Page 79

The halls are empty, and the academy dormant.

It’s winter recess, one of only two breaks in the academic year.

The summer recess between the Feast of Cups and the Fire Festival is nearly two months long, marking the transition from one academic year to the next.

But winter recess is just one week, starting with the winter solstice.

Not a lot of time, but enough time to rest and make final preparations before the Three of Swords Trials.

For some initiates, this will be the last time they are out in the world free and Unmarked.

For the rest, it’s our final week before becoming full-fledged students.

Which has made me even more sour about my time being interrupted.

I am not only being forced to go and spend time with Kaelis’s family and some of the other High Lords and Ladies at a Swords Solstice banquet at the castle, but I am also missing out on time with my family from the Starcrossed Club.

Jura makes the best winter solstice spread imaginable.

And it’s a tradition for us to swap stories over too much wine until we are red in the face and practically falling out of our chairs.

I’m dressed far more formally tonight than I would be if I were headed to the Starcrossed Club.

My reflection in the mirror is nothing short of a masterpiece, if I do say so myself.

The gown is such a deep shade of midnight blue it’s nearly purple, embroidered with delicate silver threads encrusted with gems. The silver embroidery supports a mesh that covers my arms and frames my hips like the border of a tarot card.

The mesh also trails along the edge of a near-scandalous deep V in the bodice.

The dress somehow manages to both complement and contrast with my skin, now slightly more tanned from the sun than when I left Halazar, and a dusting of rouge on my cheeks brings out my faint freckles.

In the low light and set against the blue and silver of the gown, my eyes seem to glow a bright crimson.

“At least I look the part.” I finish hooking two diamond-encrusted earrings. I look like a princess.

A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts. “Clara, are you ready?” Kaelis asks from the other side.

“Yes, just about, you may come in.”

He opens the door, and my hands pause as I attempt to clasp the final piece—a black velvet choker bearing an ornate sword.

Kaelis wears a jacket cut from a velvet identical to my dress.

Silver embroidered swords dance along its trim.

The vest he wears underneath is so thick with detail work that it looks almost like embossed metal and not thread and fabric.

And everything contrasts with and brings out the deep purple of his hair—it’s so much more than a flat black.

Kaelis crosses to me and takes the ends of the choker from my struggling fingers. He deftly closes the clasp. But then his fingertips trail along the necklace, landing on the sword at the base of my throat.

“You are stunning,” he murmurs.

“As are you.” The words escape me before I can second-guess them. But they’re nothing more than the truth. The corner of his mouth quirks up in the slightest of smirks as if he, too, is well aware of this fact.

“I cannot tolerate being anything less than the best dressed. And as my future wife, you must be held to the same standard.” He nearly purrs the words into my ear.

His hand falls from my person, but his dark eyes continue to hold me with a steadying gaze, as if he can sense the nervousness I’m trying to conceal at the idea of walking into the Oricalis Castle.

“The banquet is a smaller affair. Think of it as good practice for the Feast of Cups later.”

“Except at this one I’m not trying to steal from your father.”

“I know.” He sighs dramatically, though his tone betrays amusement. “We can’t have fun all the time, can we?” I give a slight laugh, and he beckons me to the door.

I follow him from my room and into the hallway.

As we emerge into the foyer, I’m surprised to find we’re not alone.

Ravin and Leigh are dressed in their own matched set, done entirely in crimson and black.

Leigh’s dress splits to reveal tight trousers underneath and an ornate sword at her hip that is clearly more decorative than functional.

Though I suspect she’s just as lethal with it.

I’m more than a little jealous at the mobility the trousers lend her.

But at least my cards are safely tucked into a thigh holster under my skirts.

“Clara, this is Silas,” Kaelis says, formally introducing me to a man I already know well. Silas is dressed in finery as well.

“Lovely to meet you,” I say with a slight tilt of my head, hoping my instinct to keep our familiarity a secret is accurate.

“And you as well.” Silas also plays the part of us not knowing each other. “Are we all ready, then?”

“Indeed.” Ravin is eager to leave.

“Silas is the Chariot. He will be taking us to and from the castle tonight,” Kaelis explains. The journey to Fate Hearth would be at least three days by carriage otherwise.

“That answers a few questions I had.” I smile as Silas produces the Chariot.

With a swift movement, he activates the card, and a burst of silvery light engulfs the five of us. In an instant, we no longer stand in the academy, but in a small sitting room in the Oricalis Castle. I can already hear muted music and chatter through a nearby door.

“Impressive,” I say with false wonder, as if it’s the first time I’ve experienced the card. Then I genuinely ask, “How many people can you move at a time with the Chariot?”

“More people presents more opportunities for the magic to go awry,” Silas says. “I prefer not to move more than five or six individuals, including myself, for safety.”

So not an army. “Fascinating.”

“The powers of the other Majors aren’t something to concern yourself with,” Ravin says with a smile. Despite this, there’s a sinister undercurrent. “After all, only the crown is able to call upon the power of the Majors.”

“Of course.” I duck my chin in a display of deference, remembering what was said about the other clans needing to know that I pose no risk to them should Clan Hermit return. Little do they know that Clan Hermit isn’t the threat.

“This way.” Kaelis holds out his elbow. His eyes meet mine with a glint of something playful—something wicked. “ Darling. ”

A spark jolts up my fingers at the word as they wrap around his biceps.

I’m thrust into the thick of it as we step through the door, down a short stretch, and into a grand hall.

Vaulted ceilings soar above us, adorned with frescoes that tell of the history of the Oricalis Kingdom.

From the long, long-ago fall of the previous Revisan Kingdom, to the clan wars that followed, to the rise of the Oricalis family.

Hundreds of years of history are rendered in brilliant colors and illuminated by crystal chandeliers.

There are about forty nobles milling about the hall, as sparkling and vivid as the paintings rendered above them.

The music is loud enough to muffle conversations—and the readings that are taking place at tables set up throughout.

Around the winter solstice is a traditional time to have one’s future read for the entirety of the coming year, and it seems this party leans in to that aspect of the Season of Swords.

In the center of the room is one extraordinarily long banquet table with so much decor upon it that I wonder where the food is supposed to go. Kaelis’s muscles tense as he ushers me farther into the throng of the court. His presence is an oddly reassuring anchor in the sea of nobility.

“We’ll start with someone easy,” he leans forward to whisper in my ear.

The moment I realize he’s guiding me to a friendly face, I can’t help an audible sigh of relief.

Kaelis lets out a low laugh of amusement, quickly composing himself.

“High Lord Leva, please allow me to introduce you to my bride, Clara Redwin.”

“A pleasure, my lord.” I wear a warm smile.

“Myrion, good to see you.” The son is a spitting image of his father.

They both have the same thick lashes, the same deep brown skin.

The only difference is that Ixil wears his hair long, in a single thick braid that’s adorned with crystals and silver discs.

“You as well, Clara.”

“It is an honor to meet the woman who shall rebuild Clan Hermit.” Ixil kisses the back of my hand.

I can’t tell if Kaelis glances away at the gesture or at the mention of Clan Hermit being rebuilt.

“My son has told me much about you both. Notably how well suited you are. What was the phrasing you used? Ah, a ‘destined match.’?”

I must thank Myrion the next time we’re alone for saying so even when he knows it’s a lie.

Especially since his father knows that, as the Lovers, he has a sense of these things.

Yet again, he’s looked out for me. All the fears I’d repressed, from my first day in the Sanctum of the Majors, that he’d see Kaelis and I are not in love evaporate.

“We seem to think so.” I flash Kaelis a brilliant smile that seems to almost take him aback. He recovers quickly, but I didn’t miss the startle.

“And a very happy birthday, my prince,” Ixil says. My head whips to Kaelis. I can’t stop my mouth from falling open with surprise. Ixil doesn’t miss the shock. “Surely you knew?”

“It was not relevant.” Kaelis’s tone is cool. His pose stiff.

“Myrion, how are you feeling about the Three of Swords Trials?” I ask hastily, picking up on Kaelis’s discomfort. “Third years take exams during the season as well, don’t they?”

“We do…” Myrion, astute as ever, immediately launches into an explanation of the tests second and third years face.

We make small talk with the High Lord of Clan Lovers and his heir before moving on.

“It’s your birthday?” I say softly when no one else is around.