Page 31 of The Jester

Although I’m tempted to let down my guard and reach for her feelings, I don’t. I feel like there is a friendship blossoming between us, and I have learned over the years that if my friendships are to be true, I must learn when it is appropriate to cross that boundary and enter their thoughts without their permission.

“Me neither,” I reply. As I speak, my stomach growls loudly.

Briony stands, crosses to the dresser, takes the lid off a platter of bread and cheese and hands it to me. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be attending the banquet, so I saved this for you,” she says. “You should eat.” Suddenly faced with food, I realise how hungry I am.

I eat while still standing, dropping crumbs down my dress and on the floor and not caring.

When I’m finished, Briony takes the plate away and fetches my robe from where it hangs on the back of the door. “Here,” she says, “you should get changed. Finn will be here soon to look at your leg.”

“Finn?” My heart skitters in my chest. “The jester?”

Briony tilts her head from side to side. “He is also a healer. Not that Lord Eldrion knows that. His aunt taught him before she died.”

“Eldrion wouldn’t allow him to practice if he knew?” I ask, trying to keep my face from betraying any hint of the fact I am certain I already know this man.

Briony makes a face. “Oh, no. Finn is here to entertain. And Eldrion doesn’t like his Shadowkind forming bonds.” She smiles a little, then shrugs. “You wonder why I’m such a chatterbox? It’s because we’re not allowed to speak to one another. If we’re caught...”

“You’re not allowed to speak?”

Shaking her head, Briony takes my dress and slings it over her arm. “Finn risks a lot by helping us. But he’s good at going unnoticed in the shadows.” She smooths the dress a little.

There is a fondness in her voice that hints at a sense of admiration for the man who danced in the air. The man who, I am certain, brought me to my knees with pleasure.

“He helps us not just with our bodies but with our minds. He has tinctures for anxiety and sadness. We experience a lot of both.” She sighs a little. “He looks after us all. And he’ll look after you,” she says. “Now, change. I’ll take this back to the kitchen and I’ll give him the key. He won’t come until after midnight, when the feast is over and everyone is sleeping.”

Briony pauses at the door, turns, and meets my eyes. “Alana, Lord Eldrion must not find out that Finn has been here. He’s doing this to help you. You must not betray him.”

“I have no loyalty to Eldrion,” I tell her. “I will give him only what little information I must in order to keep my people safe. But I promise you, Finn’s secret is safe.”

His name feels warm and pleasing on my tongue. Finn.

Briony nods, a smile twitching on her lips, then says, “I know this is probably extremely inappropriate. But, although I’m sorry for your situation, I’m also glad that you’re here. It has been a long time since I had a friend.”

She has closed the door and disappeared before I can think of how to reply. It has been a long time since I had a friend, too.

Perhaps there is some light in the darkness after all.

It is pitch-dark outside, and the moon is shining brightly through the windows when I hear a key turn in my door. Still sitting in the chair by the fire, I turn towards the noise and brace myself.

The door opens slowly, a shadow creeping across the stone floor, snaking towards me.

When it closes again, I hold my breath. Someone is there, but I can’t see him. I can only feel him. “Finn?”

When he appears, he is closer to me than I’d expected and a shudder shakes my shoulders.

“My lady,” he says, echoing Briony’s greeting and sweeping into a bow.

I stand, but stumble when pain shoots from my thigh to my pelvis. He reaches out and steadies me, glancing at the gloves I’m wearing, then helps me back into the chair. As he does, the bells on his wings chime gently and send shivers through my body.

“Please, call me Alana.”

He nods, already kneeling in front of me. “As you wish.”

Is he going to say something? Should I? Did I imagine the way we looked at each other when he was performing and caught my eye?

“Or should I call you Varia?” He looks up, his lips twitching with a smile that makes me grin.

“It is you.” I reach out to touch him but he flinches and I stop. “I’m sorry –”

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