A sharp rap came at my door, but before I could answer, Velle was pushing the door inward, the hinges creaking.
“What did you do now?” she demanded quietly, peering at me from the doorway, an unhappy frown on her features.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my brow furrowing as I tucked Luc’s letter away in the drawer next to the window as I stood. “Is something wrong?”
Velle was angry with me. Maudoric had apparently made her wash up the dishes from the afternoon meal after she’d given me a scolding in the starlight hallway. Velle had told her I’d been “doodling” when I’d meant to be cleaning…but Maudoric hadn’t appreciated Velle’s “childish tattling.” I could never understand that female.
Even at this hour, Velle looked like she could go to a party. Her dark blue hair was freshly brushed and dried, with her hairband in place, the ends slightly curled. Even her nightdress was wrinkle free, with little gold bead details at the hem, something that looked like it cost a full week’s wages. It was stylish, with a deep V that ended in the middle of her breasts—shorter than I would ever dare.
Whereas I had my damp hair piled and tied on top of my head and an old pale blue shift dress that Syndras had given to me years ago. It had been one of her daughter’s, and I’d had to sew up the long slashes in the material at the back meant for wings. It was the nicest nightdress I owned, however, and no one ever saw the back anyway.
“Oh, nothing’s wrong,” Velle said, her words edged in a sharp bite. But I knew Velle well enough to know she’d eventually forgive me and we’d go back to being friends. “Only that theKyzairehas requested your presence in his study. At this hour!”
My heart leapt. “Right…now? TheKyzaire?”
“Yes,” she hissed. “What did you do? Maudoric looks like she’sabout to start spitting fire. And I swear, Erina, if I have to wash up in the kitchens again tomorrow because of you, I’ll…”
But I didn’t hear whatever she said next. My heart had begun to beat thunderously in my chest, remembering the intensity of those mirrored eyes and the drop of black blood at his lip.
I stood. Velle was staring at me.
“What is going on?” she demanded.
“I have no idea,” I answered honestly. Excitement, wariness, and fright all mingled together inside me at the thought of speaking with him again. “But I’ll go find out.”
Beneath my fresh bandage, the cut over my palm gave a small throb, as if in warning.
CHAPTER 5
KALDUR
Istared out the arched window in my study, observing the quietness of Vyaan below.
I’d chosen this room for my office as opposed to a larger one on the opposite side of keep—which afforded a beautiful view of the gardens, the mountains, and forests that surrounded the territory.
But here, I could see the hustle and bustle of the south side of the city. Not necessarilynow, as late as it was, but during the day I could watch the comings and goings from the market and the daily routines of my people as they went about their lives. In some small way, that lent me a sense of comfort, of rightness.
The nobles typically congregated in the south end, but there were plenty of taverns, shops, meadows, and open spaces that drew many, from all over Vyaan, to this side of the city.
I pressed my forehead against the glass, closing my eyes, trying to ignore the restlessness under my skin, which had only grown worse since my encounter with Erina this afternoon.
A fucking disaster,I thought wearily. I couldn’t help but surmise that Azur and Kythel might find this quite ironic. Theymight even be gleeful about it, and they’d have every right to. I’d had plenty to say about their relationships with their blood mates—my regrettable attitude when I’d first met Gemma and my smug insistence to Kythel that he wouldneverbe able to stay away from Millie, though he’d certainly tried at the beginning of their courtship.
Now it seemed to bite me in the ass tenfold.
A keeper,I couldn’t help but scoff.
I thought of my uncle. My father’s third brother, Tynaar, who’d once overseen this territory. The cautionary tale—well,oneof the cautionary tales—of our family. He’d been played for a fool, blinded by the tempting tease of a young, ambitious beauty…and he’d lost everything.
His wife, my aunt Harnan, had razed his reputation among the nobles, having come from a long established and exceedingly respected House. I’d both feared and respected that about my aunt—she could be vicious when scorned. She’d never once felt humiliation from her husband’s public affair. Instead, she’d insisted thatheshould feel the burning sizzle of embarrassment…and she’d made him pay.
To save face, House Kaalium had stripped Tynaar of his estate and demoted him fromKyzaireof the territory—all to assuage the nobles, who had, at that time, had quite weighty pull in Vyaan.
My uncle had been shamed, though he had still married the keeper after ending his own marriage to my aunt, thinking himself in love. The keeper, so I’d heard, had jumped into bed with another wealthy noble shortly after, and it was widely known among Vyaan’s society that she’d been paraded around as his mistress. A mistress married to a once greatKyzaire. The steepest plunge from grace under public scrutiny and gossip.
Bereft from heartbreak and shame…my uncle had taken his own life not even a year after he’d been stripped of his title. As for me, I’d barely been of age, but I’d been forced to ascend to the title that had always been meant for me.Kyzaireof Vyaan. Sooner than expected.
House Kaalium had many dark secrets hidden away. Some terrible, some violent, some shameful. Some of my ancestors had been murderers, merciless and evil.
