Chapter 2 Scene 3

The midwinter ball was quite possibly the single night Nahl hated most of the entire year. As Shield to the Peacebringer, his presence was required, though an occasion with compulsory dancing where he was seen as one of the two most desirable partners in attendance horrified him. Beyond the need to be in close contact with so many people he didn’t know, the well-bred gentry of the twenty bands ogled him openly and he felt like he was the subject of at least three quarters of the whispered conversations in the dark corners of the ballroom.

By convention, either he or Dros had to be at Cosi’s side at all times. He stood at Cosi’s left hand, as he always did during official audiences, his coat fastened by two long columns of glass buttons that rose nearly to his chin. Rather than feel stifled by the fitted garment, he wished he could cover more of his skin, particularly his hands. Every year, Cosi suggested that he wear gloves, but that would have insulted their guests, and they both knew it. He loved her all the more for the offer of protection, though he would never accept it.

Dros and Cosi didn’t think Nahl knew of the pact between them to ensure that he spent most of his time beside her. Dros flirted shamelessly with anyone who approached, and when given the choice between them, who wouldn’t choose to hold the unrivaled power of a battleborn in their arms, rather than a slender bureaucrat? He generally escaped the night having to touch two or three strangers, at most.

The man who currently clung to Dros as they whirled across the ballroom floor was pale and tall, and one of the not-quite-secret advisors to the Council of Twenty. His smile was a finely wrought work of art, and he certainly looked like a man smitten by Dros’s considerable charm, though it was rather more likely that he was trying to pry some secret loose than enjoying himself.

Cosi slid her hand into Nahl’s. Affection poured into him, and a much shallower undercurrent of worry. She wanted this night to be over every bit as much as he did. He tightened his fingers around hers and smiled down at her. She tugged him toward her until he was at low enough for a kiss, grabbing a handful of his beard for more leverage. Desire sparked over his lips and left him light-headed when she released him.

While they had been distracted, someone had climbed the stairs to join them. Nahl hastened back to standing at his post, his gaze sweeping over the woman in front of them. He clenched his jaw when he recognized her. Farina was short and slight, and dressed in a flowing shade of burgundy so deep it was nearly black. Technically, the color was different enough from the crimson of the Peacebringer’s crest to skirt the edges of offense, but it was unseemly, doubly so from her own sister.

Cosi favored her younger sister with a frosty glare. “I didn’t know you were coming, Fari. What an unexpected surprise.” Her tone left no doubt that the surprise was not a pleasant one.

“I was invited at the last minute by Hormal and Gertin. You do remember them, don’t you?”

Nahl had been pretending to ignore their conversation and scanning the room, but at that barb, he turned his own glare in Fari’s direction. She came into Garu’s Reach uninvited and tossed about the names of councilmembers in violation of all propriety without the good sense to even pretend to be ashamed. He stepped forward, meaning to chase her from the dais by force if necessary.

Rather than look upset at his approach, she smiled so broadly he thought her cheeks likely to shatter at any second. “Thank you, Nahl. I would love to dance.” Before he could withdraw, she took his hand in a tight grip.

Hatred swept into him, driving the breath from his lungs. Too stunned to resist when she dragged him from the dais, he stumbled after her down the stairs. Conversation around the ballroom quieted a bit at a time, until a hush had fallen over the room despite the music continuing. Every eye turned toward Cosi, where she sat alone.

Dros rushed across the room to intercept them as Fari grabbed his other hand and began to lead him awkwardly from the following position. When their eyes met, Nahl shook his head to warn Dros off. It was much more important that Cosi have him next to her as soon as possible. Uncomfortable as the next few minutes in contact with someone who despised him would be, having Cosi appear weak a moment longer than necessary was unacceptable.

Fari caught sight of Dros climbing the stairs and bared her teeth in a grin. “It seems your boyfriend would rather keep my sister company than save you.” She shoved him so hard he almost fell backwards.

He managed to stay upright and twirled her around him to regain control of the dance. “I don’t need rescuing, certainly not from you.”

She tried to fight to get the lead back, but he had superior leverage and short of storming off she didn’t have any choice but to follow him. She was too concerned with maintaining the fiction that she had stolen him away from Cosi to leave in a huff. The fetid flower of her resentment bloomed and overtook every other darkness inside her. “I understand your dilemma. Why be with my frigid sister when you could bed him instead? Is that why our realm has no heir?”

Nahl had never heard that particular rumor spoken aloud and it struck too close for him to ignore. Was her outburst the rambling of a bitter second-born, or something more? “The realm has no heir because the Peacebringer has other concerns at the moment, which you well know.”

“Ahh, yes. The war she can’t bring an end to consumes all of her time.” Her grin sharpened. Malice pierced the skin of his hands where they touched and wound around his heart like a prickly vine. “Is that why she lets the two of you play at boyish games rather than get her with child?”

The nonstop stream of negative emotions from her had begun to give him a headache and make his stomach roil. Keeping the dance moving while following the labyrinth of her conversation was becoming difficult. She was digging for something, but he had no idea what. “She’s been trying to end the war since the day of her ascension.”

“But she hasn’t succeeded. Five years with no progress might as well be failure as far as the councilmembers are concerned.” She mocked his halting step with a smirk. “The duties of your position are quite challenging, aren’t they?”

“What are you telling the council?”

Her feigned innocence didn’t fool him for a moment, especially since he could almost smell the cool calculation of every move she’d made since entering the ballroom. “I’m not telling them anything. They’re telling me they are dissatisfied with her leadership.”

He tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her closer. “Stop this. She’s your sister.”

“She’s in my way.” Farina kissed him then, square on the mouth. No warmth softened her touch. Hatred and jealousy rushed into him, twisting his insides until he thought he would be sick.

Stumbling away from her, he barely resisted the urge to scrub at his mouth with the back of his hand. Her cruel laughter followed him to the dais. Cosi scowled down at him from her place at the top. He’d embarrassed her; she had every right to be angry. He told himself that with every step, and somehow it didn’t lessen the pain that sat heavy behind his breastbone.

Nahl stopped in front of her, waiting to be dismissed. At the very least he deserved to be sent from the ball in shame. Other shields had been deposed for less, particularly during her mother’s reign, but Cosi wouldn’t be so rash.

Cosi’s eyes narrowed in an unspoken question. After a moment she seemed to understand his hesitation. “Take your place.”

He fell to one knee at her feet. “You should dismiss me.”

“Not in this lifetime.” She reached to touch his cheek. Concern and affection flooded him, easing the tightness in his chest. She was angry, certainly, but it wasn’t directed at him. “Are you all right?”

“I’m better now.” He captured her hand in his and kissed her palm. “She’s a sura hidden in the rocks, waiting for her opportunity to strike.”

Cosi glared over his head, presumably in Fari’s direction. “Is that why she’s here?”

Nahl nodded. “She’s finally moving against you. I don’t know how much support she has, but she felt confident.”

Dros stood to her right, staring into the ballroom, his face a mask of carefully controlled wrath. It was no wonder no one else had approached them. “I shouldn’t have talked you out of having her killed prior to your ascension.”

Cosi’s lips quirked. “It was the right decision.” She patted Nahl’s cheek. “Take your place at my side and let’s put an end to this spectacle. I’ve had enough politics for one night.”

Nahl hurried to take his place at her left hand. She waited for him to settle, and then stood. The musicians knew to keep an eye on Cosi throughout the night, and smoothly transitioned into the Peacebringer’s fanfare. The conversation around them came to a halt within a few more seconds and when the music stopped the room was quiet. Nahl searched for Farina in the crowd, but it was dim enough that he couldn’t pick her out. It seemed even she didn’t have the audacity to disturb this ritual.

Cosi raised both hands, her bracelets clattering as they fell down her arms. “Honored guests. Thank you for celebrating the turning of the season with us. May the new year bring us all prosperity, and peace.”

The guests slapped tables, stomped their feet, and whooped, filling the ballroom with sound that rose to the vaulted ceiling, calling for the disparate powers and deities they believed in to hear her words and bring them to pass.

When Cosi dropped her arms, they fell quiet again. Cosi smiled, then turned in a whirl of crimson fabric and left the room. Nahl trailed, nearly jogging to keep pace with her. Dros stayed behind to make sure the guests disbursed in an orderly fashion.

At the end of the hallway Cosi paused at the foot of the stairs to pick up her skirt so she wouldn’t tread over the hem. “We need to find out what Farina is up to.”

“I’ll go write messages to our agents imbedded with the councilmembers.”

Cosi stopped short. “You will not. You’ll spend the night convincing Dros that you’ve forgiven him. I won’t have him giving me that sad look of his all night.”

“He didn’t do anything that requires forgiveness.”

“In fulfilling his duty to me, he failed you.” She held up a hand to forestall his interruption. “Regardless of what you or I think, that’s what he believes.”

“He made the right choice, the only choice.”

“Perhaps, but you didn’t see his face when she kissed you. I did. He blames himself.” She paused, looking down at her hands for a moment. “I don’t know how many times he can bear to make that choice.”

Nahl reached for her, hoping to comfort her, but she dodged his touch. What was she trying to keep from him? “He’ll make that choice as many times as he needs to. The same as I would.” He kept to himself how much it would pain him; she didn’t need to know that.

She retreated one step up the staircase, out of his reach. “I can handle the messages. You take care of him. The both of you deserve to have the rest of the night off after that experience.”

There was no point to arguing with her when she’d made up her mind. “Thank you. I’ll make sure he’s okay.”