by RS McCoy
Blossom inhaled sharply when she realized what it was. The Alder Mother. The sacred tree herself.
She’d known the Mother was here in the city, but she hadn’t thought she’d actually see it. Even as someone of questionable faith, she found the experience of setting her eyes on the tree to be extremely powerful.
Kaide stepped beside her and stared at the tree right along with her. “Beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Now I see why you have her tattooed on her chest.”
“And why you have your name.” Kaide pointed below. The branches were dotted with the pink of the first blossoms.
Blossom turned the ring on her finger, unsure what to say to that. But a moment later, Kaide pulled her to the catered tables along the wall where they found row after row of wine glasses, formal and delicate, filled with the unmistakable golden color of amberwine. She accepted hers happily and tilted it back, savoring its bubbles and sweetness on her tongue. She hadn’t realized how much she missed it.
And it made her miss home instantly, as if she’d been struck over the head with a rock. Homesickness hit so hard and fast she reeled, and thankfully Kaide noticed fast enough to place a steadying hand on her back. “Too much?”
“I’m fine.” Blossom tried to clear her head, pushing away thoughts of that last night with her family—dancing with Parson and Da, hearing Lathan tell her of Norin’s obscene offering that still wasn’t enough, Hale walking her back to his tent so they could spend a night together like they had as children.
It didn’t help that the walls were painted with blooming alder trees, and the low lights looked so much like sunlight streaming through the canopies.
“We’ll go back,” Kaide offered in a hushed tone.
“We will?” Blossom didn’t bother trying to hide her excitement.
“I’m the Pyro Vice Syndicate. My business often takes me to the other branches. I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t pass through the Alderwood on occasion.”
Blossom threw her arms around his neck, barely managing to squeeze him hard and avoid spilling her wine at the same time. But for a full breath, she held tight to him. Then, she realized what she’d done—what Kaide had warned her against doing while they were in the portal room—and slipped back to the floor. “Sorry,” she said with a cringe.
“I’m sure they’ve already figured it out,” he said with a laugh.
“Am I that obvious?” Blossom wanted to kick herself. Raene would have handled this perfectly. Instead, poor Kaide was stuck with the awkward and impulsive Terra girl.
“I haven’t brought a woman to an event since accepting my position. And you look particularly gorgeous in that dress. I’d be a fool if I didn’t want you.” Kaide held her hand in his and looked her up and down, a long, slow motion as his eyes soaked up the sight of her, from the curls on her head to the train of her skirt.
Blossom tried to breathe and keep the color from her cheeks but already knew how miserably she’d failed.
Then, a narrow man in a cerulean cloak appeared behind Kaide, his facial hair groomed into a sinister point. “I was starting to think you’d changed your mind.”
Kaide spun and nodded at the man. “I told you I would be here.”
“I’ve never known you to be late is all,” the man said as his eyes drifted to Blossom. “Ah, I remember you, though we weren’t introduced.” He held his hand out for Blossom’s.
Like with Norin, her skin erupted in chills. She, too, remembered the man. How could she not with that silly point on his chin, but she hadn’t done more than run past him in Kaide’s office less than a week ago, but everything had changed since then.
Kaide cleared his throat and used his Vice Syndicate voice as he said, “May I present the Hydra Vice Syndicate Tead Iolla and his wife, Nerina.” He motioned toward them with a sweep of the hand. Blossom hadn’t even noticed the woman to his side, her dress dark blue and her head bowed low.
Blossom nodded politely, trying not to let her face show the jolt she felt when Kaide put his hand around her waist. “This is my bride, Ms. Blossom Frane.”
“A bride, you say? I have to tell you, I never thought you’d turn the corner, Landel. Well done.” With a jubilant handshake, the Vice Syndicate congratulated Kaide as if he’d won her as his trophy.
Blossom bristled and sank into Kaide’s side, feeling safer against his protective frame.
She breathed easier when the Hydra Vice Syndicate saw another familiar face and moved away. He didn’t even notice he left his wife behind.
“How are you, Nerina?” Kaide released Blossom’s waist and bent low to kiss the woman’s hand.
Away from her husband, she lifted her head and offered a shy smile. Her skin was a lovely cocoa color, her hair as black as night, and her dark-brown eyes glistened like deep pools in the low light. Blossom couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable that he took such care in kissing her hand that way.
“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Kaide.” Then she looked over at Blossom. “And I’m so happy to see that you’ve finally found someone worthy of you.”
Kaide scanned the Terra wing for a full three seconds before he turned to Blossom. “I’ll be back in a moment.” He kissed the top of her head as he took Nerina by the hand and led her away.
Blossom clutched her wine glass and followed them with her eyes. They walked to the open area Kaide had called the apex, and there, with dozens of couples around them, they began to dance.
He held her hand in his with the other pressed to her shoulder blade, moving in practiced, rhythmic steps. Blossom’s heart ached when she saw how well they moved together to steps she’d never seen before. They looked so natural, dancing alongside the other wealthy, powerful couples.
Blossom returned to the table for another glass of wine. She didn’t want to watch anymore.
“You’re well out of your league.” Blossom spun to see a woman beside her, tiny as anything with hair striped grey and white and cut in a sharp bob ending at her cheeks. Her skin was so wrinkled it was impossible to tell what she had looked like before age claimed her beauty. She wore a deep-set scowl that had settled into a series of well-worn lines.
“Excuse me?” Blossom made no attempt to hide her foul mood.
The woman had to tilt her head back quite a ways to glare up at her. “This isn’t your world. You don’t belong here. What are you doing here?”
Blossom couldn’t help but look back at where Kaide danced with the Hydra Vice Syndicate’s wife, moving together like clouds on the wind.
“You’re Blossom Frane, aren’t you?” Her voice was as grating as gravel.
Blossom nodded without looking away.
“Bless you, child.” The woman took Blossom’s hand between both of hers, her paper-thin skin as smooth as silk. “You don’t know who I am, do you?”
Hard as it was, she pulled her attention from the center of the room and looked back at the woman, searching her aged features for something she might recognize. But of course, there was nothing. Everyone was a stranger here. “It seems unfair since you know who I am.”
The woman pulled her scowling lips into something like a smile, though it was still rather harsh. Her lips were thin and colorless. “I’m Reva Mora.”
Blossom shook her head. She didn’t know the name.
“I’m the Pyro Syndicate, child.”
Oh. Blossom threw her head down in a low, respectful bow. “A pleasure to meet you.”
The Syndicate only laughed out a throaty cackle. “There’s no need to flatter me, child. Perhaps, I should be the one pleased to meet you. You’ve done what no one else could.”
Blossom was more confused than ever. “What?”
“You got to Landel. He’s my best, you know—incorruptible, dedicated, vigilant—and until you came along, I was sure he was completely devoted to the Pyro branch.” Syndicate Mora inclined her head to the side and cast a crooked glance at Blossom. “I wonder now if that has changed.”
Bl
ossom looked back to the dancing couples and found him soon enough, his velvet cloak like a beacon of elegance. “There’s your answer,” she said as she pointed.
As it happened, the song faded and the dancers slowed their steps. Kaide and Nerina bowed to each other before she returned to the Hydra wing.
And Kaide started back toward Blossom and the Pyro Syndicate. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. As always, he was the picture of calm as he arrived at her side.
“I should have known you’d be lurking about in my absence,” Kaide said to the woman, his tone far more casual than she would have thought him capable of in the presence of such a powerful figure. Then again, he knew her better than almost everyone.
“Someone had to keep your bride company,” she quipped. “If I hadn’t found her, someone else would have. I’m sure you prefer her in my care over the likes of Castor.”
Kaide shot Blossom an uncomfortable look. “And I’m sure your motives are purely selfless, as usual.”
Syndicate Mora let out the first real laugh of the night. “Ah, Landel. You know me too well. Enjoy your evening, Ms. Frane.” She squeezed Blossom’s hand where she still held it between both of hers, then she turned and walked away.
“She’s a peach, isn’t she?” Kaide said with a smirk when she was gone.
“How’d she know my name?”
“It’s her job to know. What did she say?” He turned to look at her, his tone serious where it had been light moments before.
“That I don’t belong here. And that you’re the best and she doesn’t want me to interfere.”
Kaide rolled his eyes. “I expected as much. She specifically requested to have you here. I figured she’d pull something.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” she grumbled. Knowing she was the target of interrogation would have helped her be a little more prepared. At the very least she wouldn’t have been surprised at little old ladies telling her she wasn’t one of them.
“Blossom?” he asked, his voice low. His nostrils flared. Then, a smile crept across his cheeks. “Are you angry with me? Is that jealousy I sense?”
“No.” She muttered so harshly even she couldn’t believe it.
It only sent him to laughing more. “Beauty, what do I have to do to convince you? You’re the one I want.”
“You looked pretty happy with her.” Blossom tossed her head toward the dancefloor.
Kaide reined in his laughs and resigned himself to a sigh. “She’s the wife of the Hydra Vice Syndicate—”
“I remember. Very important and wealthy. I got it.”
Without missing a beat, Kaide said, “He hits her.”
Blossom’s mouth fell open and she looked up at him with a new sense of understanding.
“They’ve been married for two years. She used to be vibrant and lovely, but in the late hours, when they’re alone in their estate, he takes out his anger on her.”
“How could you know that?” Blossom didn’t want to believe such problems existed in this high-class world.
“I’ve been to their home, as he’s been to ours. I’ve seen the marks he’s left on her. Not just once, but nearly every time. Sometimes, I don’t see her at all and can do nothing but worry if she’s still alive. When I have the chance to see her looking well, I like to take the time to remind her that not all men are like that.”
Blossom covered her face with her hands and thought about crawling under a nearby table. She was a terrible, horrible person. How could she have doubted him? “I’m sorry,” she groaned.
Kaide pulled the wine glass from her hand and set it down while pulling her close in a single motion. He engulfed both her shoulders in his large hands and leaned in so his eyes were even with hers. “You don’t have to be sorry. This is new for both of us.”
Blossom nodded, more embarrassed than anything. “So everyone here is awful?”
“Every last one of them,” he admitted. “Terras enjoy the company of children, molesting and abusing them, sometimes more. Hydras are a traditionally peaceful branch, but those in power are permitted to violate laws. No one seems interested in reporting them, so there’s nothing I can do. Aeros are devoted to upsetting the other branches so they can ensure their ultimate rise to power. Pyros are notoriously dangerous, uncontrollable and rushing to action, particularly violence. Each and every one of us is here because we are good at hiding how truly awful we are.”
Blossom withered under his intensity. “You’re not awful,” she said. Though she was certain it was true, she couldn’t get her voice to be more than a pathetic squeak.
His deep, dark-blue eyes blazed in the festival lights. “I’m dangerous. To everyone but you.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Because I haven’t shown you.” At once, she knew he meant his totem, the elusive beast he insisted on keeping from her.
“Then show me,” she pressed him. Blossom was growing tired of this game—knowing more and more about him but yet never knowing enough.
“I will.”
“When?”
“As soon as it’s safe.”
Blossom rolled her eyes. “So, never.”
Kaide cracked a smile. “Something like that.” Sensing she wasn’t satisfied, he sobered. “I’ll show you when we get back to the manor.”
Blossom couldn’t believe it. She looked up at him with eager eyes. “Tonight?”
“If you insist, I’ll show you tonight,” he promised. “It’s a good thing I love how stubborn you are, because damn you can be a pain sometimes.”
Blossom covered her mouth as she laughed, excited she was finally going to see his totem. “It’s a good thing I love how you can insult me and still make it charming, because damn I want to smack you sometimes.”
Kaide stood tall and rolled his shoulders back as he laughed. “Does that mean you’re done pouting?”
Blossom pretended to be offended. “I wasn’t pouting!”
“You most certainly were.” He extended his arm and returned her glass of wine. “Now, let’s get this night over with so I can get you home. I’ve already had to wait long enough.”
Heat surged into her cheeks and excitement raced through her like lightning, so sudden and strong she nearly dropped her wine glass. And when Kaide’s smile widened, she knew he’d seen it all.
Kaide forced his feet into motion. He’d rather have been anywhere else. Well, anywhere else with her, that is.
He couldn’t help but feel he’d brought his lamb to a feast of wolves. She was wide-eyed and innocent to their ways, and if he wasn’t careful, he’d lose her to a cunning player bent on destroying him.
There were so many suspects to choose from. For each branch, a Syndicate, three Vice Syndicates, and five Commissioners in addition to wealthy families and citizens of influence, not to mention all the wives and husbands and other official guests. A kaleidoscope of figures, each with their own weaknesses, secrets, aspirations. It was a delicate balance to use someone’s goals against them without them even knowing he’d done it. And here they were, all in a room together. A minefield disguised as party.
In the Terra wing alone they were forced to pass—and therefore greet—all three of the branch’s Vice Syndicates, standing together in a close loop as if discussing some secret. Of course, only Castor had the nerve to touch her arm and kiss her hand, lingering too long to be considered polite.
Kaide was quick to pull her along. With her fingers gripping his arm and the way she looked in that dress, he was eager to keep them moving. The faster they got through this, the faster he could get her home.
Though, of course, he couldn’t appear as if he wanted to leave. That would only serve to offend the higher-ups of the Terra branch. After all they’d done to host this festival, he couldn’t very well look distracted.
Like a boat circling a lake, they moved slow and steady around the festival wings. At the apex, he skirted her around the dancing couples, all smiling their plastic smiles and buttering up whichev
er player they thought needed it most.
A trick he’d used himself on more than one occasion.
In the Pyro wing, firelight shone off the onyx floor. Not ten steps in they managed to find one of his competitors. “Vice Syndicate Swain, may I present my bride, Ms. Blossom Frane,” he began, trying to look as pleasant as possible. Putting his hand over hers where she still clutched his arm, he said, “This is one of the other Pyro Vice Syndicates, Ms. Pruda Swain.”
At fourteen years his senior, Pruda had been playing the political game longer than almost anyone. She had her eye on the Syndicate position, as they all did, but Pruda was singularly motivated to get it. Since the moment of Kaide’s appointment, she’d wasted no time in flashing her low-cut tops and tilting her head at him with a salacious smirk.
If he was honest with himself, he would admit to being tempted by her efforts on the rare occasion. Particularly in the months following his appointment, the allure of a gifted, beautiful, powerful woman made her seem like the ideal ally. Except that’s all it would ever be, just a power play to earn himself an improved position. Even Pruda deserved better than that.
In her crimson gown that plunged well past her navel, complete with swirling points on her shoulders, Pruda offered them her usual cruel grin. When her eyes fell to Blossom, she said, “So this is the one the Syndicate wanted.”
Pruda sauntered close to him, but Kaide wouldn’t falter. He stood straight and tall as she leaned in. “Now I know why.”
Kaide recognized her usual ruse and chuckled. From the cut of her dress to the way she moved and the cherry-red color smeared across her lips, Pruda’s game was as old as they come. Sadly, it was still effective on many, but Kaide could see through her easily enough. To Blossom, he explained, “Pruda has long-since tried to unnerve me with her tricks. She thinks me weak to her ways.”
Blossom bowed her head in respect. “I’m sure a lesser man would be.”
The woman’s mouth fell open for a half-second before she caught herself and twisted her lips into a scowl. Kaide laughed aloud, and that only served to anger her more.