8. Laude
Chapter 8
Laude
I should have been getting ready to go to sleep, but instead I was sneaking through the hidden passageways in a ballgown with my finger aflame to light the windowless path. Because that’s what you do when you’ve got a secret mission with the Dotados. They’d given me more than a couple hours to fix my hair. Instead, we’d waited an extra day so I could spend the evening chatting with Beatriz, and Cosme could spend some time with Princess Monserrat—the girl to whom he was supposed to be promising his affection and life.
My boots scuffed the old stones as I snuck to Cosme’s room. He had left a note on my desk after supper:
Tonight, we might have better luck finding out which prince you saw. Dress for a ball and meet me at sunset.
Cosme
He didn’t specify how I should get to his room, but I didn’t want to risk Beatriz spying on me and asking questions, especially since my silky teal garb was suspicious. She’d already tried to sweeten my tongue into spilling what had happened two days ago. My mouth had a bad habit of saying exactly what was on my mind, but these secrets weren’t mine to tell. And truthfully, how could I disappoint her with the news of my leaving? She seemed so very alone.
The darkness closed in around me. I concentrated on stretching the orange flame. Needle-like pain stabbed my finger pad, and the fire grew a fraction, but the pain became too much. My hold slackened, and the flame retreated to its normal height. My gifting had never been extraordinary.
Scuff-scuff
I whirled around, but the inky blackness behind me gave no hint at the cause of the noise. Only a couple of turns left. I lifted my skirt, speeding the next stretch, and looked over my shoulder. More orange light shone against the stone walls and cast my silhouette in long shadows. Heart pounding, I held my finger high. Someone slammed into me.
My body bounced backward, and I shrieked.
A lamp clinked to the ground and went out.
The man in front of me hollered almost as loudly.
Recognition flickered into my mind as I noted dark cropped hair, brown owl-like eyes, and tan skin. Cosme.
“What are you doing in here?” Cosme didn’t hold back his accusation.
Then I noticed Senorita Minerva hidden behind Cosme with her hands clutched around a wooden box. Yesterday’s affection to his betrothed now demonstrated his excellent acting ability.
“I could ask you a very similar question, especially since you told me to meet you in your room.” I jabbed my fiery index finger at his chest, forgetting the flame.
“Are you mad?” he shouted and dodged my touch.
My flame went out. Blackness entombed us. “Why is she always with you? I don’t get it. Forgive me, but how am I supposed to trust her when she’s being used by one of Zichri’s brothers and won’t admit it?” I panted, my chest filling with air and huffing out frustration. The Ancient One knew I never would have said anything so abrupt if I’d had to look into Cosme’s eyes.
“Light your finger.” Cosme commanded.
My teeth bit down onto my lip.
The war in my head waged. Laude, why did you say everything on your mind? Now, you’re going to face the consequences, and they won’t be good, and you’re going to be kicked out of Cosme’s good graces and never see Jaime again.
“Laude, please light your finger.” This time, he sounded less annoyed.
I let the tingle of power twirl up my index finger and sparked a flame.
Cosme straightened his posture to the regal one King Ezer used when speaking to diplomats. “Minerva, please show Senorita Laude the contents of your box.”
She passed Cosme a furtive glance but undid the latch and cracked open the lid. My wavering flame reflected off golden jewelry with especially shiny edges etched with mountains.
Cosme bent over and picked up the lamp that he’d dropped.
“What are they?” I looked down my nose with suspicion, inspecting the material and the box for something hidden.
“They’re lesser relics,” Minerva whispered.
“And not all of them.” Cosme clapped the lid shut. “Minerva and I are tracking down the relics and hiding them. No one can know about this, Laude.”
I nodded my head as the realization that he trusted me caused a strange flip-flop thing in my heart. “You have my word, Senor Cosme. I solemnly swear to tell no one about the relics.”
“Good.” Cosme held up the lamp. “Why don’t you light the wick so I can meet you in my sitting room. Jaime, Fermín, and Lucas are already there.”
Fermín and Lucas? Those were his friends who behaved more like his shadows. Unlike Jaime’s friends, who couldn’t keep their opinions to themselves even if they tried.
Minerva bent her head low.
Cosme crossed in between us, touching each of our shoulders. “We still have a ceremonia de primera mirada to attend. When I get married, I’m not doing any of these first-look ceremonies and week-long parties. So much pomp and expense. Oh, and you’re going to need to cover your finger markings, Laude.”
Great. Now I had to double back to my quarters and get a pair of silky gloves.
Sure enough, Lucas, Cosme’s blond friend, had opened a portal into Himzo. Minerva had gone missing after our clandestine meeting in the secret passage and was to meet us in the grand hall at the Himzo palace. Like I’d said, suspicious.
The moment we got yanked into Himzo, Jaime shuffled us through the bustling night streets. Zichri planned to attend the ball, but Jaime explained, “The prince needs to remain unpredictable if he wants to survive.”
Hearing that certainly did nothing to calm my nerves, already buzzing at my mission of pointing out which prince had threatened Minerva and chased me. It irritated me that she could have told everyone what was happening but didn’t, and everyone just accepted it.
Walking under the tall arch into the Himzo palace brought waves of emotions: fear, awe, delight. Guards in black and gold uniforms contrasted with the cream stonework in the long atrium. Couples and groups of party guests shuffled along like sheep being steered into a pen. Jaime glanced at me several times. His forest-green doublet brought out the color in his eyes. My insides turned into stew—warm, soft, and completely stirred by such a handsome fellow gazing at me like I was the most beautiful lady in all the Agata Sea region.
Or maybe not. Could grime have gotten on me from my spill in the hidden passages? “Is there something on my face?” I swiped my cheeks.
“No, no.” He chuckled and sighed. “You look stunning tonight.”
A blush crept up my neck, and I couldn’t hide my smile. “You do too. Well, I mean, you are very dashing in your doublet and with your hair combed back. Errr. Sorry, I’m a bit nervous about seeing you-know-who’s brothers.”
He patted my gloved hand and winked in my direction. “We’ll greet them at some point in the evening. Did you know that Milo hasn’t seen his bride all week? They each have a danza that they’ll perform, but they don’t get to participate in partner dances until after the ceremony tomorrow night.”
“Do we get to dance tonight?” I watched the corners of his mouth shoot upward.
“If you’ll have me.”
I pinched my chin and pretended to think about it. “If you agree to teach me every step. I barely know the dances back home and I highly doubt I’m any good.”
He laughed. “I promise to be your teacher.”
The closer we got to entering the hall, the more I felt like a fish out of the sea. I craned my neck to see around a woman’s red-feathered headpiece. She wasn’t the only one who wore something like that either.
The wait took a million moons, and the headpieces only got taller and more flamboyant as more guests lined up behind us. Cosme and Minerva kept digging their way out of my subconscious without my permission. Minerva had relics, and I didn’t know much about them. Beatriz and I would need to do more history study sessions for certain. People spoke of the ancient things like legends of old rather than living and breathing forces the Ancient One had left for us to use.
Finally, clutching Jaime’s firm arm, I entered the doorway that led into the grand hall.
The ceilings shot higher than the ones in the atrium. Crystal chandeliers shone with enough lamplight to make night into day. Round tables lined each side of the glittering marble floor, while the space in the middle remained open for dancing.
Horns announced the couple in front of us.
“Senor Rodrigo Pacheco and Senora Margarina de Bort,” bellowed the announcer.
The musicians played a vibrant melody that had me bobbing my head and shifting my hips while we waited for the couple to march to their seats. Jaime whispered our names to the slender announcer. His cat-like eyes widened in shock, and he passed me a what-type-of-name-is-that look.
“Senor Jaime de Hermita and Senorita … Laude.” A strange note rang in the announcer’s voice when he said my name.
We stepped forward and music twirled through the space. So many eyes darted in our direction, I thought I might crumble like pound cake in a baby’s grasp. So, I pretended to be Princess Beatriz with my chin high and forced confidence in my pressed-back shoulders. Jaime kept me close to his side, wearing a proud grin. He led us to a table in the back corner where Gonzalo and Blas already nursed pewter mugs. The table was nearly pressed up against the wall by the back doors.
I could see why Jaime insisted on arriving at this later hour. How could all the earlier guests stand to hear the hundreds of names and roaring trumpets for hours? Servants poured tea and filled our breadbaskets while we waited.
Then, the double doors beside us opened. I saw the man we’d been waiting for, the one who’d threatened Minerva. He stood behind a half dozen guards in a gold doublet bedecked in jewels, wearing a crown atop his head. Then, another man with a smooth gait and wide shoulders stepped beside him. They could have been twins. How was I supposed to tell them apart? I had only seen the man in a shadowed corridor when I was in a state of panic.
Zichri stepped beside his two brothers in the same garish top. One of his brothers shifted away from Zichri and the other one stared daggers at him. Our friend waved at us which shifted his brothers’ attention toward our table. Gonzalo, Blas, and Jaime waved back, but the brothers’ focus drifted to my side of the table. If I didn’t know better, both brothers watched me. One cocked his head downward as if to greet me, and the other pressed his lips downward in a mischievous smirk.
Heat crawled up my neck and pricked goosebumps on my scalp. To keep the nerves at bay, I chewed on the inside of my cheek. The fretful man who had chased me saw my face again. What would he do?