“Then we’ll just have to think of something else,” I said before escaping into my room. I had run out of energy to pretend that I was hanging on to any more than the tiniest sliver of hope.
Chapter 21
Cadence
The chaos from the attempted raider attack kept us camped in the same spot for a second day. Investigators interviewed not only the tour kitchen staff, but also residents from the nearby town, but they found no trace of the missing workers. According to Zeke, who was kept informed by his mother, the girls had clearly been planted by the raiders.
Gia spent the day in a bad mood—although more at having missed all the excitement than at the raiders. Karielle, on the other hand, was grateful to have missed it but could barely sleep at night from the anxiety. So between the two of them, I had almost no rest and spent the next day in a sleep-deprived, exhausted daze.
I kept expecting Annora to corner me, intent on discussing my role in the events, but she seemed occupied with the other high-ranking officials. The following morning, we broke camp and rode out with an overwhelming feeling of collective relief. Everyone was glad to see the last of that particular site.
As a day passed, then two, then three, everyone slowly relaxed again, just as we had after the encounter with the tainted power on the river. Slowly but surely, talk shifted to the upcoming visit to Karielle’s family estate. From the chatter around me, I learned that the entire tour had been invited to the ball being held in honor of the graduating apprentices.
Gia finally let go of her disappointment over having been drugged and transferred her attention to clothes. Apparently, unlike me, she had known about the ball before we left the capital and had packed accordingly.
“It’s too bad Karielle is so much taller than you,” she announced one morning, measuring us both with her eyes. “Otherwise you’re a similar size. You could borrow one of her gowns.”
I grimaced an apology at Karielle, but she waved it away.
“It’s an excellent idea. And as it turns out, one of my older sisters is a similar height to you. I’m sure something from her wardrobe would fit.” She joined Gia’s open assessment of me.
I groaned. “It really doesn’t matter what I wear. No one will be focused on me.”
“Oh, won’t they?” Gia threw me a knowing look. But when I sent a warning glance Karielle’s way, Gia subsided, looking guilty.
“If that little silent conversation was on my behalf, you needn’t bother,” Karielle said in a carefully light tone. “Zeke might be utterly delicious, but I’m holding out no hopes in that direction.”
I flushed, remembering the warning she had given me at the one and only previous ball I’d attended. But when Karielle continued, it was in a thoughtful tone, not a warning one.
“Once I would have cautioned you the same, Cadence. In fact, I think I did. But I don’t know what it is about you.” Her brow creased, her lips quirking to one side. “The nomads seem to love you, and Zeke is always at your side. It makes no logical sense—no offense—but perhaps you have a chance after all.”
I ducked my head, horrified by more than my embarrassment. Who else had noticed Tribe Nicabar’s attitude toward me? And what did they make of it?
“Of course she has a chance, if she wants one,” Gia said. “Zeke has always singled Cadence out.”
Karielle, emboldened by the conversation, gave Gia a long look. “I always assumed it would be Zeke and you, Gia. If the rumors are right, and his mother wins the throne after Fenix dies…”
“Me?” Gia shook her head vigorously. “I love Zeke, but I’m not interested in ruling a kingdom at his side.”
I stiffened despite myself, hurrying to fold my clothes into my bag to hide the involuntary movement. Zeke might use his charm liberally, but he was kind-hearted beneath it, and he had intelligence and strength as well. He would make an excellent ruler. If Gia couldn’t see that, she wasn’t much of a friend to him.
I relaxed suddenly, laughing at myself. Or perhaps a friend was exactly how she saw him. Which was a good thing, since I had no desire to compete with my best friend in the romance arena.
I tried to focus on the upcoming celebration like everyone else, but it was hard to do when I kept expecting Annora to confront me at any moment. How had Airlie done this? The constant pressure felt like a weight, driving me into the ground. And even with only a handful of people in the tour knowing my true role, I was plagued by doubts as to their real feelings toward me. How had Airlie trusted anyone at the Guild?
I let Gia and Karielle’s chatter about gowns wash over me as I sat at the evening meal. Zeke hadn’t appeared, and Nikolas had chosen to eat at one of the other tables with several nomads. Gia continued to brush off any attempt to bring up the subject of her brother’s changing behavior, but I watched him anyway, my eyes narrowed.
Just as he got up from the meal, Evermund approached him. The two exchanged quick words before Evermund disappeared again. Nikolas looked in our direction, not noticing me as his eyes focused on his sister. He stepped toward us before stopping again, indecision twisting his face. Pausing for a moment, he shook his head and spun the other way, walking off with a determined pace.
I looked from him to Gia, who remained oblivious to the entire thing. Had I missed a fight between the two of them? The situation had moved up in intensity if Nikolas was now avoiding his sister completely.
I couldn’t think of any non-hurtful way to relay the incident to Gia, so I let it drop, continuing with my evening like normal. I was distracted enough to make that easy—a distraction I realized with some chagrin had its roots in Zeke’s absence. How would I cope with his imminent graduation if I looked for him constantly after an absence of mere hours? At the Guild we had often gone for large parts of the day without seeing each other, but I was growing used to the almost constant contact the tour allowed.
He finally appeared just before I withdrew for the night, stepping up to join me where I stood at the edge of the tents, watching the flow of the river.
“It’s a similar size to the Viridian,” I said softly, “but it’s interesting how different the effect is with grasslands on the other side instead of forest.”
“The Celadon flows through forest further north,” he said. “But that’s a different effect again because it’s forested on both sides of the bank.”
“I’d like to see that,” I whispered.
“You will.” He sounded confident. “One day. Once you get a taste for travel, it’s hard to stop.”
I tried to smile, but it didn’t quite stick. I couldn’t imagine a future where I got to go wherever I wanted. Accepting an invitation to Tribe Nicabar would provide me with movement, at least, but I wouldn’t be free to choose our destination. But, then, maybe that didn’t matter. Maybe just the act of constant movement would feel like freedom?
I wrapped both arms around myself.
Zeke frowned down at me, seeming to sense my mood.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Airlie’s been abducted, tainted power is coming out of Calista, and the raiders keep attacking every time we drop our guard. I don’t know that I’d say all right is an accurate description.”