This was it. The end.

  There was no way I would be able to get away with seeing Meredith again and then walk out into this party and find whoever this Trevalin lady was that Ovali had sent me to meet with.

  I looked around once more, trying to find somewhere to hide and decided that just facing the problem head on was probably the best bet. Any attempt at hiding would be more difficult to explain away.

  I rushed back over to the door that led to the balcony and pushed it open slightly, letting the cool air of the night bite at my skin.

  Behind me, the door clicked open, and then I heard her take a step inside.

  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here,” her voice said from behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder at her. She was wearing dark armor I’d never seen her in before—black steel perhaps. Unlike the heavy armor the city guardsmen had to lug around, hers looked much lighter, the armor embedded in pieces of what looked to be hardened leather.

  Her face looked more haggard than I remembered, dark splotches covered the skin beneath her eyes. A look of exhaustion passed over her features before she steeled them, her mouth and eyes straightening into the stony surface she was so well known for.

  “No apologies are required,” I responded, turning only slightly to her. “I simply needed some space from the festivities. It can be quite… overwhelming at times.”

  Meredith chuckled at that. “I agree… Lady…?” She hesitated, waiting for me to answer.

  “Grace.”

  “Ah, I do not believe we have had the pleasure before. Well, Lady Grace, I hope that you enjoy your time at the party here.” She bowed her head slightly, and I returned it.

  She started to turn, as if to leave the room. Panic once more surged through me, this time mixed with elation at not having been found out. I’d been scared initially, but then I remembered the mask that draped across my face. The fabric visage covered much of the upper portion of my head.

  “Wait,” I said as she went to step through the door.

  Meredith looked back. “Yes, Lady Grace?”

  I motioned to the window. I wasn’t quite sure why I was doing this. But I was. The delusion of having Meredith close to me once more overrode any thought for my own safety. The mask would hide who I was; perhaps I could at least get a feel for how she truly felt about things.

  “You may stay if you would like. The company of one person would not be so overwhelming as that of dozens.”

  The other woman smiled at my words. “That is very kind of you, Lady Grace. I appreciate the gesture, but I am afraid I must return to my duties.”

  “Nonsense,” I pushed. “You can spare a few moments for a lonely woman such as myself, can you not?”

  I tried to spin my voice and accent to sound more like that of the snobby ladies that I’d met throughout my time as empress. It was difficult, since it had been a long while since I’d spoken with any of them. But the haughty entitlement must have come through as Meredith turned back, closing the door behind her, and crossed to the window. I knew she wasn’t afraid to upset a noblewoman—I’d seen her do it many times before—so it was surprising that she so easily went along with it.

  “Of course,” she said as she took the spot beside me.

  We both stared out the window, the silence stretching between us.

  “Was there something particular you would like to speak about, Lady Grace?”

  “You do not have to refer to me by my name each time you speak to me. If I wanted that, I could simply return to the party.”

  The woman beside me let out a soft chuckle once more, her rigid shoulders sagging slightly, as if actually relaxing a moment.

  “Of course. I apologize if I offended you.” She bowed her head slightly to me.

  The way she carried herself here was almost foreign to me. Not only was I used to the brash attitude that she often gave off, but it was so different from how she had treated me that night at the gate.

  “You do not seem as if you want to be here anymore than I.”

  She laughed again. “I must admit I don’t. It’s not typically the kind of assignment I would find myself on. But the Empress has reason to believe that we are needed here.”

  “We?” I asked.

  Meredith opened her mouth to say something and then closed it quickly. “The Empress merely hopes for those closest to her to remain safe in these difficult times and has sent some of her finest to assist.”

  Pursing my lips beneath the mask, I glanced over at her. She continued to stare straight out the window.

  “You do not wholly trust in what she is doing, do you?” I chanced the question. It was not one I ever would have thought worth asking had I not heard her voice her own opinions of it through the door.

  Meredith paused there for a breath. Then a second passed. “It’s not my place to speak on the will of the Empress.” Her voice was impossibly small for a woman who normally stood out as much as she did. Fear laced every word, almost indiscernible.

  Had I not known her since she was a child, I doubt even I would have picked up on the way her voice trembled ever so slightly.

  “Of course,” I responded. Pushing too fast and too hard would only shut her down. I had to take things slow. “It is interesting, I must admit, the way she is handling this lock down. I have not seen many reports. Have they been catching the rebels they search for so desperately?”

  Tension spread through Meredith’s body, her shoulders tightening. “They are making good strides, yes Lady Grace. Though the rebels are like rats from what I have been told. They tend to scurry away the moment they catch a whiff of trouble. But, the guard is hard at work, day and night, I assure you.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  I nodded next to her as she spoke. “I do not doubt it. I am very grateful we have such strong men and women working to protect us each day. I cannot imagine how dreadful it must be chasing down those ghosts before they strike again.” A tsk sound left my lips and I felt Meredith bristle next to me, her arm brushing against mine as she grew even more rigid.

  And yet, she did not correct me. Sure, everything I was saying was mild at the worst. But, to someone who should have been as staunch ?a supporter as Meredith had always been of me, she was not refuting the badly stated arguments I was bringing up.

  It was very unlike her. It gave me hope. One that I did not dare believe on the off chance it might completely ruin everything I was working toward.

  I wanted nothing more than to sit here the rest of the night and push her until she came clean. But I knew doing so would not grant me anything but a cold shoulder. I’d need to approach her in a better way. One that wouldn’t ruin one of my best chances of getting into the Bloodshadow market. It was time to get away from Meredith before I did something extremely stupid.

  “Well, I appreciate you indulging my silly questions and comments. Unfortunately, I feel I may have overstepped my own bounds a little tonight and will return to the party. ” I backed away from the window slowly.

  Multiple thoughts rambled through my brain. This was the closest I had been able to get to her since that first night. I had spent so long trying not to think about my past and the people I had left behind in my new life that I had not realized how much it meant to just be in the room with some of them.

  What if this was the last opportunity I had to say those things to her… The last chance to convince her that the woman whose orders she followed was not who she thought? Would she believe me?

  The next sentence came out before my brain could stop my lips from moving.

  “However, should you wish to speak of this again, I will look for your passing through the streets of Merchant’s Row around noon every third day of each week.”

  My heart stuck in my throat as panic took over and I hurried from the room. The other woman didn’t say anything as the door closed behind me, and I turned my back on her.

  Several messages appeared in the corner of my eye, but I ignored them for now. I had given into my whims too much already, I needed to focus on why I had actually come here.

  *** *** ***

  I must admit, there was a small part of me—a slice of the entirety of who I was in that moment—that prayed Meredith would come storming out after me, demanding to know why I had asked her the things I had. Demanding to know who I was. And why I cared enough to look for her passing.

  But she did not. Perhaps there would be a time and a place for that conversation, but it was not tonight.

  I made my way down the stairs to the first level, where I was quickly shown to a large ballroom filled with people.

  The room was covered in various colored streamers and curtains, which hung down from the rooftops in swirling displays encircling the room. Large crystalline chandeliers floated at the end of massive chains, casting magelight all around the room. Groups of people, all of them dressed in a variety of dresses, dance suits, and masks, wandered around the room, talking amongst themselves while others danced in the center of the space.

  There were also several tables throughout the room, with a long set pushed up against the rightmost wall, where several glasses waited, amber liquid filled them. It was a lavish display, one that I hadn’t seen the likes of in at least 150 years. That was the last time I could recall visiting a human ball. They were dreadful things. Too much pomp and drama for my liking.

  I sighed and looked around for any signs of Yen or Ophelia. We had planned to keep our distance from each other, unless one of us found this Trevalin woman. I didn’t see either of them in the mass of people, which wasn’t wholly unexpected, as there were probably at least 40 people in the room at that moment, and their glimmering outfits blended into the myriad of others that swirled through the room.

  It was as hopeless an endeavor as trying to steal a dragon’s hoard as it stared at you.

  “Oh well,” I muttered to myself. “Time to get to work.”

  I began moving through the room, introducing myself to different people. While it was a masquerade, I found that many of the noblemen and women could not help but give their names as I approached them. I bowed in response, dropping the same name that I’d given Meredith upstairs.

  I was at least an hour into my time at the ball, talking to a nobleman I’d dealt with a few years back—a merchant out of the east whose name was Gaughn—when I spotted Ophelia out of the corner of my eye as she approached the group I was in. She introduced herself as Lady Dinnington, and everyone nodded and smiled as if they recognized her. I did the same.

  “I was just speaking with Lady Trevalin about how nice of a ball this has been. She said she was also quite impressed with the Harrendale’s choice of decorations as well. Would you not all agree?” Her eyes met mine and then glanced off toward an older looking woman in a bright-yellow dress with a dark red mask across her face.

  Everyone nodded their ascents and I excused myself from the group. Lord Gaughn looked like he might follow me, but Yen slipped into my open spot and kicked up a conversation with him.

  I moved through the crowd toward the woman in the yellow dress, following her as she weaved a way toward the back of the ballroom. I watched as she moved out of the groups of people, many of them bowing in deference to her, and then she slipped into a doorway that was flanked by two men, including Kael. I whispered a curse to myself and shifted away.

  Meredith had been fooled by my mask and accent, but I wasn’t sure he would be so easily fooled. She was merely a human. But Kael was a dragon. Even more importantly, he was a dragon with a very special ability, which made him one of the empire’s best enforcers.

  Not only could he deliver punishment justly, but he could also detect when almost anyone was lying to him. It was one of the rarest magical powers that had been passed down through the ages, and I’d made use of it many times during negotiations. Thankfully, it was a very costly spell to cast, which meant I’d need to do something especially attention drawing to force him to use it. I did not intend to let that happen.

  I deposited my half-full glass on a table and then shifted to the other side of the room, still close to the door that Trevalin had escaped through. This would have been much easier if she’d gone into a room that wasn’t guarded. I’d need to find a way around them or way for her to come back out. And who knew how long that would take.

  I glanced around the room, looking for anything I could use as a distraction. There were the various ribbons and streamers that covered the corners. Perhaps I could somehow cut one of them down and send it cascading down onto the guests.

  No, I thought, shaking my head. That will only cause a panic and the ball will end before you have a chance to speak with her.

  The only other good option was waiting. But what if she didn’t come back out?

  Another heavy breath left my lips and I turned back toward the door. Kael was no longer there. Instead, only the single guard remained.

  My heart skipped a moment and I looked around for the dragon’s human form, but couldn’t see him anywhere. It didn’t matter. Now was probably the best chance I was going to get.

  I took a deep breath and hurried toward the door, coming up with the plan as I did so.

  “Sorry, my lady, but guests are not allowed beyond this point,” the guard said as I approached. He held up a hand to stop me.

  “Oh, well I was told to meet Lady Trevalin beyond this door. Is she not still waiting for me?”

  “Ah,” the man drawled. “I was not aware you were the one she is expecting. I apologize for holding you up.”

  I frowned at the man. “It is not a problem at all. I’m sure you would prefer not to be the target of her ire, so we’ll keep this between ourselves, shall we?”

  The guard stammered for a moment before responding. “Yes, of course, my lady.” He bowed his head in respect and stepped to the side of the door and then grabbed the handle, pulling it open.

  I offered the man a short bow in return and then stepped through into a long hallway. He promptly closed the door behind me.

  “Is that you, Alfin?” a voice called from down the hallway. “I told you I did not want to be bothered until my guest arrived.”

  I cleared my throat and took a few steps down the hallway before I began to speak. “I apologize, Lady Trevalin, but a mutual friend of mine said that you could be of some assistance.”