“And you,” he says pointing a finger at me, unable to stop his hand from shaking as his words rush out in a torrent, “sound like a petulant child on the verge of tears because she’s been told she can’t play with her favoritetoy.”
I take every word he hurls at me like the soldier I am. Back stiff, chin high, eyes nailed forward. All while he breaks apart the most fragile parts of myself, pieces I trusted him to keep safe when I laid them at his feet.
Once he is sure I won’t talk back he stalks toward the door, stopping with his hand on the lever.
“I hate to be the one to break it to you, Shivaria, but all your toys are broken. And if, by some cruel twist of fate, you are ever handed something pristine I recommend you discard it before your own damage infects it, turning it into something you could never adore.”
I don’t flinch when the door slams shut behind him. I don’t fall to my knees and cry. I just feel sorry for her, the girl standing alone in the room. The girl I was before.
I try to map out a memory of that girl, knowing in the deepest recesses of my mind I will never see her again. There are parts of her I will have forgotten ten years from now, parts of her that I’m sure important people in my distant future would have liked to meet and will now never know—parts I wish to preserve and parts I wish to forget.
I snatch the small leather pouch from the floor, spend an hour teasing my curls into perfection, and artfully place a plethora of jewels into my tresses until the silky black spirals sparkle like the heavens under a new moon.
Leanna chose well when she packed the dress I wear for my arrival. The neckline sweeps high and wide across my shoulders. The thin fabric covers every part of my body, and yet somehow the ivory of it blends seamlessly with my skin leaving nothing to the imagination.
I pull a light cloak over my shoulders, the shade of grey a perfect match for my eyes. The small leather pouch, left by the master of shadows, I place inside a well-hidden interior pocket, wondering if the substance is even legal. Best to keep it out of sight, just in case.
I wait on my cot, and it isn’t long before the ship drops anchor in port. When the captain comes to collect me, I follow him without hesitation, leaving behind the Drakai woman I was only hours before, in the small room where she was broken apart.
“Lady Shivaria.” The captain offers me his arm and puffs out his chest as I survey his dress uniform and nod my approval.
Hooking his elbow with mine, I seamlessly slip on the mask of the woman I was born to play. The captain makes a show of parading me around the upper deck. His crew take me in, whispering amongst themselves. No doubt they have all been wondering about the secret lady brought across the sea hoping to tempt the king. Locals working the dock eye me and fine carriages slow as they make their way past, their passengers peering out curiously.
A simple but elegant carriage pulls up to the bottom of the gangway and the captain escorts me down to the pier. The door swings open and out saunters a somewhat plump, tall man with dark eyes and meticulously groomed golden hair that exquisitely contrasts his rosewood complexion. He’s dressed in an ostentatious purple velvet suit with diamond crusted buttons. Plucking a colorful handkerchief from his pocket, he glares down at a fresh pile of manure. Waving the fabric in front of his face, he skirts the pile with practiced grace, smiling when he looks up at me.
“Ah, my lovely niece!” he says when he reaches me, kissing each cheek before pulling me into a warm embrace. “It is so good to see you. How is my dear brother? Oh my, how you have grown!” he beams and gestures toward the carriage. “Come. I am sure you are tired after your long journey.”
I let the captain pass me off to the stranger, taking the arm he offers. The moment my foot touches the carriage step my skin prickles as a gentle breeze glides across my cheek, bringing with it the scent of a storm. My back stiffens involuntarily and my step falters. I already know what I will see if I turn around. So instead, I thank my uncle for his arm, and step into the carriage without looking back.
CHAPTER 9
THE MANOR, A’KORI
Present Day
Felias, myuncle,seems to be a particularly jovial man. Whether it is for my own benefit or the onlookers surveying us, he makes a grand show of pointing out all the most spectacular sites we pass as the carriage glides across the pristine roads of A’kori. The ancient, cobbled streets, a far cry from the muddy war ridden ruts spanning La’tari.
The entire hillside city is a stunning array of boldly colorful buildings stacked almost one on top of the next, each home and business taller than the one that came before. Large balconies adorn most homes. Wide swung doors open to the spring breeze, pulling the long panels of sheer fabrics out toward the sea.
Thoughtfully designed cliffside parks are decorated with large copper statues, long patinaed by the salty sea air. Many look out toward the open waters of the ocean, so lifelike in their crafting it is as if they once stood watch only to become frozen in their form after centuries of guarding their homes.
A gentle gust tickles my nose, teasing it with the scent of fresh bakedsweet breads, and my stomach betrays me with a loud gurgle. Bells hung over the doors of the local shops ring cheerfully as patrons come and go, blending into the quiet hum of greetings and goodbyes. It is a far cry from the dark city I expect to find.
The main boulevard feels as if it will continue to wind endlessly north until, at once, the city ends, breaking from the colorful walls and parting into an open expanse of lush, wild greenery. In the distance, the palace sits nestled against the base of many high snowy peaks. Its dark spires reach hundreds of feet high, puncturing the clouds as if they were built to adorn them like a crown. Rays of the early morning sun refract off the windows of the tallest spires, casting out light in a glittering array, like jewels among the heavens.
“Is it not grand?” my uncle says on a sigh, clearly enamored with the sight, and I can’t argue; it’s breathtaking.
Only once have I been to the La’tari capital. It was there that I’d been selected to serve as Drakai, though Leanna trained me for five years before presenting me to the king. Since the day she found me, at the tender age of four, every waking moment was spent instructing me.
I doubted my acceptance into the fold when Leanna took me before the king. It was no secret I was Leanna’s least favorite student; I had never been enough to satisfy her need for perfection. Never quick enough, agile enough, clever enough, and certainly a far cry from the beauties she was accustomed to granting the title Fea Dien. But nothing I’d seen at the La’tari capital could have prepared me for the opulence of the A’kori kingdom.
The carriage slows as it makes its ascent toward the palace grounds, the size and grandeur of every estate we pass increasing the nearer we come to its well-fortified grounds. The palace sits behind high, thick walls of dark granite, at the top of a steep incline, beyond a beautiful forest with a wide sweeping river at its base. It’s clear to me now why it has never been captured. It is the epitome of a tactical nightmare for anyone who would dare to attempt to breach it, and I can’t wait to ask Bront how he would go about taking it.
Distracted by the beauty of the kingdom I hardly notice when the carriage stops in the courtyard of what is to be my new home for theforeseeable future. It is clear by the size and condition of the estate that Felias is an incredibly wealthy man, and I can’t help but wonder what portion of his funds come from the La’tari crown. His estate sits on a small rise directly across from the palace grounds, bordered on its eastern side by a dense old growth forest. Every inch of his home not occupied by a window or door is covered from ground to rooftop in a robustly flowering vine boasting the most exquisite red flowers I have ever seen.
The carriage door swings open, and I take in a deep lungful of floral air, the breath leaving my lungs on a sigh. I’m glad to be free of my confinement on the ship, somewhere I can stretch my legs, somewhere … else. I bury thoughts of the ship the moment I summon them, suppressing a tangled minefield of memories that I do not care to relive.
“You’ve grown into quite the young lady since I last saw you at your birth right.” Felias’s voice draws me out of my darkening thoughts, and I realize I’ve taken his arm and allowed him to lead me into the house.
