I straightened my shoulders and continued ignoring Krew. We didn’t need the king figuring out we could communicate wordlessly. I was already halfway through this night, I just needed to be able to get through the play and then I’d be dismissed early. I was almost there.
So I settled in, leaning as far away from Krew as I could, and watched the play, letting myself get lost in costumes and scenes.
It wasn’t half bad. I didn’t know how I felt about some sort of deities just gifting a third of the population of Wylan this magic without considering the evil that could be done with it, but the overall theme of the play was meant to be uplifting all the same.
Another of the actors posing as a god, this one male with a long beard and wearing a white robe, took to the stage as the rest of the scene stilled behind him. “Magic in this realm was never intended to harm, it was always intended to protect both the lands and the people in them.”
I almost wanted to laugh. If a god or gods did give us magic to protect, we’d gotten it completely wrong. In what messed up realm would the kingdom then be divided with the most vulnerable population kept at the coast and the first line of defense should anything ever happen? We were not being protected; we were being lined up for slaughter.
I wondered about the other countries and how their magic was divided among them. Was there a hierarchy assigned in every country in the realm? Because if that were the case, the magic might have done more harm than good.
The room was clapping, so I found myself following suit. The play overall had been entertaining enough to watch, but I kept coming back to thatto protectline.
Some Enchanted I knew, like the princes or Owen, did use their magic to protect. Others, like the king, used it as a scepter of control. It seemed there had been no prerequisite to become Enchanted, and though the magic may have been intended to protect, it had twisted into an uglier reality, one of oppression.
Krew and Renna stood, Renna’s arm was in Krew’s and I knew it was officially time for their distraction plan. Krew didn’t say a word to me through the bond, but his eyes caught mine for only a moment and I knew what he was telling me. The night was almost over.
I left my seat by myself, wanting to wait for Molly. If she was on Keir’s arm, I’d of course just give her space.
Isla, wearing a gorgeous purple gown, gave me a tight smile. “Welcome to the rejects, Jorah.” She gave me a sigh. “It is not so bad once you get used to it.”
I fought the urge to allow my mouth to drop open. She’d never been rude to me, but she’d never really been nice to me either. “I’m sorry,” was all I managed in a response. I supposed if this were all real and I really had just been replaced by Renna, I might actually feel better with her words, a sense of camaraderie. As it was, I felt awful.
Molly did end up being on Keir’s arm, so I slowly walked with Isla in companionable silence as we all filtered out in knots or pairs leaving the theatre to go back to the ballroom. I felt annoyed and guilty for this whole charade but also for not getting to know Isla better. I hadn’t trusted a soul when I arrived at this castle, and I hadn’t wanted any friends. Molly and Renna had somehow wiggled themselves past my defenses anyway. Gwen too for a while. But I had also always known that only two of us would get to stay while the rest of us would go back to our little corners of the kingdom. So what would have been the point?
Had I known things would end up the way they did, I might have made more of an effort to befriend more of the women in Krew’s Assemblage once I switched over. But back then I had thought I was merely faking it to my freedom.
How wrong had I been?
Still lost in my thoughts, I heard forceful footsteps behind me, noticed the sea of people moving aside, and Isla and I automatically did so as well.
It was the king, heading back to the ballroom. Or so I assumed. I tried not to look his way or draw any attention to myself. I just shoved my magic down as far as I could and hoped like hell it behaved.
“Jorah of Nerede,” his voice said as he came to a stop before me. “May I have a word?”
I gave a bow as my eyes automatically flew to find Owen. “Of course.”
What could he possibly want right now? I wondered if I should alert Krew down the bond what was happening, but I didn’t feel brave enough to do so a mere foot from the king. Owen was there and moving in closer. He wasn’t going to let us out of his sight. And though I couldn’t read Owen’s thoughts, I knew from a glance he seemed to be telling me that I was okay, that I had this. Whateverthiswas.
The king offered me his arm and led me around the people, along a side wall of the massive ballroom. I thought for a moment that we were going to take the grand staircase up to his balcony, and I was just his escort for the time being, but then we stopped before the stairs.
“I have yet to see you in person to say the trees in the forest are remarkable,” he offered with a smile. “Truly remarkable.”
I pushed my magic down again, trying to wrap my head around how Nara would have wanted to sleep with this disgusting excuse of a man. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
“You continue to impress,” he said with a nod. “And I am happy to see you’ve found your place in this castle.”
“Thank you.” The more compliments he showered over me, the more suspicious I grew. What was he up to? Was he out of my blood again? He had to want something from me, the question was, what?
“I’ve something to show you,” he said calmly. “Call it a peace offering after the fires in Nerede I know you were not pleased with. A peace offering and a promise that no matter what happens, you are always welcome at Kavan Keep. With everything you’ve done and provided in trying to heal the forest, it is the very least I can offer you.”
Was he about to offer me the same thing he had Nara? If so, I was going to vomit all over his boots. That was not an offer I would ever entertain, and he surely had to know that.
His guard opened a side door I hadn’t even realized was a door, the paneling matching that of the rest of the room.
The king patted my hand in the crook of his arm.
I was so focused on pushing my magic down and willing it to stay there as the king touched me, I barely noticed we went out of the ballroom and into the hallway.
