Seize the Day

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Clarice, being the capricious urchin that she was, requested evening lessons today, so I was left free the entire afternoon. But I didn't want to be free. I wanted to be as busy as was humanly possible. Anything to keep me from thinking about what Mayra told me yesterday.

So I rolled up my sleeves and decided to perform summer cleaning on my house before the ball. By the time I was done, I thought even a glorious king would dirty the expertly cleaned hardwood flooring of my house.

I smiled and wiped my hand across my forehead. Unwittingly, I touched the pendant pinned in my hair. I whipped my hand back down. There was a reason it was in my hair and not on my blouse. I couldn't be thinking of what Mayra told me.

You have an obligation to save this world, Lannie.

I slapped my forehead to clear my thoughts. It was almost time for Clarice's lesson, and I had no intention of being late.

After cleaning myself up, I gathered my things together and headed out into the cool evening air of Aria. Things had settled down after Fallon's assassination, but the tension and anxiety was still present. As I walked up the main road to the castle, I couldn't help but feel exposed. Not only did my job at the tribune set me apart from everyone else, the fact that I was the tutor for Clarice Faretra made me unique in every way. I did not like being unique.

You, and the other three beings like you, are the only ones who can communicate with both humans and magical creatures.

"Ah! Get out of my head!" My eyes widened when I realized I said that out loud. I slapped a hand over my mouth and walked at a quicker pace. Shopkeepers gave me strange looks as they packed up for the evening. Great. Now they probably thought I was insane.

The palace was in a state of its usual pandemonium before the ball. Servants rushed to and fro, preparing decorations, making plans, and other such things. I saw Philippa immediately upon entering the castle. She was speaking to Maddox, her head lowered urgently with the bulky man.

When she spotted me, a motherly smile lit up her features. "Hello, Lannie. You're rather late for Clarice's lesson, aren't you?"

"She requested evening lessons for some stup—" I caught Maddox's raised eyebrow before I spouted the profanity. "—for some reason."

Philippa nodded, an amused glint to her eyes. "Very well. I will see you later tonight, yes?"

What did she mean by that? I didn't have anything scheduled. "Er. Yes. Yes, you will. Maybe. I have to go now." Bowing to the queen and Maddox, I made my way up the staircase and to the lesson room.

On my way there, I passed the hall to Odelia's meeting room. I would have kept going, but I stopped short when I saw Odelia and Cicero talking together in hushed whispers.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the fervency in their whispers bothered me. What was that snipey old man saying to her?

I ducked back into a hall when Odelia glanced in my direction. I didn't need to hear what they were saying. I had other things to attend to. I continued walking, ignoring the nagging feeling that something wasn't right. Cicero was Odelia's emissary. Of course they would be talking with one another.

When I arrived at the lesson room, I turned the knob and opened the door.

But what I found on the other side made me want to bolt in the other direction.

"Oh, no you don't!" Clarice grabbed my arm before I could escape.

"Yes I do!" I struggled against her, but the sixteen-year-old in front of me had been expertly trained with a sword against her mother's wishes. Compared to my weak arms, she was ten times stronger than I was. Clarice yanked me into the renovated lesson room and slammed the door behind us. I backed against the wall, my eyes widening in horror at what was before me. The dressing screen and the pile of ball gowns were enough to create anarchy within my nervous system. "No," I pleaded. "Don't— I can't— Not again—"