Page 40 of The Rose in the Shadows

She extended her hand to me. “I’m Mara. I’ll meet you outside here at dusk in one weeks time.”

I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but before I could, Rankor grasped onto my arm and demanded I come join him and Clay as they sat at a table playing cards with some of the townsfolk. Mara’s eyes trailed after me until she too disappeared into the crowd.

“This isn’t a game for novices,” Camilla criticized me as I sat at the table, her eyes sharp and disapproving.

Frustration railed within me, fueled by the liquid courage I’d been drinking all night, the lingering rush of finally using my powers, and my overall distaste of the girl who had been nothing but snippy with me.

“And just why not, Camilla?” I shot back. “Are you so afraid the men might have someone else to look at?”

The table fell silent around us. Even with the band blaring behind him, Kent missed a beat of the song and struggled to pick up the melody. From the stilled table, Clay looked up from his cards, glancing between us expectantly. Camilla fumed, her shadowy eyes peering at me under those impossibly dark lashes.

“You can continue flirting with Clay if you want,” I allowed her, picking up the stack of cards Rankor handed me. “I’m here to win the money on the table, not a husband. From what I’ve seen so far, he doesn’t seem to return your affections, at least not any longer, but there is something to be said for persistence.”

The music quieted as if everyone in the room now waited to hear how Camilla would respond. Even Clay, who was usually so quick to chastise me, now sat silently, brows raised, eyes bouncing between us. Camilla’s cheeks flushed with quieted rage, and she opened her mouth to say something especially vicious, but Rankor’s quick laughter cut her off.

“I knew I liked you!” He cried happily, patting me on the back. He quickly turned my attention to the cards, running me through the gameplay rules, but I felt Camilla’s hateful glare on me throughout the entire hand.

I ended up winning the game.

Chapter Twelve

We talked and danced until the early morning hours, until the seven of us were the only ones left in the tavern. Rankor insisted I show off my newfound powers by floating silverware off the table. And while I didn’t quite have the control I might have wished for, not yet at least, I was more than happy to oblige him.

Finding the emotional trigger for my powers had helped, as everyone promised it would. It was a challenge to gain the focus and strength to lift the small objects an inch or two off the table, but each minor success gave me a new sensation of accomplishment.

Maybe I wasn’t such a failure of a Descendant after all.

Eventually, we all made our way back to the Palace, laughing and chatting in the halls before we went our separate ways, Clay and I heading to the east end of the Palace where the Royal chambers were while our friends went to their apartments in the west wing.

“So, what’s the verdict? Did it end up being worth the risk?”

I laughed, remembering my doubts from earlier in the evening. “I can say the night ended much better than it began.”

He insisted on escorting me to my rooms, and we made our way in a comfortable silence. As we came to a stop in front of my door, I sighed heavily. There were so many damn doors in this hallway. Doors to empty apartments with no one but me to fill them. And for the first time, I suddenly felt that responsibility, that duty, weighing upon me.

Was it my powers? Did the sudden emergence of my magical ties to Hyrax somehow make me feel more connected to him and his legacy?

“It’s a great deal of pressure, you know,” I thought aloud. “The responsibility of repopulating this hall.”

He followed my gaze to the length of the chamber behind us. It was late, of course, but even so, the silence was overwhelming. There were no children here, no families, like in the other hallways of the palace. No one. No one but me. The section of the castle dedicated to Hyrax’s Descendants was nothing more than a well-decorated ghost town.

“I can’t imagine,” he admitted. “We royals all have a degree of that responsibility, but not quite to the extent you do.”

He paused suddenly, shifting his weight back and forth on the balls of his feet. He looked almost uncomfortable. And I couldn’t recall when I’d seen him look quite so… awkward.

“Thea, bearing heirs is your duty,” he continued. “It’s mine as well. But they’re stillourlives. Ours to live and enjoy.”

Clay’s face was dark, and tendrils of blonde hair, damp with sweat from the night’s festivities, crept towards his brow. His words were pretty and for a moment, I wanted to allow myself to believe in them. But I couldn’t. They were so obviously untrue. What joy would I ever find in an arranged marriage and forced pregnancy?

Still, I smiled at him softly. Tonight had been wonderful, a singular night when we’d actually seemed to get along, where we had even managed to support each other in our respective hardships, and there was no need to ruin it now.

“Thank you for allowing me more freedom around the castle.”

“Even I am limited in my power,” he admitted, voice heavy. “I can’t excuse you from the Council or your responsibilities, but if it would make things easier on you to be relocated away from the castle, perhaps another option may exist.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Another option?”

“I’m sure there’s an estate or property belonging to the House of Hyrax that we can look into obtaining for you. If you truly want to leave the castle, that is.”

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