The Dragonrider Heritage Second Series, page 5
I frowned down at the gardens that stretched out below the balcony. No point in arguing. She just wanted to get under my skin. Or in my head, I guess. Either way, I couldn’t let her get to me.
“I understand, though. It’s important to have those people in your life you know you can always rely on.” Violet’s expression softened as she looked away, the wind catching in her long platinum hair. “Truth be told, I’m quite impressed by her. She’s adapted well to life in the court and gives good counsel on interactions with the nobility of Nar’Haleen. Their social structure is so different from Maldobar’s … I’m glad Her Majesty is so open-minded to learn.”
No kidding. In the past, Maldobar had been a lot less involved in international affairs. Our trade market had been good, sure, but Maldobar had always preferred to focus inward—more specifically, on fortifying its military strength. That had always been the pride of the kingdom, since we were the only place in the world with wild dragons.
But we couldn’t afford to continue on with that mindset.
“After what happened with the Tibran Empire, Jenna’s on a mission to make sure communication stays open between all the kingdoms,” I said.
“And what of the Tibrans?” Violet asked, looking convincingly distracted with her nails again. “Have they still sent no word to your sister? No ambassadors? No mysterious messengers from afar?”
Ahh. There it was. The real reason she was needling me like this. She wanted to know if my sister had divulged anything secret and useful to me.
“I’m guessing that’s what you’re here to ‘take notes’ about, eh?” I snorted and shook my head. “Sorry, but you’re fresh out of luck. I don’t get invited to those kinds of meetings anymore, and it’s not something anyone talks about around the family dinner table—on the rare occasion I’m actually here to sit at it.”
She flashed me a look, blinking quickly like she was shocked. “I didn’t come here to question you, Reigh. Honestly, it was just a bit of personal curiosity. I’m certain my employer already knows those things. Gathering the information flowing through the royal court isn’t my area of expertise.”
I crossed my arms and faced her. “What is, then?”
She hesitated, her ruby-colored eyes holding my gaze for a quick, reluctant moment. “My eyes are ordered to stay watchful over a few divinely-touched individuals. One in particular, tonight.”
My heart gave a little jolt. Wow. She was … actually telling me the truth? Why? “You’re talking about Thatcher, right?”
Her lips pursed sourly. “Not very discreet, are you?”
“Not at all.” I smirked. “But then again, I’m not the one working as a slimy little snitch for a crime lord.”
She tossed more of her hair over her slender shoulder and turned away, tilting her chin up stubbornly. “Well, then. So much for trying to be friendly. Enjoy your evening, I’ll be in touch when my employer is ready to speak with you.”
Ugggh. Why? Why did it always go like this? No matter who I tried to talk to, nothing seemed to come out right. I never knew what to say. And what I did say was usually taken the wrong way, or much more seriously than I intended. Somehow, I wound up looking like the same mouthy jerk I’d always been.
I didn’t like her, sure, but I didn’t … you know, despise her. I didn’t have a specific reason to other than her job, which I knew almost nothing about when it came to specifics. But in the little I’d interacted with her before this, she had been a lot more forthcoming and helpful than I expected from someone who worked for the most notorious crime lord in the world.
I at least owed her a small amount of civility.
As Violet sidestepped around me to leave the balcony, I reached out and grasped her arm. Tugging her gently to a halt, I tried to give her an earnest look so maybe she’d know I wasn’t trying to insult her or pick a fight. “H-Hey, uh. Look, I … I crossed a line. Sorry.”
She lifted a brow, looking wholly unimpressed. “You might consider working on that princely apology of yours. It’s a tad clunky.” Her gaze flickered between my face and where I still lightly grasped her arm right above her elbow.
Oops. Maybe I should step back and—
“Dance with me, then,” she said as though it were some kind of challenge.
“Dance?” Why the heck would she want to dance with me? Wasn’t that a little risky for someone who was supposed to be an undercover agent?
One corner of her mouth curled into that annoying little smug grin again. “That would be a much more appropriate gesture of apology. You do know how, don’t you? I know you were raised as a commoner in Luntharda, so please don’t be embarrassed if it’s still a bit … beyond your ability.”
Um. What?
No. No way was I going to stand there and take that kind of abuse. I tightened my grip on her arm and tugged her in a little closer as I leaned down to whisper, “I guess you’ll find out, won’t you?”
No one would ever accuse me of being a fantastic dancer. I knew how, of course. Well, sort of. I could get by without completely humiliating myself, though. Good enough.
Violet didn’t seem to care about my actual dancing abilities whatsoever as we moved fluidly around the ballroom, spinning and swaying in sync with the other couples around us. Every now and then I caught a fleeting glimpse of a group of nobles gaping at us as we passed. They whispered and stared, probably wondering who Violet was. That revealing red gown of hers was going to get us both in trouble at this rate.
Somehow, the smug little grin on her lips made me wonder if that hadn’t been her plan all along—to scandalize my reputation and stir up the nobility with whispers of some mystery affair with an unknown foreign woman so my sister gave me a good tongue lashing later?
Yep. Sounded about right. Well played.
“It’s customary to make conversation while dancing, you know,” she teased as she leaned in to rest her wrist lazily on my shoulder. Ugh. Yet another subtle, familiar gesture that would get the nobles talking. They’d be stirred up like pigeons around a freshly thrown bread crust.
“I guess I’m not too skilled when it comes to casual conversation,” I sighed and flicked my gaze away, barely catching sight of Jaevid standing with Thatcher and Murdoc at the buffet table. He nearly dropped his wine goblet when he saw me.
Well, at least I had his attention.
“Clearly,” Violet jabbed and gave my ear a flick, like someone scolding a naughty child. “It’s been a while since we spoke at all, hasn’t it? Since that little errand with your nephew, I believe. So, how goes that project you’ve been working on? Starting a medical group within the dragonrider ranks, I believe it was?”
“Yeah. It’s going as well as it can, I guess,” I said, not really sure why she cared about any of that at all. Maybe she didn’t and she was just patronizing me—but, hey, she was the one who insisted on talking at all. “We’ve sent the newest batch of graduates on their way, and I’ve already gotten a dozen more applications from the upcoming avian ranks to begin their intensive healer’s training with Kiran. Not all of the ones who volunteer are actually cut out for it, though. Kiran puts them through some intense disqualifying challenges to see who can really stomach dealing with serious injuries when they evacuate wounded riders off the battlefield. Every dragonrider gets a little basic medical instruction already—mostly self-rescue stuff in case you’re injured in battle. That’s been a part of the curriculum for decades. But this training takes them far beyond that, making members capable of stabilizing the gravely injured and getting them to safety.”
“Interesting,” she tilted her head to the side, watching me closely with those eerie scarlet eyes. Strange. I wonder how that had happened, exactly. I’d never seen anyone with eyes like that before, and it’d never seemed like a good time to ask her about it.
“Why?” I held her gaze for as long as I could manage it, trying to detect any signs of deception as I asked, “Is this something Arlan has an interest in?”
Her lips pursed unhappily, like I was spoiling the whole moment. “No, but I do.”
I frowned. What? She was interested in …? No. Nope. This was some sort of ploy. Yet another mind game.
No way was she just casually interested in my life. Like a friend or something. Heh. Yeah, right. I must finally be losing my mind. I had met her only a handful of times. Four—maybe five—at the most, over the course of the last ten-or-so years. I’d first met her when Arlan helped my sister with my nephew, Ronan. He had a particular and deeply troubling condition that, unfortunately, I could relate to. After that, I’d caught glimpses of her moving through events like this. The annual officer’s ball. Gatherings at court. She came and went like a midnight shadow, and sometimes approached to taunt me a little. That did not make us buddies.
Acquaintances, yes.
Friends, absolutely not.
“It’s a surprisingly noble cause you’ve chosen to pursue. And I hear you’ve invested a lot of your time and energy into it. I just wondered if it’s all come together the way you’d hoped,” she continued, her tone casual as she stared up at me. She didn’t seem to care much that I didn’t look back at her, though.
Not that she was, you know, bad to look at. But eye contact had become sort of difficult for me after all these years. I didn’t really even understand why. It just was. It felt like trust, somehow. And trust hadn’t gotten any easier for me, even with people like Isandri or Jaevid, who I counted as my closest friends.
“It’s rarer than you realize, Your Highness,” she mused with a knowing grin. “Being drawn to a cause that requires so much from you but gives nothing in return. Especially amongst those members of society who are provided more opportunities than the rest of us.”
Hmm. That almost sounded like the truth. But it probably wasn’t. Spies weren’t exactly renowned for their honesty, right? I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
“Fine. Fair enough. I wouldn’t call it noble, though. It was an obvious need. And I’m in a unique position to provide a solution.” I swallowed, trying to shake off that stiff discomfort in the back of my throat. “As long as we’re discussing work, did you really come here just to check in on Thatcher? Godling status aside, he’s still got Murdoc glowering over his shoulder most of the time. Er, well, under his shoulder, I suppose. Regardless, I don’t think there’s a soul alive in Maldobar brave enough to try to do anything to him at this point.”
“I do hope you’re correct.” Her smile was thin and never quite reached her eyes. “I’ve been in my current line of work for twenty years now. I know my employer well. Or, at least, I thought I did. But he’s been more …” she hesitated, as though struggling to find the right word.
“Anxious?” I asked. “Paranoid?”
Violet didn’t answer aloud, but her lips thinned into a tense little frown as she looked away, out across the ballroom, almost like she was checking to see if anyone suspicious was watching us.
Ahh. Okay. So she was here on orders from Arlan to keep an eye on Thatcher because something—Gods only knew what—had him on edge.
Well now, I didn’t like the sound of that one single, tiny, minuscule bit. Arlan was by far the most powerful and well-connected sorcerer I had ever seen. He held power I hadn’t even imagined was possible. I wasn’t sure if that was because of his powerful Avoran Elf blood or not, but if something or someone had Arlan the Kinslayer nervous, then I shuddered to think what that might mean for the rest of us.
Bad things, to say the very least.
As our dance slowly came to an end, I stood back and offered Violet the usual formal bow, as was expected in courtly dances. At least, according to my sister, anyway. Instead of returning it with the customary curtsy, however, Violet stepped in and grasped the back of my neck, pulling me down closer. Her entire expression had gone cool and calculating, almost like her mind had suddenly swapped over to a different personality altogether. She stood up on her toes long enough to press her lips against my cheek right next to my ear.
My whole head went hot like someone had just doused my hair in dragon venom and lit it on fire. What the heck was she doing?!
She held me there, her grip on my neck firm and relentless, and whispered quickly, “Jaevid and the others are watching us. Signal to them to follow from a distance. It’s time.”
Oh … Oh, crap. It was time to go and meet Arlan? I must have missed something—some cue she’d been waiting for.
“Now,” she said through her teeth as she stepped back and offered me a painfully forced smile. “Take my hand and guide me off the dance floor. Walk me to the main hall. Take the stairs to the second floor.”
I moved in, fixing her with a hard stare as I took her hand and guided it into the crook of my elbow. “And where are we going exactly?”
She didn’t even look my way, somehow managing to speak without even moving her lips as she kept on smiling widely out across the ballroom. “To your chambers. He’s waiting. Hurry now, we don’t have much time. And, if you can manage, try to look a little less miserable, would you? We don’t want to make the general public suspicious now, do we?”
PART TWO
MAYLEA
5
CHAPTER FIVE
Whew. Okay. This was it. Fourteen years of training had all boiled down to tonight. Fine, so maybe not all fourteen, but most of them. I’d had a blade or a bow in my hands practically since birth. So, really, how could anyone be surprised that I—Maylea Broadfeather, daughter of the famous lapiloque and Seraph—was not content to sit here in this room with a bunch of little kids and rot while everyone else got to have a good time. Who saw that coming, right?
Besides, I had a mission. Somewhere in this huge castle, my very best childhood friend was probably locked away somewhere. That’s the only reason I could come up with that I hadn’t seen him in six years. Tonight, though, I was going to find him—even if that meant I had to sneak out and search room by room.
I slipped out of bed, easing my feet onto the cool marble floor. Carefully … carefully. No noise. No wrong steps. I couldn’t afford to mess this up now. Otherwise, I’d wind up spending the whole night watching the maids chase my two little brothers around like someone trying to catch a pair of wild cats.
No way. Not again.
Not that it wasn’t hilarious to watch, but I had already seen that particular performance many times. Daily, in fact, since my parents spent a lot of time doing the same thing at home. Our housekeeper, Navalie, usually helped out as much as she could—but we weren’t anywhere near our family estate tonight.
For the next few days, we were staying at the royal castle for what was always the biggest celebration in the entire kingdom. It was the party everyone talked about and looked forward to all year, even more than the solstice or midwinter holidays. Every spring, my parents dressed in their finest clothes, packed up our family into our nicest carriage, and made the journey from our home outside Solhelm all the way down to the royal city of Halfax to join in the festivities.
But more importantly, it was my one chance all year to look for him. It had been so long, I wasn’t sure Ronan would even remember me if he saw me now. Hopefully. Otherwise, this was going to be seriously awkward—because there was absolutely no way I was going to spend yet another year caged up in this room with the little kids. I had a plan. I had the skills to finally pull it off. I just needed this chance to get out there and search.
I cringed, holding my breath as I carried my boots and made a dash across my room. I leaned against the wall right next to the bedroom door and stopped, holding my breath to listen. As far as my parents knew, I was determined to stay locked up in here sulking for the rest of the night. I’d put on a pretty good performance for them earlier—teary eyes, shouting about not getting to dance, the whole childish show. Acting wasn’t one of my finer skills, but I was pretty sure it had been enough to convince them I wouldn’t be setting foot outside this room for the rest of the evening. Er, well, maybe.
Fates, I hoped so.
I set my jaw as I crouched down, moving as slowly and carefully as possible. Beyond the door, the voices of my parents still echoed in the main room. But they wouldn’t stick around for much longer. It was well past sunset, and the ball downstairs was sure to be underway by now.
I held my breath as I peered through the keyhole, checking to see if they were leaving yet.
Beyond my bedroom door, I spotted my father’s tall frame standing before my mother’s much shorter figure while she adjusted the fur collar of his cloak and smoothed down a few locks of his hair. He stared down at her, admiration in every corner of the gentle smile that made the long scar over one of his eyes crinkle at his cheek.
“You look so beautiful,” he murmured.
She laughed quietly and shook her head. “So would you, if you bothered to brush your hair a bit more. Look at these knots. Honestly, Jae. Did you even try?”
“Oh, you know, I was going for that windblown, rugged look.”
“What you achieved was the ‘I ran out of time and forgot to brush my hair’ look.” She flicked the end of his nose. “It’s much less fashionable.”
He chuckled and shrugged. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
They both paused, seeming to share in a moment of tense, uncomfortable silence before my mother finally cleared her throat. “You should go and talk to her before we go, Jae. You know she has always had better ears for the things you say,” she urged, her tone soothing and gentle as she put a hand on my father’s arm. “I know she’s becoming every bit the stubborn young woman I was—and Gods rest my father’s spirit for putting up with me—but she wants your approval.”
He stared down at her, so tall and stoic in his shining ensemble of dragonrider armor. With his sweeping cloak of regal blue rippling at the heels of his polished boots, and his ashy, silver-colored hair pulled partly back to expose his pointed ears, he looked like a knight straight from the old stories of heroes and gods.
