Page 30 of The Fury She Holds
Rain waved his hand. “Just how selfish it was to break his engagement. They think it ruined the alliance with the eastern kingdom and the trade agreements.”
“The kitchen had a lot to say about that too,” Egan added. “There was talk that only a fool or someone with no need for alliances would break an engagement.”
Rain nodded. “It could lead foreign powers to speculate the king has something up his sleeve and turn unwanted attention to Meladair.”
“Right,” Egan agreed. “One of the cooks argued there’s evil lurking already, trying to find out what he’s hiding. They brought up the missing people.”
Tal’s eyes found Carrick’s. She ground her teeth. Everyone had been affected by the disappearances. She had been searching for too long without finding a single person.
Egan continued. "One of the maids said one of her girls never showed up yesterday. She said the girl had as much fire in her as her hair color and probably ran off with the blacksmith’s apprentice, but the cook thought otherwise.”
Tal leaned forward. “Did they say anything else?”
Egan hesitated. “Ah, no. That was about the time when you, er...”
She threw her hands up in frustration. “Look, I told you guys it was a bad idea, and I would screw up royally. I don’t know what Daire was thinking when he invited me.”
Not one to put blame on Tal, Carrick reluctantly admitted to not having much time to gather information of his own. “Everyone was too afraid to approach me,” he mumbled.
Talwyn turned to Sybil. “Why didn’t you tell me to stop drinking the champagne? You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
Sybil waved her away.
Tal pointed an accusatory finger in the seer’s direction. “And that mead! You knew. You knew I would drink too much. What vision did you see, Syb?”
“Don’t blame me for your alcohol problem. I did my part for the night. I wasn’t supposed toactuallychaperone you.”
“You’re going to tell me,” she mumbled when Sybil pretended not to hear her. “Rain, did you get a good look at the guy I danced with?”
“You mean Daire?” Rainier asked.
“No, before him. The guy in the white suit with dark hair. Some noble or something.”
“You danced with someone else?” Egan asked.
“I didn’t see, sorry,” Rain replied.
“I thought you saw everything,” Talwyn teased with only a little attitude.
“Tal, stop blaming the rest of us for doing our part. Rain engrossed himself in high society like he was tasked to do.” Sybil sneered.
While Sybil’s humor involved frequent teasing, this level of ridicule grated on Tal’s nerves. “I wasn’t trying to blame him. The guy saved me from falling off the balcony last night. He was a bit of a coquette. I just want to know who he was.”
“You fell off the balcony?!” Egan leaned over the table.
Carrick ran a hand over his face. “Tal, what the hells did you do last night?”
“I think it’s time she reevaluates her relationship with alcohol,” Rain muttered.
“My relationship with alcohol is perfectly fine. And no, I didnotfall off the balcony, Egan. Like I said, some guy in a white suit caught me before I did.”
“And then he was inappropriate with you,” Carrick added.
“You didn’t give him a little show when you nearly fell to your death, did you? Or maybe you gave him a gracious thank you?” Sybil winked.
Tal wanted to throw her drink at the seer for her snide remarks. “Blazing pigs, Syb, will you stop?” She groaned and reined in the warmth building in the center of her chest. The champagne and wine had done a good job of tamping down her fury last night, but today it returned with renewed vigor. “He shared a dislike for high society and wanted to know more about me. I’m curious why he was so interested in me. He joined me on the balcony and then sought me out in the ballroom.”
“You think he could have a connection with the mages,” Rain surmised.
