Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

WREN

‘What do you mean, his cousin?' Wren asked Anselm. She couldn't believe it but Anselm wouldn't lie. He had no reason to and he looked no happier about this turn of events than she was.

‘The ambassador they've sent is Lady Hestia Rayden, Finn's cousin. Her mother was sister to Alessander and her husband died several years ago.' He waved a list of names that must be those of the other attendants. ‘The party arriving today is the rest of her staff. I know of most of the names. Finn can't trust a single one of them.'

Wren made a face and turned towards the window to try to breathe in the air. The room suddenly felt constricting and hot. ‘Well of course he can't. No one can. They're Ilanthian.'

The words came out before she thought and she gasped when she realised what she had just said. Finn was Ilanthian too. He was a prince, whether they accepted that or not. But, from what Anselm had observed, it sounded like they did. Or at least this Lady Hestia Rayden did.

And that worried her.

‘I didn't mean?—'

‘I know,' Anselm assured her solemnly. ‘And you are absolutely right. We'll double your guard, especially for this ball. You shouldn't be too close to any of them. There will be a strict list of those who may dance with you and if you aren't sure, check with Lynette. Or Olivier and me.'

The lady-in-waiting bowed her head carefully. Wren had a feeling that the strict list would be getting shorter and shorter by the second.

‘And Finn?' she asked.

He winced slightly, then shook his head. ‘He'll be keeping a close eye on them as their liaison and their escort. He will have to. They won't let anyone else near them anyway. You must keep your distance, Wren.'

From Finn. He was warning her away from Finn. She couldn't quite catch her breath for a moment. She had been looking forward to seeing him again, hoping he would come back, and now it seemed that would only be from a distance, for one night, and in front of a whole ballroom full of people. The thought of that made her ache. Not to touch him, not to spend time with him. Not that she wanted to dance at this nightmare of a ball but if it was with him at least…But Finn was firmly embedded amongst the Ilanthians, and it sounded like his cousin intended to make sure he stayed there. And so did Anselm.

‘Will he be safe?'

He was in the Ilanthian embassy after all, stuck there. She had a vision for a moment of a poison slipped into a glass, or a knife in the dark. And she wouldn't be able to help him. While he might not be far away, it might as well be the other end of the land. She couldn't go to him. That was clear. And now she wasn't to go near him when he was close by.

Anselm didn't try to palm her off with soft and conciliatory words. At least there was that. ‘Finn can look after himself, I promise you.'

‘But I don't understand why they're coming here,' she protested. ‘They hate us. They always have done. Leander tried to?—'

‘For the trial,' Lynette interrupted her, obviously deciding that rehashing old history wasn't helping anyone. Wren had never seen her so upset. Oh, she hid it well. Her perfect mask was still in place, but Wren could hear it in her voice, and in her words. ‘The queen's trial. Everything else is a front. This so-called peace offer, the embassy, everything. They want to see Elodie suffer and they want to be here if she's found guilty. No doubt they'll want a front-row seat to any execution planned as well. This is madness. Why is Roland allowing it?'

Anselm shrugged.

‘The council decided, not Roland. He and Yvain argued against it, my lady, but the others…It's traditional, as they're so fond of saying. They invited representatives of all the neighbouring kingdoms, even the College of Winter, although few of the others deigned to come. They presented him with it as a done deal and will not listen to his arguments. They say he's biased.'

Lynette shook her head as if at a great folly. ‘Well of course he is. We all should be. Not so very long ago they tried to kill us all. They almost succeeded. What is Ylena thinking?'

Elodie had said to be patient, that it would all work out. But it didn't feel that way. And now there were Ilanthians in the city, shadow kin on the loose and everyone was at risk.

The last thing they should be doing was holding a ball.

‘It's traditional,' Lynette sighed in resignation when Wren pointed that out, repeating what Anselm had said as if there was no way out of it. ‘What can we do? Not holding it would be a huge loss of face. Especially now. So you, my dear girl, must shine like the sun itself, and keep just as far away from them.'

Especially with the Ilanthian nobility descending on them. Pact or not, this felt like some kind of trap and Wren couldn't work out what that might be.

‘Who is Lady Rayden?' she asked.

Anselm answered. ‘Besides being Finn's cousin, Hestia Rayden has been trained by the Sisterhood of the Nox since childhood. She studied more widely too, well beyond Ilanthus, one of the few women of power to do so. She treated with Roland to draw up the Pact when she was not much older than you. She's devious, cunning and one of the king's most trusted advisors. And powerful.'

‘That's…not good,' Wren murmured, thinking of Elodie.

‘No. Not good at all.' He glanced at the list and winced. ‘And General Gaius will be accompanying her. He and Hestia will be the brains of the group. The others…perhaps Hestia brought them here to do the real work of diplomacy, trying to improve the conditions of the Pact and make overtures of peace, but with Gaius involved I doubt it. Finn trusts Hestia. He knew her when he was a child and counts her his saviour along with Roland. But…he may be mistaken in his trust. He may be in terrible danger there.'

‘How many of these names do you actually know?' Lynette asked. She had picked up the letter and was reading it closely.

‘All but five. They're all listed as attendants. But they could be spies, assassins…anything. They'll be especially watched.'

‘And they're all staying in the Ilanthian embassy? They won't like that. It isn't that big.'

‘That's too bad,' Anselm replied curtly. ‘They aren't staying here.'

‘And what do you need from me?' Wren asked.

‘Do what we tell you, and you keep yourself safe. No sneaking off.' He fixed her with a particularly knowing glare. ‘Not even to find Finn. Not even if he begs you. Don't react, even if they attempt to goad you. I presume they know of your abilities. Leander is hardly likely to have kept that a secret.'

Wren glanced at Lynette but she barely seemed to be listening now. But she had that skill, didn't she, and she missed nothing. ‘My abilities …' she echoed, burying a warning in her tone.

‘You know exactly what I mean.' Anselm knew it was not the Aurum. Finn must have told him.

‘I can't…I can't always control it.'

‘Then you need to work out how and very fast. Or they will exploit any weakness they find.' She'd thought Anselm gentle and kind. Now she saw an entirely different side to him.

They might expose her, that was what he meant, show all of Pelias that their new princess was more in tune with the Nox and its shadows than with the Aurum and its light.

‘Failing that,' Anselm continued more like the man she knew, ‘stay as far away from them as you can. Understand? Olivier and I will be there. And the rest of your guards. Just be careful, princess. Whatever happens we need to avoid a diplomatic incident. Between this ball and the trial…if anything goes wrong it could start the war all over again.'

She nodded. What else could she do? There was no getting out of this, apparently. But she wasn't alone. At least there was that.

But she had a horrible feeling that with the Ilanthians involved, avoiding a diplomatic incident was not going to be easy.