Page 20 of Pawns of Fate

ROSE

R ose took her dinner in her room that night. Solitude was a familiar blanket; she needed it to sort through her thoughts on the day’s events.

Her eyes strayed to the window—the best part of the room because of the scenery beyond it. The sun was setting behind the mountains, painting the sky with brilliant shades of orange, pink, and yellow. Just looking at it was a mental balm.

So much had happened. The tea party with Lady Dahtey and Ava felt like a lifetime ago, especially after seeing that…

thing in the garden. Nicholas told her it was probably just Lyla or Syzman in their shadow forms. Rose wanted to believe him, but the maliciousness radiating from that creature was something she would have sensed in Lyla or Syzman before today.

The physical and aural planes were connected more than most people understood.

If either of the shadow mages had borne her and Nicholas that much ill will, Rose would know.

She dove so deep into her own thoughts that Rose had no forewarning when Ava burst into the room with wine, snacks, and servants in tow.

She was shocked and, at first, annoyed. How had Ava gone this long in a noble family without knowing that a person dining in their room was sending a signal to be left alone?

But her sister-in-law’s wide grin and the assortment of tasty snacks melted away Rose’s apprehensions.

She realized this might even be fun. The last time Rose had commiserated with a friend was when she lived at the orphanage.

Instead of clutching onto her solitude, she relaxed, welcomed Ava, and let the servants pour them each a glass of wine.

“Lady Dahtey was nice,” Ava started the conversation as sweetly as possible, though Rose knew her sister-in-law wouldn’t want to talk about their tea party for long.

Rose popped a strawberry into her mouth, then reached for a small cake with raspberry cream. “I was surprised. She seemed to like us, though.”

Ava sipped her wine. “No, she seemed to like you , Rose.”

“I’ve had practice with keeping older noblewomen happy.” Rose decided she needed a few more sips of wine if she had to talk about her aunt .

“They’re so overbearing,” Ava replied.

“They can be.” The servants set down a tray of cheeses. Rose’s eyes lit up, but instead of gobbling down the entire tray, she decided to sip a little more wine and snack on one slice at a time. A loaded silence stretched between her and Ava, who fidgeted with a pillow tassel.

“Was the man leaving Nicholas’s office of the Ojoh warriors?” Ava asked as she tucked her legs up under herself, snuggling into a comfortable position on the lush sofa.

Rose blinked. She’d been so focused on the strange shadow from the garden that she’d forgotten about the Ojoh entirely. “Yes, it was,” she answered flatly.

“I’ve never seen one before—just heard about them from York’s descriptions of battling with them—so I was curious.”

“They are fierce warriors.”

The servants had left the two girls to their own devices after setting down a cheese tray, so Rose poured herself another glass of wine.

“The Ojoh clan doesn’t have many mages. They make up for it with strong spearmen and sworders. Most of the children in the smaller villages grow up fighting desert monsters like tripoderos and grootslangs. I’m not surprised that the Sharps had to offer to trade captives to stop the skirmishes.”

“You’re quite knowledgeable,” Ava exclaimed, topping off her own glass.

Rose selected another slice of cheese, this time a sweet, creamy white one. “Well, I’ve stayed with them before.”

“You’ve been held captive by the Ojoh before? Rose, that’s terrible.”

Rose shook her head. “It isn’t such a big deal.

Whenever I served as my uncle’s political collateral, I remembered that I was helping prevent wars.

” She finished the slice of cheese, then added, “Last time I stayed with the Ojoh, it was in a small village close to the Robson estate. It isn’t the same group that has been warring with the Sharps. ”

“I admire your courage. I don’t know if I’d bear things as gracefully,” Ava said admiringly.

Rose took an improperly large gulp of her wine, feeling a smidge embarrassed at Ava’s attentions. She’d just done what her uncle would have forced her to do anyway. No courage involved. No praise deserved.

“You’d do fine!” Rose batted aside Ava’s compliment. The words came out of her mouth a bit louder than she’d intended. Perhaps the warmth in her cheeks wasn’t solely from embarrassment. She’d drunk a fair amount.

Ava laughed, and the conversation took a less serious turn as the girls continued drinking and chatting their way through two bottles of wine. When Rose went to open a third bottle, she realized that she was drunk. As she poured another glass for Ava and herself, she realized she didn’t care.

A servant came in to remove the empty trays of food and leave the girls with more bottles of wine.

“I’d heard” —Ava placed her glass on the low table with a little more force than necessary— “I’d heard that the head of the Greatstrider clan is impotent.” She looked expectantly at Rose.

She held up her hands in surrender. “I wouldn’t know! It has been years since I stayed at the Greatstrider castle.”

“Well, having an impotent husband isn’t something you or I would know about anyway,” Ava snickered, and her whole body shook from the laughter.

“I wouldn’t complain if York were slightly less enthusiastic in the bedroom.

He cornered me twice yesterday.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“It’s hard to blame him, though. He’s got so much to work with down there . You know what I mean?”

Rose’s cheeks flushed. She tried to look anywhere but at her sister-in-law because she understood what Ava was implying, but hadn’t slept with Nicholas. So she did not, in the fullest sense, know what Ava meant.

“Wait. You don’t know what I mean.”

“I understood you!” Rose answered quickly, not wanting to venture further into the conversation.

“You haven’t slept with Nicholas yet!” The words sounded like an accusation.

Clutching one of the square, velvet pillows, Rose decided to tell the truth. Ava had already figured it out, anyway. “We’ve only known each other for two weeks. What’s wrong with wanting to know him better before we cross that bridge together?”

“Suit yourself.” Ava shrugged and took a lengthy swig of wine. “York and I made love after knowing each other for two days. Are you a virgin?”

Rose wished that Ava would change her condescending tone.

“I’m not a virgin,” she declared, placing her hands on her hips.

“No prudes here.” Ava raised her glass.

“I’m not joking! I’ve had—” Rose inhaled as she decided how much she wanted to speak to Ava about this. She’d never talked with friends about the physical side of romantic relationships. “I’ve had a few lovers before.”

“Do tell,” Ava said conspiratorially. She leaned forward.

Rose blinked. She hadn’t expected Ava to ask for details, but couldn’t back down now.

“Well, there was the knight at the Dahtey Castle last year. He was a little more mature, which was quite nice.”

“Older men are so charming!” Ava gushed.

Rose tossed a pillow at Ava, who caught it with a surprising amount of ease for someone who’d drunk several glasses of wine.

“I had relationships with a few other men while I was… visiting their castles, never at the Robson estate. My uncle and aunt made that impossible.” She glanced over at Ava, who was still hanging on her every word.

“I lost my virginity to an Ojoh warrior when I stayed with them five years ago,” she added tentatively.

“Tell me more about that. It sounds so romantic, falling in love with a desert warrior!”

“Well, I was only twenty years old at the time.” Rose leaned into the plush couch cushions. “Camillus, that was his name, was quite young too, and he had just finished training to be a full-fledged warrior. He had his first armband.”

“What does that mean?” Ava interrupted .

“It’s how they show their rank as a warrior.

They start with one and add more as they prove themselves in battle or defeat more powerful monsters.

Camillus loved showing off his armband to me.

He was becoming the best fighter in the whole village, though it was a tiny village, so that wasn’t much of a claim,” Rose said. She grabbed another slice of cheese.

“Camillus? What a pretty name.” Ava sighed, lost in a daydream.

“All of the Ojoh names are like that.”

“How long did you see him?”

“Just a summer. I only stayed with the Ojoh for five months that year. It was my first trip as collateral and, thankfully, short. I was quite sad when he ended things, but it was for the best. We had to sneak around the whole summer because we were both apprehensive about our families finding out. They never would have approved. It could have derailed the negotiations.”

“That’s still romantic. And fun. Sneaking around with your first lover! I lost my virginity to my childhood friend. It wasn’t nearly as romantic as what you’re describing.”

“I don’t know. The Ojoh Desert sounds more romantic than it is. Mostly, it’s just hot and full of rocks, sand, and monsters.”

“Hmmm.” Ava tapped her wineglass with a well-manicured fingernail. “You’ve never been to the Imperial City, have you? It’s crowded, and there’s no privacy. We used to have sex in my parents’ pantry if you can believe it.”

Rose laughed. “No, you didn’t!” She wiped a tear from her eye.

“Yes, we absolutely did. Logistics and shame rarely stop young love. It’s a good memory, even if sex with York is worlds better.”

Rose could hardly believe Ava had opened up so much. Of course, she had, too. Her heart felt strangely warm at the shared vulnerability.

“Of course, you’ll know all about how great sex is with a Sharp man after your wedding night.” Ava grinned like the cat who’d caught the canary.

Rose, not for the first time, wondered how much further she should let this conversation progress. Talking about old lovers they’d never meet again was one thing. Talking about sex with Nicholas was another.

“All of his previous lovers seemed satisfied, you know. I’ve only met two of them.

Both were insufferably conceited and tried to lord their noble heritage over me.

” Ava mimicked the previous lovers by sticking her nose up as high in the air as it could possibly go.

“That blew up on them when Nicholas dumped them.” She hooted with laughter.

“Ava! You can’t tease me about that! It’s too… private!”

“Sorry, sorry.” She shrugged. “I thought it would be good news that your husband is an experienced lover.”

“I’m not drunk enough to hear that,” Rose replied, then poured another glass. “But perhaps by the end of this bottle, I will be.”