The Liar's Knot
Page 68
Giuna plunked herself onto the chair with obvious relief. Alinka perched nervously on another one as Tess produced a needle and thread from somewhere, then knelt to work her magic.
Grey said, “Era, altas, would any of you like some wine?”
“Yes, please,” Giuna said as the other two waved the offer away. He bowed and departed. In his absence—and with Derossi Vargo not there to make things awkward—Donaia nudged Renata and nodded toward the dance floor. “You’ve been nearly as busy tonight as Giuna. I don’t suppose anyone has particularly caught your eye?”
Amused, Renata said, “Matchmaking, are you?”
“It’s an old woman’s privilege and duty to try and pair the young off well. While I may not be your mother, given Letilia’s failings, how can I not try to make up the lack?” Donaia’s former sister-in-law was still off in Seteris, enjoying life with some foreign nobleman, likely never giving a thought to her—
A strangled sound came from Renata, and then the high vault of the atrium rang with a voice that twenty-four years were not enough to scrub from Donaia’s mind.
“My darling daughter! At last, we are reunited!”
Donaia went cold. A nightmare. We’ve all been pulled into that dream realm again, and my worst nightmare is coming true.
But no: She was awake. This was reality.
And that was Letilia Viraudacis—formerly Traementis—posed with arms wide in the grand entrance of Ossiter’s.
By M. A. Carrick
ROOK & ROSE
The Mask of Mirrors
The Liar’s Knot