Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Ellery

I didn’t see Ryker again as I stayed on the outskirts of the party. Occasionally, I would spot my mother, but I managed to avoid Ryker, his father, and almost everyone else.

It was nice to talk with Callan for a few minutes, but now that he was playing again, I was returned to a room full of amsirah I didn’t really know or like. To keep myself occupied and in the shadows, I’d explored two more pillars to discover they were also hollow inside.

I loved these hidden little alcoves and the glimpse of secrets in the earl’s world. I wondered how many others had discovered them.

Most other guests were too focused on the ball to notice this small detail, especially since the party was becoming increasingly boisterous. The consumption of alcohol made the conversations louder.

I brushed a strand of hair back from my face and lifted a glass of water from the tray of a passing server. I drank it while I strolled toward the remaining pillar I hadn’t explored.

Leaning against the stone structure, I studied the room to make sure no one was paying attention to me. I didn’t think I’d get in trouble for discovering the secrets behind the large, red tapestries, but the earl would probably disapprove of my snooping.

Still, I was having too much fun with this to stop. It was my main source of entertainment for the night and a good distraction from all those I’d prefer not to see.

When another servant passed, I placed my empty glass on their half-full tray, glanced around, and pulled back a section of the tapestry. My eyebrows knitted together when I discovered a solid wall.

Why do the other three pillars have hidden alcoves but not this one?

It was a question the earl would have to answer, and I wasn’t going to ask him. I ran my fingers over the stone, seeking to discover if it was a magical barrier and there was another alcove or if maybe there was a way to open a secret door.

I didn’t discover anything and didn’t have time to stand here playing with a wall. Lowering the tapestry back into place, I glanced around again but remained alone.

I stepped away from the pillar and stayed on the outskirts of the room as I made my way around it again. With nothing to keep my mind occupied, I tried not to fidget with my dress as the seconds passed.

I had no idea what to do for the rest of the night. Maybe I could convince my mother to leave soon, but though many of the amsirah here were being snobbish pricks, she was having a good time. I was reluctant to pull her away from that.

Removing another glass of water from the tray of a passing server, I sipped it as I strolled past the sofas and plush chairs the earl had placed against the wall in this section of the ballroom. Some amsirah rested there, sipping their drinks as they chatted and ate.

They didn’t acknowledge me as I moved past; they were too focused on themselves or each other to notice me, and I was glad about that. Free of the sitting area, I kept to the wall again as I walked toward the back wall of glass doors.

All the doors were open to the gardens beyond, and while I couldn’t see the lush plantings yet, I felt them calling to me. Maybe I couldn’t take my mother away from here yet, but I didn’t have to remain trapped in this world I despised.

A small bubble of hope formed inside me, and dreams of solace enveloped me. I focused on the open doors and the tantalizing breeze flowing through them. I placed my glass on the tray of another server and picked up my pace.

My fingers brushed over the stone of one of the pillars. As it did so, a hand snaked out to catch my wrist.

Before I could scream or react in any way, a palm slammed over my mouth, and someone dragged me backward, behind the curtain, and into the shadows.