Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

Ellery

I had no idea what to expect from these men and dreaded every step I took closer to them. Thankfully, my growing terror was for nothing, as everyone on the stage barely acknowledged us.

In the shadows behind them, discreetly hidden, were a dozen or so of the king’s and earl’s guards. They stood to the side of a door in the wall, and I’d bet more guards waited behind it in case something went wrong.

Talking with one of the guards was the Sheriff of Nottingshire. My blood ran cold at the sight of the man who had ransacked my house and would gladly take my head, but he didn’t notice me as he was on duty tonight.

And then I realized the man he was talking to was his father. I’d seen him at Ivan’s coronation, as he was captain of the king’s guard.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I turned away and restrained myself from running as I descended the stairs. The last time I saw the king, he’d made me feel dirty and gross, but he didn’t seem to recall it.

He was more fixated on gazing sullenly over the crowd than acknowledging us. That was fine by me.

Once off the dais, I drifted away from my mother to speak with some merchants and fellow farmers. When one of them asked me to dance, I couldn’t refuse, but I spent most of the dance looking for Ryker and then cursing myself.

I still loved him, I always would, but I had to get it through my head that he didn’t feel the same way about me. If I didn’t, he would continue to break my heart until it destroyed me.

After nearly an hour passed, I ran out of the amsirah who would talk to me and retreated into a corner of the room. I sipped some water while I watched the dancers.

I much preferred the shadows and was starting to relax when a murmur went through the crowd and heads turned toward the door. I didn’t have to see them to know who had arrived.

Almost all the guests were here, but it didn’t astonish me that the duke had decided to make an entrance. Ivan would have been the first to arrive, so he could stake his claim as the most important person in the room.

The duke had decided to be one of the last to arrive to show how little he cared about anyone else in this realm. The earl was beneath him, and he was making that clear.

Despite my every intention to avoid Ryker, my heart lurched with excitement. I almost stood on my tiptoes but refrained from peering over the crowd to see him.

I don’t care if he’s here. I don’t care if he’s here.

I repeatedly told myself this, but my racing heart and sweaty palms belied my new mantra. Unable to stand the tension building within me, I took another drink from a passing servant.

Two wouldn’t kill me, but this had to be my final one. I sipped my drink while listening to the music and doing my best to keep my gaze straight ahead instead of following the flow of amsirah riveted on the duke and his son as they made their way through the crowd.

Callan was still playing with the other musicians, but a woman with a beautiful voice had joined them to sing a sweet song of love and friendship. I glimpsed my mother dancing with a sea captain.

She smiled as she held herself a little away from him. She could dance with that man, but her heart would always belong to my father.

I remained at the edge of the crowd, creeping toward the open back doors of the patio that wrapped around two walls. Ryker’s head bobbed above the crowd before he veered deeper into the crowd and vanished.

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. It took too long to resume its natural rhythm as I skulked toward an exit.

I slipped behind one of the room’s stone pillars and on toward the open glass doors encompassing the back and side wall of the room. A summer breeze drifted through the numerous open doors. It helped to cool the room, but it was the magical breeze within, created by amsirah, that kept the dance floor from being stiflingly hot.

I stopped at the patio’s edge and sipped my drink while looking over the gardens. More torches lit the pathways and the snow falling from the sky.

The snow didn’t coat the pathway but created a white swirl in the air. The contrast between this wintry mixture and the warm August air was striking and a little disconcerting, but I loved it.

The earl was very proud of his ability to manipulate this element and enjoyed showing it off. I was sure he’d had some other amsirah, probably some of his servants, helping him maintain this winter wonderland.

I yearned to go out amongst the plants and solitude, but I couldn’t slip away yet. It was still too early in the night, my mother would notice, and while I wasn’t in a rush to see either of them, I wouldn’t hide from Ryker or his father.

Instead, I placed my empty glass on the tray of a passing servant and strolled back into the room. I couldn’t run away yet, but I had no intention of plunging back into the fray.

I kept to the shadows as I moved through the room, staying near the wall and away from most of the crowd. As I walked, I passed the pillar again and noted the red tapestry hanging down the back of it. A single snowflake was embroidered on it.

The tapestry intrigued me. Why was it there when the rest of the pillar was devoid of decoration? It wasn’t on the side facing the dance floor, so it wasn’t visible to all the attendees.

With nothing better to occupy my time, I strolled closer to examine the beautiful decoration. I rubbed the velvety material back and forth between my fingers before pulling it further away from the wall to look behind it.