Page 129 of Insolence
Cordelia and Sadrie nearly topple over from pulling a tipsy Ghisele and a very flustered Enid to their feet. Tiss and Imogen remain on the ground, tickling each other to howling bits.
Their antics bring another smile to my face. Not so lighthearted, Enid huffs and stalks away from the group, brushing courtyard grime from her cloak. Ghisele gives a pitchy laugh behind her.
“She hasn’t caught on yet, has she?” Maida juts her chin at my apprentice.
“What? Me and Tiss? I told you she found us in the greenhouse—”
“Not that. Tiss’saura.” Maida gives a peevish toss of her head. “We’ve been coasting by, but our luck won’t hold forever, you know.”
“Nah. She’s still struggling. Confided in me just last week about it. And by confided, I mean threw a tantrum as ifI’mblunting her abilities. And withholding the cure just to spite her.”
That earns a third snort. “She’s consistent, isn’t she?”
“Nearly told her my theory that Deirdre’s First Sight is nonexistent just to get her off my back. Shecandetect extremely strong emotions within a limited range,” I add. “But she’s still a long way off from—”
Maida elbows me to silence. At once I clock Cordelia extracting herself from the dancing to cross the courtyard toward us.
My raven squawks and fans her restless wings. I lift my arm. Whistle her away just as Cordelia approaches, her aura a little bit scared and a touch excited.
“Excuse me, priestesses. Sorry to interrupt, but there’s something strange going on with the betrothed girls.” Brow furrowed, she clutches the Signet Silver flashing at her wrist. “I really can’t ignore it any longer.”
Maida puts on her Concerned Professor Voice. “Ignore what, dear?”
“The betrothed… Their auras are different from Sadrie’s and Ghisele's. Both of yours, too. Even the sisters’ and Mother Deirdre’s.”
I school my features, every muscle and tendon strung taut. Maida’s glance at me is brief. Vaguely startled. Her face is smooth as marble when she turns back to Cordelia. “Different how?”
“It’s difficult to explain. It’s not the color, necessarily. It’s the texture—theconsistency.Their auras feel different somehow.”
I’ll be damned.Where Ghisele's lagging behind, Cordelia is blowing past her classmates’ progress admirably.
“You’re quite the sensitive mage,” says Maida in her Impressed Maida Voice. “Naturally gifted in First Sight as wellas a devoted student. Most don’t reach that level of ability until well into apprenticeship.”
“Tonight isn’t the time or place to go into it,” I say, and Cordelia turns to me. “Meet me in the Orrery Tower tomorrow after class, and we’ll have a private session. Bring your lunch. I’ll have to apprise you of some things that may be a bit… shocking at first. But the difference in auras is to be expected once you have the full picture.”
“All right.” Not looking fully convinced, Cordelia nods. Shifts her weight between her feet. “There’s another thing, too. Tiss’s aura—”
Lungs constricting, my blood pressure is instantly in my shoes.
“It’sexactlylike the betrothed girls’.” Cordelia looks between Maida and me.
To my friend’s credit, she doesn’t twitch an eyelid. Merely nods benignly, taking Cordelia by the shoulders and turning her around. “That’s fine, dear. Nothing to worry about tonight. You haven’t mentioned it to anybody else, have you?”
“N-not yet…” Cordelia strains to look over her shoulder.
“Lovely. See that you don’t and all will be well. Focus on the celebration. Tonight is ajoyfuloccasion. The old year ends and a new one begins! Now go dance and drink some more with your friends.”
We watch her vanish into the crowd, and my heart rate somewhat normalizes. I could do without the white dots washing my vision, though.
A boot thumps on the ground behind me. When I look around to check, nobody’s there.
Maida grabs my elbow, turning me to face her. “You said you trust her, right?”
“Implicitly. Why?”
“Well, don’t you think it might beniceto have an extra set of hands around? Just in case certain things start feeling ‘too big’ and ‘overwhelming’ again?” She quirks a brow at me.
“Fine,” I sigh, knowing what she’s getting at. The pressure of her hand on my arm is strangely soothing. “I’ll talk to her about our plans.”
