Page 13 of Prince of Shadow and Ash

She looked at the book in her hands. Just parchment, leather, metal and ink. Like any book on the shelves. But so much more. Knowledge and power and more control of her life. She smiled and added it to her small pile.

––––––––

THE FOURTH DAY AFTERtheir arrival, the Drummonds hosted a supper party in their honor. Adelaide tended to dislike these social gatherings. People hid behind carved smiles and pleasant lies. Plus, Lady Drummond had requested she recite. A common enough request. Adelaide had been to many feasts where a member of the nobility would recite a poem or ballade—usually a legend of Monparth, sometimes a romance. It was an accepted way of thanking your host. But she had never volunteered.

What would people truly think as they watched her? Would they see her as any other noble performing a recitation? Or would they focus on the warm brown of her skin? The occasional Khastallander roundness of a vowel that always seemed to appear when she got nervous? Minerva said she was too self-conscious, but then, Minerva wasn’t as tall as most men, and blended in better with the Monparthians than Adelaide. But it would be rude to refuse. And if being Khastallander didn’t bother Mother, it wouldn’t bother her, either.

The day of the party, Adelaide wandered into the sitting room where Minerva and Mother were discussing pregnancy and babies. She joined them on the sunlit couch and hugged a pillow edged in aqua tassels to her chest. “Anyone interesting coming tonight?”

“Don’t be in too big a rush to find a suitor,” Mother said without looking up from stitching a baby blanket.

Adelaide blushed. “That’s not what I meant!”Although, I’m not uninterested...

There were many reasons Adelaide wasn’t married, why she had never had a proper suitor. Several older siblings, for one. For another, noble Monparthian men showed less interest in a half-Khastallander with brown skin. She knew her half-noble blood made some see her as an inferior choice. Other times she suspected the men who flirted with her simply found her foreign appearance intriguing. Minerva had experienced the same issues, although her marriage to Gaius had given Adelaide hope again. But there were other reasons.

One main one.

Courting was difficult when she had a secret to keep. She couldn’t court someone she didn’t trust, but how could she know if she trusted someone enough to tell him the truth about her magic until she courted him?

“Let’s see...” Minerva said. “Baron and Baroness Carrick. Maybe their eldest son, Lord Carrick and his wife? I’m not sure if they could make it. I believe the baron’s youngest son is coming, Sir Nolan.” Minerva gave her a saucy grin. “That reminds me, Lady Drummond says to tell you he’s twenty-seven and very eligible.”

“Oh, really?” Adelaide smirked back.

“Yes, but also a flirt and a scoundrel, I’ve heard. So...be careful, I suppose.” Minerva thought for a moment. “Lord and Lady Russelthorn. Several other knights and ladies. Lord and Lady Drummond took care of the invites and all the planning.” Her fingertips traced circles on her stomach. “I am immensely grateful. Having to deal with these social niceties and remember everyone when some mornings I couldn’t stand up straight would have been a nightmare.”

“I wish we didn’t have to meet everyone.” Adelaide rested her chin on the pillow. “We’re here to seeyou, not strangers.”

Mother frowned. “And I thought I taught you better manners.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be perfectly polite.” Adelaide fiddled with the tassels on the pillow. “I just hope the conversation is more interesting than,” she went into an affected falsetto, “yes, the weatherhasbeen lovely. I understand the tournament in Red Falls is spectacular, I may go this year.”

Minerva chuckled and Mother shook her head, smiling.

“Well, the tournament in Red Fallsisspectacular.”

Adelaide jumped at the sound of Gaius’ voice behind her. She looked back and spotted him standing in the doorway. “Ah...how long have you been standing there?”

Gaius laughed as he walked over to Minerva. “Long enough to know you have low expectations for the conversation this evening.” He kissed the top of Minerva’s head. “Mother sent me to let you all know the guests will start arriving in about two hours, and to recommend you get dressed.”

“All right.” Minerva stood. “I’ll see you in a couple hours.” She winked at Adelaide. “And I promise I’ll bring my best conversational skills.”

––––––––

ADELAIDE FIDGETED WITHthe azure silk scarf. Nothing she did with it felt right. Draped in front? No. In back? No. Over her head...? Definitely not. Wrapped around her shoulders? Too slippery. In the crook of her elbows? Too awkward. What was she supposed todowith it? But Lady Drummond had given it to her as a gift, so she couldn’t go without it.

“You look fine, dear.” Mother whispered as they stood in the foyer waiting for the guests to enter. “Stop fidgeting.”

Various knights and ladies whose names she would never remember greeted her and Mother in the entrance hall. Adelaide smiled and curtsied and fussed with her scarf. She had moved it down to her elbows when one end slid out and fell behind her. She curtsied to a Sir Mowbray and Dame Mowbray, ignoring the trailing scarf. After they passed by, she looked down and behind her, searching for the end of the scarf and losing the other end.Darn slippery thing.She stepped to the side, trying to spot the scarf on the ground.

There. All right. I need to find a way to retrieve it quickly when no one is looking—

A man’s boots appeared on the other side of the scarf, and Adelaide’s eyes widened. The man crouched down and picked up the scarf.Oh, the embarrassment.Her cheeks burned as the man held the scarf out to her. She reached for it, looking up at the man who had retrieved it.

He was tall.Sotall. For the first time, she felt almost...diminutive. She guessed he must be nearing thirty years old. He wore a black jerkin over a dark green long-sleeved tunic with sleeves that pulled across his muscles. Thick black hair hung in loose curls around his ears and neck. He was clean-shaven, with a sharp jaw and high, angular cheekbones. A rough pinkish scar ran diagonally across his right cheek, from under the outside corner of his eye to the corner of his lips before it curved down his chin to his jawline. His brows furrowed together. But her gaze fixed on the way his light gray irises caught the fading sunlight, almost seeming to have a light of their own. Dark lashes framed his eyes, drawing attention to the piercing ferocity behind them.

“I believe this is yours?” His voice was clear, deep, and warm.

She gingerly took the scarf, her stomach twisting. “Thank you.” The words came out in a horrifying squeak and the heat in her face spread to her ears.

---