Servants dash by with bundles of cut flowers in purple and blue hues, their trays stacked high with small, ornately decorated cakes. I wonder how many of his men can be trusted. Not all of them, if even inside the privacy of his home he continues to keep up appearances.
His eyes follow mine to a silver tray piled high with letters boasting his golden seal—a small, leaping fox. It seems a fitting crest for a spy, perhaps a little too on the nose, but who am I to judge? The man has done something right if he’s been trusted with my care for the duration of my assignment. It’s impressive that all while working this closely with the La’tari he managed to remain so close to the court of the feyn king.
I can’t control the deep pit that forms in my stomach when a slight feyn male with rusty colored hair rushes past me, hurrying the letters out the front door. While he boasts all of the ethereal beauty of their race, he holds none of the lethal grace I witnessed as a child. Becoming comfortable in the presence of the feyn is both necessary for my mission and the greatest threat to my life. I watch as he disappears around a tall hedge bordering the yard, curious what his gift might be, when my uncle’s voice breaks apart my ponderings.
“I’ve decided to host a party to celebrate you, niece,” Felias says,leading me up a grand staircase. “I’m sure you will be well rested and ready to receive my guests by tomorrow night.”
“Thank you, Uncle. It will be an honor to meet your friends,” I reply when we step onto the second-floor landing. While meeting hisfriendsmay not be the honor I claim it is, I am eager to make the connections I need to fulfill my mission.
“I’m sure you’ll make many of your own soon enough.” He smiles and winks, seemingly satisfied with our little show for the time being.
It takes every ounce of self-control to school my features when he opens the door, leading me into a corner room with a view of both the palace and his own expansive gardens.
“I’ll have your luggage brought up along with some food. I’m sure your palate is in desperate need of something far more refined than ship fare.”
“That is very kind of you.”
“Not at all,” he says, with a wave of his hand. “I do hope you will make yourself at home. If you need anything at all, there is a service bell just here.” He points to a long swath of golden cord by the door.
I dip my head in thanks, and he graciously excuses himself.
Never in my life have I seen a room so large, surely no one person requires this much space to simply sleep. Not that I’m complaining. The bed alone could fit me eight times over and I moan as my hand brushes across the dark silk sheets tumbling to the wood floors. I can’t wait to slide my body into them.
Beyond a set of gilded doors is a separate room for the bath. Dark stone floors of green shine under the light cast through the tall leaded glass windows. A large tub sits at the center of the room next to a lever that summons water to fill the basin. I’ve never seen such a thing, and I chastise myself over my excitement. I can hardly wait to try it. Leanna warned me about the way the nobles hoard their riches in the north, but nothing I ever learned about the A’kori has prepared me for what I am seeing.
Back in the main room I hang my cloak and crack a window overlooking the garden. The sweet floral breeze permeating the grounds wafts through my chambers, rolling the light floor length curtains in its wake. I settle into a large, velvet-lined chair with a beautiful view of the estate andlet my head rest against the high-cushioned back.
My throat burns as my eyes begin to water. I tell myself it must be the flowers, an allergy, a small inconvenience and nothing more. A small quiver of my lip and I tell myself I am exhausted. I am. I hardly slept last night. I’ll feel better after a nap. My eyes slip shut as a chittering of dainty laughs drift through the window on the breeze and flit past my ears. Voices, snatched away by the wind, lull me to sleep just as a single traitorous tear falls down my cheek.
I am jolted awake by a knock at the door, my entire being protesting the absence of my daggers as I rise to answer it. It is likely far too early in my stay to have garnered any real attention, and I remind myself that anyone here to harm me would hardly be knocking. It’s difficult to be completely relieved when I find the slight male with rusty hair on the other side of the door. He proffers a large plate of home-cooked fare, the scent alone making my mouth water. He only stays long enough to shuffle my trunk into the room and extend a dinner invitation from Felias before leaving me to my meal.
The hours of sleep I missed last night begin to wear on me as the food settles in my stomach, but I can’t let myself sleep anymore. I spend the day exploring the home. I mark the exits in my mind, the quickest path to each, objects throughout the house that can be used as weapons should the need arise. The usual.
A mixture of feyn and human work alongside one another, preparing for tomorrow’s festivities. I routinely remind myself that not all feyn are like the ones I encountered in the forest years ago, and that living under the rule of a corrupt king doesn’t make them evil. The humans here seem at ease around them despite the hardships their people suffer in their true home across the sea. I wonder if they are even aware of the state of La’tari. Of its people. Their people.
A striking feyn with silver hair catches my eye. She stands by a largewindow on the first floor, open to the gardens. A vine like those that adorn the exterior is wrapped around her hand and at first, I think she must be trimming them back. My body goes rigid, eyes widening as the vine writhes in her hand and produces a tiny bud that blooms into a crimson flower right before my eyes.
My skin tingles like I’m caught in the middle of a thunderstorm, raising the hair on the back of my neck. I can’t pull my eyes away from the scene before me. I watch, dumbfounded, as the vine grows, first by inches and then by feet. She speaks to it, encouraging it to take hold until the interior wall before which she stands is covered from floor to ceiling in a mat of twisted vines, thick with heavy, fragrant blooms.
She leans out the window and offers a quiet “thank you” to someone standing beyond my line of sight. Perhaps she is talking to the vine again. I find myself wondering if the plants speak back to her and decide that until I know for sure, it’s best to act as if they can.
I catch small glimpses of more gifted A’kori throughout the day. Some use gentle bursts of air to dust, others light fires with the flick of a wrist when the house begins to cool in the evening. I have done my research and know as much about their abilities as any Drakai. My resources may have been limited at the keep but I’ve been taught enough to know that gifts used in the open are mere parlor tricks compared to the rarer gifts, which have always been heavily guarded secrets.
The manor house lacks no form of richness. Much of which I’ve heard described in vivid detail by Leanna but never seen. When I find myself in the library, I can’t help that my jaw loosens, threatening to hang open as I survey the titles on the lower shelves. Windows stretch from floor to ceiling, illuminating two stories of leather-bound tomes in soft, waning light.
My fingers are brushing the spines reverently when the rusty haired male comes to collect me upon dinner being served. Felias keeps me company with his easygoing conversation, inquiring first about his brother, myfather,then about the weather in La’tari, and so on.
Throughout a lavish meal of savory meats, spiced breads, and trays of seasoned vegetables I’ve never tasted and can hardly describe, we discuss those who have been invited to attend my reveal tomorrow. He makes apoint of noting a handful of young females it would benefit me to befriend, giving me the names of those the king holds in high regard. These, I must convince to receive me and persuade that I am worthy of an audience with their king.
“I’m afraid the king himself will not be in attendance. I’ve just learned that he had business outside of the capital and left only yesterday to attend to it. My source couldn’t say for certain when he will return.”
It’s less than ideal but I hardly expected him to be fatefully drawn into my orbit upon my arrival.
“How unfortunate,” I say, “I hope his business doesn’t keep him away for the duration of the season.”
“I think it unlikely, but I have no doubt we will learn more at the party. My guests are sure to supply plenty of splendid gossip on the subject.”
He winks at me over a crystal goblet full of a deep red liquid, and I think at some point I am really going to have to find time to talk to this man about his stealth techniques.
