Page 12 of Jeweler to the Blessed
I pinched the bridge of my nose and assessed the room more closely. The secret storage room door was safely closed. I opened it quickly, confirming the books were all in place.Champions of Kavioswas crooked on the stack. I would never leave it like that, but Alaric would. All that mattered was that it was there—that they all were.
A glass of dark brown liquid sat on the workbench with only a single sip remaining. It drew my gaze, and my footsteps followed. Alaric left much out, but usually, it had to do with his work or experiments. He was tidy with household necessities. Looking more closely at the tabletop, I recognized the other items. Wild mint from the Oldwood, lemon, and water ready to be boiled—these were the other ingredients that went into Mother’s tonic.
Only the youngleaf was missing.
A different reason to panic overtook me. I put myself in Alaric’s shoes. Had he gone to Forest’s Edge? The drink suggested he expected to return shortly, or he would have cleaned it up. Had he been working on the tonic and was interrupted? If so, where was the herb?
Only questions filled my mind, and the only person who could answer them was missing.
That wasn’t exactly true. If my question was whether Alaric had disappeared while making the tonic or if he’d never returned from collecting the herb, surely, someone at the tavern could tell me. I replayed the stranger’s conversation with Alaric. Ava—that’s who he said was waiting for Alaric yesterday. She could tell me if he ever arrived.
I pushed back the heavy gold curtain, checking the sun’s rise. Could I visit Forest’s Edge at this hour?
Thinking of the time of day triggered thoughts on which I’d rather not dwell. What if I didn’t find him before the festival? I couldn’t leave on my journey without finding Alaric. Mother would need her tonic.
This could not be happening.
Soft purples and pinks painted the horizon with the rising sun. I briefly remembered an adage about red skies in the morning meaning to take warning. I’d barely finished the rhyme in my head when the jingling of the doorknob had my heartbeat skyrocketing again. I hadn’t locked it behind me—too distracted by the lack of response from Alaric as I walked in.
Maybe it was fine. Maybe Alaric was returning from an errand, and this was one big overreaction on my part.
The man who let himself in was the last person I wanted to see.
I sucked in a breath, belatedly realizing the situation I’d put myself in. This man was Blessed. We were alone in Alaric’s workshop. I slid behind the counter to put it between myself and the king’s advisor.
He was about my height, but I didn’t believe I could get past him for a second. The adamas ring on his finger was large. It was twice the size of the stranger’s yesterday.
The size of the adamas gem was an indicator of the king’s favor. Larger gems could store more power, so they were granted to those in close service to the royal family. And Vaddon Camm had the king’s favor. His position was the most powerful outside of the royal family.
My gaze rose to his face. His sharp features pinched as his blue eyes darted from the swinging curtain to me. Vaddon ran his hand through close-cropped black hair like he wasn’t sure how to proceed.
He could join the club.
“Who are you?”
I immediately hated his voice. It was nasally and entitled and spoke of everything I despised about the Blessed. Unfortunately, his position empowered it. I had to tread carefully. I’d defend myself if necessary. Thanks to Alaric’s training and precaution, I always had a dagger hidden beneath my skirt. But using it on the king’s chief advisor meant I’d be a fugitive. My mind was spinning into worst-case scenarios. With another deep breath, I tried to devise a more reasonable plan.
“Emberline Arkova.”
He wasn’t impressed by my lack of explanation following my name. Silence hung between us as he waited, likely for me to provide more context. I didn’t. He appeared to be testing the name, determining if he knew it.
“Alaric’s niece? Why are you here?” The way he glanced around the room, his lip curling, showed his distaste, as if he couldn’t imagine why anyone would choose such a space on purpose.
I couldn’t exactly admit he taught me banned history. “I’m a jeweler too. He teaches me new techniques.”
Vaddon waved his hand in a motion that demanded I continue my explanation, even as his gaze searched the shop, clearly uninterested in my response. At least the way his eyesroamed the shop, the unfamiliarity, gave me hope he hadn’t been here to arrest Uncle for his banned books.
That only meant something else was wrong.
“That’s it,” I said.
“Is he here?” Heavy footfalls took Vaddon across the shop to the curtain.
“What do you need?”
His fingers wrapped around the curtain, readying to pull it back. He paused and glanced at me again like I was an inconvenience in his morning. “I’m Vaddon Camm, advisor to King Rodric.” The curl of his lip said he knew he needed no introduction. “Alaric missed an appointment.”
I tried to swallow but found my throat suspiciously dry. This might be worse. Alaric would never miss a meeting with the king. It was one of the only reasons he gave for why he couldn’t meet some mornings. The king required only infrequent visits, but when called upon, Alaric said it was unwise to be late. It was one of the only times he seemed … fearful.
