Page 48 of To Touch A Silent Fury (The Bride of Eavenfold #1)

Tani

T he tailor was kneeling at my feet the very next morning, taking the measurement of my leg, when one of the guards entered the room.

Tall, pale, and well-groomed, he was the model of the Sightlander look.

He was also the one I didn’t like very much.

His name was Wainstrill, and he was prone to scowls.

I hadn’t expected a royal welcome, but he clearly resented his posting.

“The King’s Advisor is here to see you.”

I nodded as the tailor straightened. “Thank you, give us one minute.”

Wainstrill shot me one of his signature looks. “As you say.”

It was forty-six days until Heape. Forty-six days before Langnathin was engaged to another, and forty-six days before they tried to take my dragon from me.

In the first hour of my time in these rooms, I had memorised every aspect of them.

They were the grandest private rooms I had ever beheld.

Though, given the cold greeting from the king, I was certain they were not intended to be received so.

A hall, not eight feet long and decorated simply with a golden rug, widened into the main bedroom, which contained a large double bed bedecked with cushions stuffed with real feathers and a mattress so soft it felt criminal.

The bed was laden with white sheets and an embroidered red quilt, and my dragon had spent most of his time curled up against it.

The smaller room off the hall contained a full-sized metal bath and a chamber pot, and the two windows across from me now let in the golden morning light.

When I arrived, I had barely done more than stumble in, awestruck, and fallen promptly to sleep in my clothes.

On the second day, I sat in front of the demure carved table, complete with a large piece of mirrored glass set into a decorative wooden setting, and stared at myself.

I hadn’t seen more than a reflection in a pond for a span, and it humbled me more than my pride will admit. I bathed repeatedly.

Now, after two full days here, my adulation had faded to a quiet appreciation and niggling sensation of restriction.

I made no mistake that I was trapped here.

In part, by my attachment to the dragon I could not bear to leave but did not want to parade before the eyes of the castle staff.

And in part, by their distrust of me. My guards were as much jailors as they were doormen.

The tailor grabbed his bag, pulling the tapes and scrawled notes into it with deft hands as his floppy brown curls fell over his eyes.

“Normal clothing in your general size will arrive post-haste, my lady. However, you understand that the ball is in only six days. I won’t have time to make you a dress from scratch, but I can alter something.

” He looked galled at the need to offer this and bowed his head in shame. “It will fit you perfectly.”

“I am sure it will be beautiful, sir,” I said. “May I still wear this?” I pulled my moonstone away from my chest. Yvon had told me it would protect me, and I couldn’t bear to be parted from it on the night when I was to be dancing with vipers.

He blinked, then reached for it unabashed, turning it in his palm. “I will give you a new cord for it, if you would be willing to wear it as a bracelet?”

I bowed my head, feeling a spike of relief. “Thank you.”

The tailor bobbed, and turned on his shining heel.

I smiled as the guard opened the door for him to leave.

Plonius, his name was. He was the first stranger since my arrival to treat me with an ounce of respect.

It was almost as much of a relief as my first warm bath here.

He had been firm, and yet respectful, telling me what he needed.

Any urgency seemed to come from his own fidgety nature, rather than cruelty.

I had not expected him so promptly. Dawn had cracked its yolk on the sky only an hour before his arrival.

I wondered what that meant for Langnathin.

Had he ordered him that very night? Or woken at dawn to send him?

The memory of our meeting had plagued my slumber as readily as the Nox.

I’d tossed and turned, replaying it over and over.

Without touch, I could only guess at his feelings, but his words had sounded honest, his countenance respectful. Why the kindness? Why the visit at all?

Then the reality of my situation hit. Braxthorn’s advisor awaited me. Almost certainly a Brother of Eavenfold. In fact, I believed I had heard of his elderly companion, a cousin or uncle to the royal family. He could not suspect me; I would not have him unravelling my plans.

I went to smooth down my clothing only to realise there was no point, then hastened to the vanity mirror. I took myself in, and other than looking tired, given the early hour of the day and my lack of sleep, I looked fine.

My dull brown hair was finally clean after three separate washes, and it shined in the morning sun. I focused on the roots, seeing the tiniest growth of pure white hair. It was barely noticeable, and at first glance, with my blue eyes and darker hair, you would never think to study it further.

I had wished not to meet the old man until I had something better to wear, but it seemed that would not be the case. I glanced at the bed, my dragon stretching in a patch of sun, no doubt ready to doze the day away, and smiled despite my racing heart.

Wainstrill opened the door, and I noticed the man’s shocking white hair first as he stepped inside. I had remembered correctly, then. A Brother of Eavenfold. He mumbled thanks as Wainstrill closed the door, and I moved out of the glare of the sun to see him better as he turned from the door.

This was no elderly man.

I froze to the spot in an instant, my eyes tracking up and down in complete disbelief.

I took in the newest addition first, the circle made of tiny dots on his right temple.

He’d done it, he’d earned his Fated Mark.

I gasped, my hand flying to my throat, and staggered forwards a step as I took in the rest of him: familiar kind eyes, long nose, and his warm mouth opening in surprise.

For a second, he simply looked confused, and then his face changed. Shock lanced him just as readily as it had me. “Tani?” he asked, his voice strangled as tears formed in my eyes. He looked aghast. “Tani, can it truly be you?”

“Seth,” I breathed.

He let out a garbled noise and ran forwards, pulling me into his arms. I wrapped my arms around him, not knowing if the surprise, relief, and love I felt in that moment was his or mine.

Seth, Seth, Seth.

I sobbed, the noose of perpetual loneliness falling from my shoulders as we held each other.

He pressed his nose into my hair. “How can this be so? A Soundlander girl with a dragon. How is that you ? ”

I choked on a laugh, pulling back a little.

His hair was shorter now than I had known it, and his clothing far from the drab grey cloak I had associated him with forever.

He wore a light blue waistcoat over a fitted white shirt and well-fitted trousers.

Stabbed into his waistcoat, almost like an afterthought, was a golden pin of a scroll.

I tapped it with the back of a fingernail. “How are you the King’s Advisor?”

Seth stared down at me, his white eyes shining with tears. He snorted ungracefully, and my heart clenched. “I am related to the king. That is hardly the biggest surprise here.”

I shook my head in total disbelief, pulling him back towards me. “I am so glad you’re here.”

“I thought you might be dead, when they’d told me you’d fled,” he rambled. “I promise you I tried to appeal to the Threads to take you back in. But the rules prevent a Broken from stepping on the island.”

“I know, I know,” I said, happy to be in his arms.

“I should have done more,” he said, and through my touch I felt his guilt and shame rising up. “Edrin’s watch, I should have searched every land.”

I shook my head, shushing him. “No, Seth. It was the path meant for me. I have made some peace with it over the last span.”

He pulled back again, and this time he stepped out of the circle of my arms. His manner was frantic as he took me in, then he gasped. “On my life, your eyes.”

I laughed. “Yes, I’ve finally unshackled them from the moon.” I pointed to the bed. “Would you like to meet him?”

He stared at me in wonderment, then his brow furrowed, and he followed my point. I could not help the chuckle when he visibly baulked, jumping back a full step. “Dragon,” he whispered.

I stepped over to the child, curled peacefully on the bed.

His small claws had already ripped some of the sheets, but I didn’t think to care, only glad he was comfortable.

I settled myself next to him, stroking a hand down his back and feeling our mutual relief at the touch.

It was easier when we were close. His back arched, and still half asleep, he pushed his feet out into me and then crawled into my lap.

When I glanced up, Seth was watching me with his mouth open.

“You have questions, I expect,” I said.

Seth shook his head, rubbing at his clean-shaven face. “Where have you been? Are you well? Why did you come here? How did you—How are you bonded to a sapphire dragon? Have you eaten?”

I laughed again, and with him it came so naturally. “Maybe one at a time. I’ll start with the easier ones. I am well enough, better than I deserve, and my reluctant guards are feeding us. And I have been living like a Euphon, or as close as they would allow me. That much was true.”

“How was it?” he asked. “In the forest?”