inhaled a long breath. Hiresha tried to think calm thoughts, despite the quick pace of her heart, because she knew Feasters could scent fears.
“You wonder the reason why I’m here,” he said. “My heart, do you still insist everything has a purpose?”
“Earlier today I saw something on the Skyway….” This close to him, Hiresha was more aware. Her senses had sharpened. Everything seemed too loud and bright, and for the first time that day she felt awake and sharp of mind. “…But then I was leaning against Minna…Minara…a Feaster. Might she have made me see something not there?”
“Perhaps. A touch would’ve made her power greater over you. The day would’ve made it less.” He offered her his arm.
She took it, leaning close to press a green and red jewel between his eyes, where a black triangle was tattooed. “The touch of this tourmaline will trap you in sleep, unless you swear to me you haven’t harmed any in the Academy and won’t for the duration of your visit.”
Hiresha had only to release her grip on the tourmaline to activate its enchantment, immobilizing him. He would then be at the mercy of her and the Academy’s spellswords.
“Nothing is more intimate than a threat,” the Lord of the Feast said. “You wrong me, Hiresha. I know well enough that you would destroy anyone who harmed the Mindvault by so much as carving his name in the side of a tower.”
“The vandal’s chisel would break on the enchanted rock,” she said, “and I’ve yet to hear your promise.”
“I swear it, if it’ll please you, by the darkest depths of the crypt Stillness Resounding.”
“What a pretentious place to be buried.”
The enchantress wished to trust the Lord of the Feast. She had wanted to for years. Hiresha knew that his ravenous magic drove him to kill. Once, he had murdered a man to save her life. He had also helped protect Alyla, tonight and when she and the other women of Hiresha’s homeland had been attacked by his rival.
She preferred not to imagine Tethiel frightening an enchantress into leaping, though it left her with an unpleasant question of what had happened to her. Hiresha thought she might ask him about it. If anyone would understand her fears, it would be this connoisseur of terror. She removed the enchanted jewel from his brow, slipping it back into her sash pocket.
“You have much to excuse and explain,” Hiresha said. “But not here. The novices are sleep studying.”
“Nothing disappoints people more than answering their questions,” Tethiel said, “but perhaps you have a secluded place in mind?”
“You may escort me to the Ballroom, Tethiel.”
They walked together in silence, onto the walls and down stairs between windows. He wore a sleek black wig with red coral beads. The sleeves of his jacket ended in triangular notches at the wrist. In the blue light of her earrings, his red gloves and vest should have been tinted dark. Yet they shone an unapologetic crimson.
Standing on a pattern of concentric circles to the right of the tower entrance caused Hiresha’s amulet to shimmer. Its enchantment Lightened a massive stone door, and the slab slid upward into the ceiling. Hiresha and the Lord of the Feast strode outside into a brilliant blast of cold air and starlight.
How many women, Hiresha wondered, would venture out on a winter’s night with the Lord of the Feast?
7
The Crystal Ballroom
Hiresha’s breath frosted a glittering blue. The night was too cold for snow, but the powder that had already fallen crackled under her feet. The Waterfly River will freeze tonight. Yet she did not feel the pain of the chill. A tingling numbness flowed up her arm where she touched the Lord of the Feast.
His eyes glowed with starlight, and constellations rearranged themselves above his head to form the glittering spokes of a crown. To the right of where he walked, red ghostflames sprang up from the snow. On Hiresha’s side, purple flames sprouted, forming a pathway
“You wonder the reason why I’m here,” he said. “My heart, do you still insist everything has a purpose?”
“Earlier today I saw something on the Skyway….” This close to him, Hiresha was more aware. Her senses had sharpened. Everything seemed too loud and bright, and for the first time that day she felt awake and sharp of mind. “…But then I was leaning against Minna…Minara…a Feaster. Might she have made me see something not there?”
“Perhaps. A touch would’ve made her power greater over you. The day would’ve made it less.” He offered her his arm.
She took it, leaning close to press a green and red jewel between his eyes, where a black triangle was tattooed. “The touch of this tourmaline will trap you in sleep, unless you swear to me you haven’t harmed any in the Academy and won’t for the duration of your visit.”
Hiresha had only to release her grip on the tourmaline to activate its enchantment, immobilizing him. He would then be at the mercy of her and the Academy’s spellswords.
“Nothing is more intimate than a threat,” the Lord of the Feast said. “You wrong me, Hiresha. I know well enough that you would destroy anyone who harmed the Mindvault by so much as carving his name in the side of a tower.”
“The vandal’s chisel would break on the enchanted rock,” she said, “and I’ve yet to hear your promise.”
“I swear it, if it’ll please you, by the darkest depths of the crypt Stillness Resounding.”
“What a pretentious place to be buried.”
The enchantress wished to trust the Lord of the Feast. She had wanted to for years. Hiresha knew that his ravenous magic drove him to kill. Once, he had murdered a man to save her life. He had also helped protect Alyla, tonight and when she and the other women of Hiresha’s homeland had been attacked by his rival.
She preferred not to imagine Tethiel frightening an enchantress into leaping, though it left her with an unpleasant question of what had happened to her. Hiresha thought she might ask him about it. If anyone would understand her fears, it would be this connoisseur of terror. She removed the enchanted jewel from his brow, slipping it back into her sash pocket.
“You have much to excuse and explain,” Hiresha said. “But not here. The novices are sleep studying.”
“Nothing disappoints people more than answering their questions,” Tethiel said, “but perhaps you have a secluded place in mind?”
“You may escort me to the Ballroom, Tethiel.”
They walked together in silence, onto the walls and down stairs between windows. He wore a sleek black wig with red coral beads. The sleeves of his jacket ended in triangular notches at the wrist. In the blue light of her earrings, his red gloves and vest should have been tinted dark. Yet they shone an unapologetic crimson.
Standing on a pattern of concentric circles to the right of the tower entrance caused Hiresha’s amulet to shimmer. Its enchantment Lightened a massive stone door, and the slab slid upward into the ceiling. Hiresha and the Lord of the Feast strode outside into a brilliant blast of cold air and starlight.
How many women, Hiresha wondered, would venture out on a winter’s night with the Lord of the Feast?
7
The Crystal Ballroom
Hiresha’s breath frosted a glittering blue. The night was too cold for snow, but the powder that had already fallen crackled under her feet. The Waterfly River will freeze tonight. Yet she did not feel the pain of the chill. A tingling numbness flowed up her arm where she touched the Lord of the Feast.
His eyes glowed with starlight, and constellations rearranged themselves above his head to form the glittering spokes of a crown. To the right of where he walked, red ghostflames sprang up from the snow. On Hiresha’s side, purple flames sprouted, forming a pathway
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