Behind him, Patricia was clearly telling Aubrey where he could stick his false rumors, pulling away from him to return to her prey. Amber eyes met mine in silent warning.
“Best of luck,” I lilted, turning to go.
“You’d leave me without even the mercy of a weapon?” he protested, rooting me to the spot.
A splash of apricot caught my eye over his left shoulder, closing fast. Before I could ask what manner of weapon he had in mind, one long-fingered hand reached out to grasp mine. He bowed slightly and pulled my knuckles to his lips, lingering a moment longer than was necessary.
Well-staged, as Patricia’s furious visage appeared just in time to witness the suggestive gesture. Her kohl-lined eyes burned into me, pouting lips pressed to a thin line. Before she could spit some vicious comment, I flashed Adrian a sly grin, slipped my fingers from his grip, and walked away.
I spent the dinner pretending not to notice the eyes on me, throwing myself instead into lively conversation with anyone who wasn’t dressed in blue silk. After the final course was cleared, I took Aubrey’s offered arm and followed the crowd into a generously well-appointed parlor.
“Well,” he muttered, “you have his attention. A shame you so rarely choose to apply yourself.”
“I thought you disliked him.”
“Oh I do, but this borders on brutality. Using him to gall Patricia? A man can sympathize.”
“Is she still sulking?”
“Vehemently. And alone.”
“Good.”
“Feel better?”
“Much.”
“Good.”
A quartet of musicians in the corner kept the mood light as the evening deepened. Many guests retired to the plush couches for conversation while others strolled and stretched their bellies after the meal. Having satisfied my need for destruction, Aubrey and I enjoyed an hour of bantering with the twins of House Ardontus.
Whatever diversions we guests had found, all were quickly cast aside when our monarchs stirred from their couch. Every eye in that room followed the King when he pulled his queen from her seat and led her to the middle of the floor. We might as well have been invisible, for the way they danced together. The bronze silk of her gown surrendered beneath his hand as he settled it on her waist, pulling her close. The other clasped hers, palms meeting in a gesture so soft and intimate, I felt like a voyeur. A faint trace of summer lilies permeated the air, and I remember wondering how the Royal Gardener had managed to grow them in the midst of winter.
Something pulled at me from across the room, dragging my eyes from the tender scene before us to search, to seek, until I landed on what called silently to me. Adrian’s tempest gaze remained fixed on me from where he stood, leaning casually against the high back of his father’s chair. How long had he been staring? Blue-gray eyes glittered in counterpoint to that same mischievous smirk he’d flashed earlier, a promise and a warning.
Predator.
CHAPTER 16
I slept fitfully for what was left of that night, my dreams haunted by blue-gray eyes and silken lips on my skin. The snap of the curtains and a blast of mid-morning sun jolted me out of them. I squinted at a round figure fussing with the drapes, making significantly more noise than was necessary for the task.
“Up, miss,” Greta’s matronly tone commanded. “You’ve an invitation waiting.”
I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach, pulling my pillow over my head. “Isn’t that a good thing?” I grumbled, the words muffled by the mattress.
The fluffing of heavy fabrics ceased and the dark refuge of my pillow was yanked away, revealing her nonplussed face glaring down at me.
“It’s from House Van Dryn.”
My parents were waiting in the foyer with a blank-faced courier, a silver compass stitched on the breast of his deep blue livery. Mother’s eyes flicked to me when I entered, dark with carefully-concealed irritation. Father glowered beside her. Neither held a missive in their hands.
“Miss Elivya,” the courier chimed with a bow, extending an unopened letter to me. “Lord Adrian waits upon your pleasure.”
I cracked the dark blue seal and read in an elegant hand:
A well-honed weapon. Leviathan slain. Join me tonight, that I might endeavor to repay you.
My eyes lingered over the words, calculating the intent, weighing the risks, shoving the distraction of my dreams aside.
“A family dinner, if you are so inclined, miss.” The courier offered a placid smile, intelligent eyes gleaming. Well trained and observant, by the look of him, prepared to bring back more than just my verbal reply. I tightened my mask of indifference. Despite the coy flattery on the page, I knew this was no invitation.
It was a challenge.
“What time?” I asked.
“Your presence is requested at the Van Dryn manor at five o’clock this evening. A carriage will be sent for you, and will ensure your safe return at the end of the night.”
An idea crept into my head. “No need. I will secure my own transport, thank you.”
“And what do you propose to do about a chaperone?” my father’s stern voice rumbled behind me.
The courier bowed deeply and held it this time. “My lord, it is the great honor of House Van Dryn to provide its eldest daughter Natalia to serve as chaperone and compatriot to Miss Elivya for the evening. With the entire family in attendance, my lady will not want for company.”
“Without a member of her House present? Unacceptable.”
The servant didn’t flinch, and I suspected these rebukes had been well prepared for in advance. “Of course, my lord. A Lazerin escort to ensure Miss Elivya’s safety would be most welcome. I am certain your guardsmen would find ample accommodation in our humble garrison while they wait out the frivolities of the evening.”
Not what he had meant, of course, but to press the matter further would be taken as insult to House Van Dryn. This stiff silence that followed was deafening.
“Very well,” Father relented after exchanging a long look with his wife. “I expect our men to accompany my daughter at all times propriety warrants.”
The courier assured as much and took his leave.
“I don’t like it,” he scowled once the man was gone. “That House is full of opportunists and wolves. Who’s to say they aren’t trying to compromise her character in the eyes of other suitors? Force us into an alliance?” I stiffened at his lack of faith in my social faculty but held my tongue.
“I think we can safely assume as much,” Mother replied flatly, eyeing me. “But I’m confident she’ll do nothing that could be misconstrued as improper.”
“I can handle it,” I insisted.
Outvoted, Father stalked off into the house. My mother approached me slowly, her voice low. “He is right to be concerned. A scandal would ruin your prospects, and this invitation is unconventional at best. We have work to do.”
After an afternoon of careful preparation closeted in the study, Shera helped me bathe and dress in the emerald silk gown I’d chosen. With a scooping neckline and generous skirts, the vine-embroidered bodice accentuated the curves of my no-longer-boyish figure.
Better late than never, I mused as I examined my reflection.
In the foyer, Emmett helped me into my green wool cloak and I embraced my mother in farewell.
“You’ll do fine,” she reassured. “Just keep your wits about you. Mind you don’t overindulge, and remember: gossip is dangerous. Leave no reason for any.”
With a solemn nod, I turned to face my father’s grim resignation, drawing myself up with chin raised and back straight – every inch the soldier, despite my finery.
“To battle, then?” I asked lightly.
The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement, and he grazed my cheek with one thumb. “To battle.”
Outside, the family carriage waited, James in full livery holding the door for me to climb inside. Though his face was carefully schooled to
neutrality, his eyes glinted with anger. Gabe and Quintin sat astride nearby, dressed smartly in uniform with woolen cloaks around their shoulders to ward against the biting chill of the evening.
I paused on the snow-dusted stoop to secure my gloves before striding past them toward the stable.
“Miss Elivya?” Gabe called in confusion.
“Where are you going?” James barked after me.
“To dinner.”
Valor and I slowed to a modest pace as we approached the silvered gates of the Van Dryn manor in the center of the city, Gabe and Quintin close behind, their mounts blowing out their noses. The stately house featured long rows of tall windows and a vast solarium at one end. Sunset cast a warm glow on the white stone walls as we were admitted by the gatehouse and rode up to the main entrance. A young boy with a shock of black hair gaped at me in confusion, his offer to fetch the mounting block faltering when I swung down out of the saddle and handed him the reins.
“See that he gets a proper hot walk. A few oats as well, if you don’t mind.” I patted Valor’s dappled neck, his breath fogging the chill air as he eyed the lad with skepticism. Wide-eyed, the boy nodded, and the three of us made our way inside.
After relieving me of my cloak and dismissing my guards, the straight-backed man I suspected to be the house chamberlain guided me down the hall and opened the door to a spacious parlor. All around the room, silken-haired courtiers lounged on exotic furniture. Animal pelts of beasts I’d never imagined lay draped over couches and scattered as rugs on the floor. Giant cabinets made of a strange striped wood towered along the walls, adorned with carvings more intricate than any I’d seen. There was more, but before I could take it all in, an elegant figure appeared before me.
“Miss Elivya, we are so delighted you could join us this evening.” After sweeping a graceful curtsy, she gathered my hands in hers and squeezed them with sisterly warmth. “I am Natalia Van Dryn no Vekar. Adrian meant to greet you himself, but I fear he is indisposed at the moment.”
As with many others of her House, Natalia was a striking beauty with a slim figure and long, thick lashes. She peered at me from under them as I dredged up a polite response.
“I am honored to be invited, Lady Vekar. Is your husband in attendance as well?”
“Oliver is home with the children,” she dismissed, tugging gently at my hands. “Come, let me introduce you.”
She presented me to nearly two dozen of her closest kin before we fetched up before a young man with a familiar-looking face. Though I was quite certain we’d never met, he flashed me a toothy smile when he spotted our approach.
“My brother Alec,” Natalia supplied, her arm still linked with mine.
“This is her?” Carefully-stifled glee lit his features, his green-tinted eyes giving me a quick scan. “The one Adrian’s been brooding over?”
“Brooding?” I parroted with blatant skepticism. I couldn’t imagine the collected man from the previous night doing anything so juvenile. Natalia shot her brother a withering glare.
“Sailors have a natural gift for hyperbole,” a silken voice drawled behind me, sending an unexpected shiver down my spine. “My brother is no exception.”
I turned to find Adrian watching me with a secret smile on his lips, as though we shared some private jest. Ink-black hair gleamed in tandem with his dark jacket, left unbuttoned to reveal a well-tailored shirt that hinted at the fighter’s physique beneath. Suddenly, the idea of him brooding over me seemed vastly more appealing.
You’re here to read the landscape. Get it together.
Thick lashes dipped over storm-sea eyes. “I wasn’t sure you’d accept my invitation.”
“My parents found it quite unconventional.”
“And you?”
My head tilted of its own accord. “Intrigued.”
The call to supper rang out and Natalia escorted me to the table, claiming the seat beside mine. Adrian rounded the far side to take his place across from me at his father’s right hand. I sat at Lady Tasha’s left as the guest of honor.
“Did they fear we would make a scandal?” the sharp-eyed matriarch mused as she settled into her chair. The question caught me by surprise. I hadn’t noticed her eavesdropping.
“My parents are cautious by nature,” I replied diplomatically, meeting Adrian’s gaze across the table. “It was a rather…unexpected invitation.”
“Having been the father of a beautiful young daughter, myself, I can certainly understand their reluctance,” Lord Yuri commented as he set into our first course, an aromatic soup flavored with strange spices. “Court is fraught with dangers for any young noblewoman of marrying age.”
Natalia spoke up first, her voice tight. “Father.” An attempt to dissuade him from this path of uncomfortable conversation.
He barreled onward, undiminished. “Scandalous gossip is as dangerous to a female heir as an assassin in this city.” Those keen eyes flicked to mine before returning to his bowl with casual disinterest. “And from what I’ve heard, you’ve a penchant for the unconventional. A dangerous line to walk, if I do say so myself.”
Anger flared in my gut, but I had been trained for such baited exchanges. I forced my face to maintain its impassive softness as his wife stiffened beside me.
“Yuri,” she warned.
He waved her off and fixed those predatory eyes on me. “I’ve heard the girl is a realist and a progressive. Is that not so?”
The table was suddenly, brutally silent, every pair of gray eyes fixed on me. Judging, listening, evaluating. A den of wolves, indeed, but I would be no one’s prey. I had trained alongside men. I could pin a hare at thirty yards from horseback at a full gallop. I was the heir to my House.
I lined my cloaks with wolves’ pelts.
I wrapped myself in that familiar mask of confidence, a shroud of immovable ease reinforcing my will as I held Yuri’s penetrating gaze.
“A realist, certainly. A progressive?” I shrugged, forcing an air of nonchalance. “Perhaps. It’s true, Lazerins do not stand on ceremony, my lord. I am the last of my House. Circumstance requires me to be more than some fragile Court flower.”
The silence stretched and I feared I’d chosen my words poorly until the patriarch burst out laughing. Many of the others followed suit, but Adrian simply watched me from behind his glass, amusement glittering in his eyes.
Yuri collected himself, dabbing at his own. “Certainly not, my dear! You’ve an iron spine beneath that silk.”
The tension defused, the dinner progressed rather pleasantly from then on. Many of Adrian’s kin engaged me in polite discourse, and I acquitted myself well enough when a few of them attempted to lay traps between their words. When the last course had been cleared away, I was relieved for the moment’s respite as we migrated back into the salon.
Natalia took my arm and leaned in to my ear. “Well done,” she grinned, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
The following hour offered little of note. Many of the more senior members of the House retired for the evening. A strange game of colorful stones on a star-shaped board was taught to me through much lively debate and encouragement. After a few matches, I relinquished my place at the table and stood with Natalia and many others to watch instead. It was a deceptively simple, infinitely tactical game, and my companions were very, very good at it.
After a long while, I felt my elegant chaperone take my arm and once again lean in to whisper in confidence.
“I grow bored. Shall we go for a walk?”
My first instinct was to refuse. To be apart from the group as the guest of honor would be easily noticed, but the night was growing late and most of my hosts were well into their cups. My novelty had all but faded, the game now the dominant focus of the party, with numerous casual wagers and friendly jibes being exchanged amongst the spectators. Not wanting to draw attention by initiating a debate over the offer, and deeming it a safe enough gamble, I merely nodded and allowed myself to
be led away discreetly.
Natalia’s arm remained hooked with mine as she guided me through the various hallways and exotically-appointed rooms. She told me of the origins of several notable pieces, describing the great and terrible beasts from across the sea whose pelts dotted the manor. We meandered along rows of paintings of her forebears, stern faces of men and women on canvas staring their stormy eyes into some unseen horizon.
To my surprise, she led me into the kitchen, where we refilled our glasses and chatted with the scullery maids for a few minutes. When we left to continue our tour of the house, Natalia winked at me.
“We needed to be seen together, primarily by the servants. When they talk of your absence, it will be of you and I that they will gossip.”
I soon discovered what she meant.
She led me promptly to the solarium, at which I was truly dumbstruck. I’d never seen one so large or ornate. Its vast glass ceiling hovered far above us, the panes framed by intricate patterns that outlined the stars and moon beyond. A deep voice interrupted my moment of awe.
“The night sky is as sacred to us as your forests are to you.” Adrian emerged from a dark corner, ferns brushing his doublet as he stepped into the moonlight.
I turned to Natalia, betrayed, and she threw up her hands in a placating gesture. “He means you no harm,” she assured, backing away from my withering glare. “Only a moment away from prying eyes.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. This was exactly the kind of situation I could not afford to be caught in. The kind that could ruin me.
“You must forgive my sister’s deception,” Adrian murmured, watching her retreat to the entryway. “I was rather insistent.”
I shot him my best impression of my mother’s disapproving scowl. It must have been a poor likeness, because he pressed on, undeterred.
“What do you think?” he asked lightly, gesturing to the vast glass oasis. “It is the largest this side of the White Sea.”
Charming wooden walkways trailed through the solarium, punctuated by larger decks appointed with couches and other small furniture. Around the perimeter grew a plethora of strange plants, though none reached so high as to intrude on the view above. Somewhere, I could hear a fountain splashing.
Traitor (A Crown of Lilies Book 1) Page 17
