Twenty-one
“When we talked about keeping on keeping on, I didn’t think it would include this,” Joslyn murmured, her hand clamped around his. “He is seriously going to keep on doing things like there’s nothing wrong?”
“Yup,” Jason said. Across from them in the carriage, Elaine glanced out the window, trying to seem completely unperturbed by the whole situation. From the corner of her eye she could see Jason watching her for a second before his attention shifted back to Joslyn. “This is how he wants to play it. No one can know what’s going on in real life, at least not yet, not until it becomes strictly necessary.”
“Is that how he put it?” she asked.
“That’s how it put it to me,” Elaine said, staring out the window. “I’m guessing he probably said the same thing to you.”
“He did,” Jason said. “And it didn’t surprise me at all. That’s him. That’s how he’s always been.”
The carriage made the turn out of town, climbing the roadway up toward Weatherstone. “Almost time to get the game faces on,” Elaine said softly. “We can do this.”
It had ben a week since they’d found out about him being sick. Jason had already made the decision to head back to Wisconsin by the middle of the following week, regardless of what his brother said. Joslyn was going to go with him. Elaine was thinking about going herself. Autumn break was coming up. She could afford to take those few days away, even if it was going to be a long drive. When Hadrian had asked about her plans for those few days off, she’d mentioned it off-handedly. He’d just grinned.
That was all she needed to know that he thought it was a good idea.
Tonight was another gala at Weatherstone, though from what Jason had said, this was one he expected to be a little smaller, though not by too much—about three quarters of the size, which was still huge as far as Elaine was concerned, and not nearly as secure as any of them would have liked considering what had happened the last time Caius Horatio, Lord of Elfaedil, held a party.
“Do you know if he increased security?” she asked, slipping into character without another thought.
“He didn’t say anything about it,” Jason murmured. “But I do know that the guest list includes a few people beyond reproach.”
“Well,” Elaine said as she smoothed her skirt. “I guess that’s something.”
“Does he want us down in the crowd or up top?” Joslyn asked, fiddling with her glove. “The invite didn’t say.”
Jason didn’t answer right away. Elaine looked away from the window, her brow arching. “Do you even know?”
He nodded. “He wants us with him,” he said after a moment. “I’m just not sure how people are going to react to it, all things considered. I mean, you saved his life at the last one but I’m not sure if it’s going to be taken as a sign of trust or a sign of weakness. It could go either way.”
“Or it could go both ways,” Elaine said softly. “I guess we’ll see, right?”
Jason nodded slowly, glancing out the window again. They were close, now, the massive iron gates of Weatherstone standing open, the courtyard lit by torches. He took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly.
“We should be the first to arrive,” Jason said as the carriage rolled into the courtyard. “We’ll head straight up. He’ll be waiting.”
“You’ve done this a thousand times, haven’t you?” Elaine asked.
He smiled faintly. “Not a thousand, but enough. Usually I’m here earlier, though.”
The carriage drew up before the steps and stopped. One of the footmen appeared, opening the door and handing Elaine out first before Jason climbed out and handed Joslyn down himself. A guard in silver and white livery was on hand to greet them, bowing respectfully before he addressed Jason.
“M’lord Dravenwood, Lord Elfaedil awaits you in the great hall.”
“I suspected he might,” Jason said quietly, tucking Joslyn’s arm through his. “We’ll attend him presently. Thank you.”
“Of course, m’lord.” The guard bowed and backed away, then pivoted on his heel to resume a spot near the foot of the steps. Jason took a deep breath and headed up the stairs toward the doors, Joslyn at his side and Elaine trailing less than half a step behind.
“No doubt this will be another interesting evening,” he murmured as they passed through the doors and headed for the great hall.
“Hopefully not as interesting as the last one,” Elaine murmured.
Servants were in the midst of final preparations as they entered the great hall. Caius—Peter—was nowhere in sight, though Jason set an unerring course toward the hidden stairway up to the gallery at the far end of the hall. Elaine lifted her skirts a little higher as she hurried to keep up.
He’s in more of a rush than I expected. The question was why.
She didn’t know, nor was she entirely certain that she wanted to.
Together, they climbed the stairs up, finding Caius waiting for them there, pacing slowly back and forth. The pacing stopped as they appeared, his gaze lighting on each of them—but the traces of worry and nervousness didn’t vanish until his gaze settled on Elaine.
A blush crept across her cheeks and she glanced down for a moment, dropping into a quick curtsey.
“No,” he said, probably more harshly than he intended, because he repeated the word more gently a second time. “No. You—you don’t have to do that, Isolde. Not when we’re like this.” He swallowed hard, eyes gleaming in the shadows. “Please.”
She straightened quickly. “Oh-okay.” She started toward him and he met her partway, reaching a hand out to take hers.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he breathed as he squeezed her fingers. “Not just because you’re the healer, either.”
She blushed again, though this time a grin accompanied it. “Really?”
“Beyond all doubt,” he murmured, then kissed her cheek before he turned to regard his brother and Joslyn again. “So,” he said, his voice a little louder now, “it’s time to see if we can sort through who’s behind the assassination attempt.”
Joslyn rocked back against her heels. “Is that what tonight is all about?”
“Well, there is the matter of some additional information about the Sapphire Crown that we’ll be passing along,” Caius said, smiling briefly, though the expression was there and gone in a matter of a few heartbeats. “The people that will be here tonight are the people who have agreed to join the hunt for the crown.”
Elaine frowned. “How can we be sure that the people behind the attempt on your life will have joined the hunt?”
“They’ll want as much opportunity to get to him as possible,” Jason murmured, eyeing his brother. “That’s the logic, isn’t it?”
Caius nodded. “That’s it exactly. And if for some reason they’ve opted out, then the pool of possible suspects is much narrower. Most of the people who came last week will be here again tonight—most have decided to join the hunt.”
“Even the ones who stormed out?” Joslyn asked, her brow quirking. “You let them back in?”
He shrugged slightly. “If I punished everyone who suffered some sort of fit of pique, I might not end up with anyone looking for the crown eventually. I’m not about to let their initial reactions rule out their participation—not yet, anyway.”
“You’re too kind sometimes, Cay,” Jason said quietly. “I hope this isn’t the time it bites you in the ass.”
“So do I,” Caius said with a rueful smile. “I guess we’ll see.”
“That we will,” Jason said, glancing back toward the doors to the great hall, doors that liveried servants were closing as the four talked up in the gallery above, the preparations finally complete. Elaine followed his gaze.
“Will you be safe?” she murmured to Caius. He hadn’t released her hand and she squeezed his now. He squeezed back.
“As safe as I ever am,” he said. “There will be people in the crowd watching—not to mention the three of you with me.” For a few seconds, he studied her, one corner of his mouth curving into a broader smile. “If I asked you to dance with me again, would you?”
Elaine nodded, unable to stop herself from smiling. “If you asked. Are you asking?”
“Of course I am.” He was actually grinning now, his eyes bright. “I think I’m up to it. Do you?”
“I think you’re sound enough for a few turns,” she said, her tone only mildly teasing.
He actually laughed. From the corner of her eye, she could see his brother grinning at them. Joslyn, though, was giving her an I-told-you-so smirk that she knew all too well. “With any luck, we’ll solve a problem and enjoy ourselves this evening,” he said as his laughter faded. “It might be too much to ask, but at least it’s a goal.”
“Not a bad one,” Jason said, still watching the doors. “Possibly unachievable, but not a bad goal.”
“You seem paranoid,” Caius observed, studying him for a moment.
“Shouldn’t I be?” Jason finally tore his gaze from the doors and regarded his brother with a long, quiet look. “It’s your life at stake, Cay. I only have one brother. Can you really blame me for worrying about your safety?”
“No,” Caius said quietly. His fingers flexed around Elaine’s. “In fact, I love you more for it because it’s far more than I have or ever will deserve.”
“Don’t say that, Cay,” Jason said, shaking his head. “You know that’s not true.”
A wry smile curved his lips and he shook his head. “That’s a battle for another night. They’ll be arriving soon.”
“Will you be greeting them from up here or down there?” Joslyn asked.
Caius inclined his head. “I think the objective tonight is to make a statement. Several statements. We’ll greet them from right there.” He nodded toward the balcony. “Then, after everyone is here, we’ll go down and I’ll make the announcement from the center of the floor. After that, we’ll see what happens.” He glanced at Elaine. “I want you on my arm—if you’re willing.”
Her cheeks heated again. “Another statement?” she asked softly.
“More like a declaration,” he murmured, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Do you accept?”
She nodded. Her cheek tingled a little where he’d kissed her, a feeling she’d never experienced before he’d kissed her for the first time—now days past—but had decided that she liked. “Of course.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
The way Jason and Joslyn were both grinning at them told her that they were glad, too.
Elaine decided she didn’t care how they felt about it—the way she felt was more important, and she was over the moon. Caius let go of her hand and offered her his arm. She tucked hers through it, smiling. He smiled back, though it was almost a sad expression.
“This could be dangerous for you,” he said softly.
“It’s all right,” she said, matching his volume. “I’m starting to think that staying safe all the damn time is overrated.”
He seemed to be on the verge of laughing again, but he was cut off by the sound of the doors opening at the far end of the great hall.
“They’re here,” Jason murmured.
“So they are,” Caius said, suddenly all business again. He took deep breath, shoulders slumping for a second before he squared them and moved toward the balcony, drawing Elaine with him. The skirts of her slate gray gown whispered against the tiles beneath their feet, rustling softly with each step. Caius put his free hand over hers where it rested on his arm as they came to the balcony, offering her a brief, reassuring smile before his mask of cool indifference settled into place. She touched his hand, though only for a second, letting it drop away after she was sure he’d felt the touch. Jason and Joslyn moved to stand on the other side of Caius, the brothers standing shoulder to shoulder, flanked by Elaine and Joslyn on either side—Caius, Elaine abruptly but belatedly realized, was left-handed, based on the side he wore his sword on.
Well, that works out neatly, doesn’t it? She suppressed the urge to shake her head, instead watching as figures started to slowly filter into the great hall, garbed much the same as they had been at the last gala—well-dressed, elegant, usually though not necessarily unarmed. Some she recognized, others she didn’t, though according to Caius, all of them were here ostensibly for the same purpose—to garner some more revelations about the Sapphire Crown.
“What do you need me to do?” she asked him in a whisper. His lips barely moved as he answered her.
“Just stay with me. You’ll know what to do when the moment comes.”
A chill raced down her spine. He sounded so certain. It was terrifying.
He squeezed her fingers, then let go, bracing himself against the balcony with his free hand, his gaze like a hawk as he surveyed the slowly gathering crowds below. Elaine drew a little closer to him and he gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
Just stay with me.
She stole a glance at him and had to fight down a smile.
All you had to do was ask.
The room filled quickly, so quickly that Elaine had to wonder if it had been this quick when she and Joslyn had come the last time, or if it was the speed of her racing heart and standing at Caius’s side that made time seem compressed. After what seemed like forever, the flow of people slowed to a trickle. Caius took a breath and exhaled it slowly.
He cleared his throat and then began to speak.
“Thank you all for coming this evening,” he said, his voice deceptively quiet but carrying, Elaine knew, to the rafters and to the very back of the room, reaching each ear at the same level of volume as the next. “Everyone here has committed to assist in the hunt for the Sapphire Crown, and for that, you all have my gratitude. This artifact is important to the future of our lands and the safety of our people. It must be safely delivered here so it can be secured against any threat that may be posed to it or it may pose to us.” His hand curled into a fist on the railing, slowly, nails scraping until they tucked under and in against his palm. He paused for a few seconds, then continued—changing plans, it seemed, from their original of heading down. “Research in the archives has unearthed more information about the possible whereabouts of the Crown. I caution you that these records are not official state records, but instead the personal journals of a soldier and a scribe attached to Queen Tiana’s forces at Nylan. Both journals speak of a journey into Deith to hide away an object of power—an object too powerful to be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Their journals speak of a terrible curse, though only in the most oblique of terms, and of a cave secreted deep in the woodlands sealed and concealed by magic and guarded by the ghosts of Nylan. That last phrase—‘ghosts of Nylan’—is one each use in specific.”
He swallowed, going silent for a few long moments before he blinked, then resumed. “We do not know what it means,” he said, his voice even softer now, “but it would be untoward if we did not share this information with you. Again, as always, if you garner additional information regarding this mystery, please contact Lord Dravenwood. He will be gathering additional information and compiling it as it becomes available.”
Caius straightened slightly, his hand leaving the rail to cover hers again. She glanced toward him and found him still staring out over the crowd, though his gaze was oddly distant. Her lips parted, about to ask if he was all right.
He took a breath. “That is all,” he said, his voice a murmur. “Please, enjoy my hospitality as my thanks to you for your attendance this evening and your assistance in this endeavor.”
For a few seconds, there was dead silence. Then, a ripple of applause filtered through the crowd. Caius bowed his head, closing his eyes for a moment before he stepped away from the balcony. Elaine went with him, heart thudding against her breast.
“Are you all right?” she asked in a whisper.
“I’m not sure,” he said. A shiver went through him as they stepped into the shadows. For a second, he leaned against her.
Then his form flickered, as if there was a problem with his internet connection.
“Cay?” Elaine held tighter to his arm, as if that would help stabilize him.
He looked up to meet her gaze. It was haunted—and afraid.
Then he vanished completely.
