Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

The vision warned of death, and the masks? The glittery jewels and gowns? The Feasts. Something terrible— something horrible was going to happen during the Feasts. I jerked forward, then halted.

Silver and sapphire.

I’d seen a sapphire necklace dripping with blood.

Naomi.

I spun, racing from Claude’s chambers. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I hurried along the opposite wing of the manor. The hall was quiet and the air stagnant. A fine sheen of sweat dotted my upper lip as I reached Naomi’s quarters. I rapped my knuckles on the door, hoping she was there. I waited, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. She had to be. It was still early.

“Naomi?” I called out, knocking louder. “It’s me.”

After a few moments, I heard the sound of footsteps. Relief swept through me as the door cracked and a sleepy Naomi appeared.

“Good morning.” Smothering a yawn, she stepped aside, the deep blue of her silky slip somehow unwrinkled. Only Naomi could look so stunning upon waking. “Or is it good afternoon?”

“Afternoon. Sorry to wake you.” I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. “But I needed to speak with you.”

“It’s okay. I was already half awake.” Naomi tucked her hair back from her face as she stepped over a pair of heeled slippers and thick, vibrant-colored plush cushions as she went over to a chaise and sat. “But you didn’t bring coffee with you, which is rude.”

“I didn’t even think about that.” Stomach twisting itself into knots, I glanced at the fuchsia curtains hung in the doorway to her bedchambers. “Are you alone?”

“I hope so.” She curled her legs, leaving room for me.

“Good.” I sat beside her, needing a moment to collect my thoughts. I’d come to her without really even thinking it through. I swallowed. “There’s . . . there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Without coffee? Or even tea?” Leaning into the arm of the chaise, she yawned again. “I’m not sure how much you’re expecting me to retain . . .” She trailed off, eyes narrowing on me. “Wait. Did the Prince come for you that night? I haven’t seen you since, so I’m guessing that is a yes.”

“Yes. But— ”

Naomi straightened, all the sleep vanishing from her gaze in an instant. “And what happened? I want all the details.”

“Nothing really happened— okay, things happened,” I added when her eyes narrowed. “I threw a glass at him. We sort of argued. Then he actually carried me to his chambers— ”

“I’m sorry. Back up. You threw a glass at him?”

“Yes.”

She rubbed at her eyes. “Are you a ghost?”

“What?” I shook my head. “No. He wasn’t angry if that’s what you’re getting at. He actually laughed, then carried me to his chambers, where we continued to argue . . . then talked it out.”

Naomi stared at me as if I’d admitted to being a god. “And then what?”

“And then we . . .” Squeezing my eyes shut, I pressed my fingers to my temple. I thought about the night before he left. “What you said about the kind of pleasure Hyhborn can give? It’s true.”

“I know it’s true.” A slow grin appeared on her lips. “Lis, tell me all about— ”

“I had a vision,” I interrupted her, and the smile faded from her lips. I sat on the edge of a chair. “I just had this vision of blood— lots of blood and bodies.”

Naomi had gone still. Her eyes were full of shadows as she stared at me. “Is it the ni’meres again? Do you . . . do you know whose bodies you saw?” There was a slight tremble in her lips as she sat up, placing her feet on the floor. “Do you?”

A slice of panic and fear lanced my chest. “I couldn’t see who they were or if ni’meres are involved. I don’t know all who will be . . . will be caught up in what I’m seeing, but I . . . I think it’s going to happen during the Feasts. I saw masks, and . . .” My gaze followed her fingers, to the collar of her robe, where the silver chain she normally wore would be. Anyone could’ve been wearing that sapphire necklace, but . . . “You should leave Archwood. I don’t want you here.”

“Lis—”

“You know I care about you, right?” I twisted toward her. “And you care about me.”

“Yes. Of course I do.”

“And if you thought something bad might happen and I could be caught up in it, you wouldn’t just warn me. You’d do something about it,” I said. “The difference is that I know something bad is coming, and it’s going to hit a lot of people. Maybe you’ll be fine. I don’t know, but I don’t want you here. At least for the Feasts.”

“You want me to leave, but what about you?” Her voice dropped. “Grady? Claude?”

“I’m going to ask Grady to do the same, and Claude.” If I could find him.

“And what about you?”

“I . . . I can’t.”

“Why?” she demanded.

Because Thorne claimed that it was I who would save Archwood, and even if I couldn’t believe that, Hyhborn didn’t lie. And I wasn’t even sure if that was the reason I couldn’t leave. I needed to be here when Thorne returned. I knew that.

Naomi’s lips pressed together as she looked away, head shaking. “If you don’t leave, neither will Grady.”

Another cut of fear sliced through me. I also knew that. My fingers dug into my knees. “If you don’t want to leave Archwood, at least go spend some time with your sister.” I took a deep breath. “And you really should do that before it’s too late.”

Her gaze swung back to mine, her skin paling. “You told me she would recover from the fever. She is recovering.”

“I know, but . . .”

Naomi’s chest rose with a heavy breath. “But what, Lis?”

I briefly closed my eyes, hating myself a little for using her sister like this. “But you only asked if she would recover from the fever, and she will; however, you should spend time with her.”

“Because?” Her chin lifted as her lips trembled.

The back of my throat stung. “You know why.”

Her eyes turned glassy. “I want to hear you say it.”

“She won’t live to see the end of the Feasts,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes squeezed shut and several moments passed. “So, you’re telling me this now to get me to leave the manor?” Her lashes lifted, eyes glimmering. “You should’ve told me this before.”

“I know,” I agreed. “I really am sorry.”

Naomi huffed as she looked away. She pressed her lips together, shaking her head. “I know.”

My heart cracked a little. “Will you do as I ask?”

“Yes.” When she faced me, her eyes were damp. “And you need to leave my quarters.” She rose, turning from me.

I stood. “Naomi— ”

“Don’t.” She whirled toward me, the robe fluttering around her feet. “You knew what I asked when I came to you about Laurelin. I wasn’t just speaking of the fever, and you lied. I could’ve been with her more— ” She sucked in a sharp breath, fisting the skirt of her robe. “Please. Leave. I need to pack.”

I stepped toward her, but she turned again and walked through the curtains. I stopped myself, breathing through the sting. Blinking back tears, I left her chambers, hoping that she would heed me. That she would leave the manor and that whatever damage I’d done to our friendship wouldn’t be in vain.

“Not going to happen.” Grady leaned against the ledge of the breezeway I sat on. I’d drawn him away from the wall, and was in the process of attempting, and failing, to convince him to leave Archwood. “I can’t believe you would ask that of me. Better yet, I can’t believe you would even waste your time asking me this when you already know what the answer is going to be.”

“I had to try.”

“More like you had to piss me off,” he retorted. “If you want to leave, then we can hit the road right now, but you won’t since you’ve got it in your head you need to be here when the Prince returns.”

I really should’ve kept my reason for staying to myself. It hadn’t helped matters. “I’m not trying to upset you.” A warm breeze caught a shorter strand of hair that had slipped the pins, tossing it across my face. “I’ve already upset Naomi today.”

He crossed his arms. “Is she leaving?”

I nodded. “Hopefully, but she’s angry. She has every right to be. I didn’t tell her everything about her sister.” I leaned my head back against the pillar of the breezeway. “And I can’t find Claude anywhere. Have you seen him?”

“No.”

Throughout the day, I’d tried to get my intuition to tell me where Claude might be, to tell me anything, but there was nothing but those three words repeating.

Something isn’t right.

Worry gnawed at me as I stared at the manor walls, my thoughts going to Prince Rainer’s visit. “Don’t you think it’s strange that the Prince of Primvera showed only after the others left?”

“I think everything is fucking strange right now.” He squinted, watching one of the stable hands brush down a mare. “Especially this stuff with you possibly being a caelestia.”

That was another thing I should’ve kept to myself, because Grady had looked at me like I’d grown a third eye. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around it, and I couldn’t fault him for that, but I thought of what I’d seen in that mirror. I wasn’t so sure that the brief change in color had been my imagination.

If it hadn’t, what was it?

But that wasn’t really important at the moment. The vision was.

I swung my legs off the ledge and stood. “I’m going to try to look for Claude in his study once more,” I told him, brushing off the bottom of my tunic. “And if I find him, I’m going to try to convince him to cancel the Feasts.”

“Good luck with that,” Grady replied.

“I’ll let you know if I find him,” I told him, hesitating. “I wish you— ”

“Don’t say it, Lis.” He backed up. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

I sighed, nodding. We parted ways, him heading back to the wall and me going inside. I made my way to Claude’s study, hope sparking when I saw that the door was ajar. I hurried forward, pushing it open. I came to a complete stop.

Claude wasn’t in his study.

His cousin was.

Hymel’s head jerked up from where he sat behind the Baron’s desk, slips of paper in his hand.

Something isn’t right.

“What are you doing in here?” I blurted out.

The splash of surprise quickly faded from his features. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m going through the stack of letters.” He lifted the parchments he held. “Which happen to be notices from debtors, namely the Royal Bank.”

My stomach sank as I glanced at the ever-growing stack. “What do they want?”

He looked at me as if I had asked the silliest question, and I had.

“How late is he?” I asked. “And does he have the coin to settle his debts?”

“Not too late,” Hymel answered, tossing the parchments onto the desk. “And there’s enough coin. Or will be.” He looked up at me. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for Claude,” I said, deciding that the prevalent financial issues were something I was going to have to stress over later. “I can’t find him.”

Hymel’s dark brows rose. “He’s not here.”

My lips pursed. “I can see that. Do you know where he is?”

“Last I knew, he was in his quarters, but I’m not his keeper.”

“Clearly,” I muttered. “He’s not there. I’ve checked twice.”

“Then he’s probably with the Bowers.” Hymel leaned back in the chair, looking mighty comfortable where he didn’t belong. “And he’s likely on a bender with it being the start of the Feasts tonight— well, at midnight.”

“And because of that, shouldn’t he be here and not off someplace else?”

“One would think that,” Hymel stated dryly. “But this is Claude we’re talking about. Last Feasts, he spent half of them hallucinating winged creatures in some abandoned mine with the Bower brothers.”

That sounded so bizarre it had to be true. “So, there’s a chance he won’t show for the start?”

Hymel shrugged. “Possibly. He hasn’t before.”

And I wouldn’t know that since I never saw him during the Feasts.

“Considering the mood he was in when I last saw him, I’m thinking he’ll probably be seeing winged beasts once more.”

My chest tightened. “What do you mean about his mood?”

“He’s been morose since the meeting with the Prince of Vytrus.” Hymel picked up a paperweight carved from obsidian. “After he apparently agreed to give you to the Prince.”

My mouth dropped open. “He did not give me to the Prince,” I said, and I doubted that was what caused Claude to be depressed. He’d been relieved by it. “And I saw him after that. He didn’t appear bothered.” At least not until we’d started to talk.

“That’s not how I heard it,” Hymel countered. “The Prince wanted you, a lowborn, and Claude agreed. I think his fragile feelings were hurt.”

I frowned, concentrating on him. The string connected us, but I saw the grayish shield obscuring his intentions— his future.

Hymel tossed the obsidian ball and caught it. “Is there something you needed from Claude?”

Pulling my senses back, I crossed my arms and made no attempt to approach Hymel. He’d know what I was up to the moment I attempted to touch him. “I had a vision.”

One side of his lips kicked up. “Do tell.”

“Of blood and death. I think— no, I know something bad is going to happen at the Feasts,” I told him. “I think Claude should cancel them— ”

“Cancel the Feasts?” Hymel laughed. “The Westlands armies could descend on us tomorrow, and the Feasts will not be canceled.”

My brows knitted. “Hymel, I know you like to act like my visions aren’t real, but you know better. The celebrations could at least be canceled here.”

“Not going to happen.” He tossed the obsidian ball once more.

Frustration burned as I stared at him, and suddenly that shiver at the nape of my neck and between my shoulder blades came. I saw nothing, but I heard three words whispered. I stiffened. “The Prince of Primvera,” I said, and Hymel’s gaze flashed to mine. He caught the ball. “What was he doing here today?”

“Sharing good news.” Hymel placed the obsidian on the stack of parchment. “Prince Rainer will be joining us for the Feasts.”