And with that, I had no room to think of anything other than where his sword was and how to keep it from cutting me in two.
Erde be damned, he was fast. I barely kept up.
We ended up with our swords locked, our bodies strangely entwined. I could feel each place his body touched mine. It was like an intricate dance, but deadly. He exerted just enough pressure on his sword that I struggled to keep mine in place, keep him from overpowering me. I finally broke away, and we continued on in this vein for quite some time.
He finally took pity on me and called it quits, both of us drenched with sweat—actually,Iwas drenched with sweat, while Griff just had a nice gleam to his skin. I watched him toss the practice sword back and forth from hand to hand and remembered how he had stopped my sword with just his forearm, with no visible injury. I knew he was strong, but I also knew how much strength was in my attack.
“How is your arm not broken?”
He knew what I meant and looked at me, considering how to answer, when it occurred to me.
“You can shield,” I breathed in wonder. “With your body channel.”
“Not many people know that.”
“Does it extend to others?”
He was surprised by the question. “I’ve never found out.”
I left it at that, still thinking it over, and as I turned to get water, he called out softly, “Princess?”
I turned back to him, an unreadable expression in his eyes. “I’ll tell you next time I have to leave.”
“Promise?”
“Promise. And I’ll find you as soon as I return.”
“Thank you.”
Chapter
Thirteen
The Veil is fraying. They say they’re able to repair it. But this hasn’t happened in the who knows how many hundreds of years the Veil has been in place. Why now? What happened now that it’s begun to fray? And such confidence that it can be repaired, when we have no idea how it was created in the first place? But no one seems to share my worries. They just tell me to go off like a good little princess and do good little princess things. As if I’ve ever done that.
—From the journal of Violet Andrever
Iwas now such a common sight in the kitchen that no one paid me any special attention, which was exactly how I liked it. Now, they included me in their chatter and gossip, and I learned another side of the culture of Valdris, one that resonated with me significantly more than anything I’d learned about the noble court.
The subject of conversation today was Ignistar, the upcoming winter solstice, the largest of the High Day celebrations. It had been the most celebrated High Day in Fairhaven, too, but it sounded like the residents of Valdris went all out, nobility and staff alike. There would be two parties in the castle—one for the courtiers in the Great Hall and one for the staff in a massive hall near the kitchens. Iwondered how to get out of going to the upstairs party and be invited to the downstairs one instead.
It was times like these that I missed Nana more than ever. At home, we would have been picking out the best pine tree we could find, carting it back to our cottage, and decorating it with ribbon and pieces of lace. I wondered how she would get the tree by herself this year. Or maybe she wouldn’t put a tree up at all.
That thought made me inordinately sad and I turned my attention back to Cadhla and Mona, two of the kitchen maids, who were explaining the traditions to me.
“It’s beautiful!” Mona gushed. “Everything is decorated with pines and flames. If we’re lucky, it snows that night. And everyone wears red to honor Ignis.”
“Do you have a dress, my lady?” Cadhla asked.
With my mouth full of food, I hesitated. There was a wardrobe full of dresses in my room but I had no idea if any of them were appropriate.
Cadhla continued nervously, “My sister is a seamstress here, if you’d like to have her craft something?—”
“Cadhla, don’t impose on the princess,” Granya said, chopping vegetables with a well-practiced hand.
“Cadhla’s sister is the best,” Mona quickly added.
I swallowed thickly. “She isn’t imposing. I’d love it if your sister made my dress.”
