Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Do not fight amongst yourselves. Do not diminish the mission or the purpose of Sanctuary. Worthiness starts from within. Violence is the tool of an ignorant man.”
Two months later, Dante and I still hadn’t figured out exactly what blessing we’d received for successfully completing the bizarre shifting Trial.
Dante thought it had something to do with light or fire because of our constant being a lantern, but after a few weeks of sitting pointlessly in the dark and a few burns which may have scarred my arms forever if we didn’t have the ability to heal them, it became clear that such things weren’t our gift.
We tried teleporting, too. But all we really accomplished was giving ourselves migraines from our overzealous focus as we sat in the garden and thought hard of other places, near and far.
Four weeks in, I resigned myself to never knowing what blessing we’d been given from the seventh Trial, and I was content to live with the mystery.
Dante didn’t have the same compulsion. Convinced that sometime in the coming Trials we would need to be able to access and harness all of our rewarded abilities, he wouldn’t rest until he determined what the seventh one was.
It made training tense and breaks frustrating.
If I could even call them breaks at all.
His nerves were fraying more and more with every passing day. Dante was becoming a nuisance to everyone in the house. Even Bria lost her temper with him once, and Dante’s cousin had always had the patience of a saint.
After their outburst in the main hall for all the servants and visitors to hear, Cosmo had decided it would be best to throw a celebration for Dante’s upcoming birthday as a way to alleviate some of the tension the Trials were creating.
Though I didn’t have much faith in the venture, I was Dante’s partner, now in more ways than one, so it wasn’t possible for me to excuse myself from attendance.
And Cosmo had made a point of mentioning to his grandson that he’d invited Olympia, who no one had seen outside of House Avus since the announcement had been made about mine and Dante’s betrothal.
If she indeed decided to brave the outside world long enough to attend her former training partner’s birthday, I wouldn’t leave him to face that alone.
I stood amidst the same crowd that had been attending Cosmo’s various events for months.
As always, they stared, they whispered, some had the audacity to approach.
When they did, they congratulated me on both my success in the Trials and my engagement.
I thanked them as graciously as I could, but my smile faded the moment they sauntered away.
Despite how fully integrated I was in their society, I knew they still saw me as the girl from the Third Ring who’d made it all this way on the coattails of a strong First Ring son of the greats.
It frustrated me sometimes, that I could never tell them what happened in the Trials, that they could never see that I’d held my own just as well as Dante.
But I reminded myself that I’d never cared what the pretentious First Ringers thought before, so why start caring now?
“Boring crowd, aren’t they?”
I smiled at Milo.
“I’m tired of parties.” I sighed. I didn’t have the energy to respond with any more than that.
“Then stop being so damn successful.” He pat my back, and I snorted. “This one’s for Dante though, isn’t it?”
I hummed and took a sip of my drink.
“He’s twenty-three now, right?” Milo asked, and I nodded, my eyes easily finding him in the crowd. Dante was on the opposite side of the room, hidden behind a rather large gentleman in a red doublet. “He looks angry.”
I chuckled. Milo was right. Cosmo’s attempt at distraction had had the opposite effect.
Dante had come into my room on several occasions in the most recent days, ranting about what a waste of time these parties were becoming and how his grandfather couldn’t possibly be serious about forcing us to entertain guests if he had any intention of us actually being ready to succeed in the next Trial.
I’d listened to it all, made comments alluding to the fact that I was on his side when necessary and nodded when it wasn’t.
Then I’d distracted him my own way. It seemed to work better than this.
“Dante’s always angry.”
Don’t talk about me.
I looked up. Dante gazed at me out of his peripheral vision, eyes narrowed. I just gave him a wicked smile in return.
“I’m assuming this is a celebration of your engagement as well,” Milo murmured, staring into the depths of his own drink. “Congratulations, by the way.”
I turned slowly to face the House Avus scholar and, truly, one of my only friends in the First Ring.
“Don’t do that,” I told him, keeping my voice low so as not to be overheard.
“It was to avoid Olympia, wasn’t it?” He wasn’t smiling, and that alone caused me to hesitate. Olympia was, after all, Milo’s cousin.
“Cosmo gave us an ultimatum. Neither of us wanted to be pushed into it but, well, we have been getting closer lately. Besides, I can offer Dante things Olympia can’t.”
“Your connection.”
Freedom, I thought, but I simply nodded.
“You haven’t told your family, have you?”
My cheeks burned with equal parts shame and embarrassment. “I assume they heard along with the rest of Sanctuary.”
“Adrian,” he replied cautiously.
I sighed.
“Warren knows about what I had to bargain with Cosmo to keep him safe, to keep our whole family safe. He’ll blame himself for this.
And I can’t…I just can’t face that, Milo.
Not now. Not when so much is on the line,” I explained, doing my best to keep the tears at bay, to bite back what I really wanted to say.
“They deserve to hear it from you.”
He was right. I’d known the truth of that statement since I’d become engaged.
But I was too much of a coward to face them.
I’d used my training and these ridiculous parties as an excuse to avoid them.
I’d sent Bria instead, with an apology and a promise to explain as soon as I could get away, but I hadn’t been able to face them myself.
And yet, despite how right he was, there was no judgment in Milo’s tone.
Just a sorrow and pity that matched the shame I felt inside.
“Adrian?” Bria stood elegantly to the side, hands clasped in front of her and prim smile on her face. How long had she been standing there, waiting to interrupt? “Might I introduce you to Osvaldo, the High Priest of House Lynx?”
The polite smile I’d pasted on my lips at her interruption slipped. I recognized him at once. The old man in the red robes who’d presided over the Culling that had taken Darius from me. He wore the same robes now. I could say nothing. I only stared until Milo elbowed me.
I cleared my throat. “I—yes, Osvaldo. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine, young Adrian.” He reached out to clasp my hand. With a bow of his head, he brushed his lips across my knuckles, and I resisted the urge to pull back. He seemed to sense my disgust anyway. “Forgive me. It is only…well, we have waited so long for you, you see.”
“What do you mean?”
“Osvaldo is certain you and Dante will be the next pair to complete all ten Trials,” Bria informed me happily.
“He and everyone else here tonight,” Milo responded, just as jovial.
“And I believe congratulations are in order,” Osvaldo added, an ominous grin on his lips. “Passing the seventh Trial together and now betrothed.”
My dress felt too tight, the zipper and straps pressing against my skin. I adjusted my neckline, but that only made it worse.
“Why is it you believe Dante and Adrian will pass all the trials?” Milo asked, scholarly curiosity getting the best of him. “I mean, obviously we’re all hopeful, but you seem certain.”
“Long ago, our prophets predicted that one would come. One from humble beginnings, most unexpected, and would give our people hope again.” The High Priest was still speaking, but I struggled to hear him. I was suddenly very hot. The room seemed to be spinning.
Passing ten Trials? Getting married? There were far more expectations weighing upon my shoulders than I ever thought there could be. I couldn’t breathe. But no one seemed to notice my plight.
“Do you know that this year’s Oathtaking had a record turnout? More participants than ever before, more even than last year when you joined the Trials, Adrian. And—”
“Excuse me.”
I pushed past the ancient priest, making a beeline to the nearest door. Thankfully, it led to the gardens.
Fresh air and a moment alone, that was all I needed.
Besides, the room was stuffy, suffocating with all those people about.
I was used to House Viper being much more open and airy.
That was all it was. It had nothing to do at all with the High Priest of House Lynx putting the hope of entire generations on my shoulders or with all of these people already talking about the powerful heirs my newly betrothed and I were expected to create. Nothing at all.
I bent over in front of the stone fountain and gasped, taking calming, steadying breaths.
My vision slowly cleared and my heart rate decreased.
I considered unzipping my dress, only for a moment, only to relieve the constriction.
But someone slapped a hand on my shoulder and spun me around.
I nearly lost my balance and toppled over into the roses, but I righted myself at the last moment and glared at my aggressor.
Olympia.
She glared back, eyes narrowed to slits, jaw clenched, nostrils flaring.
“Olympia,” I greeted with a sigh. “I suppose you haven’t joined me for a lovely evening stroll.”
“I should kick your ass,” she said through gritted teeth.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “For what, exactly?”
“For Dante.”
“Did he ask you to? Because, in my experience, he does a fine job of kicking my ass himself.”