Page 87 of Prisoner of Darkness and Dreams
“No. This is different. They’re not looking to punish a specific group for the town’s crimes. Just looking for heretics, apparently.”
We move swiftly on, everyone unsettled knowing that bands of clerics are roaming the area. I turn over Alastor’s news in my mind.
“You’re wondering what the point is, aren’t you?” Leon asks me, pulling his horse up beside mine.
“I am. What does he gain from this? Is he just looking for more solari to drain?”
“Maybe,” is all Leon says, but I feel so much more than those words suggest. I sense this makes him nervous too, and that agitation is as real as the reins between my fingers or the breeze upon my skin. He doesn’t like not knowing what Caledon is up to any more than I do.
When I fall asleep, just a half day’s ride from Tread, I wonder when I got so good at reading Leon.
Chapter 28
Corrin
The palace ballroom is a swirl of color as nobles spin around in their finery. The music swells, and sparkling wine flows, and I can’t help but think of all of the children currently starving on Trova’s streets.
I’m no revolutionary, but my stomach turns when I stand and watch this country’s richest people toast to a woman who lets the Temple burn and sacrifice its poorest in the name of the gods.
Tonight, we change things. I don’t how good a queen Morgana Angevire will be, but she’s got to be better than this. If nothing else, I know she won’t tolerate the Temple’s cruelty.
“Florin for your thoughts, Your Grace?” I look up to see Lord Qualis smiling at me over his drink, amused by my distraction.
“Ah,” I grin. “I was just wondering how long it would be until the regent blesses us with her presence. I have to confess I’ve been excited to meet her this entire trip.”
Qualis pulls a face for just a second, then rearranges his expression into something more amiable.
“Ah yes, our esteemed leader. She’ll not deign to kowtow with us lesser nobles until the last moment, I suspect.”
“She’s a busy woman,” I say, keeping my tone neutral, giving him room to show his own biases.
“…Indeed,” Qualis replies. His thinly veiled disapproval of Oclanna is why I’m starting to like the man, despite his pompousness.
Whether he’s excited to lay eyes on the prospective queen or not doesn’t really matter. Because we’ve been assured that tonight, the day before the coronation, Oclanna will finally join us all for the ball being thrown in her honor.
It’s cutting it close, but that’s just given Damia time to work it all out. Her geostri powers will provide the distraction to get the others in. Then I’ll use my shadows to hide them in the corridors near the regent’s wing, ready to strike before Oclanna sets foot in the ballroom. Barb has done some useful snooping of her own, and Damia now knows for certain the route the regent will take on her way to the celebration.
I meet Damia’s gaze now, trying not to get distracted by how spectacular she looks in a sapphire blue gown with a slit almost up to her hip. Gods, I’ll miss those legs when they’re back to being sheathed in black pants…
There I go again.Focus, Corrin.
I school my features into a look of concern as she approaches me and Lord Qualis from across the ballroom, hiding an approving smile as she angles herself toward a nearby footman. It’s best guests and staff hear this next little bit of our production.
“Is everything alright, my darling?” I ask, reaching out a hand to take her gloved fingers in mine.
“No,” she says, holding her other hand to her head. “I’m not feeling too well. I think it’s the heat.”
“Ah yes, Elmere certainly isn’t Qimorna, but it must seem quite warm compared to Artifract,” Qualis says kindly.
“I need to retire for the evening,” Damia sighs forlornly. “I’ll be no fun like this.”
“But you’ll miss seeing Her Highness, my love, and you’ve been so excited,” I say.
“I know,” she replies miserably. “But I can’t possibly meet her in this state. And if I don’t rest, I might not be well enough for the coronation tomorrow.”
Lord Qualis makes a sympathetic hum. “Then you must go rest, Your Grace. It would be such a pity for you to miss the main event.”
“Thank you, Lord Qualis. You’re very kind. Yes, I think I shall go do that now. Don’t worry about me, darling. You stay and enjoy the ball.”
