Later that evening, Seraiah lifted the skirts of the finest dress she had ever worn and prepared to be presented to a room full of elves.
Ariya would love this dress, she thought, looking down at herself.
The skirt was a confection of floor-length tulle in a pale green. Green silk, a shade darker than the skirt, made up the bodice, which was embroidered with tiny pink and white flowers. Sleeves in the same tulle as the skirt covered her from shoulder to wrist.
Wisteria had pinned her hair up in a braided crown and tucked flowers into it. Seraiah could smell their perfume every time she moved. To finish the look, Wisteria had lined her eyes in a glittering gold, drawing out elaborate swirls on her temples that called attention to her brown eyes.
Seraiah had never felt more like a princess.
She took a deep breath and then stepped through the double doors, getting her first look at the room below her.
It was alive with a gentle hum of conversation, and to her relief, no one had looked up at her entrance.
“Seraiah Visrel of Ratha,” a hidden voice announced, booming out over the room.
She didn’t recall ever telling anyone her family name, Seraiah thought as she stared down at what might possibly be the longest flight of stairs she had ever seen.
The announcement of her name was met with instant silence.
Seraiah pulled her gaze up from the stairs and froze in place as she found every eye in the room boring into her.
Vaguely, she heard the disembodied voice announcing someone else, and Seraiah knew she should move to walk down the stairs, but all those eyes were holding her in place.
There was a light touch on her shoulder as whoever had been announced came up behind her. The crowd below dropped into curtsies and bows, and Seraiah pulled her gaze away from the lowered faces to find Kai next to her.
The stares, she realized, hadn’t been entirely for her. They were also for him.
Kai was dressed head to toe in white with gold stitching. The top half of his hair was pulled back to expose his pointed ears, and the gold circlet she’d seen him wearing earlier had been replaced by a more elaborate crown of golden leaves studded with green gemstones, the like of which Seraiah had never seen.
“Come on,” he said softly, taking her hand and placing it in the crook of his elbow. “Don’t let them see your fear, or they will pounce on it and use it against you.”
Easier said than done, she thought as he led her forward. She could feel the tension in Kai’s arm through his sleeve, yet his face gave nothing away. Outwardly, he appeared perfectly at ease.
Seraiah tried to remember what Sterling had done when people would stare at her gray hair.
Her brave little sister had held her chin high and ignored them. On the rare occasion, she even dared to smile at them until they were the ones to look away in embarrassment. Seraiah lifted her own chin and tried to channel her sister now.
Kai let his court hold their bowed positions as, together, they made their way to the floor. “Rise,” he finally commanded when they had reached the last step. The crowd rose almost as one and returned to their conversations.
Seraiah smiled in relief and removed her hand from Kai’s arm as Kestrel, wearing a gown the color of new grass, came up to join them.
Her relief was short-lived though, as she heard snippets of the conversations around them.
“Why is she here?” someone asked.
“A human,” someone else spat with distaste, not even bothering to keep their voice down. “At a court celebration?”
“Do you think the prince is going to bring back the servants?” another asked.
“I certainly hope so,” came another’s response.
Kestrel quickly reached out and linked her arm with Seraiah’s. “Ignore them,” she said through gritted teeth. “Try not to judge our city by a select few. Not all of us think the same way.”
It seemed to Seraiah that it was more than a select few who still thought of humans as beneath them, but she kept that thought to herself.
As they stepped away from Kai, he quickly became surrounded by his court. All of them were eager to greet their prince and find out more about the human girl he had brought with him. Seraiah didn’t catch what his responses were to the questions as Kestrel pulled her further away.
For the first time, Seraiah looked around at the room itself. It was softly lit by glowing orbs—not unlike the one Kestrel had used to light the abandoned prison—suspended in the air above their heads. They illuminated the beautiful carvings on the stone walls. Each of the carvings seemed to depict a different scene. Some of them appeared happy, while others were pictures of war, but each of them told a story. It was like a book brought to life. Seraiah would have liked to study them, but Kestrel was setting a fast pace, weaving in and out of the gathered people.
A cluster of long tables stood at the far end of the room. One was raised above the others on a dais, and this seemed to be what Kestrel was leading her toward. They had almost reached it when someone stepped in front of them, blocking their way.
“Show time,” Kestrel mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for Seraiah to hear. “Hello, Councilman. How are you this evening?” She greeted the man blocking their path.
He sniffed in disdain, ignoring Kestrel’s question.
This had to be none other than Gavaran, Seraiah thought as she studied him. Unlike the rest of the courtiers, who were dressed in mostly light colors or various shades of green like herself and Kestrel, this man was dressed from head to toe in black. An odd choice for a spring celebration. His dark red hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck, making his sharp features appear all the more severe.
“After weeks of disappearing, this is what our Prince comes back with?” He was looking at Seraiah as though she were something unpleasant stuck to the bottom of his boot.
She instantly disliked the man.
Kestrel opened her mouth to respond, but Kai cut in first, appearing on Seraiah’s other side after having disentangled himself from the rest of his courtiers. “She has a name, Gavaran, and you would do well to use it. She is here to assist me in some important matters.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Gavaran inclined his head as he regarded Kai. “And what, pray tell, would those be, Your Highness? I don’t recall the council ever hearing about any such matters.” He smiled, but his eyes remained cold.
There was a war of power going on here that Seraiah didn’t fully understand.
“I have yet to inform the council. I intend to do so at an appropriate time.”
While Kai was speaking, Seraiah noticed a young woman had appeared behind Gavaran. Her hair was the same dark shade of red as his, so Seraiah suspected they were related. She also had the same sharp features, but where Gavaran’s appeared severe—hers were striking.
The girl was currently glaring at the place where Kai’s hand was now gripping Seraiah’s right elbow.
“How about tomorrow, then?” Gavaran suggested. “I am sure the rest of the council is as eager to hear about this as I am.”
“Tomorrow,” Kai agreed smoothly.
Gavaran held out his hand, and it took a moment for Seraiah to realize he was waiting for her.
Hastily, Seraiah pulled her elbow out of Kai’s grip and placed her hand in Gavaran’s. She could have sworn a brief look of surprise crossed his eyes.
“Make sure you are there as well, Seraiah,” he said, giving her name an extra emphasis while squeezing her hand so that she could feel the points of his nails digging into her palm. “I am sure we would all love to get to know you better.”
Just as quickly as it had begun, the moment passed. Gavaran dropped her hand and turned on his heel, disappearing into the crowd. With one last glare over her shoulder, the girl followed behind him.
“That wasn’t nearly as fun as I thought it would be,” Kestrel remarked. “What are you going to tell them tomorrow?”
“The truth,” Kai answered shortly, looking harried.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“We don’t have a choice anymore,” Kai said. “I don’t have any excuses left to give, and we will need the council’s help to find Sterling.”
“But—,” Kestrel started to argue.
“This isn’t a good time to discuss it,” Kai said, cutting her off before moving away toward the dais.
They watched him go.
“I take it this wasn’t part of your plan?” Seraiah asked.
“No.” Kestrel sighed. “A meeting with the council should never be part of anyone’s plans. Come on. Our seats for the dinner are on the dais with Kai and the rest of the council.”
“Are the others like Gavaran?” Seraiah asked, keeping her voice low to avoid being overheard.
“Thankfully, no, he is the worst one. Unfortunately, he holds the most sway with the other members, but there are a few that will side with us.” Kestrel flicked a hand as though shooing away an annoying insect. “Enough about them. We can worry about it tomorrow. Tonight, we celebrate.”
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The dinner portion of the celebration passed uneventfully, and by the time the desserts were set before them, Seraiah was ready to burst. She was contemplating if she could eat one more lemon cake without making herself sick when Kestrel leaned over.
“After this, the dancing will start, and then we can sneak away,” she whispered in Seraiah’s ear.
“Where are we going?” she whispered back.
Kestrel’s only response was a wink, and a finger held to her lips.
Wherever it was surely had to be better than here, and if she could skip out on dancing—all the better.
The dessert course seemed to drag on now that she knew she would be leaving soon. Finally, when all the plates were cleared, and a soft lilting music filled the air, people began to leave their tables.
Seraiah and Kestrel stayed seated as, one by one, their dinner companions left the dais to join the crowd below.
Even Kai had disappeared.
Seraiah scanned the room and spotted him talking to the red-haired girl from earlier. It looked like a friendly enough conversation. In fact, it might have been more than friendly. “Who is that?” she asked Kestrel.
“You’re going to have to be a little more specific. There are a lot of people in this room,” Kestrel said, twirling a dessert fork through her fingers the same way Seraiah had always seen her twirling her knives.
“The girl Kai is talking to. The red-haired one in white.”
Kestrel leaned forward, putting the fork back on the table as she scanned the room.
“Ah, that would be Virelai,” she said when she spotted them.
“She was glaring at me earlier when we were talking to Gavaran.”
Kestrel chuckled. “That sounds about right. Virelai is Gavaran’s daughter and has had her eye on Kai for years.”
Seraiah continued studying the pair, and as she watched, Virelai reached out to touch Kai’s arm, laughing at something he said. The way they were dressed so similarly made it appear like they were a couple.
“You sure seem interested in them,” Kestrel observed. “Something you want to tell me?”
Seraiah ignored Kestrel’s question, forcing herself to look away. “Is it time to slip out of here yet?”
Kestrel grinned. “I think it is.”
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Kai looked out at the sea of courtiers below him. Some watched the dais—watched him in particular—while others talked with their table partners and finished their meals.
He had not missed this. He had not missed any of it.
A night sleeping on the hard ground in the middle of nowhere was preferable.
“Excuse me,” Kai murmured, pushing back his chair. More eyes looked up at his movement, but no one stopped him.
They could not stop a prince, but he knew a few would like to try.
Kai exited the dais and slipped out a door located behind it that was mostly used for bringing food into the room. He only wanted a few minutes alone before he was thrust back into the middle of things.
Of course, there was no such thing as time alone when you were a prince.
Guards followed him, though they kept a polite distance away.
He certainly didn’t miss having every move watched.
Kai leaned against the stone wall of hallway and took a breath. It was a relief to be in the near silence after the clamor of the celebration. He’d been dreading it since he’d been reminded it was his duty to make an appearance. A few days more and he would have missed it.
A few days more might have meant the difference between Seraiah being here or in the hands of mages.
He thought of Seraiah as he’d seen her before entering that room. She’d looked radiant in the dress Wisteria had found for her with her hair all done up in flowers. He’d meant to tell her so, but she’d entered the room before he had a chance.
Then his court had ripped away her sparkle with their reaction to her. He’d known they would likely react like this. A human at a court function was not done.
The few humans who still remained in Nyrene kept to themselves and stayed well away from the castle. If he could have saved Seraiah from it, he would have. Kestrel had rightly pointed out it would be the easiest way to introduce her to the court, but Seraiah should have at least been warned about what might happen.
When he’d taken her hand at the top of the stairs, Kai had half-expected her to pull away and leave. She’d already made it very clear to him what she thought of the elves’ past treatment of humans. Instead, she’d raised her chin and walked down with him. He’d felt the tension radiating through her with every step, but she let none of it show.
He’d wanted to say something to quell her fears, but the moment he’d told his court to rise, his time to speak with her was over. She’d left with Kestrel, and he became surrounded by those seeking his favor and looking for a bit of gossip about where he’d been.
He was putting off the probing questions when he’d seen Gavaran approach.
Kestrel could handle him well enough, but it should have been his responsibility as prince to introduce Seraiah. He’d raced to her side as fast as he could in time to hear Gavaran insult her.
Kai looked down at his hands, flexing them. Usually, Gavaran and his insults didn’t bother him, but it had been different when it was directed at Seraiah. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get through tomorrow’s council meeting if Gavaran made any more remarks. It would already be difficult enough when he finally explained his search for his dead sister, who wasn’t so dead after all.
Kai hoped Kestrel was ready. He’d need to speak with her tomorrow to make sure they were both in agreement on what they would say.
The sound of the guards moving brought Kai out of his thoughts. He should be getting back. There was only the dancing left to get through, and then he could retire for the evening.
Once he stepped back inside, the music was already playing. It was a familiar song he’d heard his mother hum many times when he was a child.
“Excuse me, Prince Kaimana. May I have a word?” someone asked.
Kai sighed inwardly. So it began again.
A few minutes later, he found himself in conversation with Virelai. Tonight, she’d dressed in white, a perfect match for his own outfit. He knew it was anything but a mistake. Everything about Virelai was calculated, including the way she was smiling at him now. She was her father’s daughter.
They exchanged pleasantries and talked about nothing in particular. He knew she was waiting for him to ask her to dance. Other couples had already taken to the dance floor. Being the first to dance with him was considered a sign of favor. Unfortunately for Virelai, there was someone else he’d like to dance with first.
Kai glanced back at the dais, scanning the faces seated there.
The place where Kestrel and Seraiah should have been was empty.