Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Dante
“There will be no more trials, no more funerals. Find them and kill them all. Let their lower rings run red with their blood. Make them regret ever standing against the gods.”
— Patriarch of House Viper, Zander, in his Statement to the Guardian Forces
There wasn’t enough wine at this party.
I’d already drank three goblets since Ksenia had dragged me from my room to drop me in front of the king with a flourish.
He’d nodded once, clearly unimpressed, disdain in every inch of his expression.
I’d been free to roam the ballroom ever since, plucking glasses from trays and downing them in dark corners while musicians played music I’d never heard before and a new class of elite chattered excitedly amongst themselves.
It was so similar to one of Cosmo’s parties, it sickened me.
But at least now I knew these wretched affairs weren’t specific to Sanctuary.
In fact, the need to mindlessly gather was apparently ingrained somewhere in our shared species.
“That’s enough of that,” a familiar voice announced.
I groaned as Ksenia plucked the fourth goblet from my fingers, placing it back upon a passing tray and nodding meaningfully to the servant carrying it. I’d been cut off.
“You’re forcing me to be here and you aren’t even allowing me the benefit of descending into a drunken stupor?” I muttered, perturbed.
She raised a brow, frowning.
“I thought you’d agreed to talk to her,” she said. “Don’t you think a clear head might help?”
“I said I’d talk to her,” I agreed. “I didn’t say it would be tonight.”
“Dante.”
“Why does it matter so much to you? You’ve never showed much interest in my state before.”
“She holds the Darkness. We need her to remain focused. Whatever exists between you needs to be resolved.”
I frowned at her, remembering a time when my mother issued a very similar command. Instead of replying, I just watched a passing waiter with a tray full of wine pass by, nearly reaching for it. I would have if I didn't think Ksenia would swat my hand away.
"Does he look nervous to you?" the spy asked.
I turned my attention back to her to see she was watching someone across the room.
I followed her gaze to the mysterious general in the corner.
I knew absolutely nothing about the man other than the fact that he was always hovering around Adrian and he seemed to be a complete asshole. Not that I had any right to judge.
"He looks pissed," I muttered in response.
"He always looks pissed," she replied. "But something's different."
"You seem to know him better than me." I shrugged.
Her gaze snapped back to mine.
"Don't do anything foolish tonight, Dante," she warned.
Then she was gone, without even waiting to allow me time to defend myself.
Not that I had any defense to give. I watched her go before plucking a new goblet of wine from another passing waiter and taking a deep sip as I slid off of the wall and headed toward the opposite side of the room.
If I positioned myself near the door, maybe I could slip out at an opportune time later.
It had always worked at my grandfather's parties, at least.
"Viper," someone barked before I'd even made it halfway.
I closed my eyes and sighed. I knew who it was before he approached but I turned to greet the Captain anyway, not bothering to paste a smile on my face for his benefit. We both knew it would be false.
"The king wishes for me to remind you that you're to be seen and not heard this evening," he said. "I know how difficult it is for you to hold your tongue."
I ran an appraising eye over the pristine uniform he wore now, burgundy brocade and golden medals I'd never seen before. I lifted a brow in the bored expression I'd perfected back in Sanctuary.
"Consider it held," I informed him. "I would be very quiet back in my room, you know."
"Seen and not heard."
Then he turned and walked away, leaving me shaking my head in the middle of the ballroom. I took another sip of wine and turned.
Then I saw her. Entering in a gown of glittering gold, she lit up the room.
Men and women alike stopped to stare as she strode forward in a dress that seemed to be melted straight onto her body.
It hugged her curves, dipping low to expose a generous amount of cleavage, held together by a single tie that trailed down the length of her exposed back.
The Second Ringer, Zya, was at her side, braids gathered atop her head as she slunk forward in a burgundy gown accented with the same gold Adrian adorned.
A man was on her other side. I didn't know him.
I'd seen him before, trailing at her heels, shaggy dark hair brushing his shoulders as he shot her goofy grins.
But I couldn't remember his name. Zane, maybe?
The general stepped forward and Adrian gazed up into his eyes as he spoke, not smiling but not hating either. What I would give for such indifference.
A moment later, they separated with a neat bob of her head. Zya and Dane peeled away to follow the general back to his group of warriors in the corner while Adrian made her way to the dais where the king beamed at her, waiting.
I took another drink of wine and watched as she took the few steps up to the royal dining table, as Prince Leo smiled warmly in greeting and the king patted the seat between them.
I watched her fold her golden gown beneath her before she sat, watched her eye the wine offered and refuse, watched her frown as the king leaned a bit too close to speak with her.
She was terrible at this, always had been.
Adrian didn't have the temperament for politics.
Every thought and feeling was written plainly on her face.
Something about that had always made her feel so genuine, more real than the people I was used to spending my days with. Here, they would simply eat her alive.
I cast a glare in the general's direction. Shouldn't he step in? Shouldn't he be defending her from this?
"The boy who stares," someone spoke suddenly.
I jumped, caught off guard by the nearness of a stranger's presence, and turned to see an old woman with sharp eyes a strange shade of violet.
She stood directly behind me, blending into her surroundings in her simple brown dress, gray hair plaited down the side and wrapped around the crown of her head.
Her wrinkled lips stretched into a grin at my examination.
"You worry for her," she said then, cocking her head to the side. "Why?"
"I—excuse me?" I asked, still confused.
"The girl," she replied, nodding toward the dais where Adrian sat between the King and the Prince.
She was speaking now and both of them leaned forward to hear, rapt with attention.
"You tried to kill her. You betrayed her.
And yet you stand here watching her, worrying for her, drinking yourself to an early grave. Why?"
I glared at the woman now, lowering my glass and staring her down.
"Who do you think you are—"
"Ophelia," she answered proudly, extending a hand. "I am a Seer, Dante of House Viper, and I Saw your coming years ago. Did that fool king believe me then? Of course not. 'No one has defeated the Trials in a thousand years', he reminded me. Who's laughing now?"
At that moment, the king's booming laugh could be heard throughout the room. I turned to see the Prince chuckling along as well. Adrian looked uncomfortable between them. I turned back to the old woman and raised a brow. She snorted.
"A turn of phrase," she told me, waving her hand. "Would you like to hear what else I've Seen, Dante of House Viper?"
I frowned. I'd always been taught that seeing the future was impossible, a Blessing bestowed on very few priests Chosen by the gods themselves. But I'd since learned the gods themselves were a load of bullshit so who was the say the rest of it wasn't as well.
"You can tell me," I told her. "I won't promise to believe you."
She grinned back, the lights of the chandeliers shimmering in her violet eyes.
"I would expect no less of a Viper," she mused.
I bristled but she didn't wait for my argument.
When she spoke again, her voice seemed to change.
It was still hers but had taken on a dreamlike quality, a tone of things far away.
And her violet eyes turned away from me, boring a hole through the opposite wall as if she could see right through it to what lied beyond.
"I've Seen a path which Darkness walks alone.
It forks in the end and offers a choice.
To the left lies familiarity, a thing that's been as it ever was.
To the right lies something new, a risk.
One brings destruction of the light, the freedom of a god, the reunion of a people.
The other brings the separation, the past impressing upon the future, the misery of millions. "
I frowned.
"So no pressure," I replied, sipping my wine.
Ophelia smiled and reached out to pat me on the arm. I didn't think I imagined the sadness in her ancient eyes.
"I don't envy your girl of her task, Dante of House Viper," she said then, sorrow filling her tone. "I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy."
"She's not my—"
But the woman was gone having disappeared as quickly as she'd come. I whirled around, searching for her in the crowd, but didn't see a gray head among them. Brows furrowed, I set my wine on a nearby table.
Maybe Ksenia was right. I'd had far too much to drink.