Page 40 of Thorn Season
“Bah! What if I’d worn silver today? We’d have clashed, and Ireally would have thrown you in the dungeons!”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “Have I missed much?”
“Well, Rupert drank a case of spoiled rum and couldn’t leave his chambers for two days. That gave the gentry a good laugh.”
“That’s awful.”
“Oh, I know. You’d think the Kaulters’ own distillery would churn out finer products.”
I didn’t bother telling her I was referring to the gentry. Having grown up at court, Carmen was too accustomed to their cruel humor.
“And of course,” Carmen said, more serious, “there was the Jacombs’ trial.”
I startled. Though the last Hunting had exposed the Jacombs’ staff as Wielders, I hadn’t yet heard news of the family themselves. “They stood trial?”
Carmen nodded. “They were accused of knowingly housing those employees. The lady of Dawning pleaded ignorance and stripped her jewelry at Erik’s feet.”
To strip one’s jewelry was the ultimate act of submission at court—as degrading and damaging as a brand.
“Erik pardoned her?” I asked.
“Of course he did. Shesubmitted.” Carmen’s voice soured, and I understood why.
Carmen’s mother, Lady Nelle—afterward dubbed “the Mantis”—had allegedly poisoned her husband, the late queen’s younger brother, five years ago. No courtiers had defended her at the trial. And when she’d refused to submit to Erik’s judgment—to strip her jewelry before his throne—Erik had exiled her for her insolence.
On the other hand, the lady of Dawning had submitted... and Erik had been lenient.
It was unnerving—how many lives could be destroyed or salvaged according to the seesaw temperament of one man.
“But really,” Carmen said with renewed vigor, “all anyone can talk about is the Ansoran ambassador, though they do so out of Erik’s earshot. Nobody knows how he wants them to react, and gods forbid they think for themselves.”
I asked, carefully casual, “Is the ambassador...?”
“A Wielder?” Carmen managed to say the word without it sounding like an insult. “We can’t very well ask outright. It might be like asking a woman’s age or her shoe size. But between us, I don’t think Erik would host a Wielder regardless of diplomacy.”
My specter twinged, but it was for the best. Though my kidnappers had only wanted to rescue Wielder prisoners from the Capewells’ hold, the bitter aftertaste of that night still lingered. If I hoped to find the compass before the copycats struck again, I couldn’t afford more Wielder-shaped distractions—especially in the form of the ambassador, who may try to retrieve the compass for his ruthless empress if he discovered it was missing. We already stood on opposite sides of the gameboard.
And truthfully, I didn’t want to be disappointed again.
Carmen suddenly yanked me across the dance floor. She nodded toward an alcove, where a petite young woman watched the revelry, her untouched wine flute glinting from the shadows. Possessing the porcelain features of a doll, complete with large brown eyes and a mass of raven-black hair, Lady Perla Byrd of Avanford had always seemed more breakable than beautiful.
“It’s uncanny,” Carmen whispered. “Every event—the same alcove. She’ll stand for hours—on those rickety heels, too, mind you—then retreat to her chambers without having spoken a word.”
“Perhaps she’s grieving,” I said. “I heard her older sister passed last year. Petra, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, and gods rest the poor darling! Where Petra was quite an enchantress, Perla is mild, obedient, and tepid as a cup of old soup. When her father heard that Erik was considering marriage this year, he bribed Erik’s advisors into campaigning for her.”
“He’s so eager to marry off his only remaining daughter?”
“His grandchildren would rule Daradon. He’d be a fool to dally.” Carmen gave me an appraising look. “Especially since His Majesty has eyes for another.”
My cheeks heated, but I kept my face neutral. “You’ve done your research.”
“I have a duty to my kingdom.”
“To be a gossip?”
She lightly smacked my arm. “To learn everything I can about Erik’s future consort.” She added in a singsong voice, “Whoever that may be.”
