My mother said nothing as we sped through the hallways and back to our private quarters. The guest quarters on the second floor were being prepared for a variety of dignitaries, the largest of which was saved and already readied for Lord d’Refan. As we crested the stairs to the third floor, the guards opened the doors that led to our private suite of rooms. My mother continued her silence until we were through the doors and they were firmly closed behind us.
She finally released my arm and turned to me with a haunted expression.
“Be careful, my dear,” her words were whispered, “I know you’re a grown woman and his power is . . . attractive, but please be careful. Give him pieces but not everything. If he asks a question, give him a half-truth or at least not a full answer.”
“Why?” The word was barely a whisper.
“Because he is a Truthsayer, Ellowyn, and the very last one. Meaning all the power of every Truthsayer resides in his veins, possibly more than we could ever comprehend. And there are undoubtedly gifts from Kaos we know nothing about. He can tell a lie from the truth as easily as breathing and is ruthless in his pursuit of abject loyalty. Half-truths are more difficult for him to wheedle through, so it’s safest for us to speak in those terms. At least in matters that relate to our personal lives. I was hoping to keep youinsulated from this and not have to share this information with you, but it’s beyond evident that you’ve caught his . . . attention. And we all know you have difficulty keeping your mouth shut when someone offers you attention,” Mother scoffed.
My cheeks reddened at the insult, but I was stuck thinking about what could be so important about my personal life that I had to be untruthful to a man who had the ability to discern truth from lies. Then it dawned on me.
“You wish me to keep silent about the Keeper sleeping in the servants’ quarters.”
My mother’s face blanched completely.
“Y-yes. Yes, I do. For now, it’s best if it just stays in our family.” She brushed her hands down her beaded gown. “Am I understood?” There was a whip crack back in her voice.
“Yes, Mother. Understood.” She gave me a tight smile before heading to her and Father’s room. She stopped with her hand resting on the door handle. “Ellowyn,” she said softly. “Pleasebe careful tonight.”
“Yes, Mother.”
She nodded once before striding into her room and closing the doors with a softclick.
I entered my own suite, left with lingering questions and no answers in sight.
Chapter 16
Ellowyn
The afternoon between Lord d’Refan’s arrival and the ball, which would bleed into my Awakening Ceremony, passed slowly. I paced my room endlessly as I stewed over my mother’s earlier warning.
Why now? Why didn’t I have this information earlier? Why wouldn’t Lord d’Refan take notice of me? And, more strangely, whydidhe take notice of me?
The more I paced and puzzled, the less everything made sense. By itself, the warning was innocuous. But the illegal presence of the Keeper, my troubled dreams, and my parents’ increasingly strange behavior all created a picture that I couldn’t see fully, and I had a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not even reading or reciting facts about my potential suitors eased the tense ball in my chest or the headache blooming behind my eyes.
By the time Pip and Jaclyn returned to dress me for the ceremony, my thoughts were more muddled than ever. I walked about in a daze, stiffly going through the motions of getting dressed for the ball, not really paying attention to what was happening. The urge to run and hide from everything was high, and I longed to escape what was inevitably going to be a charged and tense affair.
All too soon, Jaclyn finished my hair—an elaborate updo with cascading curls and pins that shone with an ethereal light, seemingly of their own accord—and applied the last of my makeup with aflourish.
“All done, miss,” she said as she stepped away from the mirror. I finally let my gaze focus on the image in front of me.
I still hated the dress—the poofy monstrosity that looked more like a wedding topper than anything else—but I had to admit that my makeup and hair were flawless. The grays and blacks on my lids contrasted with the pure white of my dress, making me feel much older than I was, and I silently thanked Kana for her advice on how to feel like me in this dress and less like my mother’s show pony. My hair absolutely shone tonight, the blonde hue almost matching that of my dress.
“Thank you, Jaclyn.” I gave her a kind smile. It wasn’t her fault that my mother picked a horrid dress for tonight.
She shot me a quick smile in return before helping me rise and walk to the door of my room just as a soft knock sounded from the other side.
“Come in,” I called.
The door swung open to reveal Peytor dressed in the finest tunic, pants, and overcoat I had ever seen him wear, even finer than what he wore to his own Awakening Ceremony. The fabric stretched tight across his large arms and chest, showing how much my brother had grown into a man. His outfit was in tones of Hestin’s colors—deep forest green and lily white—which contrasted well with my dress and his chestnut hair. His hair was roughly styled, and he looked every inch the heir of Hestin tonight.
What is with all the theatrics for my Awakening?
“Ell! You look . . .” His mouth was nearly on the floor as his eyes roamed over my dress, his expression morphing from incredulity to hilarity and back again.
“Hideous? Like a cake? Like an excessive amount of candy floss?” I supplied when his statement continued to hang in the air.
Peytor tried to cover up a sudden laugh with his hand and failed miserably. “I was going to go the nice route with ‘a princess,’ but I’m finding I’m rather partial to candy floss.”
