Fortune and Fate (Twelve Houses) (46 page)
Read Fortune and Fate (Twelve Houses) Online
Authors: Sharon Shinn
THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE WRAPPED IN A BUZZING LAYER
of excitement as Karryn and Serephette began preparations for their ball. Tradesmen came to the door every hour, so naturally members of the guard had to be stationed inside the house to make sure none of the merchants offered any harm to the inhabitants. But much of the shopping had to be done on-site, so Karryn and Serephette often set out for the commercial districts of Forten City to visit florists, bakers, dressmakers, and jewelers. Each time, they were accompanied by a cadre of guards, and sometimes by Lindy or Demaray Coverroe—and more than once by Bryce.
of excitement as Karryn and Serephette began preparations for their ball. Tradesmen came to the door every hour, so naturally members of the guard had to be stationed inside the house to make sure none of the merchants offered any harm to the inhabitants. But much of the shopping had to be done on-site, so Karryn and Serephette often set out for the commercial districts of Forten City to visit florists, bakers, dressmakers, and jewelers. Each time, they were accompanied by a cadre of guards, and sometimes by Lindy or Demaray Coverroe—and more than once by Bryce.
This seemed so unlikely that Wen taxed Karryn with it after the second time Bryce had ridden along with them to the city boutiques. Karryn was laughing. “It’s my mother’s idea,” she said. “She loves to bargain, you know, and she absolutely hates to pay a single copper more than she has to. She likes to bring Bryce with her because he can tell her when a vendor has reached his lowest price. Whenever he saves her a significant amount of money, she gives some of it to Bryce. I think they’re both delighted with the arrangement.”
Wen was grinning. “I guess you just never know when magic’s going to come in handy.”
Nothing untoward happened on any of these excursions, or at the House, despite the increased activity. Karryn was so busy making plans for the ball that she had less time to spend at the Coverroe house, which Wen thought was no bad thing, but from time to time Lindy dropped by to check on Karryn. Two days before the ball, and four days after he had run afoul of Wen, Ryne Coravann returned to Fortune for a casual visit.
Wen happened to be the one closest to the house when he rode up on his ill-mannered stallion. She considered calling for Moss or Eggles to follow him inside and make sure he got into no mischief, but then she shrugged and ducked through the door. What did she care if her presence made him uncomfortable? Particularly if it also made him more circumspect?
Wen loitered outside the parlor where Ryne made polite conversation with Jasper and Serephette while they shared afternoon refreshments. Once the plates were cleared away, Ryne turned to Karryn and said, “The day is too beautiful to sit inside. Can we go for a ride?”
Karryn was clearly torn. “Oh—I would—but I can’t! The dressmaker is arriving in less than an hour to do my final fitting, and I
must
be here.”
must
be here.”
“Couldn’t disappoint the seamstress,” Jasper said.
“At the price of this dress, you wouldn’t want to,” Serephette said dryly.
Ryne stood. “Then let’s just walk around outside until she comes.”
Karryn jumped to her feet. “Yes, let’s do that!”
Naturally, Wen trailed behind them at a discreet distance, far enough back that she couldn’t catch what they said. Fortune wasn’t nearly the size of the queen’s palace; there wasn’t that much ground to cover, nor were there as many gardens and nooks to get lost in. Wen wasn’t surprised when Ryne and Karryn ended up sitting in a small gazebo set on the eastern edge of the property, close enough to the surrounding hedge to fall under its shadow at certain times of the day.
Close enough to the hedge to try to break through it if Ryne decided to test Wen’s vigilance. No help for it; she had to be in a position to stop him if he tried to smuggle Karryn off of the estate. That meant she had to be in a position to overhear much of their conversation.
At first they talked about the ball and who might come. Then he related some recent adventure that seemed to involve a race, a bet, and a certain amount of alcohol. A clatter of carriage wheels on the other side of the hedge made her miss the segue, but when it was quiet enough for Wen to hear again, they were discussing their inheritances.
“Do you mind?” Karryn was asking.
At some point during their promenade, Ryne had broken off a switch from an ornamental shrub, and now he ran it back and forth along the stone slats of the gazebo. “Oh, I always knew Lauren would be the heir,” he said. “She’s the oldest, of course, and she’s always been so
good.
You just look at her and know that she’s thoughtful and responsible and kind.” Wen could see the smile he gave Karryn. “Which is one of the reasons I’ve always been so foolish and careless and wicked. I could never compete with Lauren, so I had to be different.”
good.
You just look at her and know that she’s thoughtful and responsible and kind.” Wen could see the smile he gave Karryn. “Which is one of the reasons I’ve always been so foolish and careless and wicked. I could never compete with Lauren, so I had to be different.”
“Do you dislike her?”
“No, I love her as much as everyone else does.”
“So will you stay in Coravann Keep or will you find someplace else to live? Eventually, I mean.”
He tapped at the slats again. “I don’t know. I might travel for a while. I’ve thought about going to the Lirrens someday.”
“The Lirrens! Why? Isn’t it full of strange, uncivilized people who are always fighting with each other?”
He grinned. “Well, you could say that the people of Gillengaria are always fighting with each other, too, and some of them are fairly strange, wouldn’t you agree?”
“You know what I mean. The people there are different.”
“That they are,” he agreed. “Suspicious of strangers and full of violence, as you said. But I’m curious about them. And I could live with one of the families in the Lahja clan, I think, since I could claim kinship.”
“What do you mean?”
“My mother was from the Lirrens,” he said. “Apparently there’s some terribly romantic story about how my father met and wooed her, since Lirren girls aren’t allowed to marry outsiders. So I have uncles and cousins who’ve been coming to visit the Keep ever since I can remember. I’m sure they’d let me cross the mountains and visit with them in turn.”
“But what would you do there?” Karryn asked, clearly bewildered. “How would you pass the time?”
He laughed. “First I’d see if my cousin Torrin could teach me how to fight! He’s amazing with a sword—or a knife—or his bare hands.”
Wen felt a small shock of recognition when Ryne said Torrin’s name. She’d remembered Ryne’s Lirren blood, but she’d forgotten his specific family connections. Torrin had been among the Lirren men who joined the royal forces in the war. Senneth was somehow related to Torrin within the vast clan network that tied the Lirren families together. But Torrin had not come to fight for Senneth alone, or even for the king. He had come to support his sister Ellynor, who had married the Rider Justin. . . .
Yet another reason to dislike Ryne Coravann. Because he was cousin to the girl who had married the man who had broken Wen’s heart.
How could it be that even the most remote and random strangers Wen encountered in territory as far from Ghosenhall as she could run would still somehow remind her of the man she wished she no longer loved? She would have to sail for Sovenfeld, that was all. She would have to leave Gillengaria altogether if she wanted to be certain she would never again hear Justin’s name, or any name that reminded her of him.
Ryne was still speaking, and Wen gritted her teeth and continued to listen. “But sword fighting isn’t what I’d really want to learn. They have this strange magic over in the Lirrens. Some of them can turn themselves invisible.”
“That’s not possible,” Karryn protested.
“It’s true, though. I’ve seen Torrin do it. The Lirrenfolk claim it’s a power given to them by their goddess, and it allows them to slip through the darkness completely unobserved. I keep thinking that because I’m half-Lirren, I should be able to do it, too. Sometimes I practice.”
Karryn was still unconvinced. “How?”
“I sit very still and I think about the way the sun shines and the shadows fall. I imagine being part of the shadow. I imagine the sunlight glancing away from me. I just imagine myself not there. . . .”
His voice trailed off. A moment of silence was interrupted by Karryn’s urgent voice. “
Ryne!
Stop that! I don’t like that, come back right now!”
Ryne!
Stop that! I don’t like that, come back right now!”
Her first word had jerked Wen’s full attention to the gazebo and—
laughing gods and goddesses
—she could see that he had almost mastered the trick. His body had a dark and formless shape; he practically disappeared into an unexpected weave of shadows. It wasn’t true invisibility—for she, too, had seen Torrin play that trick, and it was impressive as hell—but she didn’t think it would take Ryne long to figure out the rest of it. And wouldn’t the world be a risky place if Ryne Coravann could walk around completely undetectable, wreaking his endless mischief?
laughing gods and goddesses
—she could see that he had almost mastered the trick. His body had a dark and formless shape; he practically disappeared into an unexpected weave of shadows. It wasn’t true invisibility—for she, too, had seen Torrin play that trick, and it was impressive as hell—but she didn’t think it would take Ryne long to figure out the rest of it. And wouldn’t the world be a risky place if Ryne Coravann could walk around completely undetectable, wreaking his endless mischief?
But laughter made him lose his concentration, and he was instantly his usual solid self. “I can think of
all
kinds of reasons I’d like to be able to completely disappear,” he said. “And none of them are respectable.”
all
kinds of reasons I’d like to be able to completely disappear,” he said. “And none of them are respectable.”
“I’m not sure people like you should be allowed to have magic,” Karryn told him.
“But you can see why I’d want to go to the Lirrens,” he said. “So that’s something I might do in the future.”
If Karryn planned to answer him, she was instantly diverted by the arrival of a vehicle pulling up at the front gate. “Oh—there’s the dressmaker,” she said, jumping to her feet. “I have to go in now. Will I see you tomorrow at Lindy’s?”
“Probably,” he said, standing up to escort her back toward the door. “I’ve got nothing else planned, anyway.”
“Good.”
Wen followed them to the house and then loitered in the shadows while a groom went to fetch the serramar’s horse. Moss had followed the seamstress inside; Wen would see Ryne Coravann off the property.
He surprised her by peering over his shoulder as if looking for someone. When he spotted her, he waved enthusiastically. His grin was such a patent invitation that she strolled forward to exchange a few words.
“Invisibility,” she said. “You
would
choose magic like that.”
would
choose magic like that.”
He appeared delighted. “I knew you were listening.”
“Was the whole demonstration for my benefit, then?”
“Mostly. But you don’t have to worry. I’m not very good at it yet, as you could see.”
“You
pretended
you weren’t very good at it,” she retorted.
pretended
you weren’t very good at it,” she retorted.
This seemed to please him even more. “Oh, I wish that were true! I would sneak back in here tonight and start knocking over benches and flower boxes. Just to make you insane.”
She didn’t want to laugh, but she couldn’t help it. “I’ve fought against magic before,” she said. “Fought with it on my side, too. I confess I’d rather have magic as an ally than an enemy, but all it requires to defeat a mystic is a different kind of weapon.”
He gave her that lazy, devastating smile. “Do you really think I’m your enemy? Or rather, Karryn’s enemy?”
“Have you done anything to prove you’re her friend?” Wen replied softly.
That snapped the smile right off his face, but then he gave a little laugh. The look on his face was appraising. “Maybe we define friendship differently.”
“If you do anything to hurt her, you’re not her friend,” Wen said. “That seems like a pretty simple definition.”
Now he was frowning. “I would never hurt Karryn. I know you don’t like me, but I’m not cruel.”
“You’re thoughtless, and I think you don’t know how cruel a thoughtless man can be,” she replied coolly. “But you’re wrong. I don’t dislike you. I just don’t trust you.”
He jerked his head back, real anger now showing in his eyes. “I can’t believe a guard has the nerve to say such things to a serramar!” he exclaimed. She had to think he was the kind of man who didn’t trade often on his rank; she must have really galled him. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll complain to Jasper about you?”
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