Chapter Twenty Eight

Randall became a regular sight in the following days as he and Cecily made up for lost time and his backlog of summer homework, which he appeared to have been putting off. Mira started taking her books out into the garden to read in the shade so that Cecily and Randall could take advantage of the large stone table there to spread out. Colvin was meant to have a break while Mira was with Cecily, but he never seemed interested in taking it. Maybe he just didn’t like leaving her with Cecily’s admirer, but he was always around during those afternoon study sessions.

When the night of the dinner party arrived, Randall appeared with his parents and two older brothers. His eldest sister was deployed to the North and so sent her regrets. Lord Regal and Lady Willow Zorander were an elegant and quiet couple. They made mild, inoffensive conversation and admired Mira’s home. Lady Zorander talked with Cecily about gardening and Lord Zorander was a great fan of an author that Mira had been assigned to study as part of her summer readings.

It was hard, sometimes, to remember that they were both master battlemages who’d served long and successful careers on the northern border, which was constantly besieged by monsters and magical mutates from the wild country.

“I hear that you’ll be attending Compton in the upcoming year?” he asked. “I’m pleased to hear it! They have the best program for Battle Arts in the country. I’d heard you’d faced a disciplinary action during your final year at Breckenridge, but that can’t be true. I’ve heard Compton has withdrawn admittance from members of the royal family for less.”

He was fishing for information, Mira realized. Cecily had probably told him what she knew about the bullying she’d faced at school and gave him her own theories about who was responsible, but she wouldn’t have gone deeper into Mira’s own affairs than that so now he’d gone straight to the source. Cecily’s testimony didn’t necessarily absolve Mira of the stairwell incident and she seemed to have her own theory about what had happened there, but was still playing it close to the chest. The Zoranders were plainly still interested in trying to bring her over to their side, but at least part of their motivation seemed to be because she was a vulnerable child they knew and liked from a young age. So, Mira didn’t mind answering him.

Vesper replied on Mira’s behalf before she could, though. “That’s just a rumor, Lord Zorander.” Her gaze was calm, but firm as she explained so maybe she wanted to start her own information campaign. “Violet was selected to compete for an apprenticeship with Archmage Orla Solvere in the second half of her final year. She and several other students were cloistered with Archmage Solvere until the competition was over. Violet won the apprenticeship and will be studying directly under the archmage in the upcoming year. There was no announcement made, in accordance with Archmage Solvere’s wishes, but the incident took place shortly before Violet entered seclusion for the competition.”

Lord Zorander sat back in his chair, surprised. “I see!” he said. “I’d heard that she picked her apprentices in secret. No wonder the official statement from the school sounded so strange. They could hardly comment on an Archmage’s business if they ever wanted her to work with them again. Still, what a terrible coincidence for you, Miss Priestly.”

“Mm, yes,” Mira agreed, crinkling her nose. That had been almost as big a surprise to her as learning she had an apprenticeship in the first place. She knew from that game that Violet got into university, but had assumed, along with the rest of the cast, that money had been involved. “As you say, the timing was damning.”

“If you like,” Lady Zorander said, turning away from her conversation with Cecily. “I can clarify things with my Iris Cultivation Club, Miss Priestly. It’s full of terrible gossips. The entire city will hear anything said at a meeting by the next morning.”

Cecily brightened and grasped the edge of Lady Zorander’s sleeve to tug on it gently enough to be cute about it. “Could you, auntie?” It must not have been an idle offer.

“I would appreciate that a great deal, Lady Zorander,” Mira agreed. She wasn’t above taking advantage of the heroine’s connections. “Only if it’s no trouble to you. I’ve taken control of the situation somewhat by agreeing to a few interviews with the Gazette, but it’s so much better to not be in the news.”

“It’s not trouble at all,” Lady Zorander said with a mild smile. “We’re overjoyed to have Cecily able to visit once more. You are welcome too. Our doors are always open to talented and well-read mages.”

Huh. So much for the famously neutral state of Zorander—but, then again, Lady Zorander had only extended the invitation to Mira, not Vesper. Vesper didn’t seem offended, but then she and Bertram had taken Cecily aside to warn them that the Zoranders might not be able to extend a permanent olive branch to the Coventries. They were as loyal to the crown as anyone else, but the Lord Warden was currently under the direction of the Prince Regent and the Zoranders were supporters of the Crown Princess. Mira was benefiting here from being a ‘Priestly’ and not a ‘Coventry.’

Still, Mira was pretty sure that the Zoranders were reaching out to her father now through her and Cecily.

Mira was under no illusion that the country wasn’t anxious about the upcoming coronation. Given Princess Milica’s age, Mira thought she was even overdue to be crowned when there was a regent in power; one who had not necessarily been the best custodian of the rightful heir’s human assets.

That thought dogged Mira’s heels all through the rest of dinner, through their goodbyes with the Zoranders, and even until she lay in bed touching the edge of her scar thoughtfully.

Originally, she’d thought that the Prince Regent was using the Coventry family to shelter his son in the future—but, say Andrei really didn’t know about the acid attack. There was no way his staff could avoid bringing up the matter with their master, no matter what lies Bertram told him later about Violet going away to study abroad. Even though the Prince Regent had let the story go unquestioned, he should have broken off the engagement right then and there, if his goal was to pave the way for his biological child’s comfortable future. There was no way the Coventry family wouldn’t be hostile to Andrei afterwards, but the engagement remained so this engagement couldn’t have been about his child’s future comfort.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“If not that, then what?” Mira asked the darkened room. Who profited? How?

The room had no answer for her.

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