Page 75 of The Sovereign: Part One
By the time we’d left, my fingers had been dusted with sugar from the pastries he insisted I try, and my head spun all afternoon from a particularly chaotic ride Maxim had claimed was ‘mildly invigorating’.By the end of the night, I was breathless, exhilarated, and more than a little reluctant for it to end.
“It was one of the best days of my life,” I said.
He turned to me.“Actually?”
I nodded, and he reached for me, threading his fingers through mine, a faint, touched smile smoothing his features.After a brief pause, he seemed to snap back to the present.“On Monday, we climbed Smith Rock.Isara was incredible.”
“You went outside the wall?”Roan asked, surprised.
The table seemed to brighten at the mention of it.I could tell everyone was eager to hear more.Rock climbing wasn’t exactly an everyday topic of conversation, and it certainly wasn’t something I expected Maxim to bring up.But it worked.The conversation shifted, everyone engaging as they asked about the details.The laughter came easily, as it always did when Maxim spoke, and soon, it felt like the tension had dissipated.
Roan shook his head, in awe.“I’m still surprised Isara ventured outside the gate.Do you think you’d do that?”he asked Bellam.
Lourdes didn’t give Bellam a chance to take the bait.“Roan,” she chided.“As if you don’t do it weekly.”
“As young men of the Vanguard often do, dearest,” Leopold noted.
Andress arrived with an enormous tray, distributing the first course with precision.Before Lourdes, she placed the amuse-bouche, a wafer-thin crisp topped with a curl of citrus-cured salmon, a dollop of crème fraîche, and a single black pearl of caviar catching the light.She moved on, placing a shallow bowl of Vellichor Consommé in front of me.Roan’s plate followed, a cut of seared venison, and Bellam’s dish arrived last: truffle-laced mushrooms stacked in delicate layers, charred leek ribbons curled between them, with a pale cloud of parmesan foam melting at the edges.
Andress didn’t bypass Maxim and Leopold, instead topping off their leirs, as if acknowledging what didn’t need to be said.With a final, assessing glance, she folded her hands before her, awaiting Leo or Lourdes’s next signal.
Leopold acknowledged Andress’s work with a subtle, courteous incline of his head.“That will be all for now, Andress, thank you.”Top of FormBottom of Form
Andress excused herself with a slight bow before slipping away to the galley.
“Incredible as always,” Lourdes said.
Roan ignored his sister’s pleasantries and turned to me.“You said Smith Rock?That formation is near The Vale, if I’m not mistaken?”
Having just taken a bite, I used a napkin to dab at the corner of my mouth before speaking.“I could see it after we topped out.”
“What did you think?”Roan asked.“Isn’t it beautiful?”
Bellam seemed both confused and suspicious of his sudden interest.
“It was far,” I said, “I could barely make it out, but it was unexpectedly thrilling proof that the distant world of our childhood stories is real.Maxim and I have decided to travel there one day.”
Lourdes adjusted in her seat, her expression flickering between surprise and skepticism.“Why?”
I felt a pang, a subtle twist in my chest.“I’m not sure.I can’t quite put it into words.I suppose after years of knowing Maxim only as an abstract thought, meeting him feels like emerging from a fogged dream into clarity, and now, having seen The Vale from afar, I suppose I just want to keep trading the abstract for the tangible.”
“I felt the same after meeting Leopold, but I can’t say I share your sudden appetite for adventure.It’s dangerous out there, Isara.”
“I’ll be safe.Maxim will be with me.”
Lourdes didn’t seem convinced.She glanced at me, her eyes narrowing just a fraction.“I don’t understand,” she said, almost too quietly.“The Vale-born come here to live, not the other way around.”
I breathed out a laugh.“I never said I wanted to live there.I wouldn’t.They don’t allow Supplicants after sunset.I just want to see it with my own eyes.Up close.”
Roan lifted his chin, his dimple deepening.“It’s difficult to explain to someone completely devoid of adventurous spirit, Isara.”
“I’m unashamed to admit it,” Lourdes asserted.“Proud even.”
“Tell me more about The Vale,” he asked, a glint of interest in his eyes.“What sets it apart?How does it differ from here?Could you reach it in a day?And what does it truly take to survive there?”
Lourdes was showing signs of fatigue with her brother.“Roan, why are you interrogating Isara?You’ve been to The Vale multiple times.”
“I don’t know much about it,” I admitted.
