by Emily L K
The door clicked shut behind him and Cori stared at it for a moment, stunned by his abrupt departure. Then, as if drawn by its presence, she turned her head and examined the dress. It was beautiful.
She lifted it by its sleeveless straps until it hung at its full length. It was not the current fashion of plunging necklines and flouncing skirts, but it gave off an aura of sophistication. The neckline was high and the cut straight. It allowed for some sensuality with a dropped back that would show skin almost to her waist. The skirt was constructed in individual panels of chiffon material so that when Cori moved the dress, the panels lifted to show golden material beneath.
Cori was dressed and fussing with her hair in a mirror by Rowan’s wardrobe when the door clicked open and Saasha stepped in. Her sister was slack mouthed with awe as she gazed about the room, taking in everything from the oversized bed to the soaring vista views from the windows. When Saasha’s eyes finally came to rest on Cori, her mouth snapped shut and she hurried into the room.
“What is going on, Cori!” Saasha hissed. She had a burgundy dress in her hands and as she reached Cori she transferred it to one arm so she could grasp her sister’s shoulders. “You have a lot of explaining to do!”
“It seems the Karalis has insisted on our presence at the graduation ball,” Cori replied mildly. She lifted her own hands to prise Saasha’s from her. “It would be best to indulge him.”
Chapter Fifteen
The ball was in full swing when Cori and Saasha arrived. They paused outside the door and Cori adjusted the gold mask that covered her eyes. She glanced at her older sister standing beside her. Saasha was wearing the burgundy dress. its exaggerated skirts rustled when she moved, but she looked like a true noblewoman in it. A black mask covered her eyes, and they glistened with excitement when they met Cori’s. She wore her hair straight and plain, cut to her shoulders like all servants.
Cori’s hair had grown over the past year and it now hung loose down her back. Saasha had braided small plaits from her temples and they joined in a single braid at the back of her head.
“Ready?” Cori asked. Saasha nodded and together they entered the ball. The hall was full with students and parents, all outfitted in their finest clothes and jewellery. The masks they wore were extravagant; some bore tall feathers that bounced and shimmered as the wearer moved their head and others were dotted with false gems in a rainbow of colours.
One thing Cori noticed as she and Saasha wove through the crowd was that, compared to everyone else, her dress was utterly unique. No one else wore a shade lighter than a scarlet and they were turning to stare. Cori didn’t care. She held her head high and stilled her smile. The crowd parted for her and their whispers became her tail.
They didn’t know her beneath the mask but their comments were ones of envy. Who was this woman who dared go against the fashions? How had she known the Karalis would wear a golden mask as well? Was she aware that he was watching her now?
At this last statement Cori’s eyes flicked to the dais. He was indeed watching her from his slouched position on the throne. One leg was slung over an arm of the chair and his chin rested on his fist. He wore navy pants and a white shirt - plain for the Karalis - and his only adornment was the gold mask that covered his eyes; a horned version of her own.
His expression was stoic and only his eyes moved as they marked her passage through the crowd. But Cori knew him better than that. She could see the telltale glimmer in his eyes; he was trying very hard not to smile. She folded her lips in an attempt at keeping her own expression neutral and turned away from him to Saasha, “let’s find something to drink.”
Saasha was watching her through narrowed eyes but she had earlier extracted a promise from Cori to tell her everything later so she held her silence and merely nodded. They had barely taken two steps when a hand reached out and caught Cori by the arm.
“Cori, is that you?”
Quart was stunning in his deep green attire. His jade mask matched his honey-coloured skin and hair perfectly.
“Quart!” Cori exclaimed with a grin. Around her the whispers carried across the room, Cori? Cori Cook? Isn’t she the human?
“I didn’t think you were coming tonight.”
Cori shrugged, pleased to have surprised him. She noticed his gaze flick down her body, taking in figure hugging cut of her dress. He smoothed a hand down her bare arm and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“Listen, Cori, I have to go. I told my mother I would accompany her tonight but maybe we can catch up later?” His tone changed from reluctant to suggestive.
Once again she shrugged. “You’ll have to come find me.”
“I will,” he promised before melting back into the crowd. Saasha placed a glass of wine in her hand.
“So that was Quart,” she observed over the rim of her own glass.
“That was Quart,” Cori agreed. She met Saasha’s eye and they dissolved into a fit of giggles.
Upon the dais, Antoni stepped forward to stand beside the throne. Cori wondered briefly where the Advisor was but decided almost immediately that she didn’t care.
“Thank you,” Antoni began and her voice rang clear around the hall. The music stopped and the noise of the crowd dimmed. “Parents and students, for attending this evening’s graduation ball. The past year has been one of exceptional achievements for the students of the school of Auksas and there are several of note that I wish to acknowledge this evening.”
Antoni lifted a sheet of parchment and read out a list of students and their achievements. The crowd cheered and applauded and parents hugged their children when their names were called. The Karalis had straightened in his chair but his eyes were now on the arches that led to the gardens. His index finger tapping the skull of the dragon throne was the only outward sign of impatience and Cori was sure she was the only one who noticed it. Finally Antoni rolled up her parchment. She bowed to the Karalis.
“My holy Karalis. Do you take any of these students as your own?”
The room was quiet, waiting for the inevitable decline that meant they could go back to their drinks and festivities. When the Karalis stood the silence became deafening. What was he doing?
His eyes unerringly found Cori’s and a shiver of anticipation crawl down her spine. The dress, the insistence that she attend; she should have seen this coming.
“Oh no,” she said under her breath but Saasha heard her.
“Oh no? What’s happening, Cori? What is he doing?”
But Cori couldn’t answer; she was pinned beneath that golden stare. Without breaking their contact, the Karalis spoke and his deep, melodic voice carried to the far corners of the hall.
“I take Cori as my own and name her as my heir.”
The room erupted into chaos. Guested muttered to their neighbours, exclaiming as much for the fact that the Karalis had spoken aloud as they did about the words he had said.
Heir? Heir? Can he do that?
Cori paid them no heed. She ignored Saasha’s frantic whispers, she ignored Quart’s open-mouthed surprise, and she ignored the venomous glare of Olivia who ripped off her mask in fury. She ignored them all as she wound through them towards the dais.
Antoni desperately searched her parchment for something she may have missed; blind tradition had not prepared her for this. Rowan was smiling, his face lit with the same wildness that had caught them earlier that night.
“What are you doing?” Cori hissed as she gained the dais. But she faced the crowd and gave him no chance to answer.
Faces lifted towards the dais; stunned, angry, some even excited at the scandal. She tried not to smirk down on them but it was difficult. They had hated her and pushed her away but here she was, standing before them as their next apparent ruler.
Rowan’s arm came around her waist - an uncharacteristically possessive gesture for him - and he leaned in close to whisper in her ear, “remember your vow.”
And she did, her own voice coming back to her; I pledge myself to
you, your loyal servant to teach, guide and to use as you see fit until the end of my days.
“I remember,” she told him with false flippancy.
His smile grew larger, feral. He let his arm drop from her waist then held out his hand. She took it in her own and together they descended the steps of the dais. What a duo they must have made, she thought, with their subtly matching outfits and their glittering golden masks. Rowan had planned it well; his simple clothing only accentuated the fine detail of her dress. Each step she took revealed a flash of gold beneath the blue panelled skirt and her sapphire ring glittered on her hand.
Tonight she was their Karaliene.
Rowan’s Hum fanned out and the eyes of the Hiram glazed over. Music started up again and Rowan pivoted to Cori. The crowd backed away, leaving space around them. Cori was peripherally aware of Saasha and the other servants still staring with open-mouthed shock, unaffected by Rowan’s song as they were.
“Dance with me,” Rowan said. He placed his free hand on her hip and she lifted hers to his shoulder. They spun in slow circles.
Rowan’s Hum flared, injecting excitement into their audience. Around them others paired up and danced. The tempo increased. Cori added her Hum to his, allowing herself to be swept away in the magic they shared, feeling the hundreds of minds around her connected like a spider’s web, drawn together by a song. They turned faster, whirling until the room was a kaleidoscopic blur.
CORI WAS IMMEDIATELY awake. The dark room confused her and for a moment she had no idea where she was. Then familiar shapes took form through the gloom and she realised where she‘d woken; the Karalis’ receiving room.
She was curled on the sofa under a blanket and she wondered if he‘d put her to bed there or if she had done it herself, she couldn’t remember. With a groan she pushed herself into a sitting position. Her head felt fogged, as if she had been drinking too much. She knew she hadn’t though, she’d only had one glass of wine before Rowan had declared her his heir. She frowned at the memory. Why would he do that? The first piece shifted into place.
The next memory that came to mind had her on her feet in a cold sweat. Daiyu. Daiyu was coming, and she was probably bringing Cadmus with her. Cori dropped the blanket to the floor and headed barefoot to the stairwell. She hoped desperately that she‘d dressed herself in the man’s shirt she was wearing. What else had happened last night?
She passed a window and saw a pink tinge on the horizon; it was almost dawn. She mounted the stairs, two at a time, and pushed Rowan’s bedroom door open. His shoes and shirt had been carelessly discarded on the floor. He still wore his navy pants and had not bothered to turn the bed down, instead he was sprawled facedown on top of the covers.
“Rowan,” Cori kicked one of his shoes aside as she entered the room, “wake up.”
He groaned but didn’t stir. She picked up the other shoe and flung it at him. It glanced off his back, and he lifted his head to peer at her through one cracked eyelid.
“What?”
“What were you thinking?” She exploded. “You don’t speak to me for weeks and then you call me out in front of everyone and make me your heir? Do you know what will happen now? Did you even think to ask if that was what I wanted?”
Rowan dropped his head back to the bed and closed his eyes. “Can we talk about it in the morning? I have a horrid hangover.”
“You didn’t drink anything last night, how could you have a hangover?”
“Jus’ do,” he moaned into the covers. Cori pressed her fingers to her eyes until she could see white spots behind the lids. Her mind was clouded and yet her Hum sang with a sharp clarity. What had happened to them last night to make them lose all reason?
“Daiyu,” she said suddenly, the memory of the black dragon returned. Rowan lifted his head again, this time opening both eyes to look at her. Cori groaned. “Rowan, you called a bloody dragon down on us! She could be bringing Cadmus. They could be almost here!”
“I recall you taunted her as much as I,” he said dryly, but as he spoke she felt a flare of his Hum, an instant expansion and then withdrawal. She had him worried. “I can’t feel them. But the Advisor is coming.”
No sooner had he said it, Cori heard footsteps pounding up the stairs behind her. Rowan heaved himself over onto his back and lay with his eyes closed, waiting. The door slammed open and the Advisor stormed in, followed closely by a frightened Antoni.
“What is the meaning of last night’s blasphemy?” The Advisor’s face was mottled red in anger and spittle flew from his lips as he roared the words. “You cannot make a decision such as you did last night without consulting the relevant people; myself, the Heads of State! This is not your decision to make!”
“Is this not my realm? Am I not the Karalis? Did your ancestors not make a life vow to me?” Rowan didn’t open his eyes or lift his head so he didn’t see the expression on the Advisor’s face at hearing him speak.
He hadn’t been present at the ball the previous night though Antoni would have told him everything once she‘d been released from the Hum spell. But perhaps he had not fully believed her that the Karalis had broken his years of silence for he was taken aback.
“Cori, what are you wearing?” Antoni’s voice broke the silence the Advisor had left. The Advisor scowled at her, as if only realising she was there. Cori remembered the oversized shirt she was wearing as a nightgown and she couldn’t help but glance towards the wardrobe where she’d left her school robes in a pile when she’d gotten ready the night before. Antoni’s eyes followed hers then the Advisor’s. He made the connection immediately and his lips curled back in a cruel snarl.
“So this is how you did it?” He hissed at Cori, jabbing a finger at her. “You get in his bed and he names you his heir?”
“What?” Cori spat in disbelief as Rowan finally lifted his head and looked between them in surprise. Antoni’s jaw dropped as she belatedly realised what the Advisor was implying.
“You heard me, you pathetic human,” The Advisor took a threatening step towards her but was knocked aside by a blast of Rowan’s Hum. Beside him Antoni staggered to one knee as her untrained mind caught the edge of the hit.
“Enough!” The Karalis demanded and even from his prone position his voice carried impressively. “Get out! All of you!” He added when Cori opened her mouth to protest. She fled the room on the tail of the Advisor and his apprentice.
Downstairs in the receiving room the Advisor turned on her again, but with much less fury than he had before. Nonetheless, Cori prepared her Hum in case she had to defend herself.
“This is not over, Cook,” he muttered, dazed, before stalking out the door with a pale Antoni on his heels.
Cori waited for them leave before she started pacing the room. What was Rowan doing? He had definitely said Daiyu was coming south the previous night, that much she remembered, so why couldn’t he feel her now? Cori took a sharp turn at the buffet table then strode across the room to the bathroom door. Through it and beyond the windows she could see the sun rising over the ocean.
Damn Rowan. If he didn’t care then she would find Daiyu herself. She stopped and braced herself against the bathroom door frame. She closed her eyes and flung her Hum into the nothingness. It was not a controlled, untraceable search like that which Rowan had conducted. Hers was a saturation of everything living; she found all the flame-like minds that were the Hiram, indistinguishable in their masses, and the bright summer song that was Rowan’s magic. She could feel the subtler magic of nature; the earth, the trees and the ocean. And she found the immense mind that was Daiyu.
She almost hit the dragon like an out-of-control wagon, only stopping in time at the edge of the beast’s awareness. She stayed only for a split second, long enough to verify that it was the mind from the night before, then she withdrew.
Unable to wait any longer, she pounded back up the stairs to the bedroom and flung open the door. Rowan was sitting on the edge of the bed pulling on his shoes. He had changed his pants,
donned a shirt and had pulled his hair back into its customary tail, albeit unbrushed.
“You found her,” he said, looking up from his task. “You have a greater reach on you than I thought.”
“She is coming south, and she’s probably coming for us after last night!” Cori blurted hysterically, then Rowan’s words registered in her mind. “What do you mean, reach?”
“Your reach. How far you can spread your Hum. Mine can go to about Hen Goeden. Daiyu is coming south, yes, but she is not on this side of the forest yet. She is still somewhere in the Tundra.” He stood and placed his hands on Cori’s shoulders, forcing her to meet his eye. “Calm down, Cori. Dragons cannot fly that fast. Daiyu won’t be here today.”
“But she will be here, eventually,” Cori whispered. She felt cold, unsure what to do with such dire information.
Rowan shrugged, seeming both resigned yet purposeful. “We always knew she’d come home. All we can do is prepare ourselves as best we can.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Prepare?” Cori repeated faintly. “Are we going to battle? Just the two of us? How could we possibly defeat a dragon alone?”
“Not the dragon,” he was still holding her by the shoulders, still ensuring they maintained eye contact, “Cadmus. He’s the one we’re going to kill. And it won’t just be the two of us. Our Hiram friends will be a suitable army if needed.”
Cori didn’t want to contemplate what his words meant. The Hiram were horrible people for the most part but did they deserve to die unknowingly under the influence of the Hum? And what about her friends? What about Antoni? What about Quart? She didn’t like the suddenly feverish look in Rowan’s eyes, or how reckless he‘d become. He must have seen something in her expression, for he let her go. She looked away and down at her bare legs under his shirt.
“Last night,” she began unwillingly, “did we...”
