Page 75 of Badmouths & Bards

Well… fuck.

“I…I don’t know if I should be grateful or pissed off,” Tala said after a moment.

“Both. Both works,” Kerith’s eyes quickly scanned the area. “I should move on before anyone sees me lingering here. Do you have the other item on you?”

“Oh, right.”

Tala reached into her pocket…and when her fingers failed to connect with the ring, she paused. Quickly, she reached into her other pocket, readying to hand the ring over, but it also wasn’t there. She swore under her breath, eyes darting around her boots. Maybe it had fallen out of her pocket when she pulled out the metal piece? It had to have, because there was no way she—

“What is the matter?” Kerith asked.

“I—”

Whatever Tala was going to say was lost in the sudden echo that bellowed into the garden. The strings of a lute were amplified by an enchantment, playing a melody that Tala had grown very familiar with over the past week. Cashmere Fantasy were on stage.

Where is it?! Where the fuck did it—

Despite the panic buzzing in her ears, Tala’s mind quickly stepped backwards to recount the events. She had put the ring in her pocket—the same one as the metal piece—once Seira had left her room. Tala had made sure it was there when she left the carriage, had made sure to feel the weight of it when she had been watching the floor. She had it on her when she had discovered the princess on the veranda and vaulted over the—

Vault.

“Fuck!” Tala swore. “I gotta go!”

Before Kerith could figure out what was going on, Tala was already sprinting past him. She weaved through the hedges, pushed past bramble, and clumsily dodged stone benches. At one point, her half skirt got caught on one of the rose bushes and Tala pulled until it ripped free. She could apologize to Seira after the fact, because her mind was frantically urging her body to run faster. Her heart beating wildly in the realization of how massively she had fucked up this time.

There was no time to admonish herself, no time to come up with some kind of plan that wasn’t just hunting Princess Osonia down. Whatever the aftermath of her massive mistake was, Tala would face it. She’d take full responsibility, even if that meant being banished from the Valiant Circle. Even if that meant never seeing Avie again, even if it meant never being with—

Casimine’s voice broke through the melody Ameriden was playing on his lute. His voice was beautiful, but filled with the kind of sadness that spoke of tragedy. It cut through the anxiety in Tala’s bones the moment her feet hit the stone of the veranda and she swept through the curtain. She couldn’t understand the words—Cashmere Fantasy had decided to sing their new song in elvish—but Tala didn’t need to understand the words to feel them. It was just a reminder of what was at stake.

Within the main hall, standing on a raised platform near the orchestra, Casimine and Ameriden stood with an entire gala of people surrounding them. Ordinarily, it would have been a sight Tala would have liked to enjoy, but her eyes were searching for someone else. Nobles were usually seated in a separate area from the regular crowd, which meant the king was likely—

There!

Directly across from the stage was another raised platform surrounded by guards. King Oryin’vel sat upon a throne of ivory, dressed in his finest robes. Tala’s feet were already moving, eyes darting to the throne of ivory directly beside the king—that was empty! Fuck, it was empty!

Shit, shit, shit! Where is she?!

Everything was happening because of Princess Osonia’s upcoming birthday. The entire event was for her but she was nowhere in sight. In fact, the king didn’t seem worried at all, his eyes focused solely on the stage behind Tala.

He wouldn’t let his daughter out of his sight so where—

There!

Tala spotted the familiar figure of the princess standing next to Seira beside the platform. She couldn’t tell what they were saying—the enchantment had overtaken all the chatter—but Tala managed to dart between bodies as she pushed her way toward the stage. Her heart dropped when Seira suddenly stepped aside, allowing the princess up the small steps leading toward Cashmere Fantasy. The bodies of nobles and merchants were enraptured in Casimine’s voice and for a moment, Tala wanted to curse at everyone as she pushed her way toward the front.

By the time she reached Seira’s side, Tala was panting. The shorter woman—realizing she was there—spared her a look of concern even as the princess reached the two bards. Ameriden slowly spun, fingers still expertly sliding across strings as he maneuvered the princess between them. She gently swayed between them, all smiles. Tala’s gaze was fixated on the princess, searching for the one thing she prayed wasn’t—

“What’s wrong?!” Seira shouted over the song.

Whatever Tala had wanted to say caught in her throat the moment the song reached a sudden pause. Tala knew that part of the song, because Casimine had mentioned it. That it was a moment to make the audience hold their breath, to add drama and suspense. Ameriden took Princess Osonia’s hand in his, brought it to his mouth, and kissed the ring Tala recognized in that moment.

Before the princess could blush, a massive current of air assaulted the stage and an arcane doorway opened.

Chapter 34

Casimine

Casimine had paused, right on cue, and was taking those precious few seconds to gather his next breath when the air shifted.