Page 160 of Silverbow
“It’s not his best work,” Enya sighed.
Liam tried not to take too much satisfaction in that.
“Perhaps next time you could dodge,” Oryn growled.
Enya picked at the nails of her free hand. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
Enya
The inside of her lip was bleeding from the number of times she’d bitten it holding in her cry as they wound through the mountains. The terrain was difficult, and each little slide of rock sent a jolt through her shoulder that made her want to weep, but she wouldn’t admit she regretted not staying in Wayforge to await the healer’s arrival. They didn’t know if Pallas was looking for his clutch and she still hadn’t worked out what Hylee had gotten out of their bargain. Part of her feared she might come to collect the eggs now that they were no longer guarded by a dragon.
Behind the wards of Tuminzar, the demi-elves put their gifts on full display. As they climbed and the temperature dropped, they bundled themselves in the furs that Master Graniteforge had procured for them at the inn. Inside the little dome Oryn wielded around their camp, Enya shrugged out of hers, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow beside Aiden’s crackling fire. The flames shifted from orange to purple to green as he talked animatedly. Bade, whose gift she hadn’t seen in Estryia, drew up little stone seats and benches for them. Sometimes, as they climbed, he changed their path and called out places to avoid in the rock.
She flinched when the teapot floated to refill her cup on invisible bonds of air. Beside her, Liam blanched.
“The teapot does it?” Aiden asked incredulously. He’d been trying to get a reaction out of them as he wielded little fire birds in his flame.
Enya shook her head. “Just something we saw at our last Testing.”
“Louissa bloody Adler,” Liam grumbled.
Colm cocked his head. “She was your Tester?”
“Do you know her?” Enya asked.
The demi-elf shook his head. “We’ve spent much of Davolier’s reign abroad. But I’ve heard of her. She’s one of the king’s most trusted wielders, an architect of the Silver Night. And rumor…” He cleared his throat. “Rumor is she iscloseto Peytar Ralenet.”
Enya’s brows rose. “Do you think she could have sent him to Ryerson House?”
Colm shrugged. “I don’t know. It is…interesting, is all.”
Renley
Renley stood with his back against a stone column, watching the dancers swirl about in their finery. All the wealth of Estryia was on display for the opening ball that began the week of revelry leading up to Maia and Pallas’s wedding. Servants in the blue and white livery of Trakbatten House meandered through the crowd, silver trays held aloft. Renley’s own silver armor was polished to a shine, his gold cloak pinned over one shoulder.
He smiled, watching Rhiannon Oakhart pick her way toward him in his periphery. She was his favorite of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting, though he supposed a good guardsman shouldn’t have favorites. Where most of them were shallow and vapid, Rhiannon was kind and smart. He supposed that was why Maia seemed to favor the northern girl, even if she was the youngest daughter from an inconsequential lower house. She came to stand at his elbow, frowning into her wine.
“Are you having a pleasant evening, Miss Oakhart?” Renley asked, his eyes never leaving his queen.
“No,” she answered tersely.
Renley frowned. “Is something the matter, Miss?”
“My dance card is full, Guardsman Ryerson, and the one man I hoped to dance with this evening isn’t on it.”
Renley pressed his lips together to hide his joy. “It’s a pity that a better partner cannot be found in a room so full of people.”
“I found a better partner, but he seems determined to hold up a column all night.”
It was an effort not to smile. “The roof might fall in.”
“And then we’d all have to go home early, what a pity,” Rhiannon mused into her drink. “You cannot leave your post even for one?”
“You know I cannot, Miss Oakhart.” And even if he could, Renley wasn’t certain her father would approve. As it was, the man was watching him like a hawk from the other side of the ballroom.
Rhiannon heaved a sigh. “Fine. I suppose I’m stuck with some Davolier cousin.”
She turned, making for the floor again. Renley made a choice that would shape the rest of his life as he called after her. “Miss Oakhart?” She paused. “Might your dance card have an opening tomorrow? It’s my day off.”
