Page 105 of House of the Raven
“Lost it?” Maestro echoes in shock.
“This is madness!” I exclaim, feeling I need to put on a performance to convince them. I would love to trust them, to have someone else to confide in, but I can’t take that risk. “There’s no way I heldThe Eldrystonein my hands, that my father allowed me to play with it after Mother died. That makes no sense.”
I peek at them from the corner of my eye, trying to read their reaction. They appear flabbergasted.
Maestro shakes his head and strokes his beard. “You are right. That seems highly unlikely. Perhaps he didn’t know what it was.”
I hadn’t considered the possibility. I should have, but Mother and Father were so close that the possibility doesn’t seem natural. They loved each other very much, and I can’t conceive a world in which she kept something so momentous from him. No, he must have known.
“Maybe he didn’t know,” I echo, trying to diffuse this situation. “Or maybe… maybe it wasn’t The Eldrystone. Maybe it was a replica of some kind.”
Maestro Elizondo nods. “Y-yes. Yes. Yes, that is extremely likely.” He seems ready to dismiss everything with this explanation. After all, this is easier to believe than the alternative.
Nana, on the other hand, doesn’t seem so easily swayed. I can tell she wants to believe Mother was in possession of The Eldrystone, but does she believe I lost it?
Oh, gods!How I want to trust Nana, but what if she has fallen prey to Orys the way I suspect Amira has?
“Whatever the case,” Maestro Elizondo says, “we need to tell your sister about the veilfallen.”
Shit!
The curse word bursts inside my head, but my cheeks heat as if I actually spoke it out loud in front of Nana. She would pull my ears so hard they would come off.
What now? If they talk to Amira, she’ll figure out I know Mother’s necklace is The Eldrystone—not just a trinket. And if she figures that out, she will definitely not believe that I lost it. Instead, she’ll think I want it for myself. Worse yet, sharing their knowledge with Amira might get them in trouble.
“Perhaps,” I start tentatively, “it would be best not to talk to her.”
Maestro Elizondo looks at me as if I’m stupid. He has given me this look plenty of times, so I’m not offended.
“We have to,” he argues. “If the veilfallen think the Plumanegras are in possession of The Eldrystone, I can’t even begin to imagine what they might do.” He stands, his back straighter than normal, which means he’s determined to tell Amira.
“Um, Amira already knows about the rumors,” I say.
“You didn’t mention that.”
“I… I made a mistake.” My mind races trying to come up with something. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about the amulet. She trusted me with the information from her spies. So if you talk to her, I’ll get into trouble. Please, don’t tell her.”
He frowns, looking uncertain.
I try again. “She’s already mad at me for leaving Alsur. I’m sure you’ve heard.” I try to look chagrined at the gossip I know has already reached his ears.
They both raise their eyebrows and exchange a glance, which confirms my suspicions. They know I’ve beengallivantingall over Castella, which I have no doubt is the word everyone is using to describe my escape from a marriage to that bastardo.
I go on. “She’ll kill me if she finds out I’m not safely keeping state secrets.”
Maestro Elizondo shakes his head. “I hope you haven’t told anyone else.”
“I haven’t!”
With a sigh, he waves a hand in the air. “I’m glad she knows”
I smile. “Me, too.”
Nana makes as if to stand, and he rushes to her side and extends a hand. She takes it, and as she stretches her rheumatic joints, she offers him a smile that makes him beam. I’ve always wondered if, when they were young, there was something between them. I don’t dare ask, though. I like my ears right where they are.
As they make their way out of my bedchamber, I find that my restless energy from earlier has doubled.
I spend the rest of the day drowning in fabric and helpful assistants armed with little cushions stuffed with pins. They turn me this way and that, tacking lengths of silk to my body and asking me if one shade of white is nicer than the other. I have no idea. All I know is that hours later when I return to my bedchamber, I’m exhausted and determined to never wear a wedding dress in my entire life.
