The Whisper of Dusk

Chapter 28

Dangerous games

"Rhys has his eyes on you," Dante whispered to Ria as she poured drinks in the glasses of the other Fae.

"What did you do?" Dante hissed. Ria shook her head, "honestly, nothing!" Dante rolled her eyes, not believing her for even a minute. "I told you not to help her," she said. Ria sputtered, "that has nothing to do with this!"

It had something to do with this.

When Ria had left Feyre in the room with Rhys after helping with the lentils, Rhys had her had a small bickering. And of course, the matter of the bargain had come up and the High Lord found out that a mere maid who hailed from unknown circumstances and whose mind was blank, had knowledge about Night Court bargains. Had knowledge that he had made one with Feyre. A perceptive servant was nothing new but one that worked mostly in the cells and for an Autumn Lord and had her eyes on the girl and at times him, was concerning.

Ria, of course, was oblivious to all these thoughts.

Rhys stood there as he once again tried getting into her head and found nothing- just white fog and white light. Frustrated, he sauntered over to where the female was serving drinks with another companion. They both bowed when he came close but he noticed that the servant- he would have to find her name through Nuala and Cerridwen- bowed a bit later. It wasn't that his pride was hurt but it seemed as if the female had forgone lessons on etiquette of Under the Mountain. Interesting.

"High Lord," the other one said, "may I offer you some wine?" He nodded, and she was quick to pour one in an empty glass while the female stood a bit behind.

"Which court do you hail from?" he asked, looking at her. The female who had poured him drinks stood straight at his question but the one toward whom the question was directed only blinked under his dark stare. "Autumn Court. High lord."

"You mentioned your sister had died, right?" She nodded. "What was her name?" And for the first time, he noticed something akin to surprise in her eyes- she had not expected this interrogation of sorts.

"Her name was Mel. She kept to the shadows more than anyone else," she finished. Her back was straight and Rhys thought he saw a glimmer of steel when she shifted her hands to balance the tray of drinks better. He hummed before leaving- mingling with servants was not unusual for other Fae but for Lords like him- If Amarantha or any of her cronies saw, he would not be left alone unless his explanation was vile enough for them. And he had no intention of doing so.

But, later, when the party had dispersed and he was free to go to his room, he called upon the wraiths and asked them to keep an eye on the female. And possibly find her name. He might be paranoid but his instinct roared for the first time in a while- after Feyre, of course. And he would be a fool to ignore it- not when it gave him something other than this dark and haunted place to think about.

A week was left for the 2nd trial and Ria was getting restless. Ever since the unfortunate party where Rhys had asked her questions, she had found her back tingling more often than not. Someone was following her and she could not shake them off. Her only reprieve was when she was alone with Eris whose fiery light kept any and all shadows of this mountain at bay. He had advised her to not visit the girl again. She had agreed. But, with only a week left for the trial, she was restless to see if the girl was even in some semblance of a condition to survive whatever task Amarantha had planned for her.

Lucien was with Tamlin now- bruised but healing still.

So, despite the tingling awareness and Eris's stern face, she crept down into the cold cells. A few guards paid her mind- other too bored to care about her. She had donned a once-white dress which was now grey and her hair was all sorts of messy. No one cared for the servant girl she had become now. Just how she liked. And the few who still found her sight to be something interesting- she scurried past them, head down, hands holding the bucket and a mop. Ever a new maid trying to find her place here.