Page 71 of War Hour

Today, following the Crowns’ War Hour and hours before the highly anticipated Peace Ball, I get a taste of freedom. Not a single person spares me even a glance.

Court citizens and capital staff alike hurry up and down the halls. Women rush past with a plethora of dresses draped across their arms, all a range of colors and fabrics. Staff cart around trays of covered food and glass chalices.

And, in their preparation, no one is concerned with my presence.

I’m nearly back to the Court of Truth’s tower, where my quiet room awaits me when a woman’s voice hisses in the hall I must enter. The venom in her tone stops me before I turn the corner, instead pressing myself against the wall.

“It is too late!” the woman says in a shrill voice. “Now the ball is upon us, and there will be no Heir on your arm. You’ve had weeks.”

Turning my head back toward the hall I just came from, I hesitate. I’ve learned to navigate parts of the capital, and this is the only way I know to get to my room. But I can’t just continue on by an obviously tense conversation.

A girl’s voice sounds down the hall.

“I’m confident I can make tonight work for your plans, Mother. I have not failed you yet.”

In the beat of silence, I hold my breath, praying the two women will not come my way. I’ve obviously stumbled upon a tense conversation, not meant to be overheard.

“Have you sensed a change in his feelings?” the older woman asks, voice tight with frustration. “Anything at all?”

“He’s hard to read. It’s like I see a glimpse and then it’s gone. From what I catch, he enjoys my company. That has not changed, but I have had so little time with him. It’s as if he spends every waking moment with her. Meals, training—there’s never a chance to get him alone.”

“I expect so much more from you, Visha. You will not have my brother’s favor indefinitely. And then what?”

I freeze, air escaping my lungs in a quiet gasp.

Nothing could stop me from leaning forward to peek around the corner, confirming what I’ve just heard.

Visha stands crowded against the wall, her mother gripping her wrist. While Visha is at least a head taller than her mother, she shrinks under her cold gaze.

“Can’t you feel my disappointment, Visha? I know it weighs heavily on me. Don’t you wish to relieve us both of this burden?”

Visha looks away, face void of emotion. “Of course, Mother. I’ll do better.”

The older woman steps away from Visha, patting the girl’s hair as she responds. “Good. Now, go get ready. You have an Heir to impress.”

Her mother slinks away, leaving Visha standing in the hall alone, staring blankly at the wall.

Part of me considers going to her, offering her morsels of sympathy. I’m no stranger to being manipulated. but then her head whips in my direction, and I hide behind the wall.

My heart races, praying she didn’t see me watching from the shadows. I wait for the sound of her footsteps to signal her departure, but they never come.

I lean to peer down the hall once more but stumble back in shock. Visha stands not a foot away, frowning down at me.

Pulling a small knife from beneath the cloth at her sternum, she pushes me until my back hits the wall. One hand pins my shoulder while the other holds her knife. She doesn’t wield the blade like a weapon but as an extension of her finger as she points the tip at me.

“If you have the guts to eavesdrop on my conversations, at least have the stomach to not pity me.” Visha snarls in my face.

“I didn’t mean to—”

She scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Speak of anything you heard, and I’ll kill you myself. One minor accident during training, and you won’t be my problem anymore. So, don’t make yourself a problem for me.”

I flinch at the threat, nodding slowly when she glares at me.

Pushing off the wall, Visha stows away her knife before stalking down the hall. Her purple dress floats behind her.

Rushing upthe tower to my room, taking the stairs two at a time, I decide I won’t tell anyone what I’d heard in the hallway.

Whoever Visha had set her sights on would have to figure out her motives on his own. I push away the thought that it more than likely is Evander.

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