Page 77 of Fortress of Ambrose
“Ellery could be anyone on this dance floor,” she said, studying the ornate make-up, which even without Anatomer magic was a perfect disguise. The music played sweetly. She grimaced.
“Heishere somewhere, daughter,” said a voice that felt like a dagger in her back.
Nore turned to face her mother. Isla Ambrose—or someone who looked like her—stood in front of her with a decorative party mask on her face and a plain gray gown dangling at her feet. Nore blinked.
“May I cut in?” she asked Yagrin.
His grip on her tightened. “Sorry, I really like this song.”
“Nore, I came here to help you,” her mother pleaded.
But Nore grabbed Yagrin’s hand and exposed his palm. “Show me the truth.”
He got her meaning and unleashed darkness, dripping destructive magic from his fingers. Her mother gasped as his toushana grazed Isla’s skin with a hiss. But no disguise was torn away. It was actually her. Isla cupped her cheek where the dark magic burned her skin ever so slightly.
“I swearit’s me.”
Litze Oralia joined them on the dance floor with a stern expression.
“I’ve done what you asked,” she said to Isla, who held out her hand in response. Litze pulled out a brittle piece of old stained paper and handed it to her mother. Nore’s heart leapt.The Scroll!
“Where’s my son?” Isla asked.
Litze flapped a hand in the air. “You’re a poor ad-lib in a flawless script. This is a party. Please take your family matters elsewhere. I’ve done what my ancestors were sworn to. I kept the piece safe and delivered it to you, specifically, by request.” She wiped her hands together. “I am finished with this mess.”
“If you’re here to help me,” I told my mother, “let me see that Scroll piece.”
But Isla tucked it into her dress pocket before Nore could snatch it. “Neither you nor Ellery can be trusted with this very dangerous magic. You are both behaving like petulant children. You will honor the rules of our House and do your duty. Or so help me, Sovereign, Sage, and Wielder, I will disinherit you both.”
“Do me the favor,” Nore said.“Please.”
“You wouldn’t do that to me, Mother.” Ellery’s voice curdled Nore’s blood. Her brother lifted a decorative mask with sequins and gems off his face, and Nore realized he’d been dancing around them for some time. Watching, plotting, waiting. She needed that Scroll piece from her mother and the one he had on him. Then she needed to get out of there!
When the dead sauntered onto the dance floor, the music came to ascreeching halt. Some guests fled, but a small crowd watched as if they were enthralled by some kind of show.
“I am your true favorite.” Ellery gestured at the audience for them to laugh. And they did.
Yagrin stiffened beside her.
“We should show gratitude to Headmistress Oralia and her hospitality by leaving this dance floor,” Isla said.
“And rob them of the performance of their lifetimes?” Ellery clapped. His dark exuberance twisted Nore’s spine. “We’re going to give these loons a show,” he told her under his breath.
Nerves cinched in her gut.
“The tension is masterful,” someone uttered from the crowd. Nore looked for Litze or Drew, but she didn’t see either of them. She scanned for an exit, standing closer to her mother, eyeing the pocket she’d stuck the Scroll in, wondering where Ellery had hidden his.
“Ellery.” Her mother glared. “Yousaidyou wanted to come here together to ensure things ran smoothly. We areleaving.” Her mother started to storm off, but Ellery didn’t budge. He only had eyes for Nore. A flash of silver inside his sleeve caught her eye.
She stepped backward at the sight of the blade.
“You have half of what we want. I don’t see any reason we can’t work together,” Yagrin said, a protective arm around her waist.
“Wexton.Your reputation precedes you.” Her brother sneered at her. “Thisis who you’ve spent your time with?”
He knew Red loved someone, but until this moment he hadn’t known who. Ellery’s lips curled, and when he reached for her face with his hand, she almost wished it was the blade. He dragged his magic down the slope of her nose, and she tried to pull away. But he gripped her by the back of the hair.
“You’ve lived a half life, pretending. That’s not freedom, sister.”
