Avert your eyes,he told Daisy.Look at the ground and try not to be noticed.
She did as he said, making no sudden movements and pulling all her energy into her body. It was what always worked best in the human magical world. If people didn’t notice her, they didn’t pick on her.
“I have no choice but to return.” His voice was light, and she wondered if he was smiling. If so, that smile would be a death threat. “This is my home, after all. Princess Elamorna has a peculiar humor, that’s all. I came to no harm.”
The female’s laugh was pitched high and dripping with disdain. “If court jesters can have homes, hmm? Because that is the humor we all have, or didn’t you know?”
He offered another bow, and Daisy marveled at the loose and easy confidence with which he did it.
“Hmm.” Something snapped. It sounded like a paper or silk fan hitting a palm, and then mauve skirts and the wrong slippers moved and swished as the female started walking again.
Take two steps forward in a straight line,he told Daisy, and she glided, careful to only move her feet. A glimpse out the side of her eye said he was putting his body between the lady and her.One more.
He turned with a release of breath. The leash disappeared, and he took long strides.
She kept up, veering closer to the wall and making herself as small as she dared, much like a servant that scurried to and fro in these halls.
Miraculous,he murmured as they rounded a corner and he picked up more speed. She was nearly jogging beside him.You stood right there…and she didn’t notice you. You walked up with me, stoodright beside me, and she didn’t notice your presence.
I’ve had a lot of practice blending into the background. She probably tracked me as a servant. Those types don’t lower themselves to look at the staff.
Too true.He glanced at her, looking amazed and grateful.The fates chose well. But what about the chalice magic? The Celestials swarmed. The darkrend focused on you. How did she not see it?
Daisy had no idea. Maybe these people were prone to blindness, secure in their court and not noticing the magic of others.
That is not usually the case,Tarian said thoughtfully.I’ll need to ask Eldric about that. There has to be a reason.
She thought again about what that fae had said:We merely guide. We only reveal as much as the gods will.
She needed alotmore guidance.
But first, she needed to know the state of things.You didn’t answer me—did that shield not work?
It must’ve, thank the gods. Lady Nyvarie is one of the most powerful mindgazers in this court. Not noticing your presence is one thing, but she is always,alwayslistening into thoughts where she can.
Yours?
She’s not strong enough. The obsidian discs temper my power and my magic, but they don’t touch my mind. My thoughts are secure as long as I have the strength to fortify them.
Yet you can still read my thoughts.
His head cocked to the side as he angled right, his hand coming out and touching eggshell-white double doors with round bronze handles. Metal clicked, and he opened one of the doors, stepping aside so she could enter. He followed right behind her, the delicious buzz of his proximity setting her aflame. It wasn’t great timing.
She hurried to give herself space before turning to survey him. Light glowed from various places within the chambers, softly washing across his face and revealing the dark circles under his eyes. The beautiful green of his irises had dulled, and a crease seemed permanently etched into his brow.
His body sagged as he closed the door and locked it. A black sheen fitted over the door. A ward, probably.
“Yes,” he said, and his voice sounded drawn, like he hadn’t slept for a year. “The twisted magic is pulling at me. It’s always this way.” He pushed off the door and passed her into a largeroom with all the furniture and placement of an apartment, minus a kitchen. “As I said, yes, I can still read your thoughts. That should only happen if you are actively thinking them at me. Like talking to me. I expected I’d have to teach you how to do so. This saves time. Unfortunately for you, it also prevents you from hiding anything from me.”
“Fortunately for you,” she said, “you don’t have to trust that I am telling the truth. Since I can’t lie in my thoughts, I mean.”
“Unfortunatelyfor me, I have to hear all your commentary about the fae you meet. It is…distracting.”
She shrugged, perusing the large table in the dining room and exiting into a solarium with glass walls and windows that had to be magic because it was in the center of the chambers.
“It is,” he said, and fabric rustled.
She paused within it, looking at the night sky dotted with millions of stars twinkling brightly. The moon rose over lush green grasses and beautiful trees, with flowers and nightlife nestled within. The colors were something he might see, much more vibrant and radiant than her dulled vision.
