“Well, I’d only intended to give you this.” He pulled a small sheet of folded parchment from his pocket and offered it to me.
Against my better judgment, I took it from his hand, and inhaled sharply in surprise when I unfolded it. It was a carefully drawn copy of the map he’d snatched from my hand earlier. Smaller, less detailed—but certainly the same. I gaped at it for a moment before I remembered myself, and straightened back up. Yes, I would definitely be spending time reviewing this copy in my room. But that didn’t make his behavior any more acceptable.
“Thank you,” I said. “But I would appreciate it if you would refrain from bothering me further.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize I was bothering you,” the guard said. He looked so damn pleased with himself, with his eyes flashing gold.
“And I won’t be here in Efra long,” I said. “Better not to waste your time.”
“And why’s that?” he asked. “You just said you were here for the Choice.”
“The king won’t be choosing me,” I said. “I’m here to represent my court well, that’s all. A Lady of Daybreak would never fit in with such a barbaric court as this—with the guards harassing guests in the hall! I will be telling Lady Glennis about this.”
I lifted my chin and stepped around him. My irritation burned in my chest—it really was so rude of this man to be lurking around the ladies’ quarters, and it was even worse of my handmaidens to leave me alone with him! What kind of court was this? What if this guard had tried to force himself on me? I wouldn’t put it past him, not with the curious, interested way he was watching my every move.
“Besides,” I said, “I have someone waiting for me at home. Someone with manners.”
I strode toward my room, and for some reason, it took all my self-control to not look back over my shoulder to see if the guard was still looking at me. My wolf was still awake and whining, low to herself like she knew it wouldn’t do any good. She wanted to be close to this guard—his presence woke her up. That was a clear sign that this man was bad news. It was nice making friends with the girls, but if the men of the court were like this guard, I needed to get out of Efra sooner rather than later.
I turned the corner and hurried into my quarters, then locked the door behind me. Just in case.
Amity and Rue were inside, tending the fire and turning back the covers to my bed. Mostly, though, they’d seemed to be killing time, like they were waiting for me to return.
“Welcome back, milady,” Amity said with a smile as she smoothed out the comforter. “I trust the conversation went well?”
“What?” I asked. I stepped over to the small table and smoothed out the copy of the map the guard had given me. Had I packed a magnifying glass with me? Even though this copy was less detailed, I still wanted a closer look at the coasts. I turned to look through my trunk. “Why would that matter to me? That guard harassed me earlier in the library, I firmly suggested he leave me alone.” “You what?” Amity said.
Rue dropped the fireplace poker with a clatter. “Milady!” She clapped a hand over her mouth, but I could still see the corners of her astonished smile.
“What?” I asked again. No magnifying glass. I straightened up. “He’s just a guard… Isn’t he? Or the cartographer? He was very protective of the maps in the library.”
“Help me, gods,” Amity said. She pressed her lips together, clearly holding back laughter. Her eyes sparkled with mirth. “What did you say to him?”
“What are you laughing at?” I asked. Anxiety began to creep through me. “Who is that guard?” “He’s not a guard, milady,” Rue said. “That was the king.”
My heart dropped to the floor. I hadn’t just spoken like that to the king himself. That was impossible. Why would the King of Frasia be lurking around the library and the hallways?
“No, it couldn’t have been,” I said. “He had to have been just a guard.”
“Nope,” Amity said. “Definitely His Highness.”
“Oh, gods,” I said. My knees felt weak as my stomach churned. My wolf whined again—she’d known something was off about him. I should’ve heeded her instincts for once. I dropped into the chair at the small table and pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes. “Oh, this can’t be happening.”
“It seems like he was looking for you,” Amity said. “That’s quite interesting. You said you already ran into him once? What did you talk about?”
I hardly processed the questions she was asking. “I was so rude to him. He ought to have my head.”
“Now, that’s a bit dramatic,” Rue said. She resumed stoking the fire. “Our king can be ruthless, but he’s also fair.”
It’d be quite fair to have my head for the disrespectful way I’d spoken to him. And I’d told him I was only here to aid the reputation of my pack! My plan to boost Daybreak’s influence in Frasia had likely just backfired catastrophically. At least I’d almost certainly be eliminated first. The best-case scenario would be the king sending me back to my pack with my tail between my legs. Even that felt hopeful, though—I had a feeling my punishment would be much worse than simply losing the Choice.
5
woke up so early that it was barely dawn. I had hardly slept the night before, tossing and turning in anxiety as I imagined how the king would deign to punish me for my disrespectful behavior. We were due to have our meet and greet this morning. Small blessings from the gods, though—at least I had found out that was the king before I saw him with the rest of the competitors. Surely I would’ve fainted where I stood otherwise.
The manor was quiet as I made my way to the nearby guest quarters. If I was going to get put in the stocks today, I should tell my escort about it. That was the right thing for a lady to do, wasn’t it?I cringed. Not that I knew a lot about being a lady, apparently. It’d taken me a grand total of two days to ruin my reputation with the court.“Barion,” I whispered as I rapped on the heavy wooden door to his quarters. “Barion, it’s me.”From inside the quarters, Barion heaved a great sigh. After a few moments of rustling around, he opened the doors and squinted blearily at me. “What is it?” “I need your help,” I said.A furrow of concern formed in his brow, and he stepped aside to motion me into his quarters. They were much smaller than mine, but the bed was still huge, and coals glowed in the hearth. I sat down at the small table, and Barion sat across from me. He was still barely awake, in a loose tunic and slacks. He glanced around the room like he might be able to will some coffee
My wolf urged me to bare my teeth, growl back, show this woman that I was just as capable as she was. For a moment, my wolf surged dangerously close to the surface—my skin prickled and my adrenaline surged with the desire to show dominance. It was close enough that Rona sensed it. She smirked.But this was exactly the kind of woman I didn’t want to be. Angry and conniving, using my wolf to get what I wanted. I was a lady and I was going to act like one, even when my wolf wanted otherwise. She was so active internally, more demanding than she’d been in years.Efra was bringing out the worst in me.Before I could say anything in response, the door opened, and Lady Glennis stepped back inside. “Ladies,” she said.The air in the room crackled with anticipation. The three other girls hurried to the table, setting their coffees down, and stood near Rona and me. My wolf settled back down, cowed by the knowledge of what was about to happen.Lady Glennis stepped aside. The King of Frasia strod
Rona looked inordinately pleased with herself as she talked up Duchess Alana more—her embroidery skills, her fine tea sets, her knowledge of Frasian civic matters. “The duchess seems to think the Dawnguard pack needs to develop newer training techniques—”“Speaking of techniques,” Wynona interrupted with a cool glare, “Your Highness, how are the affairs of the Nightfall military?”The king hummed thoughtfully. I realized Wynona was the first contestant to ask the king a question. And it seemed like she’d asked the right one, from the way the king began to speak casually about his plans for developing the Nightfall troops. Lady Glennis watched him carefully as he did so, as if waiting for him to let some confidential information slip. But the king was a skilled conversationalist himself—he seemed to be discussing the intricacies of the military without actually saying anything of detail. It was hard to focus on. These were matters I had no hand in within the court of Daybreak. I couldn
His smirk turned to a grin, and he raised his eyebrows at me briefly, almost playfully, before he turned and strode away down the hall. He left me dumbfounded, standing in the hallway like my shoes were nailed into the floor.“The most interesting thing here.” I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or a threat.6The next day, mid-morning, I was seated in a hard-backed chair against the stone wall of a narrow corridor. The ceilings were high, and the stained-glass windows were thankfully uncovered, letting sunlight sluice into the room. It was gorgeous, but so, so quiet, and neither I nor the two other contestants seated next to me were looking forward to what was behind that ornately carved wooden door.It slammed open. Rona strode out, her hands balled into fists at her side. She swore colorfully as she passed us, eyes blazing with fury.“Guess it didn’t go well,” Fina murmured next me.Rona left the hallway and Lady Glennis stepped out of the room with her trademark notebook in th
“Just fine,” Fina said. “Not my strongest area, of course, but I doubt the council members know how to rotate a field to keep it producing properly all year. We all have our strengths.” She linked an arm through mine. “Listen, we have the rest of the afternoon off while the council is doing their important deliberations, and I want to go into town. I need to see the dressmaker.” She sipped her coffee. “Not want. Need. I did not bring enough warm clothes for this climate.” I laughed. “I don’t know, that seems like it might be a bit of an ordeal…” “Adora, will you go?” Fina asked.“Of course,” Adora said. “The town square is beautiful in the snow.”“Come on, Reyna,” Fina said. “There’s a bookstore.” She grinned at me.That got my attention. Adora must’ve seen it on my face, too, because she broke into a laugh.“Fine, fine,” I said. “I’ll go. I’d like to see what kind of work the tailors do here, anyway.”“Right?” Fina said. “We have to learn about our potential new kingdom. Let’s finish
The assistant’s head barely reached Camille’s waist. He swept into a low bow, then disappeared behind the curtain, and reappeared with a bottle and three glasses. He guided us to a low couch by the mirrors, then poured us each a glass of fine red wine.“Wow,” I said, settling back into the couch. “This is lovely.”“Thank you,” Camille said. “I received notice from the court that you may be joining me, so I did want to prepare a nice experience for you.” Fina sipped her wine. “Experience?”“I’d like to show you some of the designs I have to offer,” she said. “Then we can discuss fabrics, detailing, changes, et cetera, et cetera. All the things that make a lady’s wardrobe her own.”In Daybreak, the tailors made my clothes for me without much input. I wasn’t given such freedom like this—freedom to choose and make changes. Excitement swelled in my chest.“The Court of Nightfall will be covering the costs, as well,” Camille said. “So please choose anything you like. The king made that very
I nodded in understanding. If the Fae had come again, something in the land was changing. But unlike Camille, I wasn’t sure this was a good thing. Drogo’s reign had not ended well for him—I couldn’t imagine that the king’s would, either. The Fae’s return was an omen, but not necessarily a good one.“Well,” I said, “I’m delighted to hear it.”Camille smiled politely at me. She seemed almost disappointed that I hadn’t offered her more of a reaction.As Micah took Fina’s measurements, Adora looked more and more distraught.“I just can’t decide!” she said. “I love the neckline on this gown, but the hem length on this one.And I’d prefer silk, but then it must be lined for the cold weather—and what about this fine jacket!” “We can combine elements, milady,” Camille said. “You have a good eye for this kind of work.What are you envisioning?”“Pardon me,” I said as I stood up. “Adora, do you mind if I pop over to the bookstore?”“Oh!” Adora smiled warmly at me. “No, not at all—we’ll meet you
“All right,” Rue whispered. “Try to have a little fun.”I swallowed. Amity and Rue had an idea of how nervous I am, but I couldn’t really put words to the anxiety itching in my chest as I steeled myself. This wasn’t just the other competitors—this was the entire Court of Nightfall.Amity pushed the door open.The formal dining room was enormous, with immense stained-glass windows half-covered with plush velvet curtains. It was lit with torches lining the walls, and four crystal chandeliers glimmered overhead. The long table in the center of the room was set with fine porcelain place settings, but the guests were lingering around the room with glasses of wine, while finely dressed servants drifted among them with platters of hors d’oeuvres.I would’ve considered this to be a fine dinner, if it weren’t for the guards posted at the doors and near the dais at the end of the hall and pacing around the perimeter. These guards weren’t the leatherclad men I’d seen in the solarium and at the g