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“Thank you,” I replied hesitantly. Had everything with Fenvalur really happened? Why was everyone else so different? It almost made me ask if he knew what Fanvalur had been up to with me. I couldn’t bring the words to leave my mouth though, so I just smiled and turned away.
Being short in this crowd meant that I got jostled a lot more than I was used to. Still, just the fact that I could go where I wanted, within reason, made me feel like I was floating. I was so happy.
The music pricked at my ears once more so I followed it, ignoring the people that were staring at me and whispering toeach other as I passed by. My curiosity needed to be satisfied and since I wasn’t sure what else I was supposed to be doing I followed the sounds.
When I got a little closer I saw that it was a fae playing the lute, or at least something akin to a lute. The neck was longer and had more strings than the ones I was used to but it looked basically the same.
As I approached the lute player looked up at me and flashed me a smile. His hair was neither silver nor gold, but somewhere between the two. If I didn’t know that relationships between the members of the different courts were forbidden then I would have assumed that he was the offspring of such a match. It was also short, which seemed to be unusual from what I could tell. Not only was his hair short though, there was also some curl to it, which I wasn’t sure I’d seen on a fae yet.
His eyes were primarily brown but there appeared to be a little blue in them as well, which seemed to be unusual, especially for the fae and how they were divided into the two courts. The coat he was wearing was a deep green with golden-brown leather accents on the shoulders and a high collar that almost brushed his chin. The green was, as far as I could tell, the color of neither court, which surprised me. He wore some kind of shirt underneath, but it was mostly open in the front, leaving the top of his chest exposed, something that would have been unthinkable in the human lands.
A large necklace hung around his neck, the metal winking in the candlelight. He smiled at me as he finished his song and I stepped forward. “You’re a talented player.”
“Why thank you. It’s an honor to receive such a compliment from a lady such as yourself.” He stood from the table he’d been perched on and approached me, holding out his free hand while the other held the neck of the lute. I placed my hand in his,at which point he dropped a kiss on my knuckles. “Lavanneth Laughingwater, at your service, but you can call me Van.”
“Nice to meet you, Van. I’m Senara.” I actually felt comfortable for a moment even though I wasn’t used to having the back of my hand kissed in greeting.
Van grinned at me before he straightened, releasing my hand as he said, “I’m sure everyone in this room knows who you are, my lady.”
“Fair point. Still, it’s one thing to know who someone is and quite another to actually talk to them.”
“It is as you say.” He inclined his head and for the first time I realized that there was a sword strapped to his belt. “Getting to know someone in our society can be a challenge. There are plenty of prejudices in each court toward the other, so please be on guard until you find your footing in these new lands.” His tone was light, but his words were serious, and his gaze was forlorn, making me wonder if his warning came at the price of personal experience.
“Warning understood,” I replied, unsure what to say.
A forced smile spread over his face. “Well, my lady, in fairness I should also warn you to stay away from me. I’m an outcast, shunned by my own court and considered unlucky to be around. If you talk to me much longer no one else will want to talk to you. I’m good for entertainment, but that’s about it.” He bowed and stepped away, picking his lute back up and beginning to strum once more.
I was just about to reach out to him, to call him back, but another voice distracted me. “Sen!” I spun in place and found a familiar redhead bounding up to me.
Tears spilled forth unbidden, cascading down my cheeks until I was sure everyone around me had noticed. Without uttering a word, primarily because I knew I couldn’t at that moment, I grabbed Wyn’s hand and tugged her into a hug.
“Come on, let’s go chat somewhere a little quieter,” she said against my shoulder as we embraced. She pulled away and took my hand, leading me through the crowd and out of a different set of doors than the ones I’d entered through. These were much more normal and less ornate and imposing than the others.
Once they were closed behind us the noise was easily cut in half and I could feel some of the tension leave my shoulders. Wyn led us over to a bench where she had me sit down and then perched on the edge next to me turned so she could look me in the eyes.
“Want to tell me what’s going on that has you bursting into tears in front of strangers?” she asked gently.
She was right, that wasn’t exactly normal behavior for me. I gave her a brief rundown of what happened since we parted and her face grew pale. I even left out some of my nastier experiences with Fenvalur, but I was also sure that Wyn knew me well enough to realize she wasn’t getting the whole story.
“Listen, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you?—”
I shook my head. “You couldn’t have been. You have nothing to apologize for.”
She frowned at me. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed someone, but perhaps I can help you now, or soon at least. I think I can help with the situation with the moon blades.” I raised an eyebrow at her, hoping for more of an explanation, which made her smile and she continued, “This is the first time I’ve left the College of Mages since we were separated. I’ve been learning so much magic I feel like a kid going to school for the first time. There’s so much out there that it’s overwhelming and I am rarely without a book in hand.”
“Sounds like your version of paradise,” I teased, starting to feel a little better.
“It’s not far off. Anyway, one of the things I’m working on was—is—a way to make myself bigger so I’m not stuck being sosmall in these lands where everyone is bigger than me unless they’re children. Volker, the mage who has been helping me with it, is pretty confident that I should be able to make it work soon. If it works for me then I bet I could use it on you. I could make you bigger. Taller. Stronger. You wouldn’t have any issue wielding those dumb blades then!”
“Shhh!” The last thing I wanted was for her to get in trouble for insulting a sacred object or something.
She snorted. "They can't do worse to me than our previous king and your boyfriend did."
"Pretty sure they could if they wanted to, Wyn. Don't give them a reason. We aren't accepted here yet, or maybe it's just me? Who is this Volker anyway?"
A flush crept up her cheeks. She did always go for the more bookish ones. Poor Ronan had some competition, if he was actually interested, which I didn't know for sure. Either way, I couldn't help but hope that Wyn and I could both find some happiness in the fae lands. Somehow, mine at least, felt a ways off, if I ever found it at all. Maybe if I could get some distance from Thorn that would change, but now he was supposed to be training me, whatever that meant, to wield the blades. Distance wasn't exactly in our future any time soon.
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