Chapter 30
Thirty
Ella
“You know, I’m starting to get the impression that we might be completely unique.” I pushed back the book I was reading. “It seems those like us have existed as far back as the Unification Wars.”
Milly sighed heavily. “I’m so glad you’re getting frustrated too. All of this just talks about Clippys, when we’re even mentioned at all, which is not frequent. It’s all derogatory, and everyone has hated us for as long as there’s been records. I’m getting down just reading it all.”
“I’m not even sure what to search for anymore,” I admitted.
“We’ve established that as far as the records seem to say, so far Anna and I are the only ones to ever have our dragons awoken and our power status changed.
Certainly there’s no mention of a Grounded becoming alpha level like she seems to be, let alone mating with a tyrant. ”
“Maybe it’s because your names are so similar, she just dragged you along.”
I made a face, and we both laughed. The constant mix-up of our names was an ongoing joke among us. Milly often teased that, since she and Anna had picked me up as a “stray” later on, I should have changed my name.
“I didn’t pick my name. Blame Anna.”
“Because blaming the one who has no memory of her earlier life other than her name is the right thing to do.”
“I mean, how do we know she remembered that correctly? I think she had a different name until you met me, and the two of you conspired to act like it’s changed, just to make things weird.”
Milly giggled, but we were both silent. I had turned the topic to something serious.
“It could be a blessing, you know,” I said into the silence, rehashing the subject. “Not remembering your early life. Growing up as a Cli—Grounded is no fun.”
“No,” Milly said, looking away. “It’s not.”
We both wallowed in the silence of our own terrible memories of the life we’d been forced to live.
Someone cleared their throat behind us.
We turned—
And burst out into howls of laughter. Milly was shaking so violently I thought she was going to fall from her chair. Tears streamed down both our faces.
“Are you done yet, my ladies?” Kolar ground out from somewhere underneath the outfit.
“What in Hollow Earth is that?” I shrieked, another fit of laughs shaking me.
Kolar stood at the foot of the stairs to the raised seating area in the library. He was dressed from head to toe in a riot of colors, starting with his boots. Mostly black, they were bedecked with bright purple, red and pink feathers flowing back up over the ankle and extending behind the boot.
From there, his pants were also red, tucked into white socks with bands of yellow and green around them. The extremely baggy legs to his outfit were covered in loops and bows of fabric, each one a different shade of orange and yellow.
The shirt was a blue-white color resembling ice, with lines of glittering silver gemstones sewn throughout in a craze of patterns that may have been meant to symbolize a snowflake.
A jaunty hat completed the outfit, cut straight along the left and drooping low on the right, sporting matching feathers to the boots.
“Ladies, may I speak now?” Kolar growled, standing stiffly upright.
“Uh, sure?” I said, glancing at Milly, who could only shrug at the ridiculousness of it all.
Kolar nodded, reaching into one of the billowing sleeves of his outfit and pulling forth a rolled-up parchment that he now unfurled and read from.
“His Lord, the most honorable and brave warrior of the kingdom, Duke of the Eastern Marches, Protector of the Citadel, Hero of the Five-Year War, Warrior of the Ice, Prince and Heir of the Ice Kingdom, Lord Dirk Dvorak, first of his name, wishes to know if you, Lady Ella Forchen, would do him the incredible honor of attending dinner with him.”
He rolled up the parchment and stared at me.
I struggled to keep calm, only somewhat succeeding. “Dirk made you come ask me … in that?”
Milly was snorting, her hands clapped over her mouth, her face red. Kolar, meanwhile, had a “please kill me now” sign all but etched onto his face.
“It is my duty to serve my lord, the most honorable and brave—”
“Okay, okay,” I said, waving him off before he could recite the litany of Dirk’s titles a second time. “Very well. You may tell the Honorable Lord Dvorak that I would be happy to attend ‘dinner’ with him. If you will escort me there. Like this.”
I was hoping to make it a light and funny joke, but something about the way Kolar’s eyes narrowed set off warning bells.
“The Lord Dvorak will be most excited to hear the news, I am sure.” He smiled broadly. “As am I. I’m told your outfit awaits you in your room.”
“Oh?”
The smile turned teasingly wicked. “I’m also told it is … suitable for the occasion.”
“Is she going to look just as, uh, impeccable, as you?” Milly asked, her eyes wide with unconstrained glee.
“Oh, no,” Kolar said. “The Lady will look much more impressive.”
“I think I’ve just been set up,” I growled, looking from my best friend to Kolar and back.