It felt like different worlds were brushing far too near to each other. He wondered whether the sounds of their music and laughter reached Theos in the basement. Did Theos know the fate of the other Sacrati? What was he thinking? Did he feel abandoned and alone?
Finnvid had no answers, and as the questions kept piling up in his mind, he found it more and more difficult to keep his attention on the small talk and dance steps. How was he supposed to care about any of this with so many more important things going on? How was Alrik able to smile and chat when he was responsible for an entire valley, and when he’d given the order to have men killed just days before?
It was getting hard to breathe. The air felt too warm, too moist, as if it had been inside of everyone’s lungs already, breathed in and out of this entire incestuous mass of sycophants, all of them playing games when they should be fighting for people’s lives. The faces before him seemed unfamiliar, and he fought to control himself.
He heard someone say his name and spun one direction, then another, not knowing who had spoken, or why. And then a firm hand clapped onto his forearm and he looked down to see a familiar, totally human face. Short and plump and redheaded, with bright blue eyes that danced at the slightest provocation. “Gaiera,” he whispered.
“I’m feeling faint, my lord. Will you walk me outside?”
“It’s winter . . .”
“Just into the entry hall, then—” She stopped when he jerked his arm away, and turned to peer at him more closely. Gaiera had always been friendly, and now she seemed truly concerned. It made him want to cry. “The library, perhaps?” She reached out her hand again, and he managed to crook his elbow and make a somewhat respectable show of escorting her out of the Great Hall.
They walked down the side corridor in silence, and when they paused in front of the library doors, a servant stepped from a nearby alcove and pulled the doors open for them. As if they didn’t have hands of their own.
Finnvid didn’t object. The lamps in the room were turned down low, yet Gaiera waved the servant away and didn’t bother to adjust the lamps herself. Instead, she slipped her fingers from his forearm to his hand and tugged him gently toward the leather chairs by the fire. “You’ve had a rough time lately,” she said as she guided him into a seat. “You looked like you needed a break. I hope you don’t mind my interference.”
“You rescued me,” he confessed, letting his eyes close as he leaned back into the upholstery. “How long do you think we have until they come looking for us?”
“I think we have as long as we want,” she said, and as the meaning of the words became clear he opened his eyes to stare at her. She nodded. “They want us to marry. If you’re absolutely against the idea, I should go back soon so my reputation won’t be spoiled. But if you’re willing to consider it— Well, no. If you’re willing tocommitto it, they won’t disturb us.”
“How do you know this?”
“Our mothers have been at work.”
“I only got home a few days ago!”
“They’ve been contemplating it for a while, as I understand. But something happened since your return, I think, to make your mother keen to move things along.” Gaiera’s eyes were too bright, making him feel like she saw too much. “We’ve always been friends, Finnvid. If you don’t want to tell me what’s going on, I won’t make a fuss, but Iwillgo back to the Great Hall. I won’t marry a man who won’t share things with me.”
He closed his eyes again, fighting for control as questions began to rise and take over his mind. Theyhadalways been friendly. Yet never friends, really. That wouldn’t have been proper. He might have been friends with a girl who was completely unmarriable, but Gaiera was no such thing. Her father was a loyal supporter of Finnvid’s family and a member of the King’s Council, and her mother was a member of the royal family from two valleys over. Gaiera was so suitable she’d been considered as a candidate to becomeAlrik’swife and produce heirs to the throne.
“My mother is worried about me,” he allowed. It wasn’t safe to tell her much more. He opened his eyes. “Why did you and Alrik not marry?”
Her grin made it clear that she wasn’t grieving the lost connection. And he could imagine seeing that grin more often, maybe every day. For the rest of his life? Yes, if she smiled like that, maybe he could stand it.
“I believe they decided it would be better to have someone more pliable in the role,” she said.
“Are you unpliable?”
“Horribly so, yes.”
“Well, now I’m intrigued.” Could he do this? It would certainly calm his mother down if he became engaged. “Was there a specific incident that earned you the label, or was it an ongoing situation?”
“Ongoing.” Another smile, this one more thoughtful. Then she leaned forward as if she had made up her mind to speak. “But after that . . . after they decided to look elsewhere for a bride . . . therewasa specific incident. Hushed up, of course, but I believe it may be why our mothers are eager to see me married. And I wonder if it may be similar to the reason they’d like to seeyoumarried.”
Had she been captured and enslaved by Torians, only to find herself falling in love with one of them and having passionate near-sex in a forest during a blizzard? He was tempted to ask the question out loud. “How do you mean?” he said instead, and he was proud of his control.
“I . . . formed an unsuitable attachment,” she said carefully.
He supposed thatwassimilar to his mother’s reasons for wanting him married. Good to discover that he hadn’t put her mind totally at ease yet. “With a commoner?” he asked politely.
“No. Well, yes, she—” Gaiera broke off, then raised her chin and stared him down. “Shewasa commoner, yes, but I don’t believe that was their chief objection. And when I protested at their sending her away, and announced my intention to seek similar companionship in the future . . . I believe they decided it was best I was married as soon as possible.”
He shouldn’t be surprised, not after months in Windthorn, knowing how their women carried on. But here, in Elkat? Unheard-of, but he was clear proof that unheard-of attractions were possible, even in the best of families. It was also possible that this was a trap. If he confessed to his own weakness, would she report back to his mother?
He stood somewhat abruptly. “I think we should return to the Great Hall,” he said. “I don’t think it’s been too long yet.”
The emotions chased across her face. Anger, fear, disappointment, pride . . . and hurt. No one was a good enough liar to put on such a performance. He stretched a hand down to her, and waited while she stared at him cautiously before lifting her own hand and placing it lightly on his.
