faerie, and he has seen something in me, something Madoc wouldnât see, something I have yearned to have acknowledged.
Right then and there, I go down on one knee on the ancient rug in Madocâs study and swear myself into Prince Dainâs service.
A ll night, as I sit through dinner, I am conscious of the secret I hold. It makes me feel, for the first time, as though I have a power of my own, a power Madoc cannot take from me. Even thinking of it for too longâI am a spy! I am Prince Dainâs spy!âgives me a thrill.
We eat little birds stuffed with barley and wild ramps, their skins crackling with fat and honey. Oriana delicately picks hers apart. Oak chews on the skin. Madoc does not bother to separate off the flesh, eating bones and all. I poke at the stewed parsnips. Although Taryn is at the table, Vivi has not returned. I suspect that hunting with Rhyia was a ruse and that she has gone to the mortal world after a brief ride through the woods. I wonder if she ate her dinner with Heatherâs family.
âYou did well at the tournament,â Madoc says between bites.
I do not point out that he left the grounds. He couldnât have been too impressed. I am not even sure how much he actually saw. âDoes that mean youâve changed your mind?â
Something in my voice makes him stop chewing and regard me with narrowed eyes. âAbout knighthood?â he asks. âNo. Once there is a new High King in place, we will discuss your future.â
My mouth curves into a secretive smile. âAs you wish.â
Down the table, Taryn watches Oriana and tries to copy her movements with the little bird. She does not look my way, even when she asks me to pass her a carafe of water.
She canât keep me from following her to her room when weâre done, though.
âLook,â I say on the stairs. âI tried to do what you wanted, but I couldnât, and I donât want you to hate me for it. Itâs my life.â
She turns around. âYour life to squander?â
âYes,â I say as we come to the landing. I cannot tell her about Prince Dain, but even if I could, I am not sure it would help. I am not at all sure sheâd approve of that, either. âOur lives are the only real thing we have, our only coin. We get to buy what we want with them.â
Taryn rolls her eyes. Her voice is acid. âIsnât that pretty? Did you make it up yourself?â
âWhat is the matter with you?â I demand.
She shakes her head. âNothing. Nothing. Maybe it would be better if I thought the way that you do. Never mind, Jude. You really were good out there.â
âThanks,â I say, frowning in confusion. I wonder again over Cardanâs words about her, but I do not want to repeat them and make her feel bad. âSo have you fallen in love yet?â I ask.
All my question gets me is a strange look. âI am staying home from the lecture tomorrow,â Taryn says. âI guess it is your life to squander, but I donât have to watch.â
My feet feel like lead as I make my way to the palace, over ground strewn with windfall apples, their golden scent blowing in the air. I am wearing a long black dress with gold cuffs and a lacing of green braid, a comfortable favorite.
Afternoon birdsong trills above me, making me smile. I let myself have a brief fantasy of Prince Dainâs coronation, of me dancing with a grinning Locke while Cardan is dragged away and thrown in a dark oubliette.
A flash of white startles me from my thoughts. Itâs a stagâa white stag, standing not ten feet from where I am. His antlers are threaded with a few thin cobwebs, and his coat is a white so bright that it seems silver in the afternoon light. We regard each other for a long moment, before he races off in the direction of the palace, taking my breath with him.
I decide to believe this is a good omen.
And, at least at first, it seems to be. Classes
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