Page 15 of Muse

"But she'll be so upset." I frowned because the very thought of that made me sick to my stomach. Throughout all my life, the one lesson I had been taught over and over again was that there was nothing worse than upsetting my mother.

“People are upset all the time,” Soren reasoned. “They very rarely die from it, though. Do you actually want to be a muse?”

I thought for a moment, and there was very little in my life that I enjoyed more than the moments that I was truly one with magik and movement. “I do.”

"Good." He smiled and removed his hand from my knee to open the wine bottle.

“I’m sorry about pulling you away from the party,” I said.

“Pulling me away?” He shook his head. “I chose to come after you. If anything, I should be apologizing for bothering you.”

“But you’re not bothering me.”

“And I’m not pulled away.”

With the bottle open, he held the wine toward me so I could have the first drink. "Thank you," I said before taking a long sip of the sweet nectar wine.

“I am always happy to share a glass of wine – or a bottle – with a friend,” he said with a smile.

As we spoke, we passed the wine back and forth between us, and a warm relaxation was already settling inside me.

"Did you ever struggle standing up to your parents?” I asked.

“Not really. But that’s because both my parents had died by the time I was fifteen, so it became a moot point.”

I blanched, embarrassed by my blunder. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

"It was a long time ago, and my older sister Serena took care of me afterward. I miss them, of course, but my life hasn't been all bad since. Although I do find that life is rarely all of anything. Hardly ever all bad or all good, but an awful beautiful mixture of both."

“So you are full of wisdom on top of all your other attributes?” I asked.

“I am a wise and enchanting lush indeed,” Soren agreed.

Chapter 10

Our second conduction of Ashoralida went as well as the first, but still, there was no rain. The King and his Court applauded, and I didn't see signs of any displeasure yet. That didn't completely alleviate my anxiety about my performance, especially not with Adora's angry message yesterday.

Almost as soon as we finished the second conduction, I tried to slip out without being noticed.

"Izzy, you can't be running off again," Jessalyn called after me when I tried to leave. I turned back to face her, and she took my hand. "We've performed so well. We should be celebrating together."

"Thank you, but I am not one for large parties," I answered honestly, gesturing to the crowded ballroom around us.

"That's fine because we have something else planned tonight," Jessalyn said with a wicked smile.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Soren interjected, and he appeared at Jessalyn’s side. “We’re going to have a night of fun and enchantment, and that’s all you need to know.”

“We?” I echoed, and as my heart fluttered, I realized that I had maybe asked the wrong questions.

“Me, Soren, the other muses,” Jessalyn explained nonchalantly. “Come on. You don’t want to miss out.”

There wasn't room to argue, and if I was being honest, I didn't really want to anymore. Jessalyn held my hand, and Soren walked to my side, carrying another couple of bottles of wine. The other muses followed behind us or flitted about, and we left the ballroom and went down the palace's corridors.

About halfway through our journey, I realized Jessalyn was taking us back to the dormitory. We went on through, right out to the courtyard. The sun had set, and the stars were out, but the muses lit a few torches to give us more light. As they did, some of them began to sing, their voices blending together in perfect harmony.

Jessalyn joined in, and she smiled encouragingly at me. It was a folksong with lyrics that spoke of love, friendship, and beauty, and the melody was sweet and bright. I knew the words, and I hesitantly sang along. Soren uncorked the wine, and it flowed through the night as we all laughed, talked, and sang.

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