“Have you seen Adale tonight?” Esofi asked over the music.
“What? You mean she’s not here yet?” cried Daphene. She was an extremely good dancer, if not a bit too exuberant, spinning Esofi so quickly that she was afraid she’d be sick. “That’s impossible!”
“You didn’t come in with her?” asked Esofi, halting in her steps, a sick dread rising in her stomach.
“We thought she’d left without us,” said Daphene. “Really, I mean it—we thought she’d left us behind because she couldn’t wait to see you. Wait, I’ll sort this out.” Daphene gestured to her friends to come nearer, creating an obstruction on the dance floor but not seeming to care. “Does anyone know where Adale is?”
Within a minute, it was clear that nobody did.
“Perhaps she wants to make an entrance,” suggested Lady Brigit. “Something really stupid, you know? She’s been simmering ever since the twins brought in that unicorn. I bet she’s off trying to find someone to sell her a winged horse.”
This got some laughter from the group, as winged horses were known to be even rarer than unicorns, at least on the continent of Ioshora. Esofi couldn’t find it within herself to smile, though. She merely nodded and walked off the dance floor.
Fortunately, one side of the ballroom was lined with chairs for exhausted dancers. Unfortunately, before she could make it over there, she was pulled aside by Queen Saski.
“You haven’t seen my daughter yet, have you?” Saski’s tone was light, as if the question was no more than a casual inquiry, but Esofi knew the truth. Adale still hadn’t arrived and probably never would.
Esofi didn’t trust herself to look the other woman in the face, so instead, she stared at a point just over Saski’s shoulder.
“I’m sure she will be here soon enough,” said Esofi, pulling out of the queen’s grip. Then she accepted a glass of wine from a servant, who gave her a humiliatingly pitying look, and went to go sit down.
Across the crowded ballroom, King Dietrich was now giving harsh orders to a pair of castle guards, his hands clenched into furious fists. He pointed out of the room and then at the floor in front of him. The guards saluted and rushed out of the ballroom. Esofi had a sinking feeling that she knew what they had been sent to retrieve.
But she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to marry someone who needed to be dragged before her. She wanted to go over to King Dietrich and tell him not to bother, but for some reason, the idea of approaching him filled her with sadness.
Then, quite suddenly, she was aware of someone sitting down next to her. She turned to look, expecting to see one of the twins but instead found herself staring down at a little girl in a rather large dress of blue brocade. The style was unusual, and Esofi couldn’t quite place it.
“Hello,” said the little girl calmly. “Do your feet hurt?”
“Ah…” said Esofi. “No? Do yours?”
“Not anymore!” said the little girl brightly and extended her feet out beneath her dress, showing off bare white stockings. Esofi couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re Esofi,” the little girl said. “Right? Either you’re Esofi, or she is.” The girl pointed across the room at Lexandrie, the only one of the waiting ladies that Esofi hadn’t lost track of.
“No, you’re right, I’m Esofi,” she assured the child. “What’s your name?”
“Vita.” From Vesolda, then. That explained the odd dress. “Which one are you going to marry? Mada says you get to pick.”
“I don’t know,” said Esofi honestly. “I thought I would marry the crown princess. But…she hasn’t come. I think she might have changed her mind.”
“She’s stupid, then,” announced Vita.
Esofi tried not to laugh. “We mustn’t talk that way about the crown princess.”
Vita pressed her lips together and shifted them back and forth in an odd way. “Are you going to tell them you can’t decide?”
“I can’t,” said Esofi. “I’ve already waited too long.”
“Tell them to bring you someone else,” suggested Vita. “Someone new.”
That was certainly an idea. But while she had a feeling nobody would question her not marrying Adale, she knew that she didn’t have a good reason for rejecting the twins.
“I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” said Esofi sadly.
“Esofi!” cried Brandt. She looked up to find the young man standing before her. “There you are—I was afraid I’d lost you! Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” said Esofi, but her tone was brittle and fake. “I just needed to rest my feet. I’m sorry.”
Brandt took the seat on Esofi’s other side and gave a very quiet sigh.
“You must be so disappointed,” he said, leaning in close to her. “But that’s just how she is. Even you’ve realized that by now. My cousin means well, she truly does, but she’s always had difficulty with carrying out her duties…”
Esofi gave a small nod and lurched to her feet. “Excuse me. I’m going to get some air.”
The balcony wasn’t too crowded, and Esofi ignored any and all attempts that the Ieflarians made to bring her into their conversations. She rested her palms on the cool stone of the railing and stared down at the brightly lit city below.
Nothing has changed. I will still be the queen of Ieflaria. That’s all that matters.
All she had to do was pick one of the twins.
Esofi paused to consider this. They were so alike, the twins, and never one without the other. It was almost difficult for her to separate them in her mind. Regardless of which twin she married, the other would never be far away.
Svana had a voice that could coax a unicorn close enough to be captured and had woven flowers through Esofi’s hair. Brandt was quiet and gentle, just how she’d always imagined Albion to be, and she knew she would always feel safe with him.
She didn’t know. How could she choose? Esofi was half inclined to toss a coin and leave the choice to fate.
Or perhaps…perhaps being the queen of Ieflaria wasn’t her destiny at all. She lifted her gaze to the horizon, in the direction of Valenleht, Ieflaria’s largest and most important port city. Beyond it lay the ocean and, past that, the rest of Inthya.
Lexandrie wouldn’t follow her, but Mireille and Lisette might. She could go to Anora and meet the Empress Xuefang at the Pearl Court, and they could all sip pale, bitter tea and laugh over her tale, because surely the journey would put enough distance between herself and Ieflaria to make the entire thing funny. Or perhaps she would go to the Burning Isles and be adopted by a tribe of bronze-skinned warriors who would spear sharks out of the ocean and teach her the names of gods she’d never heard of before. Or maybe she could go to the Elven lands and become a governess for the Elf King’s children. She would teach them how to eat with a fork so they could finally be accepted into the lands of Men.
She would save that one for last, though.
On the far horizon, movement caught her eye—a flock of birds wheeling toward the city. She wondered vaguely what sort of birds flew so near to dusk. Some odd Ieflarian species, perhaps…
Some large Ieflarian species…
Her eyes widened, and realization struck at the same moment that the first siren began to wail.
Esofi spun around and dashed into the ballroom. Already, people were beginning to panic. She grabbed her skirts and forced her way to the exit, which was actually quite difficult since it seemed like everyone else was going in the opposite direction, trying to get to the balcony so they could gawk uselessly at the sky.
Finally, Esofi was free of the crowd. She ran from the ballroom and raced down the halls of the castle, past frantic servants and shouting guards. As she went, she unclasped her necklace and let it fall to the floor. It was followed by her bracelets and then her earrings, leaving a trail of gems in her wake. She paused a moment to rip the diamonds from her bodice, and that was when Captain Henris caught up with her.