Page 8 of House of the Beast

Chapter

I t took me the whole day to get through my assignment, struggling first to read the book, and then struggling with my pen.

Lunch had been brought to us halfway through, and afterward Kaim had gone through poetry and mathematics lessons while I slaved away at my meager portion of work.

Still, Master Vuong was patient with me and gentle with his praise when I handed it in, and I found myself looking forward to the next lesson.

My father awaited me outside the classroom as he had promised, but he wasn’t alone. Beside him was a girl a few years my senior, chattering to him brightly. An older woman who appeared to be her maid stood demurely some distance away.

As soon as I locked eyes with the girl, all the shame that Kaim had inspired in me came rushing back.

She looked exactly how I had imagined the perfect heroines in my mother’s books to look.

Her features were delicate and pretty, and her hair was a long sheet of shining black.

She wore her elegant dress, with its tailored bodice and embroidered collar, like she belonged in it, unlike my awkward, bumbling self with my empty sleeve and skirt rumpled after hours of sitting.

“Daughter,” said my father upon noticing me exiting the classroom. “This is Sevelie, Kaim’s betrothed. She is the daughter of Jullan Ward, our master of trade here in Avera. I believe she also has some Avera blood in her.”

“My grandmother was an Avera,” Sevelie piped up proudly.

“Then I believe you are distant cousins,” said my father, seemingly amused.

“Third cousins,” said Sevelie.

“Third cousins,” agreed my father.

Sevelie gave me a perfectly executed curtsy. “It is good to meet you, Alma. You must be very proud, to be chosen by the Beast.”

All day, people had been saying the same thing to me, and I still hadn’t figured out how to respond. I did not know how to curtsy back either, so I only awkwardly bowed my head. “Thank you,” I said, not sure that I meant it.

I was rescued from having to say anything else as Kaim stalked past me out the door, not even sparing me a glance. It was like he had forgotten my existence already and intended to keep things that way.

Sevelie’s smile went to him instead. “Kaim! Did you have a good lesson?”

I was caught between the urge to snort and the fear of what he might say to my father, given our earlier disagreement.

“Fine,” said Kaim shortly.

“I’ve brought some lemon tarts from my favorite bakery in town. We can have them together before your training begins, if you like.”

“I suppose,” he answered benignly.

Someone else silently exited the classroom and brushed past me, making me jump.

Fion blinked at me slowly, his strange, mis matched eyes impassive.

He reminded me of the cats that haunted the docks back in Merey.

He held my gaze briefly before flicking it toward the couple, as if sharing with me some secret message.

I did not know what the message was, but I did find myself feeling sorry for Sevelie.

Not only was Kaim disagreeable, but he seemed completely uninterested in talking to her.

Sevelie’s smile had turned wooden, but she still bravely placed her hand into the crook of his elbow.

At least Kaim acquiesced to her hold. He did not even spare my father a greeting before he led her away.

Fion dipped a quick bow to my father and followed suit, falling into step with Sevelie’s maid as they trailed behind the pair.

As they disappeared around the corner, my father informed me, “You will be training with the sword after your lessons as well. But not today. We’ll wait until your new arm comes in, so you are no longer stumbling around like a three-legged colt.”

Relief coursed through me; the throbbing in my arm had not abated, and the thought of exercising it made me nauseous. No doubt my father was not as kind an instructor as Master Vuong.

If I thought this small mercy meant I could relax, however, I was sorely mistaken.

Instead of letting me rest, my father decided it was time for a proper tour around the estate.

I was shown into House Avera’s private library, which reminded me of a vault, dim and oppressive with carpet thick enough to muffle all sound.

I was informed that I was forbidden to enter without first garnering permission, as it was filled with ancient tomes and scrolls, each worth more than I would fetch on ransom.

Then I was taken to the mausoleum, where the most celebrated and heroic of the Dread Beast’s vessels had been laid to rest in sarcophagi of black marble, their swords hanging in alcoves above their tombs to be immortalized alongside them.

Our footsteps echoed over the cold stone hallways, and I wondered if these ancestors too would disapprove of my being here.

After that we visited the ballroom, which was carpeted in gold and hung with curtains of gossamer black silk; the training hall, lined with scarred dummies and well-worn weapons; and the entrance hall, where important guests were received.

By the time my father brought me back to my little guesthouse, I was dead on my feet and the sun had begun to set, casting chilly shadows across the manicured gardens.

I was glad to see it again and eager to go inside, until he stopped at the entryway and said to me, “Your dinner will be brought to you shortly. Now that you have seen the estate, I expect you to be on time for your lessons tomorrow morning.”

I could only stare. He was as meticulously groomed and coldly unbothered as he had been this morning; the long day had not affected him, and clearly neither did leaving his daughter alone.

I remembered then that the Antecedent had ordered me to take my meals away from the main estate.

And it wasn’t that I wanted to dine with Kaim or Darantha or any other relative I was sure would disapprove of me.

I didn’t want to spend time with my father either.

But more than that, I did not want to be alone.

The sky was growing dark, and with it my memories of the shadows returned.

“By myself?” I asked, hoping desperately for some form of sympathy.

My father only furrowed his brow. “Did you expect me to hire you a babysitter too?”

Disappointment weighed on my shoulders as I shook my head. Of course he wasn’t going to offer to eat with me. What was I expecting? It wasn’t as though I had enjoyed his company during the day, and given all his complaints, I was certain the feeling was mutual.

Still, I could not erase the feeling of helplessness as he turned on his heel and walked away.

An attendant came by shortly enough carrying a tray of food so artfully arranged it seemed almost a waste to eat.

It was a bet ter dinner than I had ever had—a plate of silky-smooth steamed egg, a cut of beef roasted to perfection and paired with flavorful vegetables—but I could not bring myself to enjoy it.

The inside of the house was already doused in shadow. I scurried to light all the lamps as soon as the attendant left. This wasn’t anything new , I tried to reassure myself. I used to eat alone all the time back in Merey, on nights when my mother had to take extra shifts to make ends meet.

But I had always had her return to look forward to.

Now the room felt too large at my back, and the air grew colder as the sun set.

Every flicker of shadow from the oil lamps had me jumping in my seat.

I remembered the presence in the temple smiling at me as if in greeting, and wondered if it was here with me now.

The thought drove me to the windows, where I pulled the curtains open in a vain attempt to let in the last of the sun, only to draw them closed again as the sky turned purple with dusk and the woods around the mountains began to look like teeth in the darkness.

Was this what every Avera yearned for? To commune with the dark, to feel madness stir inside them?

As the curtains snapped into place, I thought I glimpsed the outline of something peeking at me from behind them.

I don’t want to see it , I chanted to myself, as if I could make it go away by sheer force of will. I don’t want to see it, I don’t see it, I don’t see it .

I dragged the dining table to one side of the room so I could sit with my back to the wall and slowly ate my supper, desperately wishing for home.

***

I COMFORTED MYSELF THROUGH ANOTHER NIGHT OF RESTLESS sleep with thoughts of the next day, when I could be in that warm, bright classroom again, learning things that I could share with my mother. And though the company had left something to be desired, at least I would not be alone.

Only, when I arrived after breakfast as I had been told, I was stopped before I could go through the door.

“I’m very sorry, Lady Alma,” said Master Vuong. “I have been instructed by the Antecedent not to tutor you anymore.”

I stared at him. “But what about my lessons?” I asked, like an idiot. I had been looking forward to them all morning.

“You are to receive them separately. I believe your father will arrange for someone to visit you in your quarters.”

In my quarters. In that lonely house, where I had only barely managed to brave the night.

My body felt numb. Master Vuong handed me the paper I had written yesterday, which I did not want anymore.

“You did an excellent job, Lady Alma,” he said.

“I know your future will be very bright. I truly am sorry.”