Page 110 of Crown of Hearts
“See you there,” he said, before walking out of the room.
Chapter 30
Cai
An Argonian banquet held similarities to a Norrandish and Evernean one when you took into account the wine, the food and the loud chatter. But the atmosphere was unfamiliar and the air was humid. Even my attire was uncomfortable.
Instead of my usual breeches and jacket, I was dressed in a robe, held together by a golden waistband. I wouldn’t have humiliated myself had it not been for Aries’ insistence that we wear his “gifts” for the dance that was to be held after dinner. Elara had yet to grace the room with her presence and I found myself missing Thatcher’s sense of humour to calm me down. I was on edge.
Linus and Theuses met my gaze from some distance away and they raised their glasses in greeting. They were dressed in the same style of clothes as I was and looked equally uncomfortable. Of course we fitted right in with the rest of the court, their robes all bright colours, following elegantly around the room to the music, which consisted of flutes, drums and old-fashioned lyres. Some of the guests clapped along to the beat.
“Are you all right, Cai?” Her voice came from behind me. I turned to face Elara.
Her clothes had been fashioned in Argonian style as well. The teal dress had a low neckline with golden leaves on the seams. The upper part of her hair had been braided out of her face and more golden leaves had been pinned to her head. I was momentarily speechless.
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “All good.” She came to stand next to me. “I just don’t think I’m really in the mood for a party.”
“I know what you mean.”
I guided us to the nearest standing table. “We’ll just show face for the sake of it and then leave as soon as we can.” I gave her half a smile.
I reached for a cup of wine, but before I could bring it to my lips, Elara grabbed it away from me. “What are you—?”
She quickly took a sip.
My shoulders sagged. “Don’t tell me you’re testing if it’s poisoned.”
“I’m not going through that ordeal again.”
Never mind what it might have cost her if it had actually been poisoned. She wiped the corner of her lips and handed me the cup back.
“And what about you? What if there was something wrong with it?”
She looked up at me from under long lashes. “I spent the majority of my teenage years trying to build immunity against poison, so I stand a much better chance than you.”
I couldn’t help but shake my head at her.
She remained standing close to me, staring out at the crowd, but I was only watching her.
“Are you nervous about the meeting with Aries tomorrow?” Elara said after a while, and I sighed.
“Who knows? Maybe something positive can come from it. Maybe we’ll find a way to prevent a war.”
“Do you really believe that or are you trying to remain optimistic?”
“I’m trying to remain idiotically optimistic, because if I don’t, I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.”
Her expression was tense, her eyes full of worry.
“What?”
She looked around at everyone before pulling me behind one of the large pillars. It gave us a little privacy from the crowd.
“I think Ariesknows.”
“Knows?”
“About the stones,” she said in a hushed voice. Legends of the Myrgonite stones had been around almost as long as time, though I wondered what made Aries so sure that he would be willing to send out an army.
