Page 10 of Jeweler to the Blessed (Champions of Chaos #1)
Unfortunately, I like him, but it’s not my secret to tell.
— ALARIC SARE’S LETTERS TO ISABELLE ARKOVA
W ith one answer, I became Jeweler to the Blessed.
The prince may have already given Alaric up as lost, but I wouldn’t.
I would take the granted boon—full access to the details of their search.
My position would be temporary. Alaric would return.
He would explain and make the scattered puzzle pieces fit together as he did with the city’s histories and literature.
I could still leave eventually. Just not now.
Now, I’d need to be more careful than ever. The prince promised no one would take from me. I believed he had that power, but it probably came down to who was enforcing the requirement when he wasn’t there.
“She’ll need a guard,” Prince Elias said.
Vaddon nodded. “I’ll take care of it this afternoon.”
“Now.”
Alaric’s visitor yesterday also indicated that the threat the prince alluded to regarding my new position was real. I wasn’t ready to consider that something had happened to Alaric, though. He knew how to defend himself. I had hope he was alive.
Hope was a dangerous thing, however. It may not have been an emotion the Blessed fed on, but they leveraged it to maintain the status quo.
There was no better example than tonight’s Selection. A little thread of hope dangled over our heads—that we could become one of the Blessed. Even if it was a one-in-a-million chance.
The prince won his discussion. Vaddon crossed the room to open the door where one of the helmeted guards stood at attention. “Send for Carver. Tell him to bring his best men.”
The metal shield covered the guard’s eyes and nose, but his exposed chin dipped as he bowed slightly and left to fulfill the request.
“Do we have to assign one now?” I asked.
After the prince’s explanation, I had no objection to a guard, but I had another task to complete before submitting to one.
Mother’s tonic hadn’t been completed. I’d need to attend to it today.
Especially now that I knew where the youngleaf came from, it seemed like it would be much easier to investigate illegal goods from sellers I didn’t know without a guard in tow.
“Your safety is of the utmost importance,” Prince Elias said.
Vaddon rolled his eyes .
“It seems…” I hesitated, not sure how far I could push them.
The prince noticed my hesitation and gestured for me to continue.
“It seems only you and the guards know about Alaric’s disappearance. I should be safe until tonight’s festival. That’s when Alaric’s absence will be noticed, right?”
It wasn’t ideal, but at least this would give me the day to move freely through Kavios. After that, well, I’d plan for that later. Unlike Alaric’s, I knew my defense skills weren’t enough to dismiss a guard.
I had to take care of the family. Alaric may not have wanted me in this position, but he wasn’t here.
This move protected Father from the royal family and ensured I had funds for Mother’s tonic.
The royal family knowing I could source the gems was different from knowing I was immune to their magic.
Alaric could source gems but had no such immunity.
Knowing one wouldn’t necessarily lead to knowing the other.
This had been my best option in a bad situation.
Today, I’d investigate the youngleaf and ask around the tavern for Alaric. Maybe I could get an ongoing delivery set up, so I wouldn’t have to worry about trouble with my guard when Mother needed the next one.
The prince hesitated. “I’m not sure …”
Vaddon folded his arms over his chest. “That should give us time to choose the right person.”
The prince held Vaddon’s gaze, a silent conversation I wasn’t privy to. Finally, he nodded. “Alright. After the Selected are announced, come to the castle steps. Your guard will meet you there.”
I attempted another awkward curtsey, not wanting to risk my luck with any more words. This gave me time to sort things out with my parents. Mother needed her tonic .
Father’s instruction from last night repeated in my mind.
If Alaric missed the pickup, I needed to retrieve the youngleaf from Forest’s Edge.
All signs in the workshop indicated he hadn’t collected the herb.
Maybe that was only my mind assuming the worst. I would go to Forest’s Edge and ask for myself.
I needed to be careful, even though Alaric had left me few options.
While I didn’t begrudge Alaric for doing anything and everything for Mother’s tonic, the fact that it was an illegal good made my line of inquiry more …
complicated. At least I had the name spoken between Alaric and the stranger yesterday: Ava.
I’d see if I could find Ava at Forest’s Edge and get some answers.
“You’re dismissed then,” Vaddon said.
The prince shot him a glare at his tone, but I didn’t care. On some level, I appreciated that Vaddon was transparent in what he thought of me.
“We’ll see you tonight,” the prince added. His gaze held mine a moment longer than necessary. “Vaddon will walk you back to Cross Street.”
Vaddon’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t object.
I left the room before anyone changed their mind. Vaddon followed, and though I knew he hated this, I was thankful for it. I wasn’t sure I could find my way out of the castle. And wandering through the halls filled with Blessed, while no one knew of my new position was unadvisable at best.
“Seems like you left some information out on our walk.” Vaddon gestured me down the hallway.
I didn’t respond. Had he thought I’d spill all my secrets to him as he dragged me to the castle?
Vaddon seemed like he would press the matter, but three men in guard uniforms strode toward us. The one in front nodded toward Vaddon .
“You and His Highness called for me?”
This must be Carver. That meant the two beside him were his best men. One of them could be my future guard. I let my gaze roam over them without being too obvious. The formal dress meant I couldn’t see beneath the metal visors anyway.
Vaddon waved his hand in my direction. “The prince waits in his study. I have less glorious tasks to attend to.”
Carver removed his helmet. He had light brown hair that framed his face. “His guard said it was urgent.”
“It is,” Vaddon replied. “Go ahead; you don’t need me.”
Carver stared at him. Like the strategist he likely was, he tried to understand what he was walking into, but Vaddon was unwilling to provide more information.
A prickle along my cheek returned my gaze to the men behind Carver. This wasn’t the feeling of magic attempting to penetrate my mind. It felt like I was being watched. A glare so heavy it had a physical presence against my skin. But I couldn’t see either guard’s face to determine which one it was.
“We should get to it then,” the guard on the left said. His voice was all I needed to hear. The familiar low rumble sent warmth flooding through my insides. I didn’t need to see his eyes to know they were forest green.
Alaric’s visitor was a … guard? One up for the position of my personal defender.
I swallowed. The stranger didn’t know anything about me. The prince had more dangerous information than this guard did. But the guard was the one who mentioned the youngleaf to Alaric yesterday. Was he the one Alaric bought from?
Vaddon strode to the towering double doors, and I rushed to catch up. Maybe Alaric had accepted a guard, and the prince hadn’t known it? Alaric’s visitor potentially becoming my guard was a complication I couldn’t begin to unpack.
Yesterday, any information about this man who knew Alaric better than I did would have been my top priority to investigate. Today, with only hours to take care of Mother’s medicine before my life would be turned upside down, it would have to wait.
It was barely midday, but that was irrelevant given the Selection Festival.
Cross Street was abuzz with excitement. Shops and businesses in the rest of the city rushed to close early.
All eyes were on the castle steps, wanting to know who would join the ranks of the Blessed, even hours before the Selection.
Vaddon shooed me away at the base of the hill. His sneer was becoming too familiar. “We’ll see you back here tonight.”
I hadn’t turned completely when his lip curled into an appalling smirk.
The king’s advisor was low on my list of worries today.
I pulled my gloves up again to confirm I was fully covered and slipped undetected into the flow of people on Cross Street.
My instincts were on high alert as I walked east. There were too many people and no reasonable way to distinguish Blessed as they all passed so quickly.
My best chance was to be invisible. Thankfully, I’d had years of practice.
The mines must have closed this morning for tonight’s celebration. Workers gathered on Cross Street, packed tightly like a school of fish attempting to appear larger than they were to the surrounding predators.
“Emberline.” The voice had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. “Emberline, what are you doing here?” Macen called from the group. I may have escaped the Blessed this morning, but not everyone without magic was good news either.
At one point in our youth, Macen would have been considered gangly, but unfortunately, he’d filled out.
Most now would describe him as handsome.
His light brown hair was expertly tousled.
Looking at him made me cringe. It wasn’t entirely his fault.
He reminded me of traits I wasn’t particularly proud of.
Like when I was young and stupid and found him charming.
His attention had been an escape from the fear of discovery, from Mother’s condition, and from the responsibility Father piled upon me after. I may have thought I was in love then, but sleeping with him also conveniently distracted me from my growing list of responsibilities.