Page 3 of Embrace the Serpent

Galen cleared his throat. “My assistant will help your daughter set up the clasp.”

Lady Pewter’s gaze slid over me, and she nodded. I moved to Ella’s side. On the underside of the serpent’s head was the latch. I flicked it open. A small needle was inside.

“Your finger, miss,” I said.

Ella obliged. A pinprick, a drop of blood.

She pulled her hair to the side, and I clasped it around her neck. The rubies settled below her collarbone, and a soft pink flush came to her skin.

“How do I look?” she whispered to me.

From the folds of my livery I produced a hand mirror. I had framed it myself, in silver with a white opal in the handle to soften the light just so. Everyone likes a kind mirror. It’s not a lie, precisely. I think most people’s eyes are a little cruel, so my mirror evens the odds.

Ella’s dimples made an appearance as she beheld herself. “Oh, I love it. Mother, look!”

Lady Pewter looked at her with a critical eye. After a long moment, she spoke. “Very good work, Master Galen. I applaud the invention,but the design is also quite stunning.”

“Quite stunning? Mother, it’s the loveliest piece I’ve ever seen—oh, thank you, Master Galen. I love it dearly.”

My chest felt warm, and I fought to keep the smile from my face.

“You are very welcome, my child. It was a great pleasure to craft this for one as lovely as yourself,” Galen said with great modesty. His attention was on Lady Pewter. “It would be an honor to make a piece for you as well...”

“Oh yes, Mother, you must.”

Lady Pewter demurred. “I’m afraid Master Vyalis has been my jewelsmith for many years now.”

Ella sighed. “His work is so boring, though. And everyone wears him.”

A burst of laughter came from the direction of the front door.

Ella Pewter darted to her feet. “They’re here! They’ll be so jealous, I have to show them—”

Lady Pewter frowned. “That might not be wise, dear.”

The Pewters’ manservant knocked at the door. “Miss, your friends have arrived.”

Galen rose. “Ah, well, if you are satisfied, Miss Pewter, Lady Pewter, then we shall take our leave.”

Ella stopped him. “Oh no, Master Galen, stay a moment, let me introduce you.”

A gleam of hunger shone in Galen’s eye, and he put on his salesman’s smile.

A quartet entered in high spirits. The men’s shirtsleeves were open to their chests; the women’s dresses were cut low, revealingbrands that matched Lady Pewters. The specially chosen.

Several of their faces seemed vaguely familiar. Probably from the society papers that Galen collected and strewed about the workshop.

I beat a retreat to my post against the wall. They greeted each other, and it was like watching a puppy run up to a pack of wolves. Of the wolves, there was one clear leader: a young woman of middling height, with hawk’s eyes and a silken way of moving.

“That’s a lovely piece, Ella,” she said.

“Isn’t it?” Ella did a spin, showing it off. Lady Pewter’s lips pursed.

The hawk-eyed woman crooked her head. “Is that a serpent in the back?”

The newcomers shared a look. One of them, red-haired with boyish cheekiness, whistled. “You’ve set your cap for the Serpent King, have you?”

Ella flushed and forced a laugh. “Of course not. And anyway, no one’s going to catch his eye as long as you’re around, Mirandel.”

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