Opus appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. He bent over and placed a wrapped treat on the table beside Aislin’s plate.
“You’re being too hard on yourself, young miss. You are a vibrant hummingbird in a room full of self-obsessed peacocks.”
He walked away, and Aislin stared after him. Oddly enough, his words made her feel better. When she looked back at her glass, the water in it was still. She opened the treat. It was crusted sugar in the shape of a rose. She popped it in her mouth.
Sucking on the candy, she looked across the room to where Tessa and her family sat. She stuck her tongue out at the girl and felt even better.
“Don’t do that,” her mother said.
Soon the dining hall was filled, and no more guests entered the room. At some cue Aislin missed, the murmur of conversation ceased, and everyone looked to the front of the room. Moments later Liv emerged through an arched doorway to the side of the royal table. The red of her dress accented her red hair. The light sparkled off the tiara set on her head. She wore white gloves that came up to her elbows. A murmur passed over the room.
Liv beamed at the guests happily and mounted the low platform. Behind her came Wulf Rome and Bonnie. But Aislin noticed neither of them. Her gaze was fixed on Brecken, bringing up the rear. He wore black pants tucked into black boots and a white silk shirt open partway down his chest. A short black cape hung down his back. As he was sitting down, he glanced her way and quickly Aislin averted her gaze, her cheeks growing hot.
When next she looked up, she saw that Liv was staring at her, waving one hand to get her attention. Bonnie said something to her, and she stopped waving, though she beamed at Aislin and mouthed words Aislin couldn’t understand.
Rome stood up. People went still, everyone looking at him. His gaze swept the room and even Aislin could tell the smile on his face was forced. He obviously didn’t want to be here. For some reason that made her feel better too.
“Welcome,” he said in his booming voice. “Welcome to the palace.” He didn’t sound all that welcoming. “Thank you for coming to my daughter’s twelfth birthday. People of Qarath, may I present to you my daughter, Liv.”
Liv stood, her smile brilliant, and waved to the guests. The guests applauded, and there were a few whistles.
When the applause died down, Rome looked like he might say something else, but then he said simply, “Let’s eat.” He took his seat, and a stream of waiters entered the room from doorways on opposite sides of the room, bearing platters of food and tureens of soup.
The meal was a blur to Aislin. Plates and bowls were set down in front of her and later swept away. She ate very little. It all tasted strange to her, and she wasn’t hungry anyway. Her chair was hard and uncomfortable, and something was poking her in the back. She thought maybe Anelda had missed a pin, but when she tried to shift it, her mother told her to stop.
More than once she found that, quite without meaning to, she was staring at Brecken. One time he seemed to feel her looking at him and looked up from his plate straight into her eyes. When that happened, she froze. He grinned, and then turned to respond to a waiter who was holding out a tray of food. Aislin gulped and looked down at her plate.
The best part of the meal was the entertainment. An area in the middle of the room had been left open and a steady stream of entertainers swept in, performed, and were replaced by others. The first was a team of dancers, lithe, elegant men and women who twirled and spun rapidly. After them came jugglers, then tumblers. Aislin enjoyed them enough that she almost forgot to be miserable for a while.
The dinner seemed to take forever, but at last a waiter took her latest plate of untouched food away and didn’t replace it with another.
Rome stood up again. “And now, before my daughter dies of boredom, the dance.” He held one finger up. “To the ballroom!” Without further ceremony he helped his queen up, and they strode off the stage, Liv and Brecken following.
Servants swung open wide doors as the macht and his queen approached. People rose from their seats and began streaming after them. Netra and Aislin waited until almost everyone had left the room, then Netra looked at Aislin.
“How are you doing?” she asked. Aislin shrugged. “We could probably slip away now if you really wanted to.”
Aislin looked at her in surprise. “Really?”
“You made it through dinner. Liv saw you. I don’t think she’d be all that upset if you left now.” She paused. “And besides, you’re not interested in dancing, are you?”
Aislin started to say she wasn’t, but then the words wouldn’t quite come out. She had a sudden image of dancing with Brecken that left her feeling dizzy. But there was no way she wanted her mother to know. “Well…maybe we should go to the dance for a little while?”
Netra gave her a surprised look. “Sometimes I don’t know what to make of you.”
They walked into the ballroom. As much as the dining room was covered in decorations, the ballroom was even more extravagant. Curled, brightly-colored ribbons hung down from the ceiling everywhere. There were tables groaning with flowers in spectacular shades of red, orange and yellow. Sprinkled around the edges of the room were dozens of small, round tables. Against one wall was a long table covered in desserts on tiny plates. Next to it was another table with dozens of glasses of some pink drink. At the far end of the room a band was playing, the music filling the air.
Netra and Aislin stopped by one of the small tables that was unoccupied. There were no chairs. The table was high enough that Aislin had trouble seeing over it. A waiter came by with a tray on which were a number of dainty glasses filled with the pink drink. He held the tray out to each of them. After looking to her mother to see if it was okay, Aislin took one. Whatever the drink was, it had bubbles in it, and it burned on her tongue a little. The sensation was unexpected, but not unpleasant, and she took several more sips. Almost immediately she noticed that her head felt different, lighter somehow.
Rome and Liv walked out into the middle of the room and conversations ceased as every eye turned to them. The music stopped. Rome was carrying a garland in one hand.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my daughter, Liv!”
A cheer went up, and Rome set the garland on Liv’s head. The cheer grew louder and Aislin found herself joining in, which surprised her. She took another sip of the pink drink.
Rome gestured at the band, and they began to play. He held out his hand, and his daughter took it. They danced while everyone watched. When the song was over, other dancers moved out onto the floor. A boy Aislin didn’t recognize tapped Rome on the arm and held out his hand. Rome got a sour look on his face, and it looked like he would refuse, but then Bonnie was there glaring at him, her hands on her hips, and Rome handed Liv’s hand to him. The two began to dance, and for a moment Rome simply stood there watching them. Aislin thought he looked a little sad. Bonnie grabbed him and spun him away into the throng of dancers.
“This isn’t too bad, is it?” Netra said.
Aislin barely heard her. She was watching Brecken. He was across the room, his head bent as he listened to an older man who was telling him something. Aislin wished he would look up and notice her. She touched her hair gently, wondering if it still looked okay.
Finally, the man walked away, and Brecken was left standing by himself. He looked around the room. Aislin stood up as straight and tall as she could. She found herself curiously torn between conflicting emotions. On the one hand she desperately hoped that he would come over and ask her to dance, but at the same time the thought terrified her, and she wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t simply run from the room if he did. The conflicting feelings raged inside her. It was truly agony.
“Aislin,” her mother said, then repeated her name louder when she didn’t respond. Finally, Aislin glanced at her, irritated. Netra pointed at the glass Aislin was holding. Aislin looked down at it and realized the liquid in it was bubbling.
“Okay, Mama,” she said, and set the glass dow
n.
She looked back at Brecken, and her heart fell. Tessa was talking to him. A moment later he held out his hand, she took it, and they walked out onto the dance floor. Aislin glared at her, wishing she would trip over her feet and fall on her face.
Netra’s hand fell on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey,” she said softly.
Aislin pulled away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snapped.
The song seemed to take forever, and every note was torture for Aislin. Brecken and Tessa looked perfect together, her dress flaring around her as he spun her, the light winking off the gems around her throat. Finally, it ended. After that Brecken danced the next two songs with different girls. Aislin didn’t like that much either, but at least they weren’t Tessa. Eventually those songs ended as well, and Brecken returned to his spot. A couple of young men came by, and the three of them talked. Then they walked away, and Brecken was left alone.
Aislin had a sudden, mad idea. Brecken just couldn’t see her, that was all. She was too short, and there were too many people between them. “I want some dessert,” she told her mother and hurried away before she could reply.
She chose a path that would take her near Brecken. When she got near him she kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, placing each foot carefully, afraid she would trip over her dress and make herself look stupid. Each step was agony as she waited for Brecken to notice her and say something.
But he didn’t.
She made it to the dessert table and grabbed onto it, holding onto it like she was drowning. She felt dizzy. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut for a moment, gathering herself before opening them and turning to look at Brecken. He was still standing there, but an old woman, bent over, leaning on a cane, was talking to him. Relief flooded her. He’d been busy was all.
She waited until the old woman walked away, and then she walked toward him again, this time taking a path that took her even closer to him. She took each step with her heart in her mouth. Suddenly she was sure this had been a terrible idea. What was she thinking?
“Hey, Aislin.”
Aislin froze, not sure if she’d heard Brecken say her name, or if she was imagining it. She couldn’t seem to move or do anything.
“Over here.” There was laughter in his voice.
She managed to turn without falling down, but she did wobble a little. “Oh, hi,” she said, as if just noticing him. She meant to sound grown up and cool, but her voice came out horribly squeaky and high. She clamped her hand over her mouth.
“Did you eat too much too?” he asked. A smile hovered at the corners of his mouth, and his blue eyes looked into her.
“Yeah, uh, no. I think so. Maybe?”
He chuckled, and she cursed herself. She was making herself look so stupid. What was she doing? She should have stayed where she was.
“It’s a little much, if you ask me,” he said.
She swallowed and managed to get some more words out. “What is?”
He waved at the room. “All this. I can’t say I like it all that much. It all seems so…I don’t know. Fake or something.”
“You don’t like it?” she squeaked.
Brecken chuckled again. It surprised Aislin, that his laugh didn’t make her feel stupid or angry. “You feeling okay?” he asked her.
“I’m…” She faltered, not sure how she felt or what to say.
Then came the hated voice.
“There you are, Brecken. Are you avoiding me?”
Aislin looked up to see Tessa come walking up. No, she didn’t walk, she glided. She looked so tall, even taller than Aislin remembered. She laid one long-fingered hand on Brecken’s arm.
“Of course not, Tessa,” Brecken replied, smiling at her.
The smile broke Aislin’s heart. She felt tears start in her eyes, and she felt a strong urge to flee.
Then Tessa seemed to notice her for the first time. She turned a perfect, utterly false smile on Aislin. “Well, look at you,” she exclaimed. “All dressed up like a big girl. That’s so cute. Isn’t that cute, Brecken?”
Aislin’s hands clenched into fists, and she glared at Tessa, fear turning into anger in the space of a heartbeat. But Tessa was no longer looking at her. She’d turned her attention back to Brecken.
“We simply must dance the next dance,” she purred, shifting her position so that she was between Aislin and Brecken, at the same time turning her back on Aislin.
Aislin couldn’t hear Brecken’s reply over the roaring in her ears. She turned and stomped away, pushing through the dancers, not caring who she bumped into. Behind her, perfectly coinciding with the end of the song, she heard Tessa’s laugh rise up. It was echoed by Brecken.
She was suddenly sure they were laughing at her.
She started to run, wanting only to find the door and get as far away as she could. People kept bumping into her, knocking her around. She was trapped in a solid mass of moving bodies that blocked her at every turn.
Finally, she broke free of them. She looked around wildly, trying to find the exit. But she couldn’t see it anywhere.
She could feel eyes on her, could hear people talking about her. They were laughing. It was unbearable.
She ran behind one of the stone columns and crouched down in the shadows, covering her head with her arms.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Netra was watching the dancers, especially a young man who was very fluid and graceful in his movements, when she suddenly felt that something was wrong. She looked around the room, wondering what it was. It didn’t take her long to figure it out.
Her drink was frothing wildly. It rattled on the table, coming close to tipping over. There was a crash as a glass fell off a nearby table.
Aislin.
More crashes as other glasses fell off tables. Cries of alarm from people as the drinks they were holding suddenly started foaming and bubbling. Several people dropped their glasses. The punch in the crystal punchbowl geysered into the air, causing the people standing nearby to back away quickly. One woman tripped on her skirts and fell.
Netra scanned the crowd, looking for Aislin, but there was no sign of the child.
A few people began heading toward the exit, but most of them stayed where they were, unsure what was happening. A few even applauded, obviously thinking this was part of the evening’s entertainment. As Netra made her way through the crowd, calling out Aislin’s name, it got worse. Every glass in the room that had liquid in it began to rattle violently. In rapid succession a number of them exploded loudly, glass flying everywhere. A woman screamed and clapped her hand to her cheek as flying glass cut her.
The last people who were still treating it as humorous stopped laughing then. More people headed for the doors.
In the distance, from somewhere behind the palace, came a loud crashing sound as of a stone wall collapsing.
Netra realized that sweat was streaming down her face. It was uncomfortably hot in the room all of a sudden. Around her people began to loosen collars and unbutton coats.
This was Aislin’s doing also, she realized. As the heat increased, she began to feel dizzy. She grew frantic, pushing her way through the crowd heedlessly, screaming for Aislin.
At last she found her. She was curled up behind one of the columns, her arms wrapped around her knees, face buried. Netra crouched beside her and shook her.
“Aislin! Aislin!”
Aislin raised a tear-stained face.
“You have to stop!” Netra cried. “You’re hurting people!”
Next to them an elderly man gasped, put his hand on his chest, and collapsed to the floor. His wife wailed and went to her knees beside him.
“Stop, Aislin. Before it’s too late,” Netra implored her.
“I can’t, Mama,” the little girl said. She was shaking uncontrollably. “I tried, but I can’t.”
“You have to.” Netra grabbed her face in both hands and turned it up to her. “Focus on me, honey. Look at me.” Aislin’s eyes focused on Netra.
“Take a deep breath.”
Aislin tried to, but her breath came in sharp gasps, and her eyes kept sliding away, taking in the rising horror around them.
More people collapsed. Those who were left upright were stampeding madly for the doors. Netra felt like she was burning up from the inside. She was sweating profusely, and her vision was fading in and out.
“Stop,” she pleaded.
One of the servant’s doors was thrown open violently, and a soldier burst into the room, his sword in his hand. “We’re under attack!”
As if out of nowhere, a creature from a nightmare appeared behind him. The thing was human-shaped and taller than him by a head. It was completely black except for burning red eyes. Though she had never seen it before, Netra knew instantly what it was.
It was the hunter, the dread assassin of the Pente Akka.
One arm flashed forward. Long, knife-like claws extended from its fingers as it swiped across the back of the soldier’s neck. The soldier fell to the floor, nearly decapitated.
Chapter Twenty-nine
For a moment the room was utterly silent, as everyone there grappled with what they had just seen. Then people began to scream, and the crowd surged away from the nightmare creature, people knocking each other down and stampeding for the doors.
The hunter’s head turned, and its gaze fixed on Quyloc, who was standing near the macht. All around him people were fighting to get away, but Quyloc was motionless, staring at the hunter. The hunter raised its hands, and black shadow blades appeared in each of them.
Quyloc turned and disappeared through a narrow doorway behind him. The hunter charged after him. People went mad trying to get out of the creature’s path. One old man, leaning on a cane, was unable to move quickly enough, and the hunter cut him down with one swing.
The hunter ran through the doorway after Quyloc.
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