Page 11 of Queen of the Night
With the break in eye contact, I can actually listen to Darvy’s regaled story, and I can’t help but laugh over his detailed and dramatic retelling of the goblin situation that has me relaxing until, soon, thoughts of the Tulip list have once again been tucked safely away. I hardly have time to eat before the course is cleared and the next placed before us.
Darvy turns to Rhosse when he finishes the tale. “Anything to add?”
Rhosse smirks. “Think you covered it all, and more. All that matters is we’re alive.”
Nadiette laughs as she catches my gaze, as if we’re the best of friends just because we’re both women. She’s wrong. “Men. Always downplaying the most dangerous things.” Then she changes the subject rather abruptly, keeping her attention on me. “So you arrested Ikar after that? And it was just the two of you?” She acts nonchalant, but I see the tips of her fingers whiten around the delicate fork she holds.
I take a sip of wine in a fancy glass with the tiniest stem I’ve ever held between my fingers. I’m afraid I mightbreak it clean in half. “Yes, and yes.” I set my glass down and dip my head for a bite, but I spy Nadiette’s lips pursed like she drank something sour and nearly laugh into my soup.
Ikar and I take turns sharing the story of our journey, prompting more laughs and disbelief from our group as we argue lightly over details. Warm tension tugs between us after recounting our journey together, heightened by flashes of eye contact when we’re both silently aware of the parts we intentionally skip to keep to ourselves.
Dinner has long since been cleared from the table and my cheeks ache from so much laughter, and Rupi has made a second and third trip to her tray, always returning to Ikar after. I find myself feeling something very close to camaraderie with this group, aside from Nadiette, who looks irritated and distant. But everyone else? I feel as if we’ve been friends for a very long time. And most impressive, I hardly remember I’ve been dining in the castle for the past two hours. Rhosse and Darvy start speaking with Nadiette about an incident between a group of soldiers, two originators, and a gloam creature that happened three days ago. Nothing interests me there, so I turn my attention to Ikar and Jethonan.
“I must say I’m glad to have you back, Your Ma—Commander… ship,” Jethonan stutters momentarily. “I’ve been working on a new weapon, but it’s quite difficult to find the time when I’ve taken on so many duties.” He looks at Ikar pointedly.
Ikar chuckles. “Yes, there are many of them. Will it be ready for me to take when we leave tomorrow?”
Jethonan appears to do mental calculations for an extended moment. “Itshouldbe. I’ll try to finish it tonight. There are other matters to discuss, as well, before you leave.”
Ikar nods and sits back in his chair. “We leave early, and it’s growing late. We should head toyour office now.”
Before they stand, I can’t help but jump in, curious. “Jethonan, you make weapons?”
His eyes light when he sees my apparent interest. “Some say I’m a wizard, of sorts. But really, I simply enjoy experiments, and that includes creating weapons. Come with us if you’d like.”
“Enter at your own risk,” Ikar says with a smirk.
I laugh. Surely he’s joking.
Chapter 7
Vera
Ikar was most definitelynotjoking. A wave of putrid blue air belches from the large keyhole of a door down the hall. Jethonan hurries ahead of us to insert the key and turns the lock with a click.
I slow my steps with a frown, unwilling to go any closer until I know what that smell is coming from. Ikar comes from behind me, places my hand on his arm, and clasps his larger hand over mine in such a gentlemanly way that I wouldn’t have known he was teasing if not for the look in his eye. He guides me toward the rolling mounds of blue-tinged air now escaping the room before us through the wide-open door.
He leans down and whispers near my ear. “Ididwarn you.”
He smells incredible, like I knew he would. I’m suddenly flustered and feeling too warm to think properly.
“As good friends do,” I say, attempting to get my mind and body on the same page.
Friends.
And there he is, still too close. “Is that what we are?”
Jethonan saves me from becoming a blubbering idiot byopening the door wider and summoning us into the room. I step away from Ikar, acting unaffected, while I wonder what he meant. Did he sound pleased that I called us friends, or was he implying we’remore?
I cough as I enter Jethonan’s office, then hold my breath as I wave a hand before my face to try to clear some of the fog away. It does nothing. I have no choice but to inhale or pass out—on the bright side, maybe it’ll dye my dress blue.
“Isthisthe weapon?” I ask. “‘Cause I think it’s ready.”
Jethonan laughs. “No, no. This is simply a byproduct of the chemical process.” Clinks and clanks come from the far side of the room, followed by what sounds like a book thudding on a wood desk, but everything’s fuzzy through the fog. I turn to find Ikar forcing open a window and leaning slightly out for clean air before he moves to the next. Rupi makes a sound that I can only describe as a tiny sneeze before she flutters from his shoulder to one of the now-open windows, searching desperately for fresh air.
“You know, the temperature in this room is a delicate balance. You never ask before you swing those open, and you may one day ruin one of my projects,” Jethonan scolds, even as he’s bent over something on the table.
“You may one day ruinmeif you don’t find a way to clear this room on occasion,” Ikar responds dryly. “How do you know this blue stuff won’t hurt us?”
