Page 137 of Keeper of the Word

“Are you not going to open the door for the StarSeer?” Hux said to Petre, the only other new Warin whom Elanna had met.

“I have not been given orders to,” he said, his mouth quirking into a half-grin. A few of the other guards present laughed.

Hux chuckled pleasantly. Then, in a heartbeat, he pulled Petre’s dagger from his side belt, rammed the Warin into the stone wall, and held the dagger to Petre’s neck. “Mayhap I did not ask kindly enough. Pray, open the door.”

Two guards moved to attack Hux. Two drops of blood bloomed from Petre’s neck.

“Open the door,” Petre muttered against the blade.

The door was opened, and Elanna stepped into the passageway. The guards stepped backward, uncertain of how to behave. Hux freed Petre and tucked the dagger into his boot.

“I’m keeping this,” he said.

Elanna glared at the guards until she’d settled her heart. The adrenaline kept her upright. “Whom do you serve?”

“The Capella Realm. The Empire of Light. We hold true the brilliance of the Heart and the balance of House and the Halvesprotected by the grace and guidance of the Ordained,” they recited together.

An ancient code.

“Do not forget it,” Elanna said. “There sits one of the House. You shall protect him and treat him with the dignity of your future sovereign.”

Petre nodded, his face red.

Elanna nodded back at the prince and left, Hux joining her only long enough to escort her back to her rooms.

But that had been her only victory of the nightmarish day. Commander Kaff had awaited at the top of the stairs and bid Elanna spend the remainder of that day in the Delara so as to not distract anyone from the wedding preparations.

Tara had not been there. Too fatigued, undoubtedly.

But now, in the first light of morning, Elanna mulled over the nightmare’s words.

“You’ll never be rid of her, Your Majesty. And she is but a peasant. Hardly anyone to give pause over. Her death is the only thing that will cement the prince’s resolve.”

The fading memory of the night made the voice of the speaker fuddled and indistinguishable. A sole clue that might prove helpful to know who was not to be trusted in the sovereign’s inner circle, but at present, that did not matter. This was a warning. ’Twas not a matter ofifAven was executed. ’Twas a matter of when.

“I cannot See the stars,” she whispered to herself, drawing her robe closer to her. “But cannot dreams be real, too?”

The sovereign was going to have Aven killed.

This she knew.

Chapter

Fifty-Two

ELANNA

Two days later, Elanna’s powers had not returned. Nor had Tara’s. The night sky was as silent as a graveyard.

A new ravenmaster had been brought to the castle, and they sent a message to Ashwin. No reply had returned as of yet. Nor anything from Tolvar. The only news had come from Greenwood stating that Anscom overpowered his forces, and he begged for the sovereign to send reinforcements. King Rian had sent a commander and a garrison of two score men. Elanna had a strange feeling as she’d observed them march out of Castle Sidra.

Strange feelings—her exasperation with being obstructed from her Seer powers nearly drove her mad.

Casta. Kyrie. Maristel.They could not feel her, but she practiced the habit, nevertheless. She reminded herself that they were safe in Ashwin.

Hux had put himself to work as if lives depended on it, which they did, especially for Aven. So far, he’d discovered nothing new and nothing helpful. The whole of the castle seemed to be on edge. Servants fled from him; the council members seemed to be taking extra precautions in meeting behind closed and guarded doors. The Warins had all but doubled their shifts. Wenonah had been kept tothe south wing of the castle, only leaving once to stroll in the queen’s garden with Dashiell, who’d stiffly walked beside her with freshly washed, damp hair and a crisp tunic and hose. It seemed the prince had conceded, after all.

Elanna rolled the Edan Stone between her palms until its coldness made her return it to its new hiding place. She had moved the stone from its former hiding place to between her mattresses, unsure if ’twas paranoia of being watched that drove her to do so. With no identity of who worked against the royal family and no audience with the sovereign—King Rian had declined all three of her requests—Elanna knew all she could do was wait to regain her powers and connect with the stars once more.