Tethered (The Avenlore Series) (20 page)

“Right, okay.”  Opening the door wider, I gestured for them to enter. 

They both passed into the room, stopping and dipping into brief bows. 

The timid voice from the door introduced herself first.  “I am Leyona, Princess, at your service.”  Mousy brown strands of hair framed her face in tight curls, but the length of it was wound into a tight bun at the nape of her neck.  Pock marks littered her face, maybe from acne or some childhood illness.  Wide, brown eyes stared out of a face that seemed a bit too small to hold them.  Despite features that were less than stellar, there was a beauty about her.  A sweetness to her face that the scars could not hide.  Honest eyes and a kind smile could go such a long way.

The other girl
was an effortless kind of beautiful.  Silky black hair hung stick straight down her back, gathered with a ribbon between her shoulder blades.  Hazel eyes glowed against her honey colored complexion, framed in sooty lashes, set deep in her heart shaped face.               She refused to look me in the eye so Leyona elbowed her gently, prompting her to speak.  “Begging you pardon, Your Highness, my name is S-Sin.”

I felt my forehead crinkle in confusion.  “I’m sorry, what?”

“S-Sin, Your Highness.”  She repeated, full lips trembling.

I was still confused.  “Your given name is Sin?  Does that mean something different than I think it does?”

Leyona answered.  “No, Your Highness, I imagine your thoughts are spot on to its meaning.”

Sputtering, the girl who’d called herself Sin provided explanation.  “
It’s what me father named me.  He said, he said that’s what I was, the product of sin.” 

“Your father said this to you?”  I whispered, more to myself than anyone.

The girl shook her head quickly at the floor.  “He wasn’t really my father, my mother was his wife.  I don’t know who me real father was.”

Oh, wow.

I took her by the hands and she flinched at my touch, but then let me lead her to a stool where I convinced her to sit.  I squatted in front of her and looked her in the eyes.  “Well, then.  We will give you a new name.  What would you like to be called?”

The girl blinked at me, like I’d spoken a language foreign to her, then understanding dawned in her eyes.  “You, you mean…do you mean that?”  I nodded.  “I can choose a different name?”  She gripped my hands tighter. 

I squeezed back.  “Absolutely.”

The girl smiled, tears still tracking down her cheeks.  “
I think me name should be Mattie.”  Eyes wide and shinning, she nodded to herself.  “Yes, Mattie is a very nice name.”

Smiling back, I nodded my approval.  “I think
it’s an excellent name.  It suits you.”  I pulled her to her feet and the sleeves of her dress slipped back enough to reveal deep red scars about her wrists.  Without thinking, I pushed back the sleeves.  The scars stretched several inches along her arms, angry and red and puckering her perfect skin.  I knew what the color and texture meant.  They were new scars and I felt like molten lead had been poured into the pit of my stomach.  “Who, who did this to you?  Did someone here do this?”  The switch in my brain had been thrown to the kicking ass and taking names position. 

Mattie began sobbing immediately, so Leyona stepped in to explain and from the look in her eye, to keep me from going into full battle mode.  “No
, no Your Highness.  Sir Belmont discovered her father dragging her with his horse through the fields.  He brought her here to be healed and asked that they find a place for her if she elected to stay.”  Leyona was speaking quickly, as if she were being timed.  “They say Sir Belmont even suggested she be put on your service.  They say he seemed to think you would like her.”

I’d been staring into the fire, nostrils flaring until she mention
ed Nikolas, at which point my eyes snapped to her face.  I breathed in and out, still angry and outraged that she’d been treated so unspeakably.  I was more unnerved by what she’d been named than even the rope burns on her arms.  The mental damage done would never heal so well as the scars on her skin would.  “What happened to her father?”  I asked.

Mattie had stopped crying and was staring
at me like I’d grown a second head.

Leyona appeared less nervous as a small satisfied smile played around her lips.  “Your Highness, Sir Belmont put him to the sword.”

I blinked at her a few moments, then I felt tugging at the corners of my lips as my own smile appeared in approval.

Closer inspection of Mattie revealed faint lines of white scattered over the skin of her neck and arms, old scars.  She’d no doubt endured years of physical and verbal abuse.  I probably would’ve done the same as Nikolas had to this man.  I think there’s even a good likelihood that I wouldn’t even have felt bad about it.  I know that sounds like an awful thing to say, but I never claimed to be a saint. 

It appeared Nikolas was no saint either and I liked him all the more for it.

Chapter 23

While I’d been a little anxious at the prospect of being dressed by someone other than myself, the girls proved to be credits to their profession.  They chose a silky teal number with an empire waist.  The bodice was studded with tiny, clear gemstones that glinted and sparkled in the light.  The fabric flowed like water to the floor, swaying with my every move.  Capped sleeves left my arms mostly bare, so the girls had chosen to adorn my left arm in a wrap bracelet that stretched almost the length of my forearm.  It was silver with a teardrop diamond suspended from a short chain at my wrist.  Around my neck, they placed a single string of silver rope that held a large matching teardrop pendant. 

Leyona assured me of Mattie’s gift of bringing out one’s natural beauty, though I hadn’t questioned it.  I felt it was more for Mattie’s benefit than my own. 

Mattie had done wonders with my hair, winding it into an updo at the back of my head.  Loose curls were artfully allowed to escape the twist and she framed my face with a few.  She also rubbed a shimmering powder over my cheek bones, up toward my temples, and along my collar bones.  When Mattie broke out a teal stick and announced she was going to trace my eyes, I argued.  She finally convinced me to trust her, and the result was a subtle hint of color that highlighted shades of teal in my own eyes I didn’t even know were there.  The finishing touch was a silver crown inlaid with tiny diamonds.  The diamonds were so tiny that they were almost indistinguishable, save for the way they glittered in the light.

I was exceedingly pleased with my reflection for the first time in, well, I didn’t even know when.

Mattie and Leyona were almost as excited as I was by the time I was making my way to the door.  They followed me out, wishing me luck and assuring me that I looked beautiful, before disappearing down the hall, giggling and satisfied with their work.

Footsteps echoed off the stone and I turned to find my parents
behind me. 

My father smile
d his signature warm smile.  “We were hoping we would catch you.  Would you allow your old parents to accompany you?”

I grinned up at him.  “Certainly.”  I took the arm he offered and we walked with me on one
side and my mother on the other and a contented warmth spread through me the likes of which I couldn’t remember ever having felt.

“Dani, my dear, we will be dining with company this evening.  Nikolas will be joining us, as he often does, but Lord and Lady Belmont arrived just this evening and will join us as well, along with Brigitte.”  My mother shot me a look of apology with that last name.

I tried really hard to muster a nonchalant smile.  “That’s wonderful.”  I forced out.  Nausea settled in my stomach and my muscles tightened with the news.

We were first to arrive in the great dining room.  It was massive and could accommodate at least twenty-five people at the table.  The table was a dark wood with thick legs that curved downward, ending in clawed feet.  Each of the chairs was made from the
same dark wood with matching clawed feet.  There were rich leather cushions fastened with studs to the chairs and the back of each was intricately carved into woodland scenes of trees and rivers and animals. 

An immense chandelier hung at the center of the table shaped like tree branches. 
Scores of small bubbles like drops of rain held tiny glowing lights inside of them.  The walls were adorned with many mounted deer heads, only these were pure white in color, antlers a stark black, no less than 20 points topping each of their heads. 

A chair was pulled out for me to sit in to the left of my father’s seat at the head of the table.  I sat and was scooted forward, impressed that the man who’d seated me could push the chair, much less with me in it.  My mother
was about to take the seat directly across from me just as a shrill screech pierced the air. 

I startled, immediately believing someone was in danger.  Color me surprised when I saw a
short, slim woman familiar mahogany locks piled on top of her head making a beeline for my mother, arms outstretched.  She was followed by a much quieter man, who glided easily along the stone as his stark bald head reflected the overhead light, a reserved smile forming on his lips.  His easy grace, height, and handsome features made it instantly clear he was Nikolas’ father. 

I
stood and watched in awe as Lady Belmont greeted my mother like they were the very dearest of friends.  My mother accepted her warmly, only a hint of uneasiness present in her eyes and the taut set of her mouth. 

“Lady Belmont, it has been so very long.”  My mother offered.

“Forgive our absence, Queen Isla, there seems to be so much to do.”  Lady Belmont responded, bowing slightly before whipping out a fan with a flourish and waving it frantically at her face.

My mother nodded once.  “Certainly.”

Lord Belmont made his way to my father, offering a bow before embracing him as an old friend.  If there was any bad blood between the two of them, I couldn’t make it out.  But then I’ve always found men to be far more forgiving than women are.

Lady Belmont spotted me and squealed, setting my teeth on edge.  She bowed slightly as she approached me, then drew me in for a tight hug.  "What a beautiful young lady you have grown into, Princess.
  We were so overjoyed with the news that you had returned!”  She said as she drew back to take my face in her slim hands.  The fan, still clutched in one, scratched at my face.

“Thank you.”  I squeezed out, looking to my mother for help.

She came to my rescue.  “Lady Belmont, do tell me of the places you’ve traveled of late!”  She said with believable enthusiasm. 

Lady Belmont seemed to jump at the chance to tell her stories, muttering over where to begin. My mother shot a wink at me as she lured Lady Belmont away. 

Taking a cleansing breath, I dropped into my seat again.

My father’s deep laugh sounded off the stone walls and I looked to him and smiled at his ability to warm a room.  Steps echoed through the hall and I felt my smile evaporate.  Turning my head, my eyes locked with Nikolas’ and I had to steady myself as an overwhelming pull threatened to catapult me from my seat and send me running to him.
  He was beautiful in deep green tunic that somehow managed to make his blue eyes seem bluer.  His black leather trousers hugged his legs, hinting at the well-defined muscle beneath.  I wouldn’t have thought I was a leather kind of girl, but with Nikolas in those pants, I definitely could be.  Black boots scuffed along the stone as he walked and the thin discs of a silver belt clinked subtly and sank to one side with the weight of his white-pommeled sword. 

Like nails on a chalkboard, Brigitte’s tinkling voice raked over my nerves.  Once again, she was melded to his side, chattering incessantly at him. 

I just really disliked her.

Nikolas looked drained, and I could see how she could have that effect on him.  She was having that effect on me and it had only been thirty seconds.  Who knows how long he’d been enduring her company. 

I felt angry…at her, at him, at his parents.  But, also my heart broke for him.  I couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to be promised to someone you could barely stand.  And, he was such a good guy.  He was a gentleman, he was an angel, he was perfect.  He wouldn’t tell her how awful she was…and he was going to add martyr to the list of things he was.  Nikolas would be a casualty of his mother’s social climbing.

I wanted to clean her clock for it, and Brigitte’s just for good measure. 

I felt sick, like literally sick.  Training my eyes on the table, I took deep breaths and tried to think of nice things like puppies and kittens…and Nikolas.

Dammit.

Distraction.  I needed a distraction…desperately. 

Liam.

Liam was offering to be my distraction.  Liam knew I had it bad for Nikolas.  Did that make it okay?  It’s not like I was lying to him, leading him on.  I would be straightforward with him, tell him how I felt…leave it up to him.  Jeez…could I even do that?