Of Whispers and Daggers ✓ [TLRQ #2]

Chapter 52 - Leavi

Married. Two mornings later and the thought still feels wrong—it reminds me of coming out of the High Valleys and seeing the flat, dead horizon for the first time. No matter what evidence I had that it was real, my mind didn't want to process it. Now that same feeling of amura binds my thoughts just like the wedding ribbon bound Riszev and Aster's hands.

Trying to leave the unease behind, I lengthen my strides. Soon, I approach Riszev's new room for the first time since her marriage. Her two guards block the suite door. I nod at them, but they just eye me.

Confused, I lift the tray in my hands. "I'm here to bring the Princesse Consort her breakfast."

They frown but grudgingly step aside. Balancing the tray on one hand, I knock, then unlock the door. Steeling myself, I open it.

I let out a breath. The front room is empty.

This isn't the first time I've been in here—I helped move the last of Riszev's things during the reception—but it is the first time I've known people were sleeping behind those doors. Discomfort swirls in my stomach, but I hurry to the Consort's door and knock. "Riszev?"

"Enter."

Relieved she's already awake, I slip inside. She sits cross-legged and straight-backed on the floor. Her eyes are closed and her hands move in an intricate motion that reminds me vaguely of the fæn spell. My eyes sweep the room. No one else is here, and the last of the tension leaves my body. I set the tray on her bedside table. "Breakfast."

Her eyes stay closed. "Where were you yesterday?"

"I didn't want to bother you." Or Aster. The discomfort in my stomach tightens into a knot. "You never sent for me, so I thought you didn't need me."

"But I did not have to send for you today?" Her raised brows are the only change to her expression.

I don't bother answering her question and instead sit in front of her. "What are you doing?"

Her hands come to rest mid-air, fingers forming two touching circles. She opens her eyes and drops her arms to her lap. "Ashva. It centers your mind"—she touches her forehead—"and your self." She touches her heart. "Helpful with magic. Eri did not give me much skill with casting, but I can still honor her with ashva." She smiles, dropping her hand again. "Do you want to learn?"

I'm intrigued, but if the discipline is anything like fæn, then it'd be idiotic to try it in front of anyone. I don't know what the Retrans think of wild magic, but I don't want to find out by turning silver in front of their princess. I shake my head. "Maybe another day. Right now, your breakfast is getting cold." I wink.

"Bah," she says but smiles, and I rise to retrieve her food.

She offers me morsels from her sparse tray, but I wave my hand. "I already ate." It was a thin, meager bowl of porridge, but it was no less than Illesiarr or Elénna got, and their work is far more taxing than mine.