Chapter 1 #2
Pots with overgrown vines clutter the shelves.
They’re part of my mother’s history, and from the way several have risen up the wall, their tendrils intertwined, her irrigation system appears to have been working all this time.
Even so, many are half-dead, having outgrown their too-small pots years ago, with white roots bursting through the bottoms. The temptation to help them is too much.
I reach out with my magic and give a turn of my wrist, then watch in wonder as stems shift and straighten, and wilted leaves turn lush and verdant, as the plants return to health before my eyes. They’ll need repotting – and soon – but I can give them this for now, at least.
‘Oh m’lady! Your magic is beautiful,’ Summer gasps.
A smile lingers momentarily on my lips before I turn my attention to the rest of the kitchen.
It is hard to see the space with fresh eyes rather than ones layered with nostalgia, but I try.
If this is the home we will live in, then it is important to see it with a view to moving forward rather than staying stuck in the past.
Only madness and despair lie that way. I should know.
Besides, I know it’s what our parents would have wanted for me: a fresh start.
Though in truth, there is nothing fresh about the kitchen. The large table requires cleaning, as do the floor and the countertops. In fact, everything requires cleaning, meaning that, as hungry as I am, cooking will have to wait until this place has been dealt with.
‘I think there might be some buckets and cloths under the sink,’ I tell Summer, already moving into action. Having a job to do will help me keep my mind off Kay and Kyor, and right now that’s what I need. ‘With both of us working, we should be able to get it useable quickly enough.’
‘Both of us?’ she says, blinking. ‘M’lady, you can’t clean. Your dress …’
As I glance down, I realise she’s right. I’m still in my ball gown. The deep green gown with the lace-up back that Thea tightened. Thea, the woman Kyor supposedly loved before he loved me. If he ever loved either of us.
It is impossible to know what is true anymore.
My memory draws me back to the Spire. To Thea curling my hair, pretending to help me. It is enough to make me feel sick all over again.
‘You’re right,’ I say, suddenly desperate to get out of the ballgown. ‘I’ll be back shortly.’
My breath quickens as I head into the hallway.
It is as though the threads of the corset are being pulled tighter and tighter, crushing my ribs.
I yank at the fabric, trying to free myself, trying to stop my head from swimming as my lungs scream for air.
I have barely reached the bottom of the staircase when a loud chime rings abruptly through the house. My stomach jolts as I freeze.
A bell?
Adrenaline surges through me, more overwhelming than ever before. Gasping with fear, I scrabble for a weapon before my brain catches up to the moment.
This is not a call to arms.
The bell isn’t to warn me of a trial commencing, but merely to announce that someone is at the door.
Embarrassment warms my cheeks as I try to slow my thundering heart, yet my breaths are still shallow even as Summer joins me in the hall, wiping her hands on her apron.
‘Are you expecting visitors, m’lady?’
Visitors? Who would be visiting me now when the ball is still mid-flow?
‘Whoever it is,’ I say, ‘turn them away.’ I shrink out of sight but remain nearby, too curious to leave.
She nods briskly. ‘Of course, m’lady. It’s been a long day.’ As she moves to the front door, I remain out of view, listening in. ‘I’m sorry, Lady Rose isn’t accepting callers,’ Summer says politely as she opens the door. ‘She’s already asleep.’
‘Then wake her up,’ a voice snaps, ‘or I’ll do it myself!’
I stiffen. Jonas.
He begged me to speak to him at the ball. Was it to discuss his father’s engagement to Kay?
‘I’m not leaving until I speak to her,’ Jonas continues forcefully. ‘This is the Goddess’s wish. I’ll stay here on this doorstep all night if I have to. Rose! Rose!’ Jonas shouts into the house. ‘Rose!’
‘Please, sir,’ Summer tries again. ‘Please, Lady Rose is sleeping—’
‘Rose! I know you’re—’
‘It’s all right, Summer,’ I say, stepping out of the shadows. ‘You can let him in. He won’t be staying long.’ The comment is as much for Jonas’s benefit as for Summer’s.
The maid nods at me before pointedly looking at Jonas and then back at me. It takes me a moment to realise she is waiting to see if I will require her to fetch drinks. But I meant the comment about Jonas not staying, and so I give her a quick shake of my head.
At the gesture, she scurries back to the kitchen, leaving Jonas and me alone.
Manners dictate that I offer him a seat in one of the countless reception rooms, but it’s late and he’s intruding, so he can damned well stand in the entryway.
‘Rose.’ His eyes scan me, as if looking for injuries. ‘You ran from the ball,’ he says, stepping closer. ‘I couldn’t find you. Is everything okay?’
I fold my arms. ‘Is this you asking – or your father?’
‘My father?’ He frowns in confusion and I meet his expression with one that I’m certain is nearly identical. If he doesn’t know of the engagement, then why the hell is he here?
Ugh, surely not to propose again?
‘What do you want, Jonas?’