Page 26 of Muse

“Yes, sorry, that was not very ladylike. But it was wonderful. Thank you.”

“I think gulping down a cup of tea is a sign of respect in some cultures,” he said, and I set my empty cup aside on the end table. “So I will take it as a compliment.”

"I am truly feeling better now if you still want to practice."

He shook his head. “A restful afternoon won’t hurt you, will it?” Then cocked his head at me. “Or do you even know? How many restful afternoons have you had in your life?”

“Do picnics in the park count as restful?”

“I’ll allow it.”

“Then yes. I often have picnics with my friends.”

To help us relax, Soren picked out a few books for us to read. Once we were comfortable, my legs still spread across his lap, both of us with a book open, I looked over at him in gratitude. “Soren, thank you.”

He gave a shrug of his shoulders. “A book and some tea are no problem, truly.”

"That is all very nice, but I really meant thank you for not being upset with me."

“Why on earth would I be upset with you?” he asked in disbelief.

"For sneaking behind your back with my lucenition with Herve and wasting my magik with him," I explained, even though it seemed apparent.

Soren closed his book and turned to face me, putting a gentle hand on my leg as he did. "First off, I never considered what you've done 'sneaking around.' You are a muse, and you are allowed to have a lucenition with whomever you wish. Just because you and I are working together does not mean I own you, and I certainly don't own your magik. Only you do.

"Secondly, you didn't waste your magik," he went on, his voice soft but emphatic. "It was taken from you. That is not your fault, and you have done nothing wrong. The only bad actor in this whole situation is that deviant Herve Chaunter. He abused hisposition as the Warlock to the Queen to steal from you because he wanted to, and it felt good to him."

His eyes held mine as he asked me clearly, “You do understand that you have done nothing wrong?”

"If I haven't done anything wrong, why do I feel so guilty?" I asked him honestly, and I hated the way my voice trembled when I did.

“I wish I could answer that for you, but humans are complicated things, with emotions that sometimes behave in ways that seem illogical to our minds. That is especially true for muses, who feel things so very deeply.”

Chapter 17

By the time I left Soren's house later that afternoon, I was rejuvenated enough to lie to Adora properly. I assured her I had done everything right at my lucenition with Herve. Adora had a chance meeting with the warlock at the recent festival, so I had no concern about her speaking to him anytime soon and finding out the truth from him. Or at least not his version of the truth, which would most likely describe me as the one who had behaved badly.

The only problem was that he would be very unlikely to add me to any of his conductions, but it was never a sure thing to get a placement at a festival. Adora would grumble when I didn't get the best offers, but she would anyway, so there was no real difference for me.

In the following week, Adora was in a very good mood, and I continued my practices with Soren. It wasn't until the week after that Adora began to question how things had truly gone with Herve, and no matter how many times I told her it went very well, she no longer seemed to believe me.

When I came home one afternoon, Adora was bemoaning that other muses had already received their invitations for the Samonend festival, the next large celebration.

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Adora asked from her perch on the sofa.

"I haven't received an invitation yet," I told her, then glanced at Heloise. The housekeeper was near the fireplace, dusting my mother’s decorations on the mantle. “Has one arrived, Heloise?”

“None yet, Miss Isadore.”

“I know that you haven’t been invitedyet, Isadore,” my mother said, irritated. “Briar received her invitation two days ago. Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

My blood froze. When I had been practicing with Soren, Adora believed that I was really with Briar and Wrenley. In truth, it had been weeks since I had last seen either of them, and now Adora had discovered news from them that I should’ve already known.

"I was waiting," I said because Adora glared at me, and I had to say something. "To see if I received an invitation."

"Well, I sincerely doubt you will be receiving one now. While you were out practicing for conductions you haven't even been granted, I went to the market this morning and ran into one of Briar's fathers. He told me thatallthe invites had gone out, and that Briar was disappointed that you would not be joining her in the Samonend. Imagine my embarrassment when I had to learn about my own daughter’s failures from Basil Floreo, the Duke of Cinderwood.”

“I am sorry, Adora,” I told her.

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