Gwyneth’s voice startled her back to reality. Ru turned to see her friends pushing through the crowd toward her. Archie’s mask was perched on top of his hair, as if he’d worn it for a moment and had immediately become irritated by it. Gwynethstill wore hers, a pretty thing of spring flowers with a gown to match, but her fond smile and flowing gold hair made her immediately recognizable.
She curtseyed before Ru and Taryel, elbowing Archie until he bowed stiffly. Ru couldn’t help smiling; Gwyneth was a natural charmer, born to play courtly games. Archie, meanwhile, couldn’t have looked more uncomfortable.
“Put your mask back on, Arch,” Ru said. “It will at least hide your glower.”
“I keeptellinghim,” Gwyneth said, sounding put-upon. Then she lowered her voice, moving closer to Ru. “Listen, the wine tonight isflowing, if you know what I mean. These aristos are loose-lipped and carefree. We haven’t learned anything yet, but if there’s a time to be poking about in search of Lady Bellenet’s secrets, tonight’s the night.”
Taryel made a grumbling sound in his chest.
“Oh,” Gwyneth said, gasping as if she’d just noticed him lurking behind Ru. “It’s the god incarnate, Festra’s avatar, Taryel Aharis himself, theDestroyer!” She pressed a hand to her bosom dramatically. “I didn’t see you there. Please, my lord, won’t you give us your blessing tonight?”
Gwyneth’s carrying voice had alerted the nearby courtiers to their presence, and already clusters of eager ballgoers were making their way over to Ru and Fen.
“Yes, please, yes,” said the nearest courtiers, bowing and curtseying. “Give us your blessing, Taryel and Ruellian. Bless this night! We’ll simplydieif you don’t.”
Ru’s face heated as she shot an exasperated glance at Gwyneth, moving instinctively closer to Taryel. He was better at appeasing the masses, at playing the god. She smiled faintly as he bestowed some nonsense blessing upon the ball at large, and every courtier who witnessed it seemed to feign delirium for amoment, clutching at one another as if blinded by the glory of Taryel’s power.
It was all Ru could do not to laugh. When at last the crowds moved back to the dancefloor, appeased for the moment, Ru stood on tiptoe to whisper in Taryel’s ear. She had to clutch at his arm to keep her balance, enjoying the contact despite herself. “I’m going to mingle,” she said. “Come for me later, and we’ll dance.”
He shot her a look, and the artifact flamed inside Ru. “I’d be honored,” he said, taking her hand and brushing his lips across her knuckles. His gaze met hers, and somehow, she felt he wasn’t pretending just then. “Until our dance.”
Ru ignored the heat in her belly, peeling away from Taryel and entering the fray of the ballroom. If ever she was going to learn something useful, as Gwyneth had said, it would be tonight.
Almost immediately, she was swept up by the movement of the crowded room. Courtiers parted and made way for her as if she went. Someone handed her a glass of sparkling wine, and others offered her their hands — for dancing or praying, she had no idea — but she refused them politely, responding with smiles and soft words.
She was too close to the dancefloor, and there were too many bodies here. Ru wanted to get to the edges of things, where she might have an actual conversation with someone. At last, she found herself in a relatively quiet part of the room, away from the food and wine and dancing. A few other courtiers were here, sipping drinks or fanning themselves, resting after a lively dance.
Ru drifted toward a young man who looked particularly relaxed, his lips wine-stained and his mask hanging crookedly from his ears. When he caught sight of her, he beamed, raisinghis glass in a toast. He seemed not to notice as half of its contents sloshed over the edge and onto the floor.
This was exactly the sort of drunken reveler Ru had been looking for. “Good evening,” she said, raising her own glass in greeting. “Are you enjoying the ball?”
“Enjoying?” the man spluttered, still grinning widely. “I am absolutely beside myself. Rapt. Overcome. What a reps… res… resplendent evening. I can hardlybreathe,I'm so beset with joyous emotion.”
Both disturbed and amused by the man’s vehemence, Ru smiled pleasantly in response. “Indeed,” she said. “Lady Bellenet’s balls are something to be remembered.”
“Oh, Ruellian,” he breathed, “they are. Truly, they are. Have you danced yet? May I have this dance?” He held out a sweaty hand and stumbled slightly as he did.
Ru inclined her head politely. “Thank you, my lord, but my first dance ought to be with Taryel.”
“Of course, the dark god! The giver of life. The bringer of death. What awonderful—”
“I do wonder,” Ru said, cutting him off, “if you might have seen the lady herself here this evening? I’ve heard rumors of her power but have never seen it. I thought perhaps, tonight…” she trailed off, hoping the drunk courtier would take it from there.
“Power?” He hiccuped, gazing blearily at a spot just past Ru’s ear. Then he brightened, nodding excitedly. “Yes.Yes. She is the most powerful woman in the world, Ruellian. They say she lights up the whole chapel when they…” He swayed, and Ru put out a hand to steady him. “When they go to pray.”
Ru’s pulse sped. “What do you mean, lights up?” she asked, low and urgent. “Is that a metaphor?”
The man giggled. “Mega floor? What’s a… matted door?”
“Metaphor. Never mind. What else do they say about her power? The prayers?” Ru glanced around, making sure no onewas within earshot. But the ballroom was loud, and while courtiers turned to smile at her from a distance, no one was near enough to overhear.
“Everyone likes her,” he went on, his voice lowering conspiratorially in the dramatic way only drunk people could manage. “But she scares me. Too happy. I saw her Children, they came out… too happy.”
“What do you mean, too happy? Came out from where?”
“Not happy,” said the man. “Em… pty.”
Just then, a commotion arose from the entrance to the ballroom. A pair of ethereal figures appeared in the doorway, framed in golden light. Lord D’Luc and Lady Bellenet.
