The instant the door closes behind him, Venna’s polite mask drops. She turns to me with a glint in her eye.
“Can I please go spy on these assholes?”
33
MERYN
It’s bliss not being covered in sweat and grime for the first time in ages.
The bathing chambers are as luxurious as the rest of the castle, as are the clothes we’re provided. The garments are still strikingly different from our usual attire—Astreonan clothing of such fine quality that I can’t move for fear of ripping the delicate fabric or tugging on one of the sewn pearls.
The women in our party have all been given lightweight gowns with intricate lacing up the backs, long sleeves, and high necklines. It must be court fashion, though it seems impractical in this weather.
I guess if you have the luxury of living in an enormous castle designed to funnel breezes and can afford servants to fan you, you don’t have to worry about beating the heat.
Studying my reflection in my room’s gilded mirror, I finish doing the best I can with my hair. The bright red of the dress is a more vibrant color than I’m used to wearing. The fabric makes me look as if I’ve been flayed.
Daintily flayed.
Leaving my room, I take in the rest of our party.
Stark in Astreonan clothing stops me short. He’s in loose-fitting pants and a tunic made of a similar lightweight fabric, all in shades of blue. The pants are a darker navy, but the shirt is a bright light blue, like a clear sky on a sunny day. The contrast between the bright color and the deep darkness of his eyes makes me swallow, hard.
His tunic has long sleeves and a high collar, and they cover up the majority of his tattoos so that just the ones on his hands and the top of his neck are showing.
My mind fills in the blanks without my permission. I want to map the course of those tattoos as they dip down to his chest, spread across his abs, and lower…
I turn abruptly and head into Venna’s room to see if she needs any help.
Venna is hurriedly dressing to make up for lost time. She was busy scouting the castle while the rest of us prepared.
Siphons at the war front may know how to identify our spies and see through their skills, but it’s evident that things are much more lax this far from Nocturna. Her Kryptos abilities made her quick and undetectable as she mapped potential escape routes.
According to her report, no one saw her.
“And it just seems like a castle,” Venna says.
“Yeah. I’ve thoughtthatbefore,” I scoff, remembering what we found lurking beneath our own castle’s bones. If there were secrets hidden by Siphon magic, would Venna be able to tell? Would any of us?
Alarmingly, it seems like we’ve all gotten used to the hint of sweetness in the air from their magic. I don’t even notice it anymore.
“But there are guards posted at all the exits—ostensibly for security. Though it feels more like containment. Here, Meryn.”
Venna taps my thigh, and I lift my leg and pull my skirts up to my hip. She bends and straps a sheath to my leg, then slots a dagger into it.
I do the same for Venna, slipping the leather into place against her skin.
It’s easy to hide blades beneath flowing skirts, which is good because we’re absolutely not going into this completely unarmed. Trust in our hosts is justifiably nonexistent.
I could always use shadebending if things go topsy-turvy… but I trust myself with knives almost more than with my magic.
We emerge back into the main room as a knock sounds at the doors, loud and insistent. I sigh. Somehow even their knocking sounds rude.
“Ready?” I check in with the rest of the group.
“As we’ll ever be,” Noemi replies.
“I know I’m as likely as any of you to be the one who slips up here, but we should try our best not to throw a wrench in negotiations before we know what’s on the table,” I say grudgingly. “No matter how much we want to throw caution to the wind and let our wolves run wild.”
