sorcery and science 04.5 - masquerade (10 page)

“What does my resonance smell like?” Ariella asked.

“Violets and vanilla,” Isis told her. “And strength. A sweet, easy strength. Not a forced, sweaty one. It’s nice.”

“Incredible,” Davin said. “I wonder if you have a bit of every ability in you, not just the Phantom and Prior ones.”

“I don’t think so. And I hope not. I’m having enough problems with the abilities I have already.”

They didn’t say anything more until they passed through the Laelia portal. One moment, they were surrounded by roses and streams, and the next they stood inside the Gateway. The hall was empty except for the two guards, each holding a Serenity sword. They stood on either side of the doorway to the outside, giving Davin a respectful nod as he led Ariella and Isis out of the Gateway. As they stepped outside, a gust of wind puffed up and a swarm of cherry blossoms swallowed them whole. Pink and white, the petals slid across their skin, soft like butterfly wings. The sweet aroma of the blossoms saturated Davin’s nose, welcoming him home.

Isis plucked a petal from the air and rubbed it against her cheek. She put it in front of her nose, inhaling deeply. When she let the petal go, it fluttered in the air, dancing off to join the others.

“I can feel your doom-seeing Prophet,” she told Davin. “She’s sitting in the water garden.”

It took them a few minutes to reach the water garden, where a series of red-gold wood bridges looped over an interconnected system of streams and ponds. There were water lilies floating on the pale blue surface and fish with shimmering scales beneath it. A woman in a blue and green mesh dress stood on one of the bridges, her elbows leaned against the rail. Her long black hair cascaded over the edge, nearly reaching the water. Jade.

Davin hadn’t expected Isis to hone in on her so quickly. It must have been the Winter’s Mint. It was accentuating the Phantom abilities already inside her.

“What is she doing?” Ariella asked.

Isis squinted her eyes, looking out at Jade. “Weaving together a flower necklace.” She turned her ear that way. “And humming.”

“Yes, the humming has been quite persistent,” said Davin. “It’s one of the reasons I thought she might…”

“Have a thing for you?” Isis asked.

He nodded.

Isis looked out past the leaves and flowers at Jade, who was now dropping petals one-by-one into the stream.

“Yeah, I’d say she’s in love, for sure.” Isis looked at Ariella, who nodded in silence. “Even if I couldn’t taste it on her, I can see it plainly with my own two eyes. Whether she’s in love with you, I cannot say, though. Go talk to her, and I’ll let you know what I think.”

“Maybe we should follow her a bit longer,” Davin said. Yes, he was procrastinating. He really did need to know if Jade had feelings for him because it could compromise her judgement. He’d have to let her go—for both their safeties. But even knowing this, he didn’t want to approach her just yet. It would just be so…so awkward. He didn’t like her in that way, and he did hate disappointing people. That’s just not what Enchanters did.

“You follow her,” Isis said, taking a step toward the Gateway. “But, Ariella, you should stay and help Davin.”

And before he could argue, Isis sprinted off, leaving him alone with Ariella.

~ 3 ~

524AX December 21, Laelia

“WHAT NOW?” ARIELLA asked.

“Isis is right.” Davin sighed. “The only way to deal with this is for me to talk to her about her it.”

Ariella reached toward him as he rose—then froze, dropping her hand like a shot bird. “Yes, I suppose so.” She began to play with her hands, rolling them back and forth on her legs.

Davin caught one of her hands, stopping it as it flipped over. “Are you all right?”

Ariella didn’t say anything, and when her heart rate sped up, he dropped her hand. He’d tried to calm her nerves by distracting her, but he’d only made her anxious about something else. About him.

“Why are you scared of me?” he finally asked the question he’d been wondering about for years.

She studied him with cautious eyes. “I’m not scared of you, Davin.”

“Then what?”

She laughed, but there was no joy in it. It was strained. Forced. “Well, you see, Davin—”

He held up his hand, and the words died on her lips. Which he felt kind of sad about. He did want to know. But Jade had stepped off the bridge, and was following the path to the palace.

“We should trail her,” he said.

She nodded, the silence hanging over her like a storm cloud. He was no Phantom, but in his own way he could feel that she’d thrown up a wall. The warm, happy feelings he tried to project her way just bounced right off.

They followed Jade through the palace, but she didn’t go into any of the rooms. She simply continued down the hallway until she came out on the other side. As she took the trail into the forest, Davin sped up so he wouldn’t lose her in there. For ten minutes she walked, finally stopping in front of the tallest tree in all of Laelia. She climbed up the trunk to the lowest branch, hooking the flower necklace over it.

Well, this is as good a time as any.

“Jade?” Davin said when she was back on the ground.

Jade looked back, her pale blue eyes widening. Between one breath and the next, the surprise winked out, and she turned around completely to face him.

“Prince Halo, so nice to see you,” she said, dipping her chin. “Do you require my assistance today after all?”

Davin pointed up at the necklace. “Tell me about the necklace?”

Her cheeks shone as red as cherries. “Necklace?”

“You have left it here for someone.”

“No…I…I just thought it was pretty.”

“Jade, is that necklace for me?” he asked, trying to keep his face neutral.

A soft laugh cracked through her teeth, buzzing like a hovering mosquito. Davin was nearly ready to take that first retreating step back, thinking he’d been mistaken. Beside him, Ariella sucked in air, and he stopped and turned to her.

“It’s for you,” Ariella whispered.

Davin looked to Jade as she sat down on a stump. Her eyes drifting upward, she said nothing. He waited a few seconds. And then a minute. When he’d waited two minutes without so much as a peep from her, he broke the silence.

“Is this true?”

“What does it matter? I can see in your eyes that you don’t see me in that way.” Her eyes focused on the necklace above her. “Look at that necklace up there. Do you see it? So beautiful and yet so unattainable.”

“You hung it up there. You could just as easily get it back down again,” he pointed out.

Jade chuckled softly, closing her eyes. Her lashes swept up again as she looked at him. “The metaphor seems to have been lost on you, Your Majesty. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll run off with what’s left of my dignity.”

As she walked past him, Davin lifted his hand, catching her arm. “Wait. I need to know if we have a problem.”

Her lips smiled, even though her eyes did not. “No, my prince. We don’t. I will do my job. Elitia is more important than my own personal comfort.”

It was the right answer, spoken by a rational and sane person. Perhaps, he’d been worried for no reason. He released his hold. Though Jade looked ruffled, he saw no evidence that she’d be suffering a mental breakdown any time soon. He’d just have to keep an eye on her for awhile.

When they were alone, Davin turned to Ariella and said, “Let’s get you back to Rosewater.”

“What?” she asked, tearing her eyes away from the dangling necklace.

“You have a presentation to give.”

“Oh. Right.” She followed him out of the woods, stealing occasional glances at the necklace until it was out of sight.

~ 4 ~

525AX April 24, Rosewater

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN winter and summer at Rosewater was only in how many roses were blooming. In winter, it was only hundreds of varieties. In summer, it was thousands.

It was only a week before the annual celebration of the graduating class. Davin hadn’t attended last year. This year, Isis and Ariella would be graduating, so he was coming to show his support. That’s what friends did. Besides, he hadn’t been in Rosewater for nearly half a year, and he missed them.

Like last time, he’d just come from an extended trip to Orion. He walked into the dining hall, a cloth bag in his hand. When he set it down on the tabletop in front of Isis and Ariella, they just stared blankly at him. It wasn’t until he pulled out a box for each of them that they really got excited.

“Chocolate?” Isis asked, her eyes hopeful.

“Chocolate mints,” he told her.

She gave the box a look of complete and utter longing. Wow.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” she said as she peeked inside.

Since Davin wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or the chocolate, he just left her to it.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” he asked Ariella.

She tapped the lid with her finger. “I’m almost afraid of what’s inside.”

“You’ll like it.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said. “That I’ll like it too much.”

She opened the box anyway. There was chocolate inside hers too. White chocolate. Ariella slid her finger over one of the smooth white balls.

“How did you know?” she asked.

“Despite what you and Isis believe, I’m not completely oblivious. I do pay attention.”

“Good for me.” She slipped a chocolate ball into her mouth, her eyes closing as her lips spread in delight.

“It’s good you came now, Davin,” Isis said. “A few bites of her favorite chocolate is just what Ariella needs to calm her nerves.”

“Another test?”

“Only the biggest of my life,” Ariella said between bites of chocolate.

Davin waited for her to say more, but it was Isis who spoke next. “She has an interview with King River in just a few hours.”

“An interview with my father? For what?”

“I’m applying for the position of his new aide.” Ariella’s shoulders slumped. Forgotten, the half-eaten chocolate ball in her hand dropped to the table. “But then so is the entirety of our graduating class.”

“Including you?” Davin asked Isis.

“No, being the high king’s aide would mean spending way too much time in Orion. I’m not really sure what I want to do after graduation. I just wish I could stay at Rosewater forever. I love it here. In any case, I do know that I want to stay away from the Selpes.” She winked at Ariella. “Besides, I’m not going up against my best friend. She’d win.”

“Maybe you should have applied,” said Ariella. “You’re the only one who’s ever beaten Trinity. She’ll be the one to get the job.”

“Her endearing personality won’t win her any points,” Isis replied. “Being the high king’s aide requires more than impressive fighting skills and a big mouth. In fact, that big mouth will get her into trouble. Just ask Davin.”

He didn’t know how he was supposed to take
that
, but he answered anyway. “Isis is right. You need to be able to keep a cool head when dealing with the Selpes, or they’ll use everything you say against you. My father doesn’t want an aide with a hot temper.”

Isis closed the lid on her new box and slid it over to Ariella. “Hold onto that for me, will you? If it’s right in front of me, I’m afraid I’ll gobble it all down. And that’s the last thing I need right now with a big test on the horizon.”

She piled up her and Ariella’s plates and silverware into one stack and deposited it into a box at the door to the kitchen. Ariella held onto the two boxes, and the three of them left the dining hall.

“How long until your interview?” Davin asked Ariella as the three of them walked toward the girls’ dormitory house.

“A few hours.”

“Shall the three of us do something until then?”

“I can’t. Big test, remember? I have a practical exam with Raven this afternoon.” Isis said the words with absolute dread.

“What will you have to do?” Ariella asked.

“No idea. I already told him I’m not killing anyone. As long as he’s not decided to forget that again, we’ll be ok.”

“Do you think he’ll forget?”

Isis sighed. “I don’t know, Ariella. I really don’t. When Chimera got me partially enrolled in the assassin track, he promised it was just for the extra combat training. He said I wouldn’t need to kill anyone. But this last year, Raven’s gotten it into his head that I would make one spectacular assassin. The whole reality of Prophetic Whiplash seems to be going right over his head. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but arguing about this over and over again is the one thing I will most definitely not miss about Rosewater.”

“He’s really strange. I’m glad I never had him as an instructor. Last week, he came up to me and demanded…” Ariella stopped in her tracks and began to swirl the end of her ponytail around her finger. “What are
they
doing here?”

“Who?” asked Davin.

“Over there.” Ariella pointed down the path. “My parents are here.”

King Fathom and Queen Crystal sat on the bench in front of the dormitory. The queen of Zephyr stood up with easy grace and glided over, her peach lips spreading into a wide smile as she looked her daughter up and down.

“You have grown into such a strong and lovely woman,” she said, sliding her fingers through Ariella’s hair. She turned her aquamarine eyes on Davin. “Wouldn’t you agree, Prince Halo?”

Davin had never met Ariella’s parents, but they certainly knew who he was. Probably because he looked a whole lot like his father. Some of the Selpes even got the two of them mixed up, though the members of the Advisory Council were able to tell them apart. That left Davin with the aggravation of sometimes being confused with his father without the perk of actually being able to impersonate him.

“Most certainly,” he said, dipping his chin to Queen Crystal.

Ariella’s cheeks blushed pink. “Mother…”

“It’s amazing what a difference a few weeks can make. No, not weeks. Months. You were supposed to visit us during your last school break, but then something came up. We’ve really missed you. We hardly get to see you anymore.”