Page 30 of Thief of Dreams
It makes me feel dirty.
* * *
That night,every eye is on Ismena, and she knows it. There's an air of nervousness around the dining room.
Nobody goes anywhere alone—even to the washroom—and dinner conversation is subdued. There's no sign of Prince Keir.
Probably a good thing, for I haven't yet resolved my feelings in regards to tonight's invitation.
If I don't go to his rooms, I'll probably never get another invitation.
If I do, then I'll destroy the hint of... something... that lingers between us.
"Well, since the company is so subdued tonight, I think I might just retire." Ismena makes a grand show of pushing her chair back.
Over a dozen eyes watch her.
And she's clearly a little bothered by the fact no one says anything.
She recovers well. "I guess I'll see you all in the morning. Or whoever makes it through until dawn."
Nasty words, but as she leaves, I realize her shoulders are squared and her fingers curl into the fabric of her skirts, as if she can practically feel the daggers lobbed at her back.
Or as if she's scared.
Something has been bothering me about the entire ordeal.
Ismena's a typical Blessed bitch, quite content to tear others to shreds when she's one of the group, but now that she stands alone she's almost scared. She's not the type to face a fight without someone at her back. A coward through and through, who only gains her claws in company.
But now the little coterie she formed on the first day has vanished. Altrea and Narcissa were her closest allies, and the other girl who hovered in their shadows—Louella of Goldenrod—is suddenly pretending Ismena has the pox.
Altrea and Narcissa. Why were they the first to fall?
Why would Ismena killthem?
Narcissa may have won a private picnic with the prince, but he's made it clear he's unimpressed with their nasty jibes.
As Calliope said, the other girls see me as the competition, but although the Wyrdwolf attacked me the other night, I wasn't the target.
And Ismena hates me.
If she had anything to do with this, I would have been the first victim and Narcissa and Altera would have cheered her on.
I've been so distracted by the prince and Soraya, that I didn't even think it through.
With Ismena gone, the other princesses are also retiring.
A prickle of suspicion trickles down my spine.
The attacks have happened every night, and I cannot help but wonder if my suspicions are correct and I know who the next victim will be.
I make my escape politely and dart around the nearest massive column into the shadows there. She has a head start on me, but I can move quicker than she can.
Blurring from shadow to shadow, I soon catch a glimpse of Ismena, pausing in the hallway that leads to her room.
One of the sconces suddenly dies, right outside her chambers. Ismena freezes. "Hello?" she calls softly. "Is anyone there?"
Why are there no guards in this section of the palace?
