Page 2 of Embrace the Serpent
He crossed the street, snacking happily on his treat. A palanquin—a tall black one with only two bearers—crossed between us. When it passed, his back was to me and shrinking into the distance.
My feet skipped a step, and I bumped into a red-faced woman who barked, “Watch yourself, girl.”
I checked myself. My mother’s ring was on my finger, the wet-chill feeling of it working was on me, the jewel box was safe.
Very slowly, it dawned on me that perhaps I was wrong. I scratched my ear, ignoring the way my body heated. A man with a hammer sees nails everywhere, after all, or however the saying goes. So maybe I saw threats where there were none. That’s the price of staying safe.
I shrugged it off and carried on.
At the time, I didn’t consider that I had been right. And that he was simply better at pretending than I was.
I doubled my speed and followed Galen up to Caelan Hill, past the massive marbled manors of one kind of rich people, to the winding lane filled with modestly sized antique homes that belonged to the oldest, most powerful families in the six kingdoms. These were called the Great Houses.
Galen took the jewel box from me and raised his cane to rap smartly on the gate. It opened with a whisper of oiled hinges. Aservant in gray guided us though the garden, and up the stone stairs to the front door.
My neck prickled with nerves that I couldn’t allow to show.
The House of Lord and Lady Pewter was gray. Their ancestral lands sat on the Empire’s largest pewter mine, and they had taken that quirk of fate as a commandment on design. Dark gray doors opened to a medium gray corridor, a house like a charcoal drawing.
A shriek came. “It’s here!”
Miss Ella Pewter bounded out, dimples armed and ready. A charm offensive. The society papers called her one of the most eligible this Season, outside of the Imperial Wards, of course. It was part on account of her family’s connections and power, and part on account of her charms. We’d met when she came to the workshop, alone but for a pair of servants. I’d taken her measurements, wrapping tape gently around her neck, but she showed no sign of recognition now.
“Calm yourself, Ella.” A tall woman stood with her back to the light.
“Yes, Mother,” said Ella.
Her mother, Lady Pewter, gestured to a door. “Do come in, Master Galen. Do you take tea?”
The sitting room was bathed in soft afternoon light that turned the velvety pale gray of the walls and drapes into a gentle lavender. With the bearing of a queen, Lady Pewter took a seat. She was beautiful. You were struck with it before her features actually registered. She was young, almost too young to have a daughter of eighteen or so.
And then I saw it. Her low-cut dress revealed the tops of her breasts, and between them was the silvery scar in the shape of a rosette.
My hand itched to check that my own was hidden under my servant’s livery.
Lady Pewter’s was more elaborate than mine. She had a band of stylized fire encircling the rosette, which said that she was not just an Imperial Ward, but one who had been chosen specially by the Emperor’s right hand. A woman who led the Emperor’s armies, who conquered kingdoms and stole their children. My mother called her the djinn. Everyone else called her Lady Incarnadine.
I was already a little rattled, and this set my nerves aflame. There’s no escaping the Imperial Wards—they’re all over the city—but I don’t like being near one. Especially not one that Lady Incarnadine handpicked.
I folded my hands behind my back and stood at the door, in a perfect imitation of a good servant. They chattered on.
“Well, then,” Lady Pewter was saying. “Show us the piece.”
Galen set down his tea and, with flourish, opened the jewel box.
A soft gasp came from Miss Ella Pewter. Her mother drew it out of the box and held it gingerly. A soft flush rose to her cheeks. That was the necklace’s power. I’d set the rubies in a silver-forward alloy to dampen their effect, so all they did was bring a gentle rosiness to the skin. But the real innovation was the clasp.
Lady Pewter examined the clasp, which I’d shaped carefully to look like a serpent’s head. The details had come from a well-illustrated book in the Imperial library. The slim head, large eyes, and delicate lace-like skin were patterned on a green tree snake found in the north.
Lady Pewter said, “Lovely,” but her eyes asked,Howdoes it work?
Galen answered. “A single drop of blood will key the clasp tothe owner. Then only the owner can unclasp it.”
Lady Pewter smiled. “Excellent. My dear Ella is so trusting—the Season has yet to begin, and three pieces she’s lost already, stolen straight from her neck.”
“Mother,please,” Ella hissed.
Despite her smile, there was something hard in Lady Pewter’s eyes. “You would never have survived the Rose Palace, my dear. And you are getting too old to protect.”
