These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overy

Author:Alexandra Overy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Published: 2021-02-10T15:52:17+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Asya almost wished more mysterious figures would leap out of the shadows. An onslaught of masked assailants would be preferable to the oppressive weight of the courtiers’ accusing, fearful eyes.

Certainly better than this conversation, and the hundred missteps she was undoubtedly making. But the vibishop wouldn’t leave her side, his arm fixed through hers from the moment she’d stepped into the room.

“I’m surprised your sister has not brokered more formal introductions for you,” the vibishop went on, his voice soft as spun silk. “The cabinet has been eager to speak with you.”

Asya swallowed. Izaveta had warned her of the potential pitfalls this evening would provide, of the way members of the court might try to use her. And Asya felt the trap in those words—one she wasn’t adept enough to evade. “I—uh, she’s had a lot to do.”

She looked around for any way out, but there was no sign of her sister’s gleaming kokoshnik. And with the whispers rustling around her, hungry wolves all eager for a piece, Asya couldn’t remember her sister’s advice. The people she’d told her to stay near, the ones she should avoid.

She shot a glance at the doorway, as if she might ask it to swallow her back up.

Then she felt a light touch on her elbow, the barest brush of fingers. Not more than the flutter of a cobweb, but it sparked across Asya’s skin. She looked back to meet Yuliana’s steely gaze. The strashe’s expression was set, and she gave Asya a small nod. A tiny movement that said she wasn’t entirely alone.

Something had changed between them, a shift in the balance, after the night Yuliana had helped stop her nightmares.

The nightmares still hovered, as constant as the Calling. But Yuliana’s words helped, her soft intonation. Her calming presence. They’d been sparring too, spending mornings in the training grounds—luckily, without the Firebird making an appearance. Asya felt like she saw a little more of the strashe in those precious snatched moments. And, perhaps, that Yuliana was seeing a little more of her.

Seeing her as more than the flames.

The vibishop inclined his head, simpering. “Of course, especially with the events of today.”

Asya picked at one of the glittering beads sewn onto her gown, staring down at the flowing flame-red fabric, dripping in embroidered feathers, to avoid the vibishop’s piercing gaze. “What events are those?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his lips twitch toward a smile. “I’m sure she didn’t want to bother you with strange tales.”

Asya gritted her teeth. Couldn’t he just say outright what he meant?

He steered her through another knot of courtiers, drawing their attention. “An odd story from a small village near Vas Tiraviya.” Sanislav leaned in, conspiratorial. “A trader claims the occupants have vanished, humans and animals alike.”

She stopped short. “What?”

“Indeed,” Sanislav went on, with an air of vague interest. “A most puzzling situation. The trader claims all that was left was a whispering fog. Perhaps a new symptom of the Fading.”

An icy dread crept up Asya’s spine.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.