Page 109 of A Game of Veils

So she took it upon herself to step in when the rest of us were too distant. Simply because she could.

After everything I’ve seen of her, I shouldn’t be surprised. Still, an ache expands through my chest from throat to gut, like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

I force myself to turn back to Lorenzo. “Are you all right? We can still demand a medic?—”

Lorenzo makes a hasty gesture that amounts to, I’m fine. Just need to rest.

The regular court musicians are already assembling on the platform, apparently directed there by Tarquin. So fatherly of him to show absolutely no concern for the foster son he pushed to the point of fainting. Much more important to make sure the nobles don’t have to go without music for more than a minute.

I bite back my own rage and help Lorenzo out into the hallway.

After Bastien and I have escorted him to his bedroom and confirmed that he isn’t going to crumple again, Bastien says goodnight with a grimace and trudges into his own chambers. I hesitate outside mine for a few seconds and then stride back the way I came.

My knock on the door to Aurelia’s room brings no answer. Where else would she go?

I know she’s ended up in the library before, but a glance into the maze of decaying paper reveals no sign of her. I’m wandering the halls, caught up in a restless tension I can’t expel, when I glance out a window and spot her pale dress amid the garden hedges.

Of course. The princess of the wild north likes to roam—as far as our imperial jailers will let any of us wander, at least.

By the time I make it to the gardens myself, Aurelia has meandered past the fountains, hedges, and beds of flowers to the edge of the woods. She pauses there, considering them as if unsure whether she dares to venture into the thick shadows between the trees.

I can’t blame her for hesitating after the violent reception that met her the last time she walked that far.

At the rasp of my steps over the path, her head jerks around. She turns to completely face me, the lavender silk of her dress swirling around her perfect curves.

Seeing her now after all I’ve watched her endure, it’s hard to believe I ever thought she looked soft. The steel inside her shows in everything from the set of her eyes to the firming of her posture as she braces for my approach.

Why is she studying me so warily? I thought we’d parted on reasonably warm terms the last time we spoke. She welcomed my attentions, if only for a short time.

Of course, the last time she saw me, I was fawning over one of her competitors right next to her.

The memory turns my stomach, and not only because of the role I played in it. Watching her sway and slur her speech with the addling of the wine, her careful composure crumbling… It was almost as awful as when Marclinus literally stripped her bare of any possible defenses.

But she held on to her iron will throughout. Aimed her ire at the only safe targets she had and managed to play the eager fiancé to Marclinus.

Gods above, I’d have liked to punch his arrogant face in.

She shows no sign of drunkenness now. From what I noticed, she didn’t touch the dinner wine.

Her voice is absolutely steady and clear, if quiet. “What do you want?”

There’s no hostility to the question, but I can’t say it’s remotely friendly either.

I stop a few paces away and offer a crooked grin. “It’s a lovely night. Who wouldn’t want to take a turn in the gardens? It’d be even better with a little conversation.”

Aurelia’s eyebrows arch. “So you came over simply hoping to chat?”

Her tone remains impassive. She’s definitely not pleased with me at the moment, whatever’s going on in her head.

If we’re going to hash out the problem, I’d rather move completely out of view of the palace. I motion toward the nearby trees. “Perhaps I could accompany you into the woods, since they’ve sometimes proven treacherous.”

The corners of Aurelia’s mouth tighten, whether because of my company or my reference to her beating, I can’t tell. She whirls with another ripple of her airy dress and walks into the shadows without waiting for me to escort her.

I follow her in silence. The forest around us is still other than the occasional rustle of the leaves overhead and the buzz of passing insects.

When we’ve ventured far enough that I judge it safe to speak, I lift my voice just loud enough for her to hear. “Thank you for stepping in with Neven tonight.”

Aurelia stops. “It looked like he was about to get himself into trouble he might not be able to get back out of. And I understood why he was angry.” She glances at me. “Is Lorenzo all right?”

---