You Are Mine (5 page)

“
Chryos brought a good
number of supporters this year.” Cynthia motions toward the group.
“I heard they have around sixty people dueling. But they're
supposed to be decent. Some of them wear strange framed windows in
front of their eyes though.”

I glance to where she points. A large
number of participants with black clothes and red bands around
their arms watch a duel. “That's more than mother said they had
last year. How do you know which ones they are?”

“
Some of the servants were
chatty while I was getting refreshments. Apparently, Chryos wants
to show off their skills.”

The normal servants she means.
Tarnished aren't allowed to speak freely with us. I peek at the
closest one. Though her face is inked with swirls around her eyes
and cheeks making emotions hard to gauge, she seems calm. The
tarnished catches me watching and stares back. Quickly, I avert my
gaze.

Those eyes didn't look calm or
emotionless.

The haunted look plagues me as I focus
on Cynthia's words, silently begging for distraction. “Lots of
people from Arllos are here as well. They're the purple
ones.”

The purple canopies are straight
across the field from us. “What else did you hear?”

“
Litilas didn't show, but
more Envadi than expected. Look at the bunch of them wearing white
bands.”

Of course the women without chaperons
would be from the most barbaric of countries. I should have
realized that before.

“
I always knew Envadi were
enormous,” she continues, “but they need seats bigger than
Father's. Only three of them are actually dueling. The Nislia have
less though. There's only a few of them watching and none of them
are dueling. They're the bits of green you see.” She sips her
drink. “Look, there's Thomas.”

He struts out onto the dueling circle
closest to us. A man older than him but younger than Father
follows. The man angles toward the Grand Chancellor. He appears
more aged than I first thought, in a rough way, like his youth was
ripped from him. Much of the aging is in his sunken eyes, but also
in the grooves on the sides of his mouth. His face is
haunting.

“
That's Chancellor Jacob.
One of the servants pointed him out. It's a shame he never had any
children. And to lose the only one he was going to get.” She shakes
her head.

“
It's a shame his wife is
dead,” I reply. Why am I the only one to ever think of
her?

“
Must you be
morbid?”

Father still appears to be paying us
no mind. I lower my voice further just in case. “It's true. Men
should be the ones to carry babes since they care about them so
much. Then they could die in childbirth and we wouldn't have to
fear it.”

Cynthia surveys the area around us.
“Hold your tongue. You know most woman can be healed. We needn't
fear it, but if you keep talking like this you're bound to be
punished.” She glances at the field. “Look, another duel is
starting.”

I watch the field only partially
paying attention. The men bow to each other and the spells spring
forth. Despite my trying not to, I keep thinking on the tarnished
and the haunted look in its eyes.

The crowd lets out a gasp, yanking me
from my thoughts. Chancellor Jacob is lying on the ground, not
moving.

“
What happened?” I
ask.

Cynthia shakes her head, watching the
scene with wide eyes.

The mediator checks on the Chancellor.
After a moment he announces, “Dead.”

I jump to my feet. Thomas lifts both
fists and the people cheer. He pumps his arm, sending yellow sparks
in the air. The mass grows louder. My gaze goes to the dead
Chancellor. I swallow.

“
Thomas is magnificent,”
Father says. “Did you see that spell? Of course you girls didn't,
but it was incomparable.”

Certainly incomparable. A man is
dead.

“
You girls look sick,” he
continues, “but I tell you it was supreme. Once the shock passes
you'll see. My Serena is a lucky girl.”

Lucky?

“
Should I get the soothing
tea?” Cynthia's voice is weak.

“
Soothing tea? At a moment
like this?” Father says. “It's a time for celebration, not calming,
halfwit.”

The cheers continue a while longer. My
head buzzes as I watch. Finally, the Grand Chancellor stands and
raises his arm. Silence. Thomas stands on the ground before the
Grand Chancellor's box.

“
In accordance with
tournament rules, all that Chancellor Jacob had is now yours.
Congratulations, Chancellor Thomas.”

The horde screams with approval. I
collapse in my chair. My stomach churns as if I were stuck in the
carriage.

“
Just think of all my
son-in-law will oversee now,” Father says. “No waiting for him to
join the council. A Chancellor. A Chancellor!”

My hands shake. Thomas struts around
the field casting spells as the merriment focuses on him. He comes
toward the box and enters it. Without a word, he kneels before me
and the crest. All eyes are on us. I force a pleased smile and the
crowd once again goes silent.

An emerald spell is forming on the
other side of the crest. After a moment, it weaves itself into the
crest, moving and changing it. When it stops, there's a laurel
branch entwined with the hand and emeralds bordering the maroon
edges. Chancellor Jacob's crest blended with Thomas's. I don't know
much, but I do know its lineage rivals that of the Grand
Chancellor's.

After a moment of silence, Thomas
whispers, “Give me your hand.”

The idea of touching this killer
repels me, but the memory of Father's earlier hex is still fresh. I
reach out my gloved fingers. He takes my hand, stands, and jerks me
up beside him. He smashes his lips against mine. The jubilation is
louder than ever. I can't think above the ruckus and pressure. I
try to pull away from him, but he grasps my head, keeping me close.
He tastes salty and rancid.

Finally he pulls away, a gleam in his
eye. I force myself not to wipe my mouth. The foul taste of him
lingers. He turns to the crowd, raises an arm, and shoots a bigger
version of the newly made crest into the air above the field.
Father edges closer to us, beaming. Cynthia stands on the other
side of Thomas, out of sight and reach. I see nothing exciting
about the two men at my side and another's body on the field before
me.

Everyone is cheering. The boxes and
stands are wild with people. Countries are yelling, though ours is
the loudest, with colors waving madly. All except one group. The
group that by all accounts should be letting their barbaric nature
show the most. The Envadi stand silent.

Chapter Four

“
T
he way you blocked and attacked at the same time,” Father's
spoon waves about as he speaks, leaving green splatters everywhere,
“it was the quickest I've seen anyone move during a
tournament.”

Never have I seen him so lively. With
any luck, the change will mean fewer punishments. The electric
lights in the chandelier overhead flicker, casting an odd glow
across the far stretching, but mostly unused, table. It makes me
nervous. At home, Father makes us eat under candlelight.

Thomas gives a lopsided grin and makes
like he's snatching a bug out of the air. “I've always had quick
reflexes. Better than those spying Envadi scum. Only someone as
powerful as me can have a killing during a tournament. What do you
think, Serena?”

My spoon slips into my green pea soup.
I've never been required to speak during dinner before. “I agree
with Father.”

“
You must think something
beyond that, woman. Don't my spells impress you? My new title make
you yearn for when you'll be my wife? I even have a new house. Have
you ever been to Chancellor Jacob's manor?”

He stares at me expectantly. Could he
actually want an answer? Why is he speaking to me in such a way? He
should know women don't have opinions on things. At least not ones
we speak aloud. Of course I don't yearn to be his wife. And I've
certainly never had reason to attend a Chancellor's home. Until
now. The small amount of food in my stomach protests.

The staring continues. I don't dare to
pretend to take another bite while he keeps asking questions. “I
haven't.”

“
It's the grandest place
I've ever seen. Been in his family for more generations than you
can think. But now it's mine. Perhaps if you are good after we wed,
I'll let you visit.”

“
That's a treat indeed,”
Father says. “Been often enough myself for council meetings. Do you
think you'll use it to host council meetings when it's your time to
host?”

“
Chancellor Ryan said I
shouldn't bother, but I may anyway,” Chancellor Thomas replies and
the two go back to conversing without me.

Cynthia taps her spoon on the table to
get my attention. With a nod toward my soup, she takes a meaningful
sip of her own. I resume pretending to eat. It's difficult to feign
hunger while sickened by the day's events.

After finishing an overly sweetened
cherry dessert, the men excuse themselves, with a reminder that
we're leaving early in the morning to go back to the tournament. I
sigh.

“
That was the most
uncomfortable dinner I've sat through,” I say. “How can they eat
when they saw a man die? When he killed someone?”

Cynthia holds a finger to her lips and
looks around. “Let's go to the sitting room, shall we?”

There are several servants on the edge
of our conversation. Mostly tarnished in their strange dark skirts
and unmatched, dull blouses, but some of the lower class men wait
as well. Servants who are serving to pay off debts are trouble.
Gossip from them can spread as easily as mother gets with child.
“Of course. Might as well take advantage of the space.”

We walk to the joined sitting room by
our assigned rooms and close the door. A pungent candy-like aroma
clings to the air. I spot sachets of dried flowers and leaves
clustered on the small table in front of the sofa and chairs. The
most offending odor is laurel. The leaves of success. A reminder of
my new Master, no doubt. I want to throw them out.

“
What has gotten into
you?” Cynthia puts her hands on her hips. If she'd been watching
mother closer, she'd know they're supposed to be fisted as well. “I
know you're unhappy, but you must be more cautious. You can't
continue being so out spoken. You've been getting worse ever since
your birthday.”

The day my future took a path away
from her. I clench my teeth. One-by-one I pull my fingers from my
glove, then take it completely off. After repeating the action with
the other one, I throw them on the back of a chair. The cool air is
refreshing against my freed skin.

“
He murdered someone. I
don't like it. Rather, I hate it. Doesn't it bother
you?”

“
Of course it does,
Serena. I'm not totally unfeeling. But I know when to be cautious.
I don't want to see you taken from me. From us.”

The words sting with truth, yet they
don't change facts. “Thomas already owns me. My engagement ceremony
is a little over four weeks away, the wedding four months after
that. I'm leaving you. Nothing can stop that.”

She plops down in a chair.
“But I'll still be able to see you from time to time. Dinner
parties, balls, and such. But if you make a wrong
turn
—
”

“
Why do you keep thinking
I'll do something wrong?”

“
Because sometimes you act
as if there are no consequences to your words. I'm used to you
being this way around Father, but things are different now.” She
sniffs. “I don't know how I would go on without seeing you again.
How are we going to make it at home without you? You always stand
up for us and take the brunt of everything. It'll be hard enough in
four months. If you become tarnished, it would be terrible. It
would be as if you were dead.”

Guilt pricks at me. I focus on that
and not the fear that's been in me ever since Thomas's threat to
tarnish me. I settle myself on the floor beside her seat. “Hush
now. No tears. I don't do as much for you and the others as you
think.”

“
You do. We owe so much
for everything you do for us.”

“
Now you're just being
silly.”

She sits straighter. “You remember the
time you visited Aunt Mary last year?”

“
Yes. She has the most
lovely peach orchards.” The trees were in full bloom and went on
farther than I could see. Plus, Uncle wasn't so ready with
punishments. I wish he hadn't died so I could go again.

Several moments of silence pass, full
of sweet memories of wandering the groves unaccompanied and
visiting with Aunt Mary before she speaks. “Father hexed me three
times and beat me once while you were away. He beat Bethany twice,
and I lost count of how many times he hexed her.”

I slouch against the side of her
chair, not caring that it digs into my back. Getting away and
avoiding Father's punishments came with a price I didn't know I was
paying. “Why didn't you say anything?”