Page 29 of A Kiss of Flame
Possibly. Finn wouldn’t know. He avoided the place even more studiously than Anselm avoided his family seat.
It was strange to walk up to an enemy stronghold in the city, turning their backs on a structure so fortified to find the building they sought to be delicate and beautiful. Finn hadn’t thought he would ever see it as such. Sidon itself was like this, elegant and bright. It was a city of luxury and decadence and the embassy reflected that here, where it seemed wildly out of place. No wonder the people of the lower city hated it. It probably had little to do with living memory either.
The walls were made of shining stone, polished to a mirror-like sheen. It was decorated with touches of gold. Gold paint, no doubt, or the denizens of Pelias would have stripped it away in the night. But that hadn’t stopped the Ilanthians putting it there in the first place. Almost as if they wanted to rub their enemies’ faces in it.
The walls were faded now, run-down, but someone had already made a start on repairs. Which meant that someone must have already arrived, as Finn had been warned might be the case. The full diplomatic delegation would arrive over the next few days, he knew that. But some brave fool had to be first.
Finn hammered on the heavy oak gates, carved in the Ilanthian style with images of night flowers and birds in flight. Objectively beautiful again. Everything was beautiful in Sidonia, artful, skilfully wrought. He always forgot that. Seeing it here made it more of a shock. But the beauty of Ilanthus only skimmed the surface like shimmering oil. Danger lurked beneath it. He had to remember that.
A guard opened the gate, stared open-mouthed and almost slammed it shut again. At the last moment, he caught himself and tried to bow.
He looked about fourteen and the armour was far too big. He rattled.
‘What on earth…?’ Anselm murmured to himself.
‘Your highness,’ the boy stammered. ‘We weren’t expecting… that is… we thought you’d send word first and…’
Your highness… Finn was never going to get used to that.
He glanced at Anselm who betrayed nothing. His friend knew who he was of course. But Finn liked to think he was just Finn Ward and forget about the whole thing as much as he could. Anselm had always accepted that and played along. But he knew. They all knew.
Finn didn’t respond and the poor boy looked lost, then terrified. He took a step back and opened the gate wider for him to enter. And well he might look terrified. If he behaved like this with Leander for example, he’d probably lose his head. And in an especially messy way.
‘Please, your highness,’ he said, his voice shaking. ‘Come inside. I’ll send for my— I mean, the ambassador and?—’
The inner courtyard was deserted. There were boxes and cases still strewn about the place. They must have only arrived last night which might explain a few things, Finn thought. He was aware that Anselm was taking all this in as well and felt a wash of… was it embarrassment? This would never happen in the palace so far above them. It would probably never happen in Castel Sassone either. And it would definitely never happen in Sidonia, where for all its decadence, protocol was everything.
What was going on?
Thank the light Roland wasn’t here to see it. Finn had often felt ashamed of his birthplace, but never… never whatever this was.
A woman’s voice came from somewhere inside.
‘Laurence, when you’ve finished playing around out there, I need you and Ferdinand to take word to the encampment to tell them to hurry up. We need the rest of the servants here at once. Not to mention my staff. This is ridiculous. There are so many bills and requests and… I don’t even know what this is…’ She appeared in the doorway, carrying a sheaf of papers she seemed in the process of sorting through, a frown creasing her brow. She was wearing an Ilanthian gown, sleek and neat, which did little to hide her figure beneath the fall of silk. When the boy – Laurence – cleared his throat meaningfully, she looked up.
Her eyes were silver, her hair as pale as corn. She held herself like a queen and Finn could only stare.
‘Hestia?’ he said. ‘What are you?—?’
‘Finnian!’
Of all the people they could have sent, of all the court of Ilanthus! His cousin swept across the courtyard and flung her arms around his neck. She only came up to his chest but that didn’t stop her. She was a force of nature and always had been. The years hadn’t dimmed her. How could they? Magic sparked along her veins, a higher member of the Sisterhood of the Nox, and she was the king’s niece, with all the breeding and privilege that offered.
His cousin. His older cousin. The only member of his family who had ever cared what happened to him, who had hidden him from his brothers, tried to save him from his father, and had brokered the deal that had brought him here to Pelias all those years ago with Roland.
‘What are you doing here?’ Finn gasped.
‘What I do best, my love,’ she told him, stepping back and dusting herself down. She handed the papers to the boy Laurence and smiled up at Finn proudly. ‘Brokering peace. And look at you. You’ve grown so tall. A Paladin.’ She held out her hands to him and began to pull him inside after her. ‘I asked for you specifically, did they tell you?’
‘Your name never came up.’
‘Well,’ she said, a smug smile blossoming on her face. ‘That was for good reason. These are delicate times and we are engaged in delicate matters. The household isn’t up and running yet, but it will be soon. Once the rest of our party arrive. I only have a skeleton staff. Serves me right for riding ahead but they were taking so bloody long. Have you met Laurence? My son. This is your cousin, Prince Finnian.’
The boy bowed, a little more gracefully this time, and struggled to take off the pieces of armour. Anselm took pity on him and helped.
‘Anselm, Lord Tarryn,’ said Finnian by way of an introduction.
Hestia curtsied as Anselm bowed and there was the usual exchange of courtesy which seemed to stabilise the mood. But Finn wasn’t fooled. The formality masked two experts sizing each other up. Finally she turned back to Finn with a smile.