Chapter 48
“Thank you,” he says politely, seeming to startle at my abrupt appearance but quickly recovering. “I seem to have misplaced your name.”
“I haven’t told it to you yet.” I extend my hand. “Sophie Veillgar, professor of wielding.”
“Ah, a pleasure.” He brings my knuckles to his lips with practiced ease. “Is there something I can help you with, Professor Veillgar? I don’t see you offering glasses to many here.” He’s polite, but in a trained sort of way. I can see through it to his skepticism.
“I have heard that Clan Star has a reputation of having the highest standards for readers in all Oricalis.”
“Indeed.”
“To that end, I have someone I want to introduce you to.”
“A professor of wielding wants to share a reader with me?” He raises his brows.
“Part of being a good professor is knowing where your students’ strengths lie.
” I slide a bit closer, leaning in. Kaelis is in my periphery now, and his eyes continually dart my way.
I work to ignore him. I whisper as if I’m sharing an important secret, “She’s being overlooked by every clan here despite being an obvious catch. ”
“If she’s so obvious, why is she overlooked?” His caution persists.
I sigh and intentionally soften my gaze, staring out over the crowd. “No one is giving her the proper chance. But I thought that, perhaps, you might give her an opportunity to impress you, considering her talents and your expertise in them as a member of Clan Star.”
He considers this.
“Compared to the rest of her class, she’s a diamond among coal, I assure you.
” I lay it on thick. “All I ask is that you give her one opportunity to read for you. See how her interpretations and intuition are unmatched. If you’re unimpressed, then you’ve only lost some of your time.
But if you are impressed, you have the potential to secure a triumph for your clan. Luck is on your side, my lord.”
He takes a long sip of his wine, staring at nothing as he stews on this. I know I’ve hooked him. A commoner who married into nobility. He has a lot to prove to his clan, even still. “What’s her name?”
“Luren.”
“Luren…” He repeats the name, and I brace myself, expecting what’s to come. “She’s the one who had a card reverse last year, isn’t she?”
“She did. But as her professor of wielding, I feel more than qualified to assure you she’s made strides past that folly.
I’m confident she poses no risk of it happening again.
” Even if Luren’s strength is in reading, no clan wants an Arcanist who can do only one thing.
Arcanists are rare enough that they need to be at least competent in all areas.
“She’s also the one who failed to get any coins on All Coins Day.” A frown briefly crosses his lips, and his gaze softens. “The one who received pity from the traitor.”
The word “traitor” lacks venom. He says it out of obligation. The hatred is forced. If nothing else, he sounds…wounded. As if I had betrayed him personally.
Perhaps there is still fondness there for me after all this time.
My heart twists, and I take a breath, putting an end to the ache. I cannot hesitate. Liam and I are long over. I do not want him even if I could have him—that’s been well decided.
But, to scheme and use him like this? Can I really do this to him?
I continue, not a trace of doubt in my voice. “You get my point. None of the other clans are putting any value in her. Yet she is one of the best here. Ability forgives all other stains on reputation. Skill forgives all sins.”
“Why are you advocating for her so fiercely?”
I open my mouth and shut it. I knew he’d ask some variant of this question.
It was an easy enough assumption. But every practiced script fails me as my eyes search the crowd and find her, off in the corner with Sorza.
Trying her best to present confidence while being utterly ignored by everyone here.
The only one looking her way on occasion is Dristin, but he’s surrounded by other nobles of Clan Chariot like an impenetrable wall—one that keeps him in as much as it keeps her out.
It’s somewhere she can’t break into even if she tried, and… she’d tried.
“Perhaps it’s because I know how it feels to be on the outside,” I whisper.
“To be looking in, wanting to be a part of something. To idolize something that isn’t nearly as wonderful as what you think…
But even if it’s not wonderful, it’d still be somewhere to belong.
People who looked after and loved you. A home.
” I’m no longer talking about her, but my younger self.
Staring longingly at the academy. Shunning Oricalis and the systems that threatened and restrained me, and yet, desperately, a part of me wanting to join because no matter how much I loathed it all, it would mean that I had somewhere to belong.
Finding the Starcrossed Club and finding that home at long last…
Liam studies me, his expression unreadable. But finally, he nods. I wonder if he was thinking of his own humble upbringing. Of the nobles his family once served that he’s now counted among.
“Very well. I’ll see if she’s as talented as you say. If she is, then you’re right, I secure an overlooked talent for my clan. If not then I only wasted a little bit of my time.”
“Follow me, then,” I say, my tone conveying that he’s not going to regret this decision.
I guide him and motion for Luren as we cross the room.
I escort him out and to the office we just left.
Luren does an exceptional job of acting surprised by this turn of events as they position themselves on opposite sides of the desk.
I hover by the door, giving Luren a nod as she collects her deck.
“You’re willing to let me read for you, then?” Luren’s tone is like her demeanor, poised and professional.
“Yes. Surprise me with the spread.” He gestures to the desk.
Luren shuffles her deck with practiced ease.
It really is astounding to watch her settle into her element.
Any trace of doubt or hesitation vanishes completely.
“We’ll start with something simple.” She draws the first card and lays it on the table between them.
“Your present: Ace of Wands.” A tiny smirk.
“You’re standing at the threshold of a new opportunity—a new venture. ”
“One you’re hoping is you,” he says with a chuckle.
“I suppose we’ll find out.” She draws the next card. The Two of Swords. “Interesting. Even though you’re at the beginning, you find yourself already at a crossroads; there are two choices before you, and you know one is right, yet…you don’t want to take that path. You’re hesitating.”
A pause. Her fingers settle on the Two of Swords, and her brow furrows. Without another word, she draws a third card, the Two of Cups, but rather than placing it in the next spot—what would be the future state and solution—she lays it as a bridge between the first and second cards.
“You’re in this predicament because…you met someone. You fell in love. I see a woman of noble birth.”
“My wife is no secret,” Liam says.
Luren ignores him and places a fourth card—the Ten of Coins—diagonal from the third. This is no trained spread, but an instinctual reading on Luren’s part. I had no idea she would do something so advanced.
“Her family and yours blessed the union, and it resulted in comfort for you, so it was hard to deny. They pushed for it. Perhaps even despite some hesitations you might have had.”
I can see Liam shift. Telling Luren an overview of his history before I left was clearly the right decision.
Then, a fifth card—Six of Cups. “You still love her. The one you left.”
My breathing shallows.
He says nothing.
She draws a sixth card—Four of Coins. “You’ll carry on, hoarding and collecting resources.
” Her fingers trail from the corner of the Four of Coins back to the Ten of Coins.
With only a second’s hesitation, she draws a final card, one not customary for this reading—it’s the Three of Swords.
Her eyes fill with sorrow as she takes it all in.
“You do it for them. Because you must. But a part of your heart will always yearn for those bygone days you left behind when you took this path.”
Liam’s jaw tenses slightly, and he grips the arms of the chair. For a second, I think she’s gone too far. I gave her too much, and she drew too many conclusions. And…And is it true? Does a part of you still yearn for what we lost?
“Your professor didn’t lie, you are exceptional,” he says finally, voice so quiet I can barely hear him.
Luren smiles, and, for a moment, the flush on her cheeks from Liam’s awe is real. She’s always been susceptible to praise because she seems to get such precious little of it.
“Let me introduce you to some of my clan members.” Liam stands and offers his elbow. Luren collects her deck and nods, eagerly accepting. The two lock in immediate conversation, and I don’t miss how Liam quickly changes the topic from the reading.
As we reenter the room, they’re deep in discussion of reading theory.
I allow them to stride off together toward the two other members of Clan Star whom Liam came with.
Liam’s hand rests on the small of Luren’s back as he introduces her to them.
And, just as I suspected, the moment he shows significant interest, eyes begin to drift their way.
As Clan Star huddles around her, lowering their voices, heads turn at what suddenly has them so excited.
The rest of the gathering goes off without a hitch.
Days pass, and I see more of the noble students taking a fresh interest in Luren. But from what she tells me and Sorza after classes, she’s focused on preserving her connection with Liam—even going so far as to write him and the clan letters.
One day, after class, I’m stopped by Vaduin. His expression has my heart pacing instantly.
“What?” I ask.
“I could ask you the same.” His voice drops. “You’ve been summoned by the headmaster.”
It’s been a few days since I last saw Kaelis. Not since the party, now that I think about it. We’ve both been busy preparing for All Coins Day.
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” I shrug, even though I very much doubt that to be the case.
“Let me know if it’s not.”
I nod. While I’ve little interest in running to Vaduin and spilling the details of what happens between Kaelis and myself, I have increasingly come to trust the Worldkeepers, thanks to the help they’ve been with Gregor’s mission, their acceptance of Sorza, and the tender care they’ve given Arina.
The idea of passing along anything concerning is no longer as grating as it once was.
The entire time I’m on my way to Kaelis’s apartments—using the proper route across the bridge, not the one inside it—I’m wondering what could possibly have him summoning me formally.
Knowing Kaelis, it’s probably that he wants to have dinner and is just asking for the pleasure of my company in the most ridiculous way possible, given that I’ve been too busy preparing students for All Coins Day, writing recommendations for students to clan lords and ladies, working with Luren and Sorza, and trying to figure out inking the vessel to make time to see him.
I’m fighting a laugh as I open the door, carrying on through the entry to his main apartment.
I imagine him waiting for me with his little self-satisfied smile and a content cat on his lap.
But the smile quickly falls from my face when I see him leaning against the far couch, elbows draped over the back, expression severe, and five golden cards laid out on the table before him.
One of the five cards is my forgery of Death. The forgery I’d yet to find a moment to replace among everything else I’m trying to manage.
He locks eyes with me, expression cold and unwavering. “There has been a deception.”