Was I so far gone I couldn’t feel it?