Chapter Forty-One Riela
Chapter Forty-One
Riela
The restricted library was as beautiful as the library we’d just left, but the stone shelves were shoved together as closely
as possible, creating narrow, shadowy aisles, some of which seemed to radiate menace.
Or maybe my current mood was affecting my perception.
As we delved deeper, the murmur of voices reached us. Vastien and Bria were already here.
In the very center of the room, a small area had been cleared for a rectangular table surrounded by six wooden chairs. A narrow
settee and a low, comfortable-looking chair had also been crammed into the space, along with a tiny coffee table. Lamps with
magical silver globes provided additional illumination, making the area feel cozy if a bit cramped.
Bria and Vastien were sitting across from each other at one end of the table. Bria’s gown was a simple day dress in a deep
violet. The cut was demure, but the fabric clung softly, elevating it from boring to breathtaking.
Vastien had changed out of his leather armor. He now wore a silver tunic that matched his eyes, and his weapon belt was draped
across the back of his chair.
As was my dagger.
Bria looked up with a brilliant smile. It dimmed slightly as she took in Garrick’s forbidding expression, the flower I still
held, and me. “Welcome back, Lady Riela! Are you feeling better?”
There was nothing but genuine concern in the question, so I shoved my lingering hurt and seething jealousy into a tiny box, buried it deep, and tried to summon a true answering smile.
“I am, thank you. And thank you for helping me clean up after dinner yesterday. I should’ve thanked you then, but I was not at my best.”
She waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.” She gestured to the stack of books in front
of her. “I hope we can figure out how to keep it that way.”
“Me, too.”
Vastien rose and circled the table. He offered Garrick a jeweled silver pendant on a delicate chain, and as soon as he held
it out, I could feel the magic radiating from it. “I retrieved your mother’s translation charm from the vault.”
Garrick froze for a moment before accepting the pendant with quiet reverence. His fingers gently closed around it, but he
glared at Vastien. “You overstep.”
Vastien stiffened and frowned. “Lady Iridis would approve. Lady Riela needs a charm, and this would cement her place in the
court. Unless you’re not claiming her, in which case I would be happy to loan her one of my family’s charms.”
Garrick’s magic spiked and his jaw clenched so hard I could almost hear his teeth grinding. He carefully pocketed the pendant
Vastien had given him, then his magic pulsed and another necklace appeared in his hand. This one was less fine, with a leather
cord and a circular pendant of plain hammered silver.
I couldn’t feel any magic on it, and I wasn’t sure what that meant.
Garrick practically shoved me at Vastien. “Anchor her while I work.”
Vastien took my hand gently despite the fierce scowl on his face. “Garrick,” he warned, but the Silver King had already vanished.
I understood why Garrick hadn’t wanted me to have his mother’s pendant. I wouldn’t have wanted to hand over my mother’s book
of poetry, either. But rather than telling me that, or—saints forbid!—explaining, he’d shoved me off on Vastien like I was unwanted baggage.
He might not have meant to hurt me earlier with his thoughtless words, but this rejection felt far more intentional.
I swallowed the pain until my chest ached from more than magic use.
Bria sighed. “Dare I ask what you were thinking?”
Vastien growled something that sounded like a curse under his breath, then shook his head. “Believe it or not, I was trying
to help. Without a nudge, he’s never going to get out of his own way.”
Bria’s eyes sparkled. “So rather than nudging, you decided to bludgeon him? While she was holding what is obviously one of
Lord Mar’s flowers?”
“His head is hard enough he probably didn’t even notice,” Vastien muttered, then he peered down at me. “Please tell me you
didn’t accept that flower from someone other than Garrick.”
“Why is everyone so worried about a flower?”
“It’s dangerous—” Vastien started.
I shook my head sharply. “I’ve already gotten the dangerous speech from Garrick, right after I agreed to have tea with Lord
Mar later.”
Bria whistled under her breath. “No wonder he was in a mood.” She stared at the flower with something akin to envy on her
face. “You’re lucky. Lord Mar usually guards his flowers like harpies hoard treasure. This is only the second one I’ve seen
in the entire time he’s been here. His glasshouse is protected by so many charms I can’t even peek inside, and I’ve tried—many
times.”
I glanced down at the beautiful petals. “Do you think it’s dangerous?”
She considered it, then shook her head. “Not the way you mean. But it does mean he finds you interesting, and that is always
dangerous.”
“He agreed to answer my questions about magic in return for my company at tea.”
Bria’s lips pressed together into a worried line before she asked, “And you’re going?”
“Yes,” I said at the same time Vastien said, “No.”
I glared at him. “I’ve already had this argument, too. I need to learn about my magic, and Lord Mar is from the Sapphire Court.
I’m going.”
“Garrick will never allow it,” he disagreed gently.
“I will make my own decisions and fix my own problems.” My voice wobbled as all of my earlier hurt rushed back in. I took
a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Garrick needs to deal with his court. I will deal with Lord Mar.”
Vastien started to say something else, but Bria quickly asked, “Did Garrick at least bring you in through the secret entrance?”
I summoned a smile, though it took me a moment, and silently thanked her for the abrupt subject change. “He did, and it was
fantastic. Are there more secret rooms in the castle?”
“So many,” Bria said with a laugh. “The three of us used to spend rainy days looking for the best places to hide.” She gestured
at the library around us. “But this one wins, because it’s filled with the Silver Court’s secrets.”
“Really?” I asked, intrigued despite myself. “Like what?”
“Poisons and cures and curses so dangerous even a sovereign as powerful as Garrick would do well to tread lightly. Lifetimes
of secrets and strategies, all gathered in one place. I’m convinced the rest of the castle could fall to dust and this room
would remain standing thanks to the strength of the protection charms on it.”
Vastien led me around the table and helped me into a chair. I carefully laid the flower on the table, then ran a fingertip
over a velvety petal. In truth, I wished Garrick had been the one to give it to me. My lip trembled, and I blinked hard.
Later. I could break down later.
Vastien settled into the chair beside me, then hooked his foot around my ankle. He peered at me, likely seeing far more than
I would prefer. “Is this okay?”
I pressed my lips together to keep the instinctive negative from escaping. It wasn’t his leg—that was fine—but the whole situation. I nodded, then dropped my stare to the pile of books on the table.
Books I still couldn’t read because despite everything, Garrick hadn’t trusted me with something so valuable to him, even
temporarily. And he had once again stormed off without explaining—the very thing he’d promised to try not to do.
Was I such a problem that I was not even worth trying?
The titles wavered as tears filmed my eyes, and I gripped the edge of the table until my fingers ached. I would not cry. I. Would. Not.
My breath hitched on the edge of a sob, and thanks to the stupid door, I couldn’t even escape to embarrass myself in private.
“I’ll get tea,” Bria murmured, her voice distant. With a soft sigh of magic, she was gone.
Vastien pressed a handkerchief into my hand, then stood and scooped me up without breaking the connection between us. He moved
to the upholstered chair and sank down with me tucked against his chest.
I didn’t realize how hard I was shaking until he ran a hand down my back and pulled me closer. “Shh, you’re safe here. Just
let it out.” He paused for a moment, then carefully asked, “Did Garrick scare you? We felt his magic . . .”
I shook my head, then buried it against his neck so he couldn’t see me. Garrick’s words and actions had hurt, but I’d never
been afraid. I pressed the handkerchief to my eyes and let some of the frustration and sadness and uncertainty bleed away
one tear at a time.
Vastien hummed a few bars of a song before he started singing, his voice a bare whisper of sound. I didn’t understand the
words, but the gentle tone and lilting rhyme made me think it was a lullaby.
The tears escaped faster and I pressed the handkerchief more firmly against my eyes. My next breath shuddered with the force
of everything I was trying to hold in. And still Vastien sang.
The first sob slipped past my control. My face was hot and Vastien’s tunic was wet and everything was awful and it was all
my fault.
I don’t know how long I cried, but by the time the tears began to recede, I felt soggy and wrung out. When I could trust my voice again, I whispered, “Thank you.” Then I chuckled quietly. “But we have got to stop meeting in libraries like this.”
Vastien squeezed me. “I don’t know. Last time I got petted, and this time I have a pretty woman in my lap, so I think it’s
working out okay for me.”
That surprised a watery laugh out of me. “I’m glad one of us is having fun.”
I sniffled, trying to breathe past the congestion in my nose. The skin of my face felt like a damp, overtightened drum. I
was not the kind of person who cried prettily. By the time it came to tears for me, they were going to be great ugly sobs
that left me wrecked.
Today was no different.
“Why did he get so upset about the pendant?” I asked quietly. I understood why he was upset about the flower—I might not agree,