The Obsidian Pillar

Chapter Thirty-one

I spent the remaining hours of that long night lying awake under the canopied bed. Sebastien had left the room almost immediately after our conversation, silent and dejected. My decision did not sit comfortably with me, and as soon as he had left, I was restless.

What was my life without him? I had little idea of what my next step would be. Ronov and Dalton might have been dead, I had spurned Sebastien and the mysterious sorcerer's help, and now I was alone once more.

I finally tumbled out of the bed when the sun began to paint the sky with brushstrokes of warm yellows and pinks. A maid had arrived with a new dress for me, no doubt sent at Preliah's behest, and made from soft cotton and dyed in a pale blue. Vakaarian colours, of course. The arms were covered down to the wrists and the skirt was puffed out by a large petticoat. There was a distinct lack of corset and it was relatively low maintenance, which pleased me greatly.

The dining room had been returned to its usual appearance with the long table now in the centre of the room. Preliah was already sat at the head of the table, alone.

'Good morning, Valla. Are you well?' she asked genially. I could see where Preliah had attempted to cover her shadowed eyes with powder from the seat that I took near her.

'Quite well, thank you.'

'Your lip looks sore.' I had forgotten about Brindt, after the following conversations with Sebastien and the sorcerer.

'Don't worry, Valla, he hasn't shown himself yet. I have cause to think that he fled from here immediately after. You shouldn't ever cross a prince.' She smiled warmly.

'I am indebted to yourself and the prince, Preliah. Your kindness knows no bounds.'

Preliah waved her hand to stop my praise. 'Say no more about it. It was a strange night, but I can't say that I wasn't excited by all the trouble that you brought with you, it can be rather boring here.' She smiled wickedly and nibbled at some bread covered in honey. My stomach growled. 'Eat, girl! Honestly, how did you ever survive the journey here?'

After a few minutes of silence whilst we ate, I turned the words over in my mouth as I wondered how to phrase them. 'Preliah, I want to apologise...'

'Don't,' she interrupted sharply. 'I was being ridiculous. I can't stand not knowing everything and my mind was doing somersaults, as you can imagine. He explained everything to me though,' she finished with a wide smile. Her red hair was loose about her shoulders and her yellow cotton dress set the fiery colour off beautifully. How could he not love her?

'Everything?' I asked, uncertainly.

'Yes.' Preliah widened her eyes and bit her lip playfully. 'You're quite a handful, aren't you? You were lucky that you had the prince with you. It's no wonder that you have such a close bond, you know, with him saving your life as often as he has.' She took a sip of tea. 'The Gods were smiling on us all on the day that Sebastien was born.'

I looked at my plate while I digested Preliah's words.

'That reminds me, father will be joining us soon. He returned early this morning.'