“Flip it over,” the lord said, his lips parted slightly in anticipation of his queen’s reaction.
Tethys rotated the gemstone in her palm.
“Ophis…Where did you say they found this?” Inscribed across the orb was a phrase written in the ancient northern folk language.
A language that had been long dead for thousands ofyears.
“In the puddle where the girl was seen playing,” he whispered. This orb was most definitely out of place.
“Can you read it, my queen?” Ophis asked, shifting closer in attempts to read the inscription. The lord smelled like burnt tobacco and expired secrets. Tethys held her breath as he leaned closer, tracing the etched lines of each rune with his index finger.
“No, my language lessons never included the early northern folk’s dialect. My sister could, though. It may be worth sending a messenger to Ursae. She’d want to see this,” Tethys said, wrapping the orb back up in its handkerchief. Polaris would be interested in this anomaly, but the thought of sending a scroll that’d most certainly go unread reopened old wounds.
“These are northern runes?” Ophis’s lips thinned. “Either we have a northerner taking these children from their homes, or there’s something much more ominous at play. Regardless, here is not the place to discuss these matters further. Although my guests are vetted quite extensively, I don’t trust the likes of them to keep their mouths shut. Send word once you’ve discussed the orb with the northern queen. In the meantime, I’ll keep my shades on the lowborn. Maybe they’ll uncover something more for us.”
“I’m hoping it’s the former,” Tethys murmured, extending the orb to him. The ancient language, however, suggested otherwise. No mortal in the last five hundred generations knew that language. It predated the dark ages, even. Artifacts such as these were lost to time. Only the most secure section of the continent’s archives, with access restricted solely to the high copyists, held the few pieces left of pre-dark age history.
Now, here, so casually slipped into a pocket, and wrapped in a handkerchief, something about the orb brought ridges of gooseflesh over her arms.
“Keep it, my queen,” he said, placing a leathery handover hers. She nodded and tucked the orb into her skirts.
Jaide returned with two crystalline glasses of brandy, throwing glances between the two and their twin grim expressions.
“I won’t ask what I missed,” she said, passing a glass to Tethys. The goddess drained it and placed it gently on the table beside her. “We must return to the manor at once, Jaide.”
“The city guard’s watch just started, and their rotation isn’t for a few hours,” Ophis interjected, stretching his neck to peer out the arched windowsill. Two guards in clementine-colored cloaks patrolled the cobblestone below. The streets would be littered with guardsmen making their rounds, and there were only so many shadowy alleys in Antares. Had they been in Serpens, maybe they could have followed the river’s edge and cut across the judicial district back to the manor, but Ophis’s townhome was all the way north.
“What of your shades, Lord Ophis? Could they not guide us through one of their routes?” Tethys prodded.
“Apologies, my queen, but my shades routes are strictly theirs alone. Even I myself do not know the inner workings of their travels. Discretion is the utmost of importance. For their safety.” He dipped his chin and snapped his fingers. A servant appeared from the hallway, a serving platter on his hip. The young man placed a crystal decanter on the cabinette and poured two glasses.
“While you’re here you might as well enjoy yourselves, ladies,” Ophis said, rising from the leather wingback chair and bowing slightly at his hip. He slithered to the decanter and retrieved the three glasses. Handing one to the queen, then to her lady-in-waiting, he nodded and said, “Forget the world for an hour or two, before we are faced to greet what awaits us down the road.”
Tethys nodded to him as she secured the mask. Although shaken by the orb and its mysterious inscription,the air was electric with intoxication. She’d made a promise to her golden-haired boy to keep fighting, to keep her strength.
But what if, just for a night, she let go of the unknown looming on the horizon? Of the dagger her marriage kept pressed to her throat? With her identity hidden and liquid courage warming her cheeks, she couldn’t resist letting go.
There wasn’t anything more to be done about the orb until she returned to the manor. Nor was there a certain, all-too-serious lieutenant breathing down her neck. Escape was within reach, even if only for a night. Maybe the decision was childish, and most definitely reckless, but why not allow herself this liberty?
Ophis’s midnight parties were for the highborn desperate for freedom from the shackles of high society. All of these people shamelessly throwing customs and manors to the wayside wouldn’t suspect their queen in presence. Tethys grinned.
Maybe she was stupid in doing so, but her decision was made.
“How do I look?” she asked, sipping her brandy.
“Hmm…like a commoner.” Jaide smirked and threw back her own drink. “I’m not sure I like that look in your eye, my lady,” Jaide said, rising to her feet.
Tethys scoffed and drained the remnants of her glass. A warmth pooled in her belly and a deeper shade of ruby blushed across her cheeks. She needed some courage.
It’d been a long time since she allowed herself the freedom to chase what she desired. Her body hadn’t been her own. Not since before her wedding, and now, if only for a night, she could do with it as she pleased.
“Let’s get another round. I think we both will need it,” she said, leading Jaide into the thick, hazy crowd.
Chapter 18
An hour later, Tethys, with masked eyes and buzzing head, found her way to the first floor parlor. Jaide said her goodbyes for now and disappeared down the upstairs hall into one of the more exotic rooms of the townhome. The two friends had much in common; however, there were certain tastes far too bold for Tethys and her limited physical experiences. She preferred to pour another drink and converse with the other seemingly vanilla individuals.
The late hour glazed over Tethys’s skin with a lingering sweetness from too much wine already. Reckless as it may, be the orb’s weight still gathered in her skirts. There was work to be done, but not until tomorrow. For now, Tethys yearned for the freedom of conversation and drink.
