Talvi took a shuddering breath. “When I’m around you—”
But whatever Talvi was going to say would remain a mystery. At that second, the perfume vials in Yvlle’s satchel clanged together. Talvi withdrew her hand, her gaze darting to the dark bag.
“What is that?”
Yvlle cursed silently. Or perhaps she should have uttered a blessing. The sound of the perfume vials rattled her. The tournament had not concluded and Talvi was very much a part of it, which begged the question of what in the world Yvlle was doing talking to her like this… touching her like that…
If a few more minutes had passed, Yvlle could not be certain what else she might have tried to prove to Talvi that she was real. Yvlle cleared her throat and dropped the bag onto the ground.
“A mystery,” she said. “I don’t suppose you’d help me?”
A smile flickered on Talvi’s face.
“An hour ago, nothing short of drowning might have compelled me to help you… and even then, I’m not entirely certain I wouldn’t have thrown you a boulder.”
“Charming,” said Yvlle.
“But now…”
“Now?” Yvlle prompted.
“Now I might feel persuaded to help,” said Talvi.
Talvi touched her palm lightly, as if Yvlle’s touch still lingered on her skin. Yvlle smiled to herself as she took out the vials one by one and arranged them on the ground. The green apple, the golden heart, the icicle, the glass bubble, the topaz rose and the gray river stone.
“The fragrances,” said Talvi, surprised.
“Yes,” said Yvlle. “Whose is whose?”
“The ozorald vial belongs to Ursula, the topaz one is Edmea’s, the glass bubble is Cordelia’s and the heart is Zoraya’s,” said Talvi, frowning. “That one’s mine.”
Talvi pointed to the blue icicle. Yvlle loosed a breath.Not her, she thought, embarrassed by her own relief.It’s not her.
“Then who would this belong to?” asked Yvlle, lifting up the gray river stone.
“Only the contestants could create a fragrance at that table,” said Talvi. “It’s odd, she was so determined not to make one, but I guess she changed her mind.”
“Who?” asked Yvlle.
“Demelza, of course.”
30The Stones Are Siblings
Lately, the girls had started gathering in the common room after dinner. Demelza wasn’t certain when it had started, but she wasn’t complaining. The last few days had been strangely quiet and in the absence of a royal summons, the girls invariably drifted together. After the first time, Edmea mentioned that she used to sit with her mother after dinner and together they’d apply a mask of mashed dusk berries and egg whites and while it dried, they’d drink tea and talk of the day.
“The mask is a necessity for maintaining a glowing complexion,” she’d said. “Pity I forgot to bring my powdered supply of them…”
The comment made Ursula look up from where she was rummaging through a bowl of green apples. “Dusk berries? I saw a fresh bramble of them the other day in the woods… they’re not far.”
And somehow, that led to Ursula foraging, Edmea concocting, Talvi even volunteering a few patches of thin ice to cool the skin beneath their eyes, Zoraya braiding everyone’shair out of the way, and now it had become something of a ritual. Demelza would have called it friendship if she wasn’t certain the word would spook Edmea into her chambers for the remainder of the competition.
Even Cordelia, who seemed to prefer her own company to everyone else’s, would come out for an hour or so. She wouldn’t let Zoraya touch her hair. But she would daintily apply the paste of mashed dusk berries to a few spots on her otherwise perfect blue skin.
An hour after the summer feast, the girls had once more found their way to the common room. Demelza was grateful for the company. She felt restless after seeing Arris. The way he had looked at her this evening… there had been a charged quality to his gaze that sent an unnatural flutter through her heart.
“One more trial, and then I need not be parted from my beloved,” said Zoraya, sighing and curling her mug of tea close to her chest.
“How do you know you love him?” asked Demelza.
