Chapter 27
Isca
True to form, Catrin turned my preparation for the noble dinner into a grand production. She changed my gowns three times before settling on an emerald-green one with a plunging neckline and golden embroidery in the pattern of roses across the bust and waist.
“Do you trust me?” Catrin asked hesitantly.
“…Yes. Why?” Never, in the history of humanity, had that question presaged anything but disaster.
“You should wear your hair down tonight.”
My eyebrows shot up. Only teenagers and little girls wore their hair down in public in Caervorn. But I hadn’t exactly met any noblewomen since arriving in Darreth, so maybe she was pointing me in the right direction.
“Are you sure?” Tremors of nervous energy were pulsing off Catrin.
She hesitated, fingers twitching around a pin. “We could braid some of the front to keep it out of your face. They wouldn’t notice your lack of jewelry this way. How does that sound?”
“Okay…” Her argument about my lack of ornate jewelry made sense. Plus, she knew far more about this kingdom than I did—and she hadn’t steered me wrong so far.
Catrin gave me a bright smile as she tucked the last strand behind my ear. But as I followed her through the winding halls back to the formal dining room, her nerves followed the whole way.
She stopped just short of the carved double doors and turned. “They brought in extra staff. Tonight is more serious, but you’re ready for this. You’ve met Lord Gordot, so just imagine five more of him.”
The mental picture of six Lord Gordot’s would’ve been funny if I wasn’t so nervous. Was I ready for this? It was too late for second thoughts.
The moment the doors opened, I agreed with Catrin’s choice of the word “serious.” There were twice as many servants as during the dinner with Owain, all in the red and gold livery of Darreth.
The long table was weighed down with covered dishes and elaborate place settings.
Each gleamed under the candlelight cast by the freshly polished chandeliers overhead.
No corners had been cut for this production.
My heart thudded beneath emerald fabric. I forced myself forward.
Pre-dinner socializing was on the agenda. Nisien stood near the hearth, brilliant in black and gold, laughing with two couples. Nearby, Emrys leaned against a stone pillar like it was the only thing keeping him in place.
He was staring at me, ignoring the couple in front of him as they talked on.
His jaw was tight, his eyes too sharp, like I’d just done something unspeakably bold merely by walking into the room.
Heat climbed my neck at the way his gaze dragged over me, slow and assessing, before he jerked his attention away so fast I wondered if I’d imagined it.
But he was the only stone pillar in a sea of emotions.
The room held a mix of tension, excitement, and a carefully constructed facade of anxiety disguised as charm.
I’d have to square my shoulders and bear it.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t existed under a heavy cloud of foreign emotions every day of my adult life.
Except here, every person in the room could’ve crushed me under their shoe and faced no consequences for it.
And I could feel that all of them but Lord Gordot and one of the women were mages. Dangerous.
Nisien turned the moment I was fully in the room, his smile brighter than the flames crackling in the hearth.
“Lady Isca!” His voice carried easily across the chamber.
There was the slightest pause as he stared at me like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing—and not in the best sort of way.
“Everyone, allow me to present our esteemed envoy from Caervorn. She came highly recommended by the Chancellor of the Mage Assembly. So far, our experience with her talents has been quite illuminating.”
All eyes shifted to me.
I curtseyed as gracefully as I could, the weight of judgment pressing against my skin from five new pairs of eyes. “Pleased to be here in such distinguished company.”
Emrys’s eyes narrowed. He focused his attention completely on me, as though snakes might be hiding in the waves cascading over my collarbone. That focus swiftly vanished behind a mask of cold disapproval.
Panic twisted through me, but I tamped it down, smoothing my features. I couldn’t very well run back to my chambers now. Whatever mistake I’d made by leaving my hair down, I’d committed it publicly.
I turned my attention to the couples.
Lord Gordot was the first to step forward and introduce his wife, Lady Mona.
She matched him perfectly in softness and smiles.
The second couple, Lord Rydic and Lady Gwenna, were more imposing.
He had the build of a bear gone silver, while she was tall and striking, her black hair woven into an intricate coronet.
The final pair were clearly from merchant stock, though dressed to match nobility.
Lord Elid wore sharp sleeves and had shrewd eyes.
His wife, Lady Briallen, was rail-thin with an assessing look that never wavered from me for more than a second.
From them, I felt curious calculation, a bit of cautious approval, and, most notably, a significant amount of that expected judgment.
We exchanged pleasantries to start. I asked after their travels, their children, the roads from their holdings. In turn, they offered guarded complaints, like nobles the world over.
Lord Rydic snorted over a cup of wine. “The northern lords barely answer summons anymore. I hear mutterings of secession every time I travel through the pass.”
Lady Briallen added, “The court bets more on which prince will rise than whether peace will hold. There’s gold behind that gossip, Lady Isca.”
Lord Gordot’s voice was more hesitant. “Even in these halls, the soldiers whisper. Some say the kingdom is already split and only pretending otherwise.”
I nodded to each of their statements, saying little so I could take it all in.
Then it was my opportunity to play my hand.
“In my time here, I’ve only seen two brothers united by their care for the people of Darreth.
Despite their differences, they are of a mind in wanting to strengthen the kingdom. ”
The dinner call from a liveried servant saved me from having to elaborate on that statement.
Nisien took one seat at the head, Emrys beside him. Their chairs mirrored each other—equal height, equal place. A kingdom undecided.
With all the talk tonight, I was starting to worry that the Assembly was right, that Darreth needed only one ruler.
To my surprise, I was seated beside Emrys. Far too close beside him.
“Careful, Lady Isca,” he said, leaning in close enough that his breath ghosted my cheek, entirely inappropriate for the table—and entirely intentional, probably to unsettle me. “This might not be safe for either of us, exquisite, but… You’ll start rumors with that low-cut dress and…”
“And what?” I whispered, heart pounding far too quickly for a threat.
He didn’t answer right away, only leaned back—then let his gaze trail down the length of my hair, over the neckline of my dress, back to my mouth. The silence stretched, charged and unbearable, until the corner of his lips twitched upward. “That’s exactly the problem.”
I fought against a rising blush at the way his jaw flexed when he forced his gaze away, like the effort physically pained him. I didn’t like the note of mirth in his voice one bit. Frustratingly, he failed to clarify exactly what he meant about rumors.
Stubborn, bull-headed prince.
Across from me, Lord Rydic settled heavily beside Nisien, already reaching for a goblet. He was clearly the most important of the gathered lords, and, from what I’d gathered during conversation earlier, the one with the largest army.
Which meant his opinion of me mattered most.
Dinner began smoothly enough. Pleasant, inconsequential conversation picked up again.
The food was excellent, though I barely tasted it.
Emrys said little, head bowed, fork working lazily across his plate.
But I felt him beside me even if he was completely closed off—a storm blustered just beneath his surface.
I’d given him twice as many tinctures as I had Nisien and the injured soldier.
It seemed he’d taken one tonight, but I still worried how long his composure would hold with all the pressure in the room.
Once, as I reached for my goblet, Emrys’s finger brushed mine as he grabbed his fork. He recoiled from it with such speed that I worried he’d upset the table. But no, he was too agile for that. Fork and food flew into his mouth as he roughly swallowed his apparent distaste for my nearness.
Maybe spending time with Nisien had started to rub off on me because I couldn’t help but needle Emrys about it. “Careful, Your Highness. Wouldn’t want an accidental touch to start these rumors you seem so concerned over.” I smirked.
His expression cracked a bit at the edges. “If I ever touch you on purpose, you’ll know.”
“Threats now, Lord Prince?”
His eyes blazed with pure heat as they locked onto mine. “Never a threat, Lady Isca. A promise.” His hand trembled before he looked away again.
I wasn’t certain what to make of what he’d said, but a nervous flutter of anticipation quickened my pulse.
From that point on, every time I shifted in my seat, every time my hair brushed against the skin exposed by my dress, the air around him seemed to change.
I didn’t dare look, but I could feel his magic reaching out to mine in the space between us.
It was incredibly distracting, like having a blunt claw tap me on the shoulder while I was in the middle of conversation.
At some point, Lady Briallen turned to me. Her voice was all honeyed interest but sharp at the edges. “How many siblings do you have, Lady Isca?”
An innocent question. “Six. Three sisters and three brothers.”
Her eyebrows rose. “All born with the gift?”