Just then, a fetid odour hit me—fishy and sour.
Coriander dipped his head towards his wet shirt and sniffed it. “The scent of recently slaughtered sea spiders,” he answered,chuckling. They both smelled like that. “We’ll wash now. We have to meet Roak and Nala in twenty minutes.” He turned to Reagan. “Do you think you can make it?”
As he nodded, Coriander faced me, his expression shifting to something serious. “There is something else. Jane won’t be able to join this meeting. Our staff asked only you to join, Reagan.”
“Why? She’s my emissary,” Reagan argued.
“But she’s a new emissary,” Coriander replied in a flat tone. He didn’t seem pleased by it.
“It’s all right,” I told Reagan, rising from my chair. Given that Roak would be attending, I could guess why they preferred me not to be there. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“She suggested one of the topics, Cor,” Alameda remarked, lifting her chin in my direction.
“I know she did, but they are insisting we keep this meeting small,” Coriander replied, scratching his chin. “Unless...maybe if you swear loyalty to Mountheim on a Grimoire.”
“What?No, she won’t do that!” Reagan snapped, sounding as if he was offended. “I trust her. That should be enough for your staff leader.”
“And I trust you. But I think we should choose the battle we want to fight now,” Coriander replied calmly. “We are still working with my parents’ staff, not the ones that we would have chosen.”
Reagan’s eyes narrowed, seeming ready to argue.
“It’s fine,” I said again, raising a shoulder.
“We should go, we don’t have much time,” Alameda cut in. “Let us take you to a bath before this smell clings to the flowers.”
They turned towards the entrance, letting Reagan and me fall behind.
“Just come with me. Let’s see what they do,” Reagan muttered.
“Hm, I’d better not. But there’s something else I found out,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. “Did you know there’s a stone bench in the Pool of Quintessence?”
Reagan kept his gaze ahead, though I might have seen his mouth twitch. “Is that so?”
CHAPTER 17
I kept my gaze low, avoiding eye contact with the castle staff, moving with purpose as though I was supposed to be here. I’d managed to slip past at least three of them so far.
After the lords had showered and changed, they left with Alameda to meet Roak and Nala. I was left behind, clearly not trusted to participate in negotiating our deals. But that granted me the perfect excuse to roam Erisea Hall.
The corridors were wide enough to accommodate two people walking side by side while I passed in the opposite direction. Dark green walls framed the space, adorned with white wooden furniture and numerous flower vases, which looked like something Alameda would have picked to decorate.
As I searched for the foyer, I heard a voice that made my stomach clench.
Roak was speaking with someone who seemed to be getting an earful of orders from the staff leader.
Pressing myself against the cool stone wall, I peered around the corner of the hallway. My heart jumped as I spotted them moving towards my corridor.
If he saw me here, wandering where I shouldn’t, he would certainly think I was spying or tainting their castle with my ordinary human presence.
I needed to hide. We couldn’t afford the staff leader finding problems to stop the trades with Erisea. I couldn’t jeopardise that for Reagan.
I reached for the nearest door, my fingers soft against the brass handle. Slowly, carefully, I turned it, praying it wouldn’t creak. The door yielded, and I slipped inside, closing it behind me with painstaking care.
The room was cloaked in darkness, but empty. I pressed my back to the wall, breathing shallowly as footsteps echoed closer outside and then faded.
I thought he was already with the others.
Sighing, I let my eyes take in the room. Couches with worn upholstery, wooden cabinets topped with books, and idle ornaments scattered about. Perhaps it was a sitting area, though far less illuminated than the other chambers.
