Page 81 of Tides of Shadows

I turned my head slightly, meeting his gaze. He looked at me with such quiet warmth. Without armor, without the mask of irony he so often wore. And that was the most dangerous thing of all. It could break a heart more easily than any blade.

“If you wish... I can come back this evening, after dinner,” I said at last.

“I will wait,” he murmured, smiling faintly as sunlight glinted in his silver eyes.

I moved toward the hidden doors near the shelves.

“How do you know that passage exists?” he asked, surprised.

“Peter brought me through it. Your mother would not let me in.”

Aidenar’s hands curled into fists, his gaze darkening. I did not wait for him to speak. I simply left.

That evening, I spent far too long deciding what to wear. At last, I drew from my trunk a gown of pale blue. It was light, airy, and maybe too translucent with a delicate neckline. I had never meant to wear it. It was too soft, too feminine for me. My hair fell in loose waves over my shoulders. I draped Mirabel’s gray cloak around me and pulled a scarf over my head so no one would recognize me. My red hair betrayed me faster than any name could.

It was after supper and I was about to slip through the servants’ door when voices reached me from our living room. I halted, one hand still upon the door-handle.

My father. But he was not alone.

A second voice followed, sharp and unmistakable.

Cassandra.

What was she doing here?

I drew closer, careful not to let the floor betray me.

“...fair price.” Cassandra said, her tone even, practiced. “For the Dominium and for the Cavareths. It is more than you could ever secure on your own.”

My father answered without haste. “That’s why you came. To barter for votes.”

A soft, humorless laugh followed. “Did you think I came because I missed you?”

Father’s deep laughter rumbled in reply.

“I would never accuse you of any sentiment,” Victor said dryly. “But I wonder whether the boy stands any chance at all. He is young. Even with your backing, his prospects are thin. Why not claim the Regency yourself? You have much more experience and respect.”

“You know they would never choose a woman,” she said with bitterness in her voice.

“They did once,” my father replied.

She scoffed. “You know well how Minerva was. She probably bent everyone’s minds to her will. Or they were afraid she’d reveal all their secrets.”

Silence stretched between them.

“Everything’s going wrong. And now this Plague, as if it couldn’t wait a few months,” Cassandra said.

“It waited years,” Victor said. “Why does this matter so much to you? The Regency. Don’t you have enough wealth?”

There was a pause, heavy as stone.

“Stagnation is decay,” Cassandra said at last. “Those who do not advance are already retreating. You should know something about that.”

Cassandra’s voice dropped lower, turned velvet. “So tell me. What’s your price? I’ll give you as many contracts as you want. Unless you want something else... That, too, I can give you.”

My stomach churned.

“Enough, Cassandra,” his voice went cold. “You made your choice. I was too poor for you back then…”