Chapter 40
Caroline and Llin’s reunion is understandably tear-filled, and as such it’s several hours before Caroline eventually heads back to work. With her gone, Llin and I finalise my dress for tomorrow’s ball. Llin has been working on it for days, but I haven’t seen it. When she pulls out the finished article, I can’t help but gape.
It is phenomenal. Part dress, part work of art.
As planned, Llinos removed the centre section from the layers and layers of flowing black tulle of the skirt so that my leather fighting shorts, thigh sheath, and an edge of dagger are visible beneath. My ‘signature style,’ she calls it. And the top is even more unique. The satin plunging V-neck is pure elegance, while the black sleeves are wired open, looking almost like wings fluttering behind me. There’s no chance of me not standing out, that’s for sure.
At breakfast the next morning, Leilah finds me and tells me she’s spoken with Ruben and plans to share the scraps of food with the slums. I can’t thank her enough and the timing couldn’t be better as we’ll be able to make use of the undoubtedly vast amount of waste from the ball tonight. With surviving the second trial, helping the slums, and getting to see Kay twice, this week’s going to be tough to top.
That evening, Llinos continues to fuss over me, even once I’ve got the dress on.
‘See,’ she says in satisfaction. ‘It’s like a bat.’
As I stare at my reflection, that’s not what I see. I see something with far more gravitas. And the way the tulle is layered reminds me of … feathers, I realise.
‘It looks more like a bird than a bat,’ Caroline comments from the bunk she’s lying on.
‘It does,’ I agree. ‘A raven.’
A collective shudder rolls through the room, and my eyes lift towards the window as though expecting to see a raven waiting there. It’s with an odd sense of disappointment that I find the sill empty. I should be relieved, shouldn’t I? Ravens are an omen of bad luck after all.
The battle yard was close to empty this morning, and Kyor missed my training session with Zelle, making knots form in my stomach. There’s a good chance that he still blames me for the poisoning, and I probably should have explained the situation a little better, but what else was there to add? He wasn’t my target, and I stopped him from dying in the woods. It’s pretty straightforward.
As always, I returned to the dining hall for breakfast after my session with Zelle, and the vast room offered my table a stark opportunity to see just how many were lost in the second trial. Less than we expected, we agreed. Along with Elenor and Loch, Stefan the knight, Del from Galreck, and one of the Rowell Rettlings were the only ones who didn’t make it. With Jonas and Kyor included, the Wrohelm Rettlings are down to half their original number.
It’s with a definite pang of relief that I see both Seiren and Kestria survived, while on the table next to them Clade, Nessira and Yeva are huddled together.
‘Maybe they thought we deserved something more gentle after the jötnar,’ Jonas suggested.
‘Maybe,’ Llin replied, though the tightening of her face suggested that she didn’t consider the piece missing out of her arm ‘gentle.’
Benny wasn’t there at breakfast or lunch, and neither is he here as we prepare to head over to the ball.
‘Still nothing about Loch’s body?’ I ask Llinos quietly as she slips on her own dress. This one is a vivid blue ballgown dotted with white flowers, which I once again assume is of her sister Carys’s choosing.
‘Not that Benny’s told me.’ She grimaces and mutters, ‘But then, I get the feeling there’s a lot he’s not telling me at the moment.’
‘Everything okay with you two?’ I ask tentatively. It’s the first timeshe’s brought up the tension between her and Benny, and I don’t want to let it go.
Her nostrils flatten as she draws a long breath in, only to release it with a sigh. She offers a watery smile.
‘Too much time together,’ she says simply. ‘Nothing more.’
Across the room, Caroline’s expression begs to differ.
There’s no denying it stings, knowing Llinos is lying to me, but we all came into this with our secrets, and no matter how our friendship has grown, I understand that there are some secrets we each have to keep.
After closing the zipper at the back of Llin’s dress, Caz moves over to the bed and grabs her bag. ‘I should get going,’ she says. ‘As Rohan’s family is at the ball, we can work at his house tonight. Have fun, and I’ll be here when you get back.’
‘I hate that you can’t come,’ Llin replies.
‘I know, but when you win this thing, you can demand it.’
Llin’s face spreads into a grin. ‘That sounds like a plan.’
Snow drifts down as Llin and I walk to the centre of the High Hold, and by the time we’re back indoors, goosebumps have risen on my arms and my fingers are completely numb.
A familiar face is waiting for us. He’s dressed in full formal attire, and once again has his blond hair tied back and long beard tamed and braided.
