Crescent (Book 1)

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The table in the study is empty save for the map that extends six feet down and five feet across its maple-wood surface.

The thick aged parchment curls toward the edges of the table, decorated with whorls that outline continents and separate seas. I've never seen Crescent in so much detail. A compass rose sits on the top corner of the map and a legend with symbols of ships signal the mountain ranges in the north, desert sands in the south, deltas scattered throughout the mainland, and other important markings. Across the vast expanse of Vervale and its neighboring mortal realms sits the Vervalian crest. I'm staring at the white seal when the doors to the study open and the party files in.

So it begins.

Renly, who seems to be the most avid advocator for all things spices, has already begun bickering with another ambassador and they both head straight for the table arranged with high tea in the corner. A steaming mug already rests at my setting though I wait to add any milk. Lotus biscuits, no doubt Janice's latest baking experiment, remain untouched on the plate beside my cup.

Few offer any greeting other than a simple bow in my direction, and I take the opportunity to smooth my dress and sit. My nerves twitch as I wait for Ceth to appear at the head of the table. I smile at those who immediately take their seats, and though I acknowledge Thayer when he politely bows to me, I thoroughly ignore his companion.

I catch eyes with a glittering Audelia who has swapped her usual golden hoops for a pair of diamond studs so blue, they reflect the same silver light my dress does. Audelia smirks as she takes the seat to my right, only rolling her eyes when Thayer slides into the seat beside her. I have to bite back my own grin. The pair merely tolerate each other. Yet, they both helped me when I needed it.

Conversations halt when Ceth enters the study, and I finally quit fiddling with the mother of pearl buttons on the cuff of my sweater. Sunlight casts a golden glow around his head as he saunters to the head of the table. Dully ignoring me, we bow, and all sit with him.

"Gentlemen," he greets. "Ladies," he adds with a curt nod toward me. "Pacta sunt servanda." Agreements must be kept, I vaguely remember reading in one of the hundreds of books I've read about court now.

"Pacta sunt servanda," the group recites back. And then the true work begins.

At first it's mainly numbers. An inventory of the things each realm is willing to trade or have already. Vervale and Nexus have already traded timber, but Ceth has apparently yet to offer anything of real value from what I can tell of everyone else's inventory. He's biding time.

Renly speaks for Lushwind, and he bows his head as he addresses me. "Do you have a favorite piece, Lady Brenna?"

Everyone's been talking about jewels for a while now. Ceth's green eyes practically dare me to misstep, but I think back to the books I read last night. "I do. Two actually. Josephine Drakova's Pearls and Mombasa's silver."

Renly chuckles, shaking his head. "Interesting history behind those two, wouldn't you say?"

"That's why I like them," I quip. "A strand of pearls forged in the darkest depths of the sea only to be found and bewitched by a Drakova Princess? And a necklace of pure silver engraved by man's oldest known language? The history is the best part."

Audelia pipes up next. "You mean, both of those pieces are in your possession?"

"Yes," Ceth snaps, reaching across the Maplewood table to pat my hand, shutting me up. "That and their sister collections."

"Meaning to say, you also have the lost Drakova emeralds?" Thayer poses next. I freeze at the question. My eyes drift toward Gabriel who lifts a brow in question though his face remains stoic.

The Lost Drakova Emeralds are just that: Lost. I don't remember reading about having them at all last night. I read about almost every piece we currently have in our possession. Ceth shrugs and leans back, confidence rolling off of him in waves. "Brenna would be happy to show them to you."

Gabriel steps in then, no sign of doubt at us having them. "Many families would pay a great deal of money to see those emeralds again. They've been lost for quite some time."

Ceth's eyes are cold as he sizes Gabriel up. The look is meant to be intimidating, a look like that of a high lord looking down on their subject, but Gabriel doesn't budge an inch. He remains a wall, unfeeling, revealing nothing. "If fate is to be believed, then they fell into good hands." Ceth taps his fingers against the table slowly. "But I'd be willing to give them up. Given the right price."

"I assume Wolfsbane and Black Saffras are something you'd be interested in trading?"

I eye the group and upon spotting the confusion on a few faces, I dare to ask: "Black Saffras?"

Ceth answers without looking away from the male. "A magical compound derived from wolfsbane." Wolfsbane is a poisonous compound, I know that much. I can only guess that trading such a thing might be to develop some kind of antidote or something. But what does Black Saffras do? And why is Ceth interested in having it? "The trade is fair," Ceth finally yields. The first and only meaningful trade he's made so far. My gut tells me to remember this particular detail. With what I found in the tower and the information from the witch, I know that any detail can be important.

For the rest of the meeting, I log details away in my head, watching as people come forward and proffer goods from each realm. I make it a point to remember who speaks and who keeps to themselves. We briefly stopped around noon to stuff our mouths full for lunch before the debating continued. While I listened, I found that most of it was endless heated debate about miniscule details. Most of the larger pre-existing deals have been long established.

My tea has long been drained to the dregs by the time we stand for dinner. The meal passes quickly, and I find that I'm tired enough that I fall asleep easily. The nightmares still plague me, but like every night, my dreams tear further and further from the seam of reality.

||||||||||

The ballroom is draped in every shade of red imaginable. It blurs together in a sea of flowing crimson and dripping scarlet, and I swim in the vastness of it. I swim, I tire, I sink.

Ceth smiles as I succumb to the waves of people that swarm me. He holds out a taunting hand with no intention of helping me. My gown is too tight, and the dagger strapped to my thigh is like a weight dragging me down. I'm drowning, and somewhere in the distance, I hear a voice.

"Leave this place," Rosie whispers past the noise, past the swarm closing in. Even in my dreaming, I know I've heard it before. But Rosie's sweet voice has me ignoring all logic and reason. I fight against the ocean of limbs, clambering through the sea of red to try and see the other side.

"Brenna."

"Brenna."

"Brenna."

Voices call me, and I push past the crowd enough to see a figure standing at the edge of the red sea, leering at me. The figure I recognize isn't my sister at all... It's the creature of the wood.