Page 102 of A Palace of Smoke & Mirrors
A tentative smile curled my lips as I turned around to face the High Lady of the Court of Wind.
“Enyd,” I greeted her. My voice held more cheer than it ought to, considering everything that had happened since we’d last seen each other. I tried to snag the emotion between my mental fingernails and hold it back, but I found myself drifting towards her with some bizarre semblance of joy alight in my eyes. I liked Enyd, and I was happy to see her. “When did you arrive?”
“Three days ago.” The High Lady beamed at me. “Nobody was home, but—” She paused in front of me, sighed, and leaned forward to capture me in a warm hug. “Oh, it’s so good to see you again, Aura!”
Enyd was considerably smaller than me—shorter by at least two feet, lean and finely muscular, with pixie-like ears that were pinned back by the strip of grey fabric she wore around her head—so she stood on her tiptoes to reach me. When she pulled back, she flicked her eyes up and down my body as if checking for injuries. They were dark and suspicious, taupe in colour to match her short-cut hair.
“Are you well?”
“I’m…” I trailed off uneasily.I can still lie….
She waved a hand at me. “That was a stupid question. I’m sorry. Have you come to invite me to dinner? That mate of yours is one of the worst hosts in the entire realm, and I’m starving for both food and decent company.” One side of her mouth twitched upwards as she linked her elbow with mine and nudged me in the side. “He’s lucky to have you.”
“Thanks,” I muttered. I didn’t know what else to say.
He doesn’t have me? His best friend has me? Nobody has me, and I’m actually leaving—oh, wait. No, I’m not. Every corner of the world is under attack, actually, and I’m a walking heat signal for it. Plus, I’m being haunted by a dead faeriewho would be immensely pissed off if I just abandoned him to eternal damnation. By the way, what race of faeries have maroon skin and three eyes—and how worried should I be that I just struck up a sketchily worded bargain with one?
None of that was appropriate to dump all over an acquaintance who wasn’t even there to see me personally, but rather to visit with the High King, who was officially the last person in the world whom I wanted to find out about the Spectre. I didn’t know what he’d do or how much worse he’d make it if he tried to get involved. We’d made a bargain ourselves when he brought me into Faerie, and all he’d asked for in return for the safety of my family was my panties.
I’d wait to tell him about Tommy until I knew what the faerie man was going to demand.
Between the two of us, Enyd and I seemed to possess enough knowledge of the palace’s layout to find our way into the cosy dining room without issue. We chatted about insanely normal things as we walked—like the shopfronts in the lower town, where the best pastries could be found, and what kind of live music we enjoyed listening to in public houses. When we finally walked into the dining room and we unlinked arms to take our respective seats, I felt like I was stepping out of a fever dream.
Lucais was sitting at the head of the table, which was neatly laid out with hot tea and biscuits, staring across the room into the roaring fire in the hearth, most of the gold shining in his eyes once more. He must have slept more than I had, which was a good thing, considering I had been locked away in my room for days. I hadn’t counted, but my veins had the sluggish feel of hibernation.
That realisation made Tommy’s appearance and accompanying request somewhat more reasonable—maybe Iwasacting a little bit depressed. It still didn’t mean I was suicidal, but if my death would sentence him to a life of solitudeas a lonely Spectre, then he was well within his rights to ask me to help him. I owed him that at least.
“You look happy to see me,” Enyd said under her breath, pulling out a chair at the other end of the table and staring daggers at the High King as she sat down. “You weren’t even here to greet me when I arrived.”
I hesitated in the doorway for a moment before the High King rose to his feet, albeit somewhat begrudgingly—or perhaps he was just as tired and sore as I was—and pulled the chair out next to him. Taking the hint, I scurried over and smoothed down the back of my long, grey shirt as I lowered myself into the seat. In my apathy, I’d pulled on a pair of loose pants, but I didn’t bother to change my shirt with the broken buttons before I’d left my bedroom.
The High King sat back down and slouched against his chair, resting one elbow on the table as he spun a butter knife around on a napkin. “You were two days late,” he stated calmly.
Two days late.
I did the math quickly. If Enyd was granted a week to mourn her dead soldiers at home, but was two days late coming into Caeludor, then it had been nine or ten days since we’d left the House. I’d spent three or four days in the palace at the most, which meant I had been unconscious for almost a week before I awoke in the carriage. Taking a sip of water from my pre-filled glass, I suppressed a shudder.
“Well, you’ll have to forgive me,” the High Lady of the Court of Wind quipped. “We had trouble finding the place.”
He pulled a sardonic face at her.
“Really, Lucais,” Enyd persisted, waving a hand towards the window. “I would have thought you’d have done something about all of this dastardly fog by now.”
The High King took a long swig of a deep purple liquid that smelled far too strong to be tea, went to put it down, but thoughttwice and drained the glass to the dregs. He made a refreshingahhsound as he carefully placed his empty glass back down. “I’ve been busy.”
Enyd’s gaze flitted to my face for the briefest moment. “Mmhmm.”
Lucais’s own eyes narrowed with derision. “Classy, Enyd. Really classy—”
“Stop it, you two,” Morgoya snapped.
I might have sagged in relief. I’d never been so grateful to see the High Lady glide into the room—because she was bathed, mostly healed, and back in her usual good spirits. And also because whatever was going on between Lucais and Enyd felt like something that would drain the last surviving drops of my energy if someone didn’t tactfully diffuse it.
“Enyd, we’re very sorry about the lack of fanfare upon your arrival,” Morgoya went on. She sounded sincere, but I had my doubts. “As I’m sure you would have heard, we had some uninvited guests show up during the start of the carousal whom required our immediate attention. I trust you have made yourself at home—and Iknowyour men have made the most of the free wine at the public houses in town regardless.”
Enyd shifted in her seat, but she gave the other High Lady a reluctant nod. “Indeed they have.”
While Lucais and Morgoya briefed Enyd on the latest Malum updates, taking great care to avoid any mention of my suspected heritage and unfortunate experience being attacked by the shadows at the lapsus, I ate the plate of food that appeared in front of me in silence. I didn’t ask where Wrenlock and Batre were, but I had plans to find them both after dinner to express my gratitude for the kindness of the former and check on the welfare of the latter.
