Page 9 of Daughter of the Ninth Line, Part Three

Nine

Vox

A nger bubbled up inside me as I watched Hayle Taeme hold the hand of the girl from the Ninth.

I couldn’t explain why it burned the way it did.

After all, it was almost inevitable. Taeme ran through the female population of Boellium like a forest fire through a tinderbox.

If rumor was to be believed, even some of the male population, though it wasn’t a rumor I’d ever chased for confirmation.

There were moral boundaries about what could be used as political ammunition, and what Taeme did in his bedroom was one of them.

Though I’m sure my father knew. He had no morals, let alone boundaries.

Something restless in my chest screamed that I needed to make my move, that I needed to secure Avalon Halhed before she was stolen from me.

As I went to sleep that night, I came up with a plan. I wasn’t going to just give Taeme what he wanted.

The next morning, I waited in the atrium for the girl from the Ninth.

Avalon. The first step would be remembering to call her by her name.

I paced up and down the room, glaring at anyone who stood too long to watch me.

Someone was always watching me: other conscripts, my family’s spies, my own Line.

Back at the Court in Fortaare, it was even worse.

I was watched and emulated; every tiny conversation and expression would be dissected by gossips.

At least here in Boellium, I had a little more freedom. I was the king here. These were my subjects, not that a single one of them was loyal.

When she appeared, she was with a group of conscripts from the Twelfth Line. They were easy to spot among the crowds, not just because of their brightly colored clothing, but because some of them still looked half starved. The drought in the West of Ebrus had worsened, and the people were starving.

Helplessness washed over me. There was nothing I could do for the people of the Eleventh and Twelfth Lines. My father would never empty his own coffers to help another Line, despite being the country’s de facto leader. I wasn’t sure he’d even do it for his own Line.

The only thing the Baron of the First Line cared about was himself and his own power.

“Ninth, could I speak to you?” I called softly, but I may as well have shouted it. All the Twelfth Line conscripts froze like creatures of prey, their faces swivelling in my direction as one.

One of the girls in the middle looked at Avalon. “Is he talking to us?”

Avalon tilted her head. “I think he’s just talking to me. Go on ahead. I’ll be fine.” Despite the wariness I could see etched into the lines of her face, she walked over to me confidently. “You hollered?” Her tone was light, but her eyes were narrowed.

She was pretty in a way that was totally ordinary.

Maybe her beauty was in her ordinariness.

She wasn’t primped and preened until she was walking around in a mask, like the women at court.

She wasn’t dressed to beguile or fascinate.

Her features were soft and classic, unadorned by makeup.

Her clothes were stitched together, combined with part of the uniform given to conscripts by the college.

But her eyes sparkled, and her full lips curled at the corners. She was… something. She just stared me down, her tone polite, and that was beguiling in itself.

“I require your assistance, if you’d be willing to give it.”

Her expression folded into a mask of confusion. “You need my help? With what?”

This was the part where I hoped Shay’s informants were as good as they said. “My special interest is astronomy, and it has come to my attention that you are quite a good artist. I would like your help mapping the stars over the coming meteoric period.”

She stepped back, like I’d struck her. “How do you know that?”

I shrugged, as if I was some all-seeing demigod, instead of Shay just having a network of kitchen hands who reported to her from across the country. She would make an amazing spymaster, if my father or brother could ever see past her gender.

Stepping closer, I could see the furious flash of something in Avalon’s eyes.

She didn’t like that I’d pried into her life, uncovered her secrets.

I didn’t give her false platitudes. If I had my way, I’d uncover every single secret she had and use them all to hold her to me, until she wanted to stay by herself.

I froze at my own thoughts, shaking my head imperceptibly as if I could physically dislodge them. There could be nothing between the girl from the Ninth and me; we were incompatible in every way.

Despite the convictions of my head, when I opened my mouth, something entirely different came out. “I know a lot of things, Avalon Halhed, Heir of the Ninth Line.” It sounded like a threat, but I didn’t pull the words back.

She was silent for a long time, and I worried I’d overplayed my hand. Not that you’d know it from my expression. I worked hard on my uninterested face.

Gritting her teeth at me, she nodded once. “Fine. But I’m not that good. If you want your astrological charts to look like a child’s drawing, then so be it.”

“Celestial maps,” I corrected. “Excellent. We start tonight. I will collect you from your dorms.” I forced myself to move away nonchalantly, striding back through the crowds of people with cool confidence, as they parted for me naturally.

This was purely business. I needed to know what she had going on with Taeme, and I really did need someone to draw the celestial maps. This was a neat solution.

So why was my heart beating a million miles a minute?

It was ten o’clock that night when I descended below the atrium for the first time… ever. I’d never had a reason to head toward the lower levels of Boellium, but today was a day of firsts.

First time down here.

First time I’d ever had to lie to a girl so I didn’t get rejected.

First time I’d wondered if I was enough.

Knocking lightly on the door, I was met by one of Taeme’s hounds.

The mean one. Actually, scratch that, they were both mean.

This one was legendary, though. Braxus. He’d once brought down an entire gang of thugs who’d been terrorising the Third Line’s outlying villages, and had ripped through their ranks, all by himself.

Even the First Line were impressed by the efficiency of the Third Line’s animal companions. It made them fierce warriors, and the whole reason they were such a threat.

I also had my suspicions that they could speak to Taeme somehow.

I looked down at the hound. “Tell your master to back the fuck off, or we’re going to have a problem,” I muttered in a low voice.

The giant hound’s muzzle came up to my chest, and you’d have to be a fool to look at those flashing teeth and feel nothing.

I held my ground, hearing the soft footfalls of Avalon.

“Braxus, it’s fine. We’ve arranged to meet up.” She shuffled around the giant beast—who’d taken more lives than most instructors in this college—and stroked behind his ears like he was an overgrown pet. “Stay here. I’ll be back.” Then she kissed the top of his head.

Kissed it. Fuck me.

I gestured toward the stairs. “We are headed to the roof. There’s a telescope up there that’s one of the most powerful in all of Ebrus.”

She followed me without comment, and I was glad that most of the other conscripts had fallen into their beds hours ago. It meant that the atrium was blissfully silent, and as I led her up the stairs to the roof, we didn’t run across anyone else.

Not that I thought anyone would say a word, except maybe Taeme. But either his precious hound hadn’t been able to get word to him fast enough, or he was biding his time, because no one appeared.

I bypassed the First Line dorms and climbed one extra flight to a door that led to the roof. Technically, this level sat parallel to my room, but the Dome which held my domain sat dark, magic making the glass one way.

The rooftop was pretty; I’d set up a small area with a chair and an easel behind a large brass telescope. I’d also acquired a large amount of artistic supplies and pretty lanterns that set the place in a gentle glow.

I stood to the side as Avalon stepped into the area, her eyes taking in everything in the space. The small burning lights that illuminated her workspace, the pens and inks and brushes and anything else I’d thought she might need. The large telescope.

“It’s beautiful up here,” she said softly, and I made a hum of agreement.

“It’s my favorite place.” Not just in Boellium. In all of Ebrus. And sharing it with her felt so right. I waved a hand at the chair. “Your throne, Miss Halhed,” I murmured. “Will these tools suffice?”

She snorted rudely. “A box of crayons would suffice, Your Highness,” she replied snarkily. “This is more than adequate. I’m not sure what you expect from me, but I think you’re going to be disappointed.”

I couldn’t be disappointed, because I had no expectations, except that she be here. With me, where I could… what? Convince her to go to bed with me? To enter a relationship that was doomed to fail?

Shaking off the thoughts, I gripped her elbow before she even had a chance to sit. “Let me show you the stars first. I think you’ll find yourself inspired.”

I didn’t need all the answers yet. I just needed a chance.