Ferran's Map (41 page)

Goddess!
she thought, her footsteps
faltering. Lord Ebonaire thought they were married, and had given
them the same suite.

* * *

Sora said goodbye to Caprion outside the
stables.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he told her. “I
regret I cannot stay. I must return to the ship and make sure our
prisoner has not escaped. The Dracians mean well…but they are
easily distracted.”

Sora clasped his arm briefly. “Until next we
meet,” she said.

Caprion hesitated. “I will try to return
later tonight. I don’t like the thought of you here without
protection. The Shade found you in The Regency, and they might know
where you are staying.”

Sora grimaced. “I’m not afraid. Ferran and
Lori are here, should I need help….”

Caprion ignored her. “I intend to return, if
only for your peace of mind,” he said, and searched her face
briefly. “If you see Viper again,” he cautioned, “don’t let your
guard down.”

“If you insist,” she sighed. His warning
left her uneasy. She still hoped to find Crash inside the manor,
and discover that this whole ordeal was a misunderstanding. Their
hands remained clasped for a moment; then Caprion released her and
walked swiftly away toward a copse of trees, from which he would
undoubtedly take to the skies.

Sora turned back to the stables and the
sound of Lily’s voice, which rose and fell in apparent outrage. It
sounded like an argument.

She entered the wide doorway to the stables
and paused when her eyes landed on Olivia, who looked slightly
haggard and very irritated, standing with her hands on her
hips.

“Lord Martin asked me to escort her!” the
maid exclaimed. “A noblewoman can’t walk the streets on her own,
and would never keep such a common, tawdry friend! Now back to the
docks with you! We are not hiring, and we have no love of thieves
or riffraff!”

Sora cleared her throat.

Olivia glanced up and saw her. “Where have
you been?” she asked accusingly, forgetting her place as a servant.
“And who is this?” she thrust a finger at Lily.

Sora looked Lily up and down in her blue
skirts. She looked like a serving girl or a cook’s assistant, far
from a servant in a noble’s house. “My handmaid,” she said curtly,
and raised her chin. She felt a push of confidence—her noble
upraising came to the surface. “Lily was delayed on our ship, but
she found me in the Flower District.”

“Indeed,” Olivia said, and wrinkled her nose
slightly. “She smells like seaweed. Hopefully she brought a change
of clothes.”

“Watch your tone,” Sora said coldly.

Olivia came back to herself, and curtsied
abruptly. “Milady,” she said. “My apologies. Your mother just
arrived. She will be joining you in an hour for dinner. Perhaps
you’d like a warm bath?” Then she turned on her heel without
batting an eye and started toward the manor.

Sora wondered if Olivia meant her question
to sound like an insult. The maid’s attitude was haughty enough.
No more,
she thought.

“Olivia,” Sora called, a sharp edge to her
voice. The maid halted mid-step. “From here on, Lily will assist me
as my handmaid. I relieve you of your duties.”

Olivia’s lips parted in shock.

“Please show Lily to her rooms. She will be
staying with us in the manor.” Then Sora turned to catch Lily’s
eyes. “I will need a dinner dress.”

“Yes, Milady.” Lily gave her a perfectly
elegant curtsy. As she rose, a small smile played about her mouth.
Then she followed Olivia to the house.

Sora trailed further behind, taking her time
as she walked through the snow. Her eyes scanned the stables and
the outside courtyard in search of Crash. She prayed for a sign of
him…anything to prove he was safe in the Ebonaire manor, and not
among the Shade…but she saw no one, save the cold marble statues in
the garden.

CHAPTER 24

Sora met with Lori and Ferran briefly before
going to the dining room. She clasped her mother in a tight
embrace, relieved to see her recovered and walking around after her
knife wound.

“We only have a few minutes before dinner,”
Lori said quickly as Sora released her from their hug. “Tell me
about your day.”

Sora briefly described her trip to The
Flower District, Cobra’s attack and Caprion’s unexpected arrival.
It seemed Ferran and Lori already knew about the missing sacred
weapons. They seemed more relieved than surprised that Caprion had
tracked her down.

Sora left out a few details. She didn’t
bother explaining her search for Lord Seabourne, nor her discovery
of Lily, which she figured could wait for breakfast. She skirted
around any mention of Crash and the Shade, but Ferran brought it
up.

“Did Crash accompany you to the Flower
District?” he asked directly.

Sora felt sick to her stomach and shook her
head. “I thought he stayed here with you…?”

“No,” he replied darkly. A troubled look
passed over Lori’s face, and the two shared a worried glance. Sora
didn’t need them to explain; Caprion had obviously shared his
suspicions. Now, in the halls of the Ebonaire manor, Crash’s
absence and possible betrayal seemed far too likely. Sora still
couldn’t admit it to herself. She held onto the vague hope that her
eyes had deceived her, and that the assassin might appear from
around a corner or closed door. She kept watching the hall,
anticipating his appearance at any second.

Olivia arrived to escort them to the dining
hall. The main banquet hall could seat hundreds of guests, but
Olivia led them to a quaint room near the front of the house, meant
for smaller parties. They joined Lord Martin at the table and
partook in a savory five-course meal. Sora found the conversation
slightly forced.

“Tomorrow I will be acting in the Winter
Solstice Parade,” Lord Martin told them as the second course was
brought out—roasted chicken and carrots in a delicate gravy. “You
are all welcome to attend and watch.”

Lori responded first. Her words seemed
practiced. “A generous invitation, but I have to decline,” she
said. “I wish to keep watch on Lady Danica in case her condition
worsens.”

Lord Martin nodded to her, and Sora saw
relief in his eyes at the mention of his daughter. She felt
momentarily guilty, as she hadn’t thought of Lady Danica’s
condition all day.

“Thank you for watching over her,” Lord
Martin said sincerely.

Sora fidgeted, thinking of her plans with
Lily to find Lord Seabourne. The parade would be a fine excuse to
leave the manor. “I intend to watch the parade,” she said. “I’ve
never seen one before.”

Lord Martin smiled. “Then you will be
amazed, my dear. You should attend with a proper escort; the crowds
can become quite rough. Where is your footman, by the way?” he
asked, and briefly glanced around the room. He turned to Ferran. “I
haven’t seen him today. You arrived with a footman, did you not? If
you’d like, I have other trained servants you can use.”

Ferran seemed taken aback. Finally, he
grumbled, “He returned to the ship. Said he was feeling under the
weather. Yes, another footman would do well.” The lie seemed
paper-thin, and when Ferran looked into Sora’s eyes, she knew Crash
had vanished without a word.

After that, Sora fell into deeper and deeper
silence until she could barely look at her plate. As Ferran and
Martin exchanged stories of their youth, she reluctantly found
herself acknowledging a stark truth—Crash was gone. Even Lord
Martin noticed. She couldn’t doubt herself any longer—she had seen
him with Cobra. But why would he go to the Shade without telling
her?

Sora excused herself early, blaming her
exhaustion. She kissed her mother on the cheek and retired quickly
to her room, where Lily assisted her out of her dress and into a
long nightgown. It pooled on the floor around her feet, obviously
hemmed for a much taller lady, possibly Danica.

Sora sent Lily away as soon as her hair was
braided. Then she stood in front of her mirror for a moment,
studying the angles of her heart-shaped face, her thick blond hair
and the nightgown that trailed on the floor behind her. She looked
older in the firelight than she expected. Her skin was too tan for
the First Tier. She flexed her arms curiously and noted the cut
lines of her biceps; too much muscle for a noblewoman. The upper
tiers prized soft curves, bordering on plump, and pale skin. She
looked like a farmer's daughter; considering Lori's ranch, that
wasn't far from the truth.

She stripped off her gloves and looked at
the scar on her left hand. It was an undeniable testament to the
journey she had shared with Crash. Worry gnawed at her gut. What if
he had gone in search of Burn, and ended up captured himself? What
if the Shade were torturing him, just as Caprion had tortured
Krait?

Sora crossed to the window of her grand
apartments and looked out upon the Ebonaire front drive. Several
lanterns glimmered like fireflies in the black distance,
illuminating the entrance to the estate. Her gaze traveled from the
distant lanterns to the tiled rooftop of the stables, to the front
steps and the circular courtyard below. She knew her search was
futile. Crash was not on the grounds, and even if he gazed back at
her through the darkness, he wouldn’t show himself to her now.

Her eyes stung, and she clenched her jaw
firmly. He wouldn’t betray her, yet Caprion’s logic heavily
influenced her thoughts. She couldn’t imagine why he would give the
sacred weapons willingly to Cerastes. It was far too great a risk.
Did he intend to barter for Burn’s life? Why wouldn’t he tell
her?

Sora grasped her Cat’s Eye in her scarred
hand, stepped softly over the cold wooden floor and slipped between
the warm bedsheets. With a sigh, she forced herself to relax back
against the pillows. She couldn’t allow herself to feel so weakened
by Crash’s absence. Her worry would interfere with her necklace’s
bond. She could already sense the Cat’s Eye becoming distant and
stifled. She needed to meditate, especially on nights like this
when her mind spun in useless circles and sleep seemed
impossible.

She closed her eyes and slowed her
breathing, allowing her thoughts to drift to and fro, entering her
mind and leaving like birds flying across the sky. Eventually, all
she knew was darkness; she looked down to find the glowing green
rope once again in her hands. Within a few minutes, she stood
outside the horse corral behind her country manor, except now the
scene had changed. The grass had turned brown, scorched by frost.
Icicles formed on the iron bars of the corral. She hesitated to put
her bare hand against the frozen metal. The fence seemed much
higher than before.

She remembered she had brought gloves, and
withdrew them from her pocket. She pulled a glove over each hand,
hiding the scar on her left palm. Then she climbed the gate of the
corral, carrying the green rope slung over her shoulder.

No sooner had she entered the corral when
the shadow of the
garrolithe
fell across her. It was not
sleeping, but hunched over with its back turned, digging furiously
into the icy ground. Clots of dirt, ice, dead grass and moldy
leaves flew through the air. Sora held up her arm to protect her
face. A shudder of fear moved through her because of the beast's
strength. The
garrolithe
was intimidating, to be sure…but
was it bigger than before? She didn’t remember its limbs as so long
and lean, or its teeth so yellow and curved.

The beast sniffed the air abruptly and
turned its lion-snout upon her. Long horns spiraled up from its
head, thrusting out from a bristling mane of sharp quills. Electric
eyes blazed with blue fire. The beast released a low, coughing roar
that ending in a howling screech. All the hair on her neck stood
up.

Sora dropped her rope to the ground and
scrambled to climb the bars of the corral. Her foot slipped on the
metal rungs and she almost fell. She heard the earth crunching
beneath the
garrolithe
’s weight as the beast approached. She
could feel its panting, fiery breath upon her back, and imagined
its jaws opened wide, ready to bite through her neck….

It was just a dream. She woke up with a gasp
and struggled against her heavy quilt.

A white light glimmered at the foot of her
bed. Her heart lurched.

“Don’t be alarmed,” Caprion intoned. His
voice was laced with calming magic, but her Cat’s Eye deflected
it.

Sora sat up and pulled her blankets up to
her chin, a natural defense. “What are you doing here?” she asked,
though she already knew the answer. Truly, she hadn’t expected him
to return. She glanced at the wide bay windows, and took note of a
wet puddle on the floor. He must have unlatched them and let
himself in.

“I came to check on you,” he said, frowning
at her. “What were you dreaming? You cried out in your sleep.”

“I wasn’t sleeping, I was meditating…and it
wasn’t going well,” she grumbled.

He smiled softly at her. The kindness on his
face took her off-guard. His skin glowed vaguely in the dark. His
eyes were a strange, luminescent violet, his hair the color of
moonbeams. He truly was a beautiful man, his features evenly
measured, both masculine and cultured. He looked like a prince
bathed in starlight.

Sora shook her head. She had no business
thinking of Caprion in that way. All Harpies carried such ethereal
beauty; she was simply unaccustomed to it.

If he noticed her looking at him, he didn’t
mention it. He walked around the bed to her side, and much to her
surprise, sat down next to her.

“I know you can defend yourself,” he began.
“You defeated the bloodmage Volcrian, which is no small feat…so
please forgive me if I’m wrong,” he paused, “but I think you’re
used to traveling with many companions. Burn is not here, and the
assassin is gone. Lori and Ferran reside up the hall. You are
without the protection of numbers.” His eyes turned to the row of
unlocked windows. “Perhaps you will allow me to stay.”