Page 88 of The Alien's Vicious Starflash Manor

“The protocols can seem arbitrary at first,” she offers. “But each one developed for specific historical reasons. For instance, the separate fish knives arose after the Great Poisoning during the reign of?—”

“We don’t have time for history lessons,” Ivrael cuts her off. He runs a hand through his golden hair, leaving it charmingly disheveled.

I hate that I notice.

“They need to master the forms, not understand them,” he continues.

“Actually,” Rhaela says carefully, “understanding the reasons might help them remember the rules better.”

But Ivrael is already turning away, frost trailing in his wake. “Continue the lessons. I have other matters to attend to.”

“Yes,” Vazor says quietly. “I believe that would be for the best.”

Ivrael stalks out, closing the door with precise control that somehow seems more threatening than if he’d slammed it.

Beside me, Izzy’s shoulders slump slightly.

“Don’t worry,” Rhaela tells her quietly. “You’re doing better than you think.”

The warmth in her voice makes Izzy straighten again, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “Really?”

“Indeed.” Vazor’s scales ripple as he stands. “But perhaps a brief rest would be beneficial. Shall we resume in a click or so?”

He follows Ivrael’s path out the door, leaving us alone with the twins. As soon as he’s gone, Harai drops gracefully into one of the delicate chairs.

“Well, that could have gone worse,” she says cheerfully.

Rhaela snorts, a surprisingly inelegant sound from someone so poised. “Could have gone better, too.”

Harai turns to us. “Don’t let them intimidate you too much. The rules seem overwhelming at first, but there are patterns to them.”

“Patterns?” Izzy tilts her head interestedly. Trust my sister to be charmed by the promise of logical systems.

“Absolutely,” Rhaela confirms. “Each protocol follows from certain principles. Once you understand those, the individual rules make more sense.”

I sink into another chair, grateful for the reprieve. “I just wish we had more time to learn it all.”

“Me too,” Harai agrees, twirling a lock of her long hair around one finger. “But you’re picking it up faster than you realize. The curtsies are already smoother.”

“Thanks to Rhaela’s excellent demonstration,” Izzy says, then immediately looks like she wants to swallow her tongue.

But Rhaela’s smile transforms her fierce features. “Happy to help.”

The door opens and Vazor returns, his golden scales catching the light. “Shall we continue? I believe we should move on to discussing the proper way to decline an invitation without giving offense.”

As we begin the next lesson, I catch Izzy sneaking another glance at Rhaela. The firelord princess is demonstrating the correct way to hold a formal court fan, her movements precise and elegant.

I watch them watching each other and wonder again if this attraction could somehow work in our favor. The twins seemkind, or at least kinder than most of the Caix we’ve encountered. And they clearly know the court inside and out.

If we can trust them, they could be our salvation.

CHAPTER 23

IVRAEL

The next day at noon, just before Lord Vazor calls a halt to the girls’ practice to break for lunch, a messenger arrives to let me know Lady Uanna will arrive just around sunset.

In the meantime, it’s occurred to me that it might not be as easy to kill Lara and Izzy as I’ve been assuming. After all, her power rose to protect her from Lord Oesterin’s fire during my ball but there has still been no sign of it since.

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