Page 42 of Muse

Afterward, I had always felt so tired and intensely ashamed for reasons I could never articulate. But Adora would be so nice to me, telling me that I was a good girl and getting me something to eat and buying me a doll or necklace. Before I could get reliable paying work as a muse, that was how we paid for the rent, my education, and our clothing.

For a long time, I had done whatever was needed to survive, and that started changing when I turned sixteen when my options as a muse opened up. I had thought that that would finally make Adora happy, but it only opened new crevices in our relationship. Things with us had been growing increasingly tense ever since, but I never understood why.

The sun had just set when I unloaded my luggage from the carriage. Wrenley promised we’d talk soon, and I thanked xer again for the ride and wished xer well.

When I went inside, the house was dark. I called out, but no one replied. Heloise the housekeeper would be off work by now, but I had thought that Adora would be home.

It was a chilly night in early autumn, so I got a fire going in the hearth. I was warming my hands over it when I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck, and then there was a knock on the door.

Adora wouldn't knock, and Heloise would've stayed late instead of returning later. My best guess was that I had forgotten something in the carriage, and the driver was returning it.

So I hurried to answer the door with only a glance at my appearance in the hall mirror: my hair had come loose from the travel updo, my dress was wrinkled and dusty, and 9my cheeks were flushed. In short, I looked affright when I answered the door.

Soren Tomoleo was standing on my doorstep, and he had inexplicably grown more attractive in my absence. His hair was a bit longer, so it curled more. His sharp jawline was clean-shaven, and his eyes were dark and enchanting, framed by long lashes.

The last time I saw him, I made a fool of myself by kissing him, only to have him reject me for a second time. He made it painfully clear that our relationship was purely platonic.

And it wasn’t as if he didn’t have good reason. He wanted to protect our relationship as enchanter and muse. Romantic entanglements between people in our positions went against the Regula, so there would be serious repercussions if we were involved.

The Regula de Magik: The Laws of Practicing Magik in the Six Kingdoms of Wespen– more commonly referred to simply as the Regula – was the book of rules governing the magik class of the entire continent.

It was a thick book, typically bound with plain leather and a solitary goldenRembossed on the front. It contained hundreds of pages of rules, procedures, practices, and incantations. In the most literal sense, it was a book of civil, physical, and magickal laws and a code of conduct for the magik class. Some things could not be done in magik because they were taboo – such as raising the dead or forcing someone to love you – and there werethings that could not be done because they were impossible – such as transmuting straw into gold.

The Regula was written hundreds of years ago, after a dark period of war and bloodshed. Magik was being used wantonly, and the lands of Wespen began to rot. Once the six kingdoms were settled, a tense peace was created.

Each of the Kings met on a council with the wisest warlocks, enchanters, and muses. They wrote the complete set of rules, and thus, the Regula was born.

All that knowledge and understanding changed nothing about how I felt when I saw Soren there. My breath caught in my throat, and I wanted nothing more than to fall into his strong arms.

“Izzy,” he said with a soft smile since I was only gaping at him. “Do you mind if I come in?”

I should tell him,It's late, I'm a mess, it's improper, and I have no idea when Adora will return, so no, you cannot come in.

But instead, I heard myself say, “Please come in,” and I stepped back so he could enter.

He slid past me, walking into my house and casting a curious gaze around his surroundings.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I was in the neighborhood,” he said, then he shook his head and turned to face me. “That’s a lie, or at least not entirely the truth. I’ve been walking around, feeling restless, and I stopped because I could see the light in the windows.”

“How did you know that it wasn’t Adora?” I asked.

“Adora’s at the palace,” Soren explained. “Tonight was the big christening of the Crown Princess Cosetta’s son.”

A few months ago, Queen Kriselle’s eldest daughter had a son, Krispen, the first male heir born of the Marin Royal line in generations. Kriselle had five daughters, and her mother hadfour daughters, and her mother only had daughters, and so on and so forth.

It was cause for celebration in Calida, and I would not have been able to forget if I hadn’t been in Lamida.

“Oh, that’s right. Were you there?” I asked.

“I performed there.” He seemed oddly nervous. “Word had already gotten to them about the spectacular aerial show you did.”

My cheeks burned. "I was only a small part of it. Wren was the real start, and Madge Lanceas, the enchantress, choreographed it and coaxed it out of us."

“I’m sure you were all fantastic in your parts,” he said. “But Queen Kriselle became enamored with the idea of an aerial conduction, and she asked Herve Chaunter to put on something for Samonend.”

“It’s a month away. He has time to prepare,” I said, but I already felt a tightening around my heart.

---