Kirra grinned. “I don’t believe the tradition exists in Danalustrous. I’ll have to ask my sister. But I’m wondering—” She frowned a little.
“Wondering what?”
“If I might somehow find a way to attend this shadow event at Coravann. I think I might learn something. If all this trouble is originating from the Thirteenth House—”
Romar looked intrigued. “An interesting plan.”
“I’m sure some of my father’s lords have been invited. I would disguise myself as one of them, except I don’t know who might be there and who might not! Very awkward if there were two of us at the same ball on the same night.”
Now he laughed. “I have a better idea. Come with me.” She sent him a look of inquiry. “I’ve been invited. I was invited to the one at Kianlever, too, but I failed to make it. I think it might please the lesser lords to have the regent attend their affairs.” He glanced over at her with a smile. “Perhaps if I demonstrate amiability they will have less desire to murder me.”
She laughed. “Or find it easier to do once you’re in their midst,” she pointed out. “Will you feel safe at such an event?”
“I’ll bring Colton and my men.”
“Thus contradicting your claims to amiability.”
“Surely a man who has been recently attacked can be excused for showing a little caution, even if he’s trying to appear friendly.”
“You might bring one of the Riders as well.”
“No. I want them by Amalie’s side. I had seen Justin in action before, of course, but I could not imagine that all Riders were so skilled. Now that I have watched them all fight, I feel certain she is safe in their hands.”
“That’s something I’ve come to admire about the princess,” Kirra commented. “She has said more than once that she’s not afraid. I don’t believe she is. She’s not stupidly unaware of danger, she’s—fearless. Or very good at judging who can protect her.”
“And lucky to have such protectors at her side.”
“Senneth and Tayse are a formidable combination,” Kirra said. “Add to them the skills that Donnal and Cammon bring, and they are even more impressive. Prescience, strength, and magic. Very hard to counter that.”
“Your own gifts are spectacular,” he said. “I will feel quite safe if you’re the one to accompany me to the Shadow Ball at Coravann.”
She laughed. “I would love to attend,” she admitted. “But in what guise?”
“Why not go as you are now?” he said. “Is Casserah Danalustrous too good to be seen at such a function?”
She smiled a little. “Indeed, no, Casserah is unimpressed by class distinctions. But she hates all social events, so she would be unlikely to attend. However, the Coravann gentry are unlikely to know that. Perhaps I could go as myself after all.”
“That would be even better,” he said.
It took a moment for her to realize what he meant, and then she shot him a glance of irritation. He was laughing. She demanded, “Are you, in fact, the sort of man who can be entrusted with a secret?”
From horseback, he swept her a grand bow. “Serra, I can be trusted with anything you care to bestow on me.”
She tried not to think of what that list might include—
my confidence, my heart
—and made her face stern. “Prove yourself first.”
“That has been my goal since I met you.”
IT took them two and a half days to make it to Coravann Keep, passing through landscape that was increasingly hilly and harsh. The Keep itself was a dour fortress within view of the Lireth Mountains. Kirra had not remembered how close it was to the Lirrenlands, if you discounted the effort it would take to cross the inhospitable Lireth range. She remembered the strange, cautious men she had seen on the streets of Kianlever Court and thought they might see even more of the Lirrenfolk here at the Keep.
Although they were not, at first, particularly evident. As if to make up for the grimness of its central feature, the city surrounding Coravann Keep was a joyful little place of small, pretty buildings, wide boulevards, and excessive flowers. Someone had gone to some trouble to anticipate the arrival of their party, for as soon as the procession passed through the city gates they were greeted by cheering crowds lined up on both sides of the main street. Children threw rose petals before the wheels of the lead carriage and young boys climbed each other’s shoulders to watch them pass by. Kirra caught music from a dozen different sources as individual choirs greeted them with snatches of melody. Up and down the double line of the throng, the chants rose up: “Amalie! Amalie! Amalie!”
“Oh, this is delightful,” Kirra said to Melly as she stretched out the window to see as many of the faces as she could. Up there was a juggler; over there, someone who looked like an acrobat. She could smell meat frying and beer heating up in the sun. “It’s like a fair day. The Festival of Amalie.”
“I’d be frightened to have so many people calling out to me like that,” Melly said.
“The princess doesn’t seem to scare too easily.”
She was not surprised when her carriage halted behind the other two coaches as they came to a stop. “She’s getting out,” Kirra guessed. “So am I, then.”
Indeed, her feet had barely touched the cobblestones before she saw Amalie, Valri, and Senneth disembark from the lead carriage. Valri looked unhappy about the decision, but as she joined the others, Kirra saw a faint smile on Senneth’s face. They waited until the four Riders dismounted and formed a rectangle of protection around Amalie, then the eight of them moved to the very front of the procession. There was a great cheer when Amalie first stepped into view and waved at the crowd. No one surged close enough to try to touch her, though, no doubt discouraged by the upraised swords held in the Riders’ hands.
They proceeded through the winding streets of the Keep city, encountering residents at every corner. Amalie and the Riders stayed in the lead, Valri a few paces behind, Senneth and Kirra side by side behind her. Now and then Amalie paused to kneel on the stone road so a little girl could run up and throw a garland over her head. Twice she accepted gifts from boys who darted past the Riders to press something in her hand. No adults approached her; no apparent danger lurked in the open doors and windows of the buildings fronting the road. But Amalie’s guards were ready for it if it were to come. Kirra gradually became aware that she was starting to sweat from a reaction to warmth much greater than the summer day would seem to warrant. Only then did she realize that Senneth was generating waves of heat, her body at a fever pitch to deliver fire if fire was suddenly called for.
She glanced up and spotted Donnal overhead, gliding above them on outstretched wings. “Hawk,” she said to Senneth with a note of satisfaction.
Senneth nodded. Her eyes never left Amalie’s back. “Won’t protect her against an arrow,” she said. “I’m hoping Cammon can do that. One cry from him and Tayse hauls her to the ground.”
“I don’t understand this girl,” Kirra said, “but I’m starting to really like her.”
A smile for that. “I feel exactly the same way.”
By the time they finally reached the Keep, Kirra was feeling hot and just a little grumpy. It did not exactly cheer her up to pass between the spiked metal gates and stride up to the fortress itself, built entirely of a charred-looking black stone that had probably been quarried in the Lireth Mountains. Still, the reception at the doors was gratifying. Heffel Coravann was there to greet them, bowing low to Amalie, taking Valri’s hand in a warm clasp, thanking all of them for coming. His servants distributed themselves efficiently among the party, taking charge of luggage, offering to lead travelers to their rooms.
“Welcome to Coravann!” Heffel called out, turning away from Valri to include the whole lot of them. He was big, somewhat bearlike, somewhat clumsy, with a florid face and dark hair just beginning to gray. A powerful man starting to show his age, Kirra thought. She knew that her father liked him. This made her believe he was much more astute than he might first appear. “I am very glad to have you here.”
To Kirra’s surprise, Senneth was not entirely pleased at the idea of her attending the Shadow Ball. “It seems dangerous,” Senneth said. “If there are indeed malcontents gathering at these events—”
“Then I’ll get a firsthand look at them.”
“They are hardly likely to draw you aside and confide their plans for insurrection,” Senneth retorted.
“They’re hardly likely to pull me aside to kill me, either.”
“No, but Romar might not be so safe.”
“He’ll bring his men.”
“I wonder if Justin should go with you.”
“Romar would rather have all the Riders watching Amalie.”
“I’ll see what Tayse thinks.”
Tayse didn’t share Senneth’s concerns, or if he did, he considered both Kirra and Romar expendable, because the very next night, Kirra was dressing to attend the Shadow Ball. Melly was horrified that Kirra would waste her time attending such an inferior event and refused to let her wear any of her best gowns, but Kirra thought Casserah looked striking anyway in a dress of muted gold. She wore her ruby pendant and a simple hairstyle and decided she would be the equal of any lady at the gathering.
She had not really considered the logistics of the trip until she met Romar in the great, gloomy foyer of the Keep and glanced out at the courtyard. Yes, of course; they would need to take a coach to cover the ten or fifteen miles to the estates of Bat Templeson, where the ball was to be held. It was still daylight now, which would cut down on whatever romance the situation might inspire, but it would be well past midnight by the time they were traveling back.
She hadn’t thought about that. Whether or not Senneth realized it, this might be the real reason the Shadow Ball was not such a good idea.
“You look lovely,” Romar said, acknowledging her with a bow. “Shall we go?”
The trip out, at least, was passed in comfortable conversation. They watched the unfolding countryside and commented on any features that caught their eyes—attractive estates, roadside taverns, a field green with some crop neither of them could identify. Behind them on the road Kirra could occasionally catch the sounds of twenty men and horses as Romar’s guards followed. She was surprised to find herself, even so, just a bit nervous about their safety should they actually be attacked on Templeson’s lands. She did not think any soldiers could be matched alongside Tayse and the other Riders. And, after all, Merrenstow men were the ones who had yielded Romar up to abductors on the road to Tilt. No, she did not feel particularly well defended—but then, she was perfectly capable of defending herself.
It was close to dark by the time they arrived at the Templeson estate, a large, well-built mansion just now overflowing with light and music. Romar helped Kirra from the coach and kept her hand linked through his elbow as they approached the front door, where three men waited. Two were servants, poised to answer any need; one was their host. Both Kirra and Casserah had actually met Bat Templeson a couple of times, for he had been to Danalustrous. He was a short, good-looking, voluble man who seemed to possess inexhaustible energy. He had always seemed bent on proving himself to be an invaluable ally.
She imagined nothing could have made him happier than the regent’s appearance at his door.
“Lord Romar! Such a pleasure to see you! My humble house is most honored by your presence!” His bow would have been acceptable to the king. “Bettany! Come see who has graced our ball.”
The lady of the house hurried over, a small dark-haired woman who seemed to have energy to match her husband’s. “Lord Romar! We were so pleased to get your note yesterday. Everyone is looking forward to meeting you. Let me take you in and make some introductions.”
“First, I would like to present my companion,” he said, resisting the lady’s attempt to devour him on the spot.
Kirra held her hand out to Bat. “You know me, I think, though it has been a while since you were in Danan Hall.”
“Serra Casserah!” he exclaimed, shaking her hand with great vigor. “No one told me you would be here.”
“Perhaps Lord Romar omitted me from his note.”
“Oh, but there are others here who could have spread the word. Erin Sohta is here tonight, and Berric Fann. They did not so much as mention your name!”