Chapter 189: Keeping Secrets
For Ashlynn, the end of the masquerade couldn’t come fast enough. At first, it had been interesting to see so many different people and hear their unfiltered thoughts as they spoke from behind their masks.
When Jacques first made his appearance, Ashlynn allowed herself to be swept away by his combination of charming words and the feeling of resonance between her magic and his. It felt like she might have found a genuine friend in the midst of the masquerade.
That feeling didn’t last and even after reprimanding him for harming Heila, she didn’t know how to feel about the strange witch that would be accompanying her on her journey to meet the Mother of Thorns. She deeply wanted to develop a friendship with the strange reptilian man from the Ancient Clan but the guarded and hostile way that both Zedya and Nyrielle responded to him made it difficult to do so.
More than that, Jacques had all but said that he had come to protect her from Nyrielle, something that Ashlynn felt was utterly ridiculous and Nyrielle found to be deeply offensive. And yet... a lingering kernel of fear that she hadn’t dispelled since the night after the opera left her wondering if there might be something she would need protection from.
As the hours of the masquerade slipped by, both Nyrielle and Ashlynn made the rounds politely, greeting prominent gladiators, notable merchants, and other powerful or well-connected people in High Fen City who felt it might be worth exploring additional opportunities in the Vale of Mists.
The work she and Nyrielle did was important, and Ashlynn did her best to say the right things at the right times but she knew that without Heila’s help, she would have blundered through the evening. Her heart wasn’t in it and if you asked her afterwards to name the people she’d spoken with, she’d have struggled to come up with more than one out of five names.
Finally, after hours of mingling with the powerful and well-connected people of High Fen City, Ashlynn, and Nyrielle managed to retreat to Ashlynn’s room for a few hours alone together before the sun would rise, tearing them apart again.
The sounds of the masquerade still echoed faintly through the palace halls. Faint strains of music, bursts of distant laughter, and the soft shuffle of dancers’ feet growing gradually quieter as more and more revelers made their way home through the cooling night air. In the distance, the sounds of numerous carriages clattering across the flagstone plaza could be heard as they whisked away tired and mostly content attendees.
In Ashlynn’s luxurious chambers, only the gentle crackling of the fireplace and the whisper of silk against silk broke the silence as she wrapped her arms around Nyrielle from behind.