Chapter Six
Jacinth
“Ah, and here he is now!” Emrys smiled widely, his arm waving toward the door, where a tall Elven man walked through.
His hair and eyes were lavender in color, with his long strands pulled back at the edges and worked into two braids running down each side of his head, while the rest remained long in the back. A couple of smaller braids on top pulled any shorter sections of hair out of his eyes. His face was thin, but with a strong jawline and facial structure. He looked quite roguish, with charms hanging from his braids and tattoos covering every inch of skin I could spot below his chin.
I’d met men like him before. He looked more like a pirate than a royal guard, only his uniform showing him to be so. I raised an eyebrow at him, looking to Emrys for an explanation.
“This is Alfrikr, formerly of Amythest Court, clearly.” Emrys introduced him. “We tried to switch up which guards served which competitors, to keep things fair and inspire the spirit of collaboration between the courts.”
Or more likely to ensure said guard would spy on their charge, instead of being loyal to their original court.
“So Brokk, our Ruby Court guard for this event, will be serving Sapphire, while Wyn, our Sapphire Court guard, will serve Emerald, and so on, so forth. But only our very best guards were selected for this task, I assure you,” he finished explaining.
Alfrikr and I stared at one another, weighing and examining what we were each working with. I watched a small smirk kick up his lips before he nodded deferentially.
“My Lady,” he greeted me.
That would never stop being strange.
“Alfrikr, a pleasure, I’m sure.” I returned politely. I wondered if I’d be able to find out more when Emrys left. He’d mentioned he wasformerlyof Amethyst Court, meaning he very well could have been a pirate. I’d traded with some before, since they usually had no use for gems beyond their value, while I had none for relics. They made for good trading partners in that regard.
While pirates were usually human, I’d seen a couple of other races who’d turned pirate. A Fae once, down by the docks in Sapphire Court, and an Elf among the ship’s crew in Onyx. It seemed the one thing we all had in common was the desire to get away from our lives. The only reason I hadn’t turned pirate myself was that I had no wish to live at sea.
“You’ll be called for the formal introduction to High King Azurill in a bit,” Emrys informed me, smiling widely. “All the competitors will be joining you, and you’ll have a chance to meet everyone before we begin.”
Oh joy. A bunch of pompous noble ladies fighting over a crown. How could I possibly wait?
“Of course. I can’t wait to finally meet the High King in person.” I smiled widely, as if excited, hiding my desire to meet him for much more murderous reasons.
When the time came,I found myself actually nervous to be in the presence of so many nobles. I was diving straight into the heart of Diamond Court, with all the nobles of Gemaria present, and all of them would be watching me. Allseeingme.
Would they think anything of my eyes and hair? Was it reasonable to assume a cousin of the red-haired Ruby lord could have coloring that lightened to pink? Or would they see the truth through my lies?
Alfrikr opened the door to a circular room that contained a long white couch that curved to the shape of the room. Purplish blue walls were highlighted by hanging lights, and there were smaller seating arrangements with chairs and tables set all over the room. The far wall held a champagne fountain surrounded by glasses that a few of the ladies already present had clearly made use of, gripping their drinks as they glanced around.
I looked once more at Alfrikr, who nodded once as if urging me on before he took a spot along the wall where other guards were stationed. I made myway to the champagne, quickly taking a glass for myself and welcoming the fizzling silvery-pink drink’s bubbles as they calmed me.
I subtly looked around at the other ladies to see who I was up against. A woman with turquoise hair in long, voluminous waves falling down her back, topped with a diamond hairpiece set with turquoise feathers, was the first I noticed. Equally stunning turquoise eyes were set in a delicate face that turned to face me and inspect her own competition. Her brown skin was nearly glittering in the light, and her dress was off the shoulder, a silver and blue ballgown encrusted with what had to be thousands of diamonds more than my own.
My heart sank. I had no idea how I was going to win this competition. It was ludicrous to assume I could ever earn the coveted spot as the Diamond Queen, even before I saw the other ladies fighting for the right to the title.
But said woman seemed to set her shoulders, highlighted by the diamond and kyanite necklace adorning her collarbone, and made her way to me, much to my surprise.
“Hello,” She smiled nervously, smoothing a hand down her dress. “I’m Lady Faiza Nabhas, daughter of Earl Gohar Nabhas of Heer County, of Diamond Court.”
Ah. Diamond must have struggled to find a lady to compete, since they couldn’t have anyone even tangentially related to the king himself. The daughter of a minor lord who oversaw a province of Diamond Court must have been the best they could get.
Explaining why she was so nervous. She was technically the lowest ranked of us all—and wasn’t that a dizzying thought.
It wasn’t even a lie, technically. I was as much a full-blooded noble lady as any of them.
“I’m Lady Jacinth Tawny.” I introduced myself with the last name Carnelian had assigned me. One belonging to a distant cousin with no children, but who had agreed to the ruse. “Cousin of Lord Carnelian of Ruby Court.”
“Oh, thank Veritx.” She laughed lightly, her relief instant. “I thought it’d be the only one who wasn’t the daughter of the lord.”
I couldn’t help smiling back. She seemed entirely too genuine to be here.
