Page 103 of House of the Raven
My first kiss cannot be with this man, with someone who would force me. I want to scream, but if I do, everything will fall apart. This went well. I bought myself the time I need to unravel this mystery and, perhaps, even save myself from a lifetime as this brute’s wife.
I can’t scream. I have to bear it.
“Princess Valeria,” Bastien’s deep voice breaks through my disgust and panic. “I’m sorry to interrupt, you asked me to remind you about your Tirgaelach lesson with Maestro Elizondo.”
With a reluctant growl, Don Justo releases me and glares at Bastien. I take two quick steps back and do my best to appear shy rather than ready to pull out a dagger and stab him right through the neck.
“My apologies,” I say. “I do have a full schedule today, which includes meeting with the best seamstress in all of Castellina to talk about the proper wedding dress for a princess.”
Don Justo seems to like this, so I add, “I would suggest you talk to the best tailor as well. I want our wedding to be the talk of the town.”
At this, he looks a bit frazzled. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he feels out of his league when it comes to fashion. He’s dressed adequately, but he’s far from the likes of Barón Miguel Rubio de la Concha and Duque Luis Tinto Gallegos, two of the most eligible and fashionable bachelors in Castellina’s upper circles.
“I will certainly do so.” And with that, he bows and leaves, though not without giving Bastien one more nasty glare.
30
VALERIA
“These Castellan's must make room to plant rice. We will teach them how.”
Tariq Zuhr - Moro Settler - 98 BV
“Why did you do that?” I ask Bastien as we stand alone in the sunroom.
He shrugs and goes back to staring straight ahead.
I snatch a pastry from the table and walk out. I only ever seem to eat on the run anymore. Bastien follows me at a distance, almost as if he isn’t doing his job. Anyone looking on would never guess he’s supposed to be keeping an eye on me.
When we’re almost to my bedchamber, and no one’s around, he finally comes closer.
I turn to face him. The way he acted in the sunroom is still bothering me. “I know you don’t like me, so why did you lie to… save me from that jerk?”
He thinks for a moment, then says, “Because I hate bullies.”
For some odd reason, his answer disappoints me. I thought he would at least try to deny that he dislikes me, but I guess I’m just a job to him. Expecting even a hint of friendship from someone stuck with me might be asking too much.
Back in my bedchamber, I go back to pacing along my bed like a lunatic. I can’t get the amulet out of my head. If it gets lost, worse yet if it falls into the wrong hands, I could never forgive myself. Maybe I should ask Cuervo to bring it back. I could—
No!I shake my head so forcefully that a few strands of hair come loose.The amulet is safer outside of Nido.
Besides, what amIsupposed to do with it? I’m not the right person to hold such power, not that I could wield it. I’m just a half-fae whose espiritu was a one-time fluke, who—
My legs give out, and I fall to my knees as a memory hits me like a lightning bolt.
I was wearing Mother’s necklace the day she died, the day I saved Father from Orys’s first attack. I had totally forgotten. She was letting me play with it after I pestered and begged her.
That warmth in my chest… it didn’t come from me. It came from The Eldrystone. All along, I’ve been so sure I possess espiritu that it never occurred to me the power came from a different source.
Gods!I cover my face with my hands and weep. I could have saved Father. If I’d known, if I’d understood what happened that day when I was but a child, I could have finished Orys before he had time to take Father away from me.
Why? Why did you hide the truth from me, Father? Why?! And why did my memories fail me?
My chest heaves with huge sobs that I attempt to drown in my hands. I don’t want Bastien to hear me, to learn how weak I am. Clenching my teeth, I push my despair into the darkest corner of my being and stand. My legs tremble, and I barely make it to the bed, where I sit at its edge and take deep, calming breaths.
This isn’t the time to fall apart, Valeria.
After a few minutes of this, my mind clears, and my rational self returns, giving way to another realization: The Eldrystone isn’t a legend.
