Page 34 of Mistress of Hours

Her focus drifted to her friends, and she noticed Léhiona’s hand shaking as she poured the tea.

“Oh, let me help you with that!” Cecelia offered, only for Léhiona to wave her away gently, laughing.

“I don’t need help, silly. I’m just a little tired! All of this celebrating has me ready for a vacation,” Léhiona said lightly. Evienne usually believed her friend, but the purple smudged under Léhiona’s eyes told a different story.

“Do you think perhaps a visit to the healers could be helpful? Didn’t they see you after your episode at the garden party? I am sure they could give you some sort of insight into why you’re feeling this way.” Evienne offered carefully, glancing at Sylvain.

“I suppose I could go. Sylvain has been telling me the same thing,” Léhiona said, her brow slightly furrowed.

“So will Aldith be joining us then? It’s been ages since we were all together,” Cecelia asked, taking a bite of a dainty sandwich.Evienne had hoped Aldith would be there as well so she could—very casually and not at all in an angry way—ask about why Dominique had been meddling in the Sangviere assignments. Despite all that had happened the past few days, itstill bothered her that Dominique had the nerve to interfere like that. She just hadn’t had a moment to figure out why.

Léhiona’s face fell before she answered softly, “Ah, no, she won’t be able to join us today, sadly. Duty calls.”

Cecelia harrumphed a bit, unsatisfied with this answer, and Sylvain didn’t look surprised. Evienne nudged Cecelia with her knee beneath the table in a sign to leave Léhiona alone; they knew Aldith’s obsession with work was a point of tension for the pair.

“So, Léhiona, last time we were all together, you were sharing that you and Aldith were considering starting a family? Do you have any happy updates for us? I bet you could convince Sylvain to stay closer to home with a little niece or nephew,” Evienne said, steering the conversation to what she hoped was a safer topic.

“Yes, well, you know it’s our duty to continue the Ichornian royal line, and I have always wanted to be a mother. We’re planning to adopt next year,” Léhiona answered with a smile.

Cecelia squealed and laughed, “Oh, how wonderful, Léhiona! It will be so exciting to have a little one here with you, don’t you think? You’ll make such a fantastic mother!”

Léhiona smiled at Cecelia, and Evienne grinned too. Léhionawouldmake a wonderful mother; she was glad her friend would be exploring that phase of her life.

“Evienne is right, I won’t be able to stay away,” Sylvain offered with a wink.

“Enough about me, though, are you two enjoying all the festivities?” Léhiona asked.

“Evi’s been enjoying more than just the parties, if you take my meaning…” Cecelia laughed.

Evienne rolled her eyes and blushed, laughing at her friend. “Yes, well, I am making the most of the celebration, I’ll say that.”

Léhiona laughed and then said, “Cece, what about you? I hopeyou’re taking time away from your dusty old library to have a bit of fun?”

“I’ve been to a few of the events, but you know I prefer my library to traipsing around with a bunch of dignitaries. Well, except for Jac; I like him. I’ll make a few more appearances, but this whole thing is a bit ostentatious for me,” Cecelia answered.

Sylvain laughed, “It’s just the right amount of ostentatious for me.”

“Of course it is, Sylvain. But Cece, I do hope you take some time to celebrate. It won’t happen again for a thousand years!”

•

Thenext morning, Evienne and Orion made their way to the palace library. They were in need of information, and Evi knew just the librarian to help them.

They found Cecelia in her cozy study, fully engrossed in the restoration of what was likely one of Ichorna’s most precious books. A slight knock on her door frame had her jolting up in surprise; she rarely had visitors back here other than Evienne, and today was not their usual day for tea.

“Oh, Evi, it’s you! I thought I recognized your footsteps,” Cecelia said smiling. Her gaze shifted past Evienne to Orion as they stepped into the room.

“Cecelia, we’re here with a request that is very…delicate. You’re my oldest friend, and I know without a doubt I can trust you,” Evienne said quietly from where she had taken a seat on the couch, holding her friend’s increasingly curious stare. “Thatwecan trust you,” she added, glancing at Orion.

“Of course you can,” Cecelia said, waving a hand as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Now tell me how I can help.”

Evienne smiled at her friend, always forging fearlessly ahead.

Orion began to explain. “The magic of the Tuanadair is failing. I’m sure you all have some notion of that here, but it’s become quite dire. Our King is the only one who still has access to his magic. We don’t know when exactly it began, but looking back, we’ve been able to assess that it was likely about two hundred years ago that our magic began declining. No one but the King has been able to shift for at least fifty years now. I’ve been at the forefront of our research on this topic, and I have a theory that I’ve come here to Ichorna to investigate,” Orion explained evenly. Cecelia listened intently, so he continued.

“I suspect that Ichorna may be involved somehow in the suppression or siphoning of our magic.”

At that, Cecelia’s brow furrowed, and she flicked a worried gaze at Evienne.

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