Chapter 386 (1/2)

Chapter 386

CAERA DENOIR

The sun was setting behind roiling stor my own It had been a tense and dull few days since the Victoriad’s incohblood Denoir had, expectedly, gone on full alert after the Victoriad They had immediately withdrawn ed for the entire extended blood to return to our pri For days, the estate had been swar cousins and vassal lords, but Corbett and Lenora were keeping me isolated even from our own blood

It seemed like they didn’t want anyone else to ascertain the full depth of my connection to Grey until they had laid the appropriate political groundwork

This suited me just fine I had been unable to speak with Scythe Seris since the Victoriad, and I hadn’t heard from Grey—not that I expected to—which only led to more and more questions, none of which I had answers for

I found myself frustrated in a way I hadn’t experienced since I was a freshly awakened teenage girl, forced to hide a power that I simultaneously wished I didn’t have but also wanted to explore and understand Until I could go to Scythe Seris, however, I saw no better alternative than si with my adoptive parents’ wishes

A boy suddenly appeared in the yards belo, sprinting with all hischase, a sling spinning in one hand With a jerk, he let a projectile fly, but the younger boy dove forward, rolling under it When he popped back to his feet, he took just enough tiue out at his pursuer, then vanished out the other side of the frame, the older boy close on his heels

I sainst ood to know that there was so Even if it was only ent as the average toadstool

A thunderclap shook the glass of an to patter against it The boys began to shout as they were no doubt soaked by the sudden deluge

Closer at hand, barely audible beneath the noise of the stor a silver hairpin from my desk, I spun to hed and lowered ainst the doorfraure filled the doorway in a vaguely threatening way, although the look on his face was more amused than hostile

He swept his carefully tri “Your senses are growing dull, little sister If I were an assassin—”

“Then this pin would be in your eye, and your blood would be on fire,” I said coolly, turningto any of your didactic dithering What do you—or rather, what do Corbett and Lenora want?”

Lauden held up his hands as a sign of peace “No need to punish the ue is sharper and burns worse than that of a sun-scythe toad Father would like you to be ready, that is all We’ll bewithin the hour”

I set the pin down and leaned against the desk “Within the hour Message received”

Lauden’s brows rose, but he said nothing else as he turned on his heel andnorant oaf,” I muttered under my breath as I followed hiuilty squir had nothing to do with Lauden, and he had actually—perhaps for the first tienuine effort to be pleasant since the Victoriad Of course, he also teased me several times about my “boyfriend” Grey, who, as it had turned out, was soth, so it oodtable, I took a seat on the cushi+oned stool and gazed aton Grey

“Where is he now?” I asked the mirror, but there was no answer exceptback atfor Grey and me—maybe even for all of Alacrya That was yet to be seen, which was in large part the purpose of theready for The events of the Victoriad had shown light through a crack in Agrona’s perceived infallibility His own right hand had been challenged and killed, and when Agrona arrived to show off the power of his new petto capture Grey in what could only be seen as a stunning defeat

But not every Alacryan would understand what had happened And even if they did, et amidst the threat of ith the other asuras, or would simply continue to toe the line for fear of the Vritra

Cowards, I thought, watching my lip tense into a frown

Taken by a sudden reckless impulse, I unclasped the medallion that I alore aroundtable In the er hidden by the medallion’s illusory powers I pulled my lips back from my teeth and snarled at the mirror

Now that would be quite the look for this evening’sthe expression fade The face left behind was cold, al who I was Of being isolated fro to me that I’d never had before: a peer, a confidant A friend

I pictured again his regretful gaze in the moments before he vanished He didn’t want to leave me behind, I assured myself, but…

Hoell did I really know hi, I took up the amulet and reclasped it behind my neck In thetentatively up, I ran rooves, and points Just because I couldn’t see theone

With practiced efficiency, I prepared for theLenora wished for own for ant, but non-threatening Many a highblood had devoured itself tail first in less dire circumstances than what the Denoirs now faced

And as an outsider—an adoptive Vritra-blood—ed blade for the Denoirs As much as I was a point of pride and potential empowerment, any misstep either with or froht leash I had been kept on hter by the day

I had just finished pinning up ht knock on own around ehtly old-and-ruby pin that doubled as a blade if necessary I didn’t expect to be attacked in my own ho into a stately walk, I crossed the roo outside with Arian Nessa clicked her tongue, her eyes narrowing critically at ers twitched as she said, “Lady Caera, Highlord and Lady Denoir request your presence in the parlor”

“By alldown the hall I fell into step behind her, and heard Arian’s soft footfalls behind me

We crossed paths with only a few other Denoirs on the way to the parlor Each of theiveinto one past There was curiosity there, but also fear, frustration, and even outright hostility

They may not knohat my relationshi+p with the mysterious Grey had been, but they kneas a beacon drawing unwanted attention to Highblood Denoir While other bloods—high, na about recent events, the Denoirs were on high alert, uncertain if they—ould survive

Read first at ""ReadNovelFullcoh I was certain the Denoirs would place the blame on me, in reality it was Corbett and Lenora’s insistence on involving the highblood in Scythe Seris’s business that had led to this point Inviting Grey for dinner,endless questions about hiidan and Central Academy…they had tried to draw connections between themselves and Grey And they had succeeded, which put the entire blood at risk

Not that I’d fault theiven Grey a chance, even protection during the trial It almost made me dread as to come I hadn’t been able to read Corbett’s mood at all over the last few days

Instead of entering the parlor through the main doors, Nessa took us down a servants’ stairs and in through a shadowed alcove Corbett, Lenora, and Lauden were already there, as was Corbett’s brother, Arden Teagen and a wouards, I assu the parlor doors

Lenora’s hand went to Corbett’s ar whatever he’d been saying The pair of theh with a hundred tiive theaze, he turned around, grinned, and then held out his hands in a gesture of welcohtly iving hih to be onthe preferred titles for my adoptive parents and their many relatives and vassals, but I’d always called Arden “Uncle” In part because he had insisted on it throughout rew into adulthood to break the habit—but also because I knew it irritated Corbett that I didn’t fight back against the familial title the way I did with “Mother” and “Father”

“What kind of trouble have you gotten us into now, ay little bird?” he chuckled,

Despite being Corbett’s younger brother, Arden looked ten years older He was shorter and heavier, with a pronounced belly and olive hair that was receding away from his tee, hiding a blade-sharpfeatures That, and a potent regalia

“That re the words out so they lingered in the air

My adoptive father hite and navy, as usual, but his suit had an aggressive,pauldron that extended into a narrow gorget that wrapped around his neck His thin blade hung fro hie into battle

Lenora, on the other hand, wore a soft, flowing navy gown, billowing out and lending ar and spice, I thought It was a presentation they had perfected over their longIn reality, they were e in these political ames with their own blood, however My pulse quickened Itthe rest in,” Corbett said next

Instead of sending one of the servants, Lenora went herself

Corbett waved for htly to the side No other words were exchanged, and I felt like the threeat me

Within seconds, Lenora returned, followed by Arden’s wife, Melitta, who entered with their children, Colhly beneath rass stains on his clothes

The three bowed deeply to the Highlord and Lady, and I caught Alden give his sons a wink as they marched by

Lord Justus Denoir followed Corbett’s uncle was in his sixties His hair had gone gray, and there were two gray streaks in his goatee, but he stood straight and strong, carrying hi nobility he was Corbett and Justus had always had a difficult relationshi+p, as Justus had intended to becohlord when Corbett’s father, Corvus, died, but the deceased highlord had outmaneuvered his brother and set Corbett in his place

Still, infighting and backstabbing was an inevitable path to see your own highblood crumble, and so the tillful men had kept a forced sort of peace between the Justus was Lady Gemma Denoir, Lenora’s oldest sister She walked stiffly, like she was carrying a sword in her backside, taking her ti the roo with black geown The effect made her crystalline blue eyes shi+ne like diah Lady Ge tone to every hlord and Lady was shallower than was proper When her eyes caughtin disgust, and she simply walked past

And so it went, for a while The Denoirs traipsed in by ones and twos, starting with the highest rankingdown to the lowliest vassals There were others ere also technically considered hblood but who lacked any station within it, and so had not been invited to this hblood had been seated and plied with drinks by Lauden, Corbett gestured for me and my adoptive brother to take seats as well The parlor was just large enough to accoive thea conspiratorial air

When Corbett’s chief attendant closed the doors, leaving only uards, such as Taegen and Arian, inside the room, the impression deepened

“As you are all certainly aware,” Corbett began without preamble, “the events of the recent Victoriad are without precedent in the known history of Alacrya”

Lady Ge a raised brow fro the older sister, Gemma was an adoptive member of the blood, taken in after her own husband died, and she carried no position or authority beyond what her relationshi+p with Lenora granted her There was nearly always an edge of bitterness and one-upether

“True enough, Highlord,” one of the older cousins—Dereth or Drothel or sootten—said amicably, but his bushy broere pinched in a nervous frown, “but what does that have to do with the Denoirs? Are you confirhblood is soled with this Acender Grey fellow?” Read first at ""ReadNovelFullco back in a thick-cusioned chair, ht red wine that I wasn’t drinking That subtle tic was the only sign of his agitation, however, and when he spoke again, his words cahblood Denoir’s relationshi+p with the man called Grey, first we estured to his brother

Arden stood, clasping his hands behind his back so that his pouchy belly stuck out even farther “Yes, indeed Thank you, Brother” He cleared his throat “Just yesterday, a large detaches, in all—returned fro the rest of the blood, likely trying to ascertain who else er way Ge still, it was clear she, at least, certainly did