From Blood & Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,64

in the atrium since they’d arrived at Castle Teerman after their Rites.

Dafina, a second daughter of a rich merchant, fluttered a silk, lilac-hued folding fan as if she were attempting to end the life of an insect only she could see. While late-morning sun poured in through the windows, the atrium was still cool, and I doubted Dafina had grown overheated between eating cucumber sandwiches and sipping tea.

Beside her, Loren, the second daughter of a successful trader, had all but given up on sewing the tiny crystals onto her mask that was to be worn during the upcoming Rite, and had fully committed herself to watching every move the dark-haired Royal Guard made. I was confident she knew just how many breaths Hawke took in a minute.

Deep down, I knew why I hadn’t risen and left the room like I was supposed to, like I knew Tawny waited for me to do. I understood why I was so willing to risk censure for simply sitting and minding my own business.

I was enthralled by the antics of the two Ladies in Wait.

Loren had already done several things to catch Hawke’s attention. She’d dropped her pouch of crystals—which Hawke had gallantly assisted her in retrieving—while she pretended to be engrossed with a blue-winged bird hopping along the branches of a tree close to the windows. That had provoked Dafina to feign a faint, due to what, I had no idea. Somehow, the neckline of her blue gown had slipped so far, I wondered how she managed not to fall out of it.

I couldn’t fall out of my dress if it was on fire.

My gown was all flowing sleeves, tiny beads, and a bodice that nearly reached my neck. The material was far too thin and delicate for me to sheathe the dagger to my thigh. As soon as I could change into something else, the blade would be back where it belonged.

Ever the gentleman, Hawke had escorted Dafina to the chaise and had brought her a glass of mint water. Not to be outdone, Loren then swooned from a sudden, inexplicable headache that she’d quickly recovered from once Hawke had brandished a smile, the one that showed the dimple in his right cheek.

There’d been no headache, just as there’d been no faint. I’d opened up my senses out of curiosity and felt no pain or anguish from either of them other than a thread of sadness. I thought that it might be due to Malessa’s death, even though neither spoke of her.

“You know what I heard?” Dafina snapped her fan as she dragged her teeth over her lower lip, glancing toward Hawke. “Someone,”—she drew out the word and then lowered her voice—“has been a rather frequent visitor of one of those…” Her gaze flicked to me. “One of those dens in the city.”

“Dens?” Tawny asked, giving up pretending that they weren’t there. Not that I could blame her. She was friends with them, and while the Ladies in Wait were well aware that they probably shouldn’t be sitting with me, Tawny appeared just as entertained as I was by their antics.

Dafina sent her a meaningful look. “You know the kind, where men and women often go to play cards and other games.”

Tawny’s brows lifted. “You’re talking about the Red Pearl?”

“I was trying to be discreet.” Dafina sighed, her glance darting pointedly in my direction. “But, yes.”

I almost laughed at Dafina’s attempt to shield me from the knowledge of such a place. I wondered what she’d do if she knew I’d been there.

“And what have you heard he does at such a place?” Tawny nudged me with her foot under the table. “I imagine he’s there to play cards, right? Or do you…?” Pressing a hand to her chest, she slumped in her chair and sighed. A curl slipped free from the elaborate twist that was trying—and failing—to contain her hair. “Or do you think he engages in other, more illicit…games?”

Tawny knew exactly what Hawke did at the Red Pearl.

I wanted to kick her…like a Maiden, of course.

“I’m sure playing cards is all he does.” Loren arched a brow as she pressed her yellow and red fan against the deep blue of her dress. The contrast of the fan and gown was…atrocious and also interesting. My gaze dipped to her mask. Crystals of every color were already sewn into the material. I was sure it would look like a rainbow had vomited all over her face once she finished. “If that is all