He didn’t say anything.
I sighed. “Thank you for coming to eavesdrop, Noel.”
“What else are brothers for?”
I snorted. “Helping their older sisters. Do you know if Jacob has made it back from the scavenger hunt yet?”
“Jacob? You aren’t thinking of giving up on Alan because of this, are you, Mina?”
“What?” It took me a moment to understand that my brother thought I wanted to see Jacob because he might be my choice after Alan. But I wasn’t giving up. If anything, knowing Alan had opened my letter and hadn’t burned the invitation gave me more hope. If Powell had stolen the invitation, that could also explain why Alan hadn’t come to the palace yet. Maybe it wasn’t because he didn’t want to. “Nothing like that, Noel. Jacob is a magic-reader. Given what happened in Skorsa, I’d like to make sure the mage didn’t leave behind any surprises.”
Jacob’s ability to see magic would make it much safer to search and give me the peace of mind that we hadn’t missed anything. That way, I could focus my efforts on something far more important: making sure Alan would be welcomed into the palace even without an invitation.
Thirty-One
Mina
???
The morning ofthe ball passed in excruciating slowness. Sam and Noel had agreed to be on the lookout for Alan. Jacob stayed with me as I circulated among the other men invited to the palace. Most of my guests were in a room similar to the green parlor, only larger. They mingled, played cards, and tried to secure my attention. I had done my best to be social, but eventually had retreated to a corner, where Jacob and I moved pieces on a chessboard, though anybody who watched closely would realize we weren’t actually playing.
Even receiving a note from the constables, informing me that the son had provided them enough information to locate Gerald Powell and arrest him, didn’t significantly lift my mood. I wanted Powell to face justice for his crimes, but it didn’t reverse time. The damage was already done.
Jacob tried to cheer me, then just to distract me. He told me stories of the various things he had seen on his travels, but nothing held my interest. Not the dragons in the Gaboor Mountains, nor the violent cyclones off the southern coast. Not his tale of fleeing a village after a simple misunderstanding spiraled out of control, nor his report of the strange customs of the Elsivein Isles.
“I think I might make my way there next and see if the rumors are true,” Jacob told me, picking up a game piece of carved jade—though I vaguely thought jade had been my color to begin. He didn’t wait for a response. “Of course, to get to Elsivein, a ship has to travel through the worst of the cyclone range. Maybe I should go to Thierrol first. There’s a node locked to weather-reading there. I’ve heard the family tied to the node can see the cyclone paths over the entire ocean.”
I lifted a carnelian pawn and forced myself to respond. “There was only a single girl, not a family, when I visited Thierrol years ago. She must have been an orphan, and the entire town took responsibility for her, since she was the last of her line.”
“A child?”
“Well, not anymore. She was probably about my age, so she’d be an adult by now.”
Though I managed to continue the conversation with Jacob for a few more minutes, my thoughts remained on Alan and what I would do if he didn’t come to the palace.
Then, suddenly, I had my answer. I had given Alan time, but after everything else that had happened, I couldn’t assume that his absence meant he’d never forgive me. In fact, I might have made a mistake giving him as much time as I had. He needed to know that I would fight for him.
“I’ll go to Skorsa,” I said, taking Jacob completely by surprise.
His brow furrowed. “Now?”
I bit my lip. I wanted to. But I knew I couldn’t leave. “Tomorrow. If Alan doesn’t come to the ball, then I’ll ride to Skorsa first thing tomorrow.” I stood up. “Thanks for the game.”
Jacob looked at the board in bemusement. “You are welcome, but where are you going?”
“To chat with the others. I need to make sure my mother can’t find fault with my behavior today if I am to have any hope of getting out of the palace tomorrow.”
???
The rest ofthe morning and early afternoon passed more quickly. Having made a decision to act helped. I was still worried that Alan hadn’t come to the palace, but it wasn’t as overwhelming. I no longer had to rely on optimism alone. If he didn’t come to me, I’d go to him. Realizing that I didn’t have to stay passive, that there was a difference between giving him space and abandoning him, helped. Though I wish I’d had my epiphany a week earlier so that I could have gone to Skorsa before the ball.
Eventually, it was time to begin my preparations for the ball. For the past three days, I had mostly worn gowns from the working portion of my wardrobe, but tonight I could be nothing less than Crown Princess Charmina. I couldn’t fade into the background at the ball—not that my other dresses had helped me fade among my guests.
Tonight, every eye would be on me.
Mistress Dawes had done wonders with my gown. The bodice and overskirt were made of a shimmering silk somewhere between sapphire and midnight, with wide bands of gold embroidery sparkling at the cuffs, neckline, and hem. Pearls lined the fabric where it split over a ruffled underskirt in blush pink. The stomacher was made with the same pink silk, overlaid with lace made of gold thread and studded with more pearls.
My maid wove matching silk ribbons through my hair as she piled it atop my head in one of the elaborate coiffures I usually avoided. She added pink roses and a bit of the same gold lace to finish the style. Then she pulled out the necklace my father had gifted me for the occasion—though I was certain my mother had chosen the piece. Made of gold, it was the same collar design that had sent me to Alan’s forge the first time. Unlike the necklace I had brought to Skorsa, this one was made of only one type of gold and widened in the center, stretching down past my collarbone before tapering to a point in a gentle curve. Hanging from the tip, a large sapphire sparkled just above the neckline of my gown.
