“You think I’m stuck?”
Terran laughed, an easy and warm sound. “You said the mistress wanted you to help. And Nels wouldn’t let you help without me working with you. So…stuck.”
Eris laughed again. As she did, one of the thorns on the loras caught her palm, and she winced. If only there was a way to work with them and not fear the barbs. What was Master Nels’ trick?
“Like I said. Stuck.”
Eris considered tossing the plant she held at Terran but decided it might hurt the plant. Instead, she pushed it down into the dirt with the thought that it had better not hurt her. Thankfully, it didn’t.
Chapter 12
Eris sat along a long bench near the front of the garden. She held the book she’d taken from Lira’s room propped open on her lap, bright sunlight spilling over her, keeping her warm. The wedding was only a day away, and Master Nels wouldn’t let her help in the garden any longer. To her surprise, she and Terran had managed to get most of the shade plants replaced over the last few days. She should be feeling proud of what they’d accomplished; instead, she felt uneasy.
She made a point of hiding what she did. She carefully tucked the gloves she wore under her bed each night and rolled the pants so none of the servants coming into her room would question. Each morning she hurried out just as the sun crept over the wall and stayed until most of the light had faded. Terran worked longer, but he refused to let her stay with him. And Eris had to make an appearance, especially as the wedding neared.
Now she sat and flipped through the book, waiting on her sisters. The book had diagrams of hundreds of flowers, some she even recognized. The detail in the book amazed her, but made no mention of the teary star. Instead, it catalogued shade plants. Many were flowers she’d planted alongside Terran, like dearthswain and taranth, or the meticulously detailed diagrams of the spiny loras. Others she hadn’t seen. Eris read each page, finding the details fascinating as she wondered why Lira wanted these shade plants.
She sighed and tucked the book into a hidden pocket of her dress. How long had she waited? Long enough to finish the book. She glanced at the garden, now almost back to what it had been before the damage sustained by the storm. Master Nels had skillfully guided his assistant gardeners—and her—in the replanting. Eris imagined Lira watching from her room, overseeing the rebuilding. Did Eris aid in her treachery by working with Terran?
From where she stood, the colors of the garden swirled, drawn into a pattern she thought she should recognize but didn’t. It looked different than the way the garden had before the storm, but just as beautiful.
Eris made her way into the palace. Decorations for the wedding ceremony lined walls all around. Servants hurried from place to place. None bothered to do more than glance at her before hurrying on their way.
She rounded a corner leading to the main section of the palace. In the distance, a flash of crimson caught her eye. One of the magi.
Eris hadn’t seen Adrick since he’d gone north. After everything that had happened, she wondered how he felt about the garden repair. Would he be angry at her for helping? Would he even know?
“Adrick,” she said as he approached, and nodded.
He flicked a dismissive gaze over her. He really only tolerated her father and Jacen. Others in the palace didn’t matter as much. “Princess Eris. You look…different.”
Eris tensed, worried that he’d seen the dirt staining her hands. She’d been careful to hide it by wearing gloves, but if Adrick saw it so easily, perhaps she’d been careless. “You’ve been gone for a while.”
His eyes narrowed and he frowned. “Yes. Your father sent me north.”
Her father. Not the king. “Does that mean Jacen is back?”
Something shifted on his face. His leathery skin flushed with a hint of red. “Jacen will be returning shortly. His men…”
Eris frowned. “What about his men?”
“There was…a skirmish…along the border with Varden. I’m sure you shouldn’t worry about it. But I really must be hurrying now. Your father is expecting me for the full report.” He started to move past her.
“What kind of skirmish?”
Adrick paused and looked her over. “Princess…it’s not really the kind of thing you need to fear. Your father’s men—”
“My brother went to the north. I just want to know if he was injured.”
Adrick took a quick breath. “Your brother is unharmed. The cavalry, unfortunately…well, it’s well I chose to head north.”
Eris worried about what he didn’t say. What had happened to the men sent with Jacen? Had the Vardens attacked?
Did Lira have anything to do with it?
“There was a storm while you were gone,” she started. This was the most she’d ever spoken to Adrick, but she felt this important for him to know.
“So I have heard.”
“The garden was damaged.”
Adrick pursed his lips. “Not from what I’ve seen.”
Eris looked down, hoping to hide the sudden flush to her cheeks. Did it matter that she helped Terran? Did the work she assisted make it more likely there would be attacks on Errasn?
“Master Nels repaired it quickly.”
“He is quite skilled,” Adrick said.
He studied her for a moment before starting past her. She had the distinct impression that he saw through her. Eris suppressed a shiver.
“Are you certain there won’t be an attack at the wedding?” What would happen if Lira tried something to disrupt the ceremony? Would the magi be able to intervene? Would her mother let her?
“The wedding will go on as planned.”
She nodded slowly. “And you? What will you do?”
Adrick said nothing, leaving her watching his crimson cloak disappear.
* * *
Eris found Jacen outside near the stables. His once bright blue eyes had taken on a haunted sheen. A ragged beard covered his face, but he was otherwise well dressed in his sharp uniform.
“You made it back,” she said.
He jumped and turned to face her. “Eris?”
His eyes looked different than she’d seen before. Darker. And where was the smile he usually offered her?
“Adrick said the trip was more dangerous than anticipated.”
“Did he?”
Eris found the response odd. “What happened there?”
“Nothing that you’ll have to worry about.” There seemed a hint of bitterness in his voice.
“Well…I don’t really have anything to worry about, do I? I’m just to learn about flowers and stay out of the way until I get married.”
She didn’t mean to take her frustration out on Jacen, but it came out anyway. With all that had been happening, she felt powerless to do anything. What did it matter that the Vardens seemed to be attacking in the north? What did it matter that Lira might be a traitor, using strange flower magic to work against her father? And what did it matter that Jasi was being sent away? Eris could do nothing about any of it.
“Eris…it’s not that.”
“Then what is it? Why shouldn’t I be allowed to know? What do you think to keep me from?”
Jacen looked as if he might answer, but then clamped his mouth shut. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Just be thankful you weren’t born to lead. Some decisions are more difficult than they appear.”
She glared at him. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
His eyes took her in and hesitated at the flower pinned to her dress. A smile twisted his face. “It means nothing. Go back to your garden, Eris.”
Chapter 13
On the day of the wedding, clouds circled in the distance. Eris spent the morning, attending to her sister, holding the arrangement of flowers Jasi had proudly announced she’d created, and prepared to say as little as possible during the entire proceedings.
She stood in place in the great hall. Decorations for the coming feast covered everything, from the tapestries on the wall to the
lines of plates already set atop tables waiting for the meal to commence. A raised dais on one end held spots for her family, with one additional spot for the groom. Flowers littered across the table, clearly Lira’s touch, though Eris couldn’t help but think the petals appeared more wilted than usual. Some of the colors even seemed faded. Arrangements had been set on each table as well, colors and flowers placed in such a way that they complemented each other. Eris found she recognized most of the flowers.
Lira was nowhere to be found. Eris found it odd, but said nothing.
Desia stood on one side of her, waiting for their summons to join the ceremony in the chapel of the Sacred Mother. She looked beautiful with her golden hair curled and pinned atop her head, the clutch of flowers she held different than the others—likely Desia had added her own flourish—and her long white dress flowed away from her elegantly. Ferisa stood on the other side, a soft smile on her pink lips. She held a mixture of lilies and listhanis.
The silence around them grew to be too much. “Soon you’ll be next,” Eris said to Desia.
Desia didn’t look over. “You say that as if it’s such a terrible thing.”
“You don’t think it is? Forced to move from home, married off to someone so they can improve ties to father?” She said nothing else about her private fears. Desia was much like Jasi, willing to do whatever was needed for their father. To Desia, that was her role. But Eris needed more.
Desia turned and looked at her. “Honestly, Eris. Maybe it’s too bad Ferisa came along. You would have been much happier serving the Sacred Mother.”
“She still can,” Ferisa said softly.
Desia looked past Eris and shot Ferisa a dark look.
Ferisa didn’t look over. “Just because tradition demands the youngest serve, doesn’t mean Eris can’t as well. The Sacred Mother will take all who wish to serve her.”
Desia sighed and looked away. “The only thing I worry about is how to keep you from disappointing Mother.”
Eris didn’t need her to clarify to know she meant her. “As if Jasi has done so well at that?”
“At least you respect her.”
Eris didn’t want to argue with Desia, at least not here. “It appears Lira has been preoccupied with the wedding.”
Desia followed her gaze and saw the flowers twisted into a lovely arrangement. “Not too preoccupied to teach, Eris. Had you cared to see, you would know she’s been spending possibly even more time with us. Jasi in particular.”
Eris wondered why Jasi would get extra attention before marrying Prince Petra. Did it have anything to do with the attack in the north? Could Lira hope to influence Jasi even after she left the city?
“If you only pretend interest to get out of your other studies, I’d understand. Lira might not, but we would. But we see how you simply wander through the garden, as if you’d rather be there than anywhere else. You even took to helping the gardeners this week!”
Eris thought that had gone unnoticed. Clearly it hadn’t. “I wanted to help. With everything happening for the wedding, I thought I could be of use.”
“And you didn’t think Jasi could use you?”
“How would I have been any use to Jasi?”
Desia shook her head. Her grip on the flowers tightened, her knuckles turning pale. “After the wedding, she’ll be leaving. Ferisa and I have been working to help her prepare for her travel, not knowing when she might return.”
She hadn’t thought about how Jasi might need her. Eris didn’t think she could do anything to help her sister, but that didn’t mean she shouldn’t have tried. Suddenly, she very much felt the time she’d spent in the garden had been wasted, even though she thought Terran had needed her at the time. But what if she was only aiding in what Lira attempted?
“And how does it look for a princess to be digging in the dirt?” Desia went on. “Thankfully, Mother hasn’t learned of it, or I’m certain she would be quite displeased. Again.”
Ferisa laid a hand on Eris’s arm and patted. Eris looked over at her younger sister. She said nothing, but Ferisa’s deep blue eyes looked back at her, almost as if trying to provide support.
Eris looked at Ferisa. “I…I’m sorry.”
“I’m sure Jasi will forgive you,” Ferisa said.
A small door at the end of the room opened, and their father stepped out. Dressed in a regal robe of deep blue and green, the heavy golden ring of office glittering on his finger, he smiled at each of them in turn as he approached.
Adrick followed closely behind. He wore his usual scarlet robe, though more heavily embroidered than usual. The long silver staff he’d carried the day before tapped along the ground as he followed their father. Adrick frowned at Eris.
“I am to lead each of you into the chapel,” their father said. His eyes were more drawn than the last time Eris had seen him. The news of the cavalry falling during the border skirmish had hit him hard. He looked back to Adrick and waved his hand, the large gold ring flashing along his middle finger. “You didn’t need to follow me here, Adrick.”
“Of course, my lord. Just making certain my services are available if needed.”
“I think I can manage fine without you for the next thirty minutes. I did fine while you went north, didn’t I?”
Adrick tipped his head. “I made certain you had others available.”
“You mean the Saffra magi? I wouldn’t have trusted him the same as I trust you, Adrick. He serves the King of Saffra while you—”
“I serve the Conclave, no different than Davin, my lord.”
Her father turned and frowned at Adrick. “But you represent the realm first. That is why I allow you to advise me.”
Adrick’s head dipped, revealing the top of his balding leathery head. Deeply tanned skin flushed with a deeper red for a moment. “I do serve the realm. That is why I went north to aid in the…proceedings…but I have never hidden the fact I serve as a representative of the Conclave, my lord.”
Her father twisted the dark band on his middle finger, a marker given to him by Adrick. “And the Conclave serves the realm.”
Adrick said nothing, only bowed his head again.
Her father turned to Desia and held out his arm. She took it with a wide smile. They started from the room in a slow walk, Desia’s dress swishing across the stone. The massive set of doors leading toward the chapel opened as he approached, and they stepped through, disappearing.
Adrick looked from Ferisa to Eris. For a moment, it seemed as if he wanted to say something, but he changed his mind and turned away, departing through the small door they’d entered from.
Eris waited for her father to return. She would be next, paraded up to stand alongside her sister during the ceremony, asked to kneel before the Sacred Mother and swear to aid in upholding the vows Jasi would say. As if Eris could ensure the vows were upheld. Once Jasi left the capital, she wasn’t sure she’d ever see her sister again, except at formal events. After all the times Jasi had tormented her over the years, that should provide some satisfaction. Instead, Eris felt strangely empty. Jasi was moving on, as she was always meant to, starting her new life with her prince in a strange and exotic land. Eris would stay behind, stuck in nothing but sameness.
The great double doors opened, and her father reappeared. He smiled at her, his dark eyes twinkling as he neared. He ran a hand through his black hair and stuck out his arm. “Eris,” he said.
She nodded, and he started forward.
They walked slowly, her father giving her the chance to glide as she’d been taught. She held the bouquet of flowers Jasi had chosen for her, bright corinths and dahlias, flowers she would never have chosen for herself.
As they neared the door, he leaned toward her. “After Desia, this will be you.”
She looked up at him, afraid to say anything. That was what she feared most.
“It may seem a long way off now, but Jasi waited. Well, we all waited for the right union. Desia, I think, already knows who she prefers. Making that ar
rangement will not be nearly as difficult. And given the current circumstances, it might provide us a certain level of protection. But I haven’t heard from you.”
Eris hadn’t realized Desia was already planning her arrangement, but of course she was. So like Jasi in that. The sooner Desia married, the sooner the pressure would begin to build on Eris. She was expected to work with her mother and decide on the union. For so long she’d figured she had plenty of time, but maybe she’d been wrong.
“I might choose to serve the Sacred Mother,” she said.
Her father chuckled. The doors opened before them. “An honorable choice, and one I’d support, but you don’t have the faith needed to serve the Sacred Mother. In that, you’re too much like me, I’m afraid.”
Eris frowned, but her father was right. She didn’t have the faith that serving the Sacred Mother would require. Worse, even her father thought she had nothing else to offer except to marry.
“We’ll have to find someone willing to support your individuality, I think. So much like Rochelle.” He spoke her name wistfully as he glanced at Eris’s eggshell dress. She hadn’t been able to help herself and had added a few strips of color along the hem. Standing still they weren’t even visible, but her father had noticed.
“You miss her?” They were always close.
He patted her hand. “As much as you, I suspect. Had she only…” He stopped before finishing. “I hope she found what she was looking for. That’s all I really want for you. Happiness.”
“I won’t find happiness marrying some stranger like Jasi.”
“Your mother was a stranger to me, once.” He sighed. “Already, you are much like Rochelle. Don’t follow her in this as well.”
Eris didn’t need him to explain what he meant. Rochelle had refused to marry, spending her days wandering. Always reading, she’d claimed she was a scholar or a philosopher or…whatever had struck her fancy that day.
“Sometimes you have to put away what you want and do what is needed. That is what your mother did, and it has turned out well. Now Jasi will see if it can happen for her. Soon it will be your turn, Eris.”
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