Broken (Thrall Book 2), page 20
From several feet away, their conversation appears to be jovial and friendly enough, but when the two leave Ellion and Lady Graystone behind, they look pleased to be rid of them.
I watch as Ellion excuses himself and slips away from his mother to head toward a table at the far end of the massive white tent, where hors d’oeuvres and drinks are laid out.
Before I approach, I peer around to see that Tallin is currently occupied with another couple, Valira lurking close behind him. Thorne has positioned himself by the house’s back entrance, and I can tell instantly that like me, he’s wishing we were anywhere but here.
When I’m sure it’s safe to do so, I head over to Ellion, slipping up next to him to reach for a small cheese tart.
“Nice evening, isn’t it?” I say.
“Nice enough,” he replies coldly.
He begins to step away from me, but I stop him with a few quick words. “It must be difficult for you.”
“What must?” he asks with a huff. When he turns to me, his irises swirl with color, and for the first time, I feel close to seeing his power—and I’m beginning to understand why it was so hard to decipher in past.
If I’m assessing him correctly, he sees people’s minds, their thoughts. Possibly even their emotions.
Yet, for some reason, he can’t see mine…and I suspect it irks him.
It’s probably why he dislikes me so intensely.
~Yes, Maude says. Keep telling yourself that’s why.
Shut it.
“What I’m saying is that it must be hard, being here. Hiding in plain sight,” I tell Ellion with a sigh, stepping closer to him. “Just as I am.”
“Ah.” He glances over my shoulder at another Noble as she grabs a plate of hors d’oeuvres, then heads back to her companion. “My mother told me you’re a Hunter,” Ellion says softly, the last word sliding from his lips with a dose of disdain. “Working for the Royals while you pose as Tallin’s fiancée. Lucky you.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell them about you or your mother.”
“Why not?”
“Two reasons. One, I haven’t detected violence in you.”
“And two?” he asks.
“I’d prefer to keep two to myself. Besides, if your power is as impressive as I suspect, shouldn’t you be able to read my thoughts?”
“Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. A Hunter keeps their guard up—or so the old saying goes.”
“I didn’t realize there was an old saying about Hunters,” I chuckle. “But if you read minds, aren’t you a Hunter, too? Can’t you tell who’s a Tethered, and who’s a Normal?”
“It doesn’t work quite like that,” he sneers, his eyes downcast as if he’d prefer to avoid the question entirely.
“I see. Well…I’m intrigued by your skill, as well as the fact that your mother is a Conjurer.”
“Yes,” Ellion says with more enthusiasm. “Almost anything you can conceive of. Jewelry. Money. Food, water. She can call it all up with her mind.”
“So, you two must be incredibly wealthy.”
Ellion issues me a crooked smile in spite of himself. “We do all right.”
I nod toward Lady Graystone, who’s been accosted by a small group of women. “Her arm,” I reply, my eyes fixed on her prosthetic. “She lost it because she couldn’t remove her implant herself, I assume?”
Ellion frowns. “Something like that.”
“Do you know how she escaped the Tower?”
For a moment, he looks surprised by the question.
“I…don’t know. We don’t talk about those days. All I know is that she found her way to freedom, and has lived the life of a Noble ever since.”
“As have you,” I observe. “And your father…?”
It’s a bold question. But I can see that Ellion has had a few drinks, and this may be my best chance to extract information from him and figure out why it is that Thorne thinks he and his mother are potentially useful allies.
“My father is…absent,” Ellion says. “Not that I mind. My mother and I enjoy our life of relative solitude. We have the good fortune of having been left in peace—at least, for the most part.”
“I don’t mean to disturb your peace,” I say under my breath. “But maybe you could help me—in return for my keeping your secret.”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”
I shrug. “No idea. But I’d like to play a little game.”
Ellion grinds his jaw for a moment. “To be honest, Lady Ingram, I’m not fond of games—except those where I get to set the rules. But if you’re willing to keep your mouth shut to protect my mother and me, I suppose I’ll go along with whatever game you have in mind.”
“Good.” I smile and turn to face the crowd of milling guests. “Tell me, then. Do you know if any of these Nobles are particularly hostile to the prince or the king?”
Ellion narrows his deep-set eyes at me. “This feels like a trap.”
“Not a trap. I’m simply asking for your help. You may as well put those powers of yours to good use. If you can see into people’s minds, maybe you can tell me what some of the guests think about the Royals.”
“Fine.” He looks around, his eyes moving from guest to guest.
“Lord and Lady Chaplin over there—they despise the king. They want him unseated, and a new king named—someone outside the line of succession.”
I look over to the couple he’s speaking of. I hadn’t noticed them before now, but instantly, even from this distance, I spy the color swimming in Lady Chaplin’s eyes—and then, deep in my mind like a distant memory, I see a Tethered Guard dead on the ground, his skin scorched a gruesome reddish-brown.
“A Conflag,” I say, identifying her as a fire-starter—a power similar to Lady Verdan’s.
“Really?” Ellion says, the slightest hint of admiration in his tone. “You can tell that from here?”
I nod. “Unfortunately for them, yes.”
“And you’re going to report them?”
“I haven’t decided yet. But if I don’t report someone today, the king will grow suspicious. Tell me—do you like the Chaplins? Are they decent people?”
“No. They’re awful. Worse than the Royals, by far.”
Those words surprise me. It’s clear by now that neither Ellion nor his mother likes Tallin—though I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that Lady Graystone seems to be carrying on a quiet, illicit relationship with the king.
God help her if Lady Verdan ever learns of it.
“Anyone else?” I ask. “Anyone you think is bad news for you or your mother, for instance?”
“Everyone at this fucking party is bad news for us,” he sneers. “If any of them knew what we were, we’d both be dead.”
Still, he names off a list of six or seven Nobles, most of whom turn out to be Normals. I make a mental note of the two Tethered among them.
As Ellion is about to leave, I say, “I’ve heard you and your mother might have a connection with the rebels.”
It’s a lie—sort of. Thorne only said he thought the Graystones would be useful to us—nothing specifically about rebels.
But if there’s a chance they could help us get to the Capitol, I fully intend to take advantage of it.
“Where did you hear that?” Ellion asks, his voice taking on a nervous edge.
“Doesn’t matter. Is it true?”
“There’s a Tethered who moves between the palace and the Capitol undetected—a Stealther. My mother speaks to him on occasion to learn what’s been going on.”
Interesting, I think. Maybe that’s the real reason Lady Graystone was at the palace this morning.
“And?” I ask. “What is going on?”
“Nothing you need to hear about.” Ellion begins to walk away without another word, but I grab his arm.
“I could end you with a word to the prince,” I say under my breath. “You know that.”
With his eyes darkening, he turns to me. “What do you want to know? That the rebellion is in shambles? That the city’s constant bombings mean half the rebels are dead and the others are blaming one another? That the Normals are hunting Tethered in the streets? Is that what you want to hear? Because that’s what’s happening, Lady Ingram.”
I stare into his eyes, trying desperately to read him, to determine whether he’s telling the truth. If only I could speak to Thorne, to ask him to look into the future again and tell me what it is that he sees.
Why are the Graystones important? What does he know that he’s not telling me?
I swallow, afraid to summon the words lingering on the edge of my mind. “Is the man they call the Shadow still in the Capitol? Do you know if he’s still alive?”
“I…don’t know. But if you’re smart, you won’t mention him out loud again. That man is a curse—and the most dangerous Tethered Kravan has ever known…That is, until you came along.”
“I’m not as dangerous as you think.”
“No?” he asks. “You showed a good deal of interest in the Histories at the dinner party the other night. I’d say that makes you dangerous.”
“I don’t really care about any of that,” I tell him a little too emphatically.
“Right. I’m sure you have no desire to learn the truth about Kravan’s past—just as no one else does.” His voice drips with sarcasm.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on. Surely you’re not this dense,” he hisses, then leans in closer and whispers, “The real reason Nobles have been breaking into one another’s houses for years is to try and gain knowledge—any snippet of the Histories they can get their hands on. There’s a theory going around that the truth would dissolve the king’s power and turn the entire system on its head—so you can understand why people want that knowledge. It’s also the real reason the Histories aren’t kept in the palace, where the king could easily destroy them.”
“What do you think is in those texts, Ellion?”
He looks around, then lowers his chin and says, “Lies, I’ve heard. Plain and simple. Kravan will suffer a blow if they’re ever uncovered. So I’m telling you now—don’t do something stupid, Shara. If the king loses his throne, every Noble—Tethered or Normal—will be at risk. Don’t you see? If another Rebellion occurs, we will be the first targets.”
“If war breaks out, we could join the rebels,” I tell him. “Fight on the right side of history. With your power and your mother’s, you could both be incredible assets for the side striving for equality.”
An expression comes over his face that I can’t quite read. “Equality,” he says. “Why is everyone so hung up on that concept? We’re not equal, and you know it as well as I do. Some people deserve to serve. Others deserve to lead.”
“You think King Tomas deserves to lead?”
With a strange smile, Ellion shakes his head. “No, I don’t. But I think there are far worse men and women for the job. So, until a better ruler comes along, I will happily continue to hide in plain sight along with my mother, while his throne remains secure. But when the next ruler comes—if it’s who I think it will be—the tide will turn. Kravan will see a renewal of its glory days.”
I try in vain to read his face. Surely he can’t be talking about Tallin. “And the Tethered?”
“Any Tethered worth their salt will know it is better to serve willingly than to die.”
With that, he leaves me standing on my own.
Ellion Graystone is confusing as hell.
Part of me feels sympathy for him. His entire life has been spent looking over his shoulder, warily assessing the rest of the world for threats.
But wariness aside, there’s something about him and his mother that feels…off. Then again, perhaps it’s just that they’ve both concealed the truth for so long that neither of them has ever learned to trust other people.
I can’t say I blame them.
Chapter
Thirty-Four
I’ve begun quietly searching the grounds for Thorne when I see Tallin lurching toward me on unsteady legs.
He’s even more intoxicated now than he was in the Flyer, and I watch him with disgust as he nearly falls to the ground a few feet away.
“You’re shupposed to be hobnobbing with Nobles,” he scolds, wagging a finger in my face when he’s managed to straighten up. “Not shquatting in a corner by yourshelf. Your…self.”
With that, he turns back to the crowd and leans an elbow on my shoulder, still swaying from side to side.
“I’m studying the guests from a distance,” I tell him, doing my best to support him without actually laying a hand on him. “By the way, I’ve got some information for you—a few new Tethered to add to the list.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
“Later,” I say, waving my hand through the air to ward off the stench of alcohol.
I notice in that moment that the sun is hanging low over the horizon. It will be dark soon—which means the party will move inside, and I’ll have a chance to conceal myself in the guest house with Thorne. That is, if I can get rid of the foul prince. “Where’s Valira? I thought she was going to stick close to you.”
“Around here somewhere,” he half sings, waving a hand in the air as if he’s conducting an orchestra. “I suppose I ought to go find her.” He glances down at me with a ridiculous, foolish grin on his lips. “Will you be all right on your own, sweet little thing?”
“Don’t call me that,” I snarl under my breath.
“Oh—I’m sorry. Would you prefer that I called you my dearest love?”
I roll my eyes at him. “Just go. Find your lady friend, with my blessing. Then maybe it would be a good idea if you found a place to lie down.”
“You’re probably right.” To my delight, Tallin does as I tell him, tripping over his feet as he shuffles toward the house’s back entrance.
He passes Lady Graystone on his way and for a moment, the two stop and have a word. I can’t hear them, but I can see from their body language the conversation is less than friendly.
At one point, Tallin reaches for her shoulder, gripping it hard, and Lady Graystone shoves him away with what sound like a few choice words.
When they’ve finished their brief conversation, Lady Graystone—to my surprise—strides over to me.
“Hello, Lady Ingram,” she says. “How are you this evening?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” I reply, unsettled by a quiet menace in her tone. “And you?”
“Very well,” she says, holding up a hand as I’ve seen Lady Verdan do before. A small item appears at the center of her palm—a ring identical to the one I’m wearing. She picks it up and hands it to me, but it fades away a moment later. “Your prince, on the other hand, is three sheets to the wind.”
“I apologize for his state,” I offer. “In my defense, he was like that when he got into the Flyer.”
“Not surprising. He and Lord Nelson aren’t exactly close. They’ve had a few altercations in their time.” She nods toward our host, who’s busy chatting with a couple of middle-aged Noble lords. “Lord Nelson is what you might call a shit-stirrer. Then again, so is the prince.”
“What do you mean, exactly?” I ask, even though I know perfectly well what a pain in the ass Tallin is.
Lady Graystone moves closer, nodding toward Lord Nelson. “Rumor has it that he has sent Crimson Elites to various Nobles’ homes to ransack them, looking for anything he can use to incriminate them and elevate his own rank in society in the process. He’s gone after some who are close to the prince—and though Tallin can’t prove anything, it’s safe to say there are a few trust issues where Nelson is concerned.”
“I still don’t understand why we’re here, then,” I muse. “Why would Tallin agree to attend this party in the first place? He’s not the type to do things that make him miserable, if he can avoid it.”
“Because you have a job to do, naturally.” Lady Graystone peers out at the guests, who have started making their way inside. “And I suspect Tallin is desperate to please his father. So, tell me—how goes the hunt?”
“I’d rather it weren’t going at all,” I tell her. “I’m pretty well ready to let the wealthy eat their own, and I want no part of it. But I have no choice.”
“No, I suppose you don’t. I would do the same in your place, naturally. But you know—you have been offered a wonderful life. You’re engaged to a prince, for God’s sake. Maybe you should consider embracing that, instead of conspiring to let the Nobility implode.”
I gawk at her, so stunned that I nearly laugh. “You can’t be serious. I would never in a million years consider marrying…that.”
It’s not the first time she’s suggested I simply try to become a part of the despicable Nobility and forsake everything I care about—and the very suggestion is grotesque.
“Well, then, perhaps you should think about marrying someone Tallin sees as competition. My son, for instance.”
I’m not about to entertain the prospect, but still, I ask, “You think the Prince sees Ellion as competition?”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that the prince is intimidated by everyone and everything—and my son in particular terrifies him. But they stay out of one another’s way, for the most part. Tallin has enough sense to do that, at least.”
“Do you think Tallin knows Ellion can read minds?” I half whisper.
Lady Graystone’s eyes widen with surprise. “It seems your skills aren’t as honed as I’d thought, Hunter. My son does far more than read minds.”
I don’t know what she means by that, but the menace in her voice sets the hair on the back of my neck on edge.
“What exactly is his power, then?” I muster, though I don’t particularly crave a reply.
“Let’s just say it’s one that instils fear in the hearts of many—even if they don’t yet know it. One of these days, you’ll see it in action, and trust me—it’s quite remarkable.”
Inadvertently, I pull away from her. As much as I’ve found myself enjoying Lady Graystone’s company, something about her demeanor tonight seems as menacing as anything Tallin has ever thrown my way—and that’s saying a lot.
