Page 70 of Acedia

“In a good way,” I said hastily. “Sometimes, it feels quite surreal. The garden now looks very different from the garden of my childhood.”

“What was it like growing up here?” Iris asked, inhaling deeply with each step, her head turning this way then that as she followed her nose.

“Good, I suppose?” I’d honestly never given the question much thought. I wasn’t sure anyone had ever asked me before—it was very much assumed that growing up in the palace would be a comfortable experience.

“Did you attend the nursery?”

I laughed. “I wasn’t supposed to. My father was a hard man—a much more difficult king than Allerick is. He didn’t want us to mingle too much at court, he’d prefer we only associated with therightkinds of families. Soren and Allerick are close in age, so that worked out well for them. I mostly trailed aroundafter them, begging for their attention. They seemed to alternate between being annoyed with me and extremely overprotective of me.” Not much had changed on that front. “Occasionally, when I was feeling mischievous, I’d sneak into the nursery to play with the other children. I think Orabelle knew—she’d always whisk me away before my father realized where I’d gotten to.”

“She’s very sweet,” Iris said.Orabelle? I doubted that she’d ever been described assweetin her life. “Was she a sort of mother figure for you? I had Nana for that, I suppose. It wasn’t quite the same. She wasn’t very… nurturing.”

It hurt my heart to think of a young Iris feeling so alone in the world, locked away where no one could see her.

“Orabelle isn’t very… warm,” I settled on, struggling to find the right word. “But she’s fiercely caring. My father had many children by many different females, and none of them had an easy time of it. Some were cruel in their attempts to elevate their own children above the others. I don’t blame them for it, that’s the environment my father created. But I’m glad Orabelle wasn’t like that. She took me under her shadows, and encouraged Allerick to spend time with me even though I was young and annoying.”

Tilly sneezed loudly, looking up at me with the most forlorn expression I’d ever seen on her face.

“The smell might be a little potent for Tilly,” I laughed, bending down to scratch her ears.

“Oh! Her nose is much more sensitive than mine. Shall we head back?” Iris asked, giving my arm a squeeze.

No. Let’s stay out here forever. I can find a part of the garden that doesn’t smell as strong for Tilly.

“Of course.”

Chapter 21

“I’m so excited you’re here,” Cora gushed as I stepped into Elverston House the next day. “Would it be horribly inappropriate of me to ask if I could hold your arm and bring you into the drawing room? The floors are super uneven.”

“No, that’s very helpful. Thank you.”

Meera had brought me here, but had been waylaid in the garden by someone asking questions about the weeding. And I’d mostly come because I wanted to get to know Cora and Jade anyway. I’d never really had friends before, and I didn’t know what the signs were for finding potential ones, but I just had a feeling where the two of them were concerned. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. Maybe it was my insecurities talking becauseI knew how far behind I was in life experience compared to Ophelia, Meera, and Tallulah, who were all closer to me in age.

I guess I wouldn’t know unless I tried, though. I was going to make an honest go of befriending Cora and Jade.

The air was chillier in Elverston House, I noticed. And our words echoed a lot more—perhaps there were less soft furnishings in here to mute the sounds?

“We’re in the middle of renovations right now,” Cora was saying. “It’s kind of a mess, but it’ll be nice when it’s done. Meera and Verner have been so amazing—they coordinate everything. All of the rooms that had been closed will be opened up so new Hunters can come and stay here when they arrive.”

“Do you think you’ll move here when the renovations are done?” Jade asked, startling me at how close she was standing. “It’ll be less hazardous then.”

“I think I’m pretty set up where I am,” I said apologetically, not wanting to differentiate myself from them even more.

“That makes sense,” Cora replied, gently guiding me to an armchair as Tilly came to a stop alongside it. “Meera mentioned you’ve been spending time in the nursery too. Easier to do that if you’re only down a corridor rather than in a totally different building.”

“So how come we’ve never heard of you?” Jade asked, skipping the small talk. “The Nash family is pretty famous.”

“Well, yes. But I’m something of a liability,” I pointed out gently.

“Right. But if anyone could get away with it, Moriah Nash could. Other famous families have kids who aren’t Hunter material. Sometimes, like Austin Thibaut, they make them famous. Those rich families do whatever they want.”

“That’s not a great comparison,” Cora said mildly. “The only thing that prevented Austin from a career in the Hunters washimself. Hecouldhave fit the mold, if he’d wanted to. No offense, Iris.”

“None taken,” I replied faintly.

“I guess so,” Jade grumbled. “I’m sorry you had to be imprisoned in your mother’s house, Iris. That must have sucked.”

“I thought you might hold that against me,” I admitted. “That I’d gotten to live at home. I know other exiled Hunters aren’t so lucky.”

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