Mask of Shadows (Untitled #1)(32)
Only Our Queen’s most trusted peers—Emerald, Nicolas del Contes, Isidora dal Abreu, and Rodolfo da Abreu—had those runes, the ones that let them see the shadows’ magic.
Rodolfo had been Isidora’s twin, the same hair and eyes, same freckles, all the rumors said, and I’d enough pain simply remembering my dead siblings. Looking in a mirror for her must’ve been torture.
I’d grown up listening to the stories of Rodolfo da Abreu as fondly as most kids listened to bedtime tales. He’d killed the Erlend mages responsible for the shadows to prevent the knowledge of their creation from ever being spread, but I’d never considered the pain his life might’ve left behind. The shadows left nothing but pain in their wake.
Four plopped onto the ground next to me.
“I never saw the shadows,” Four said as he tucked Three’s mask into his pocket. His eyes were glazed, and he was out of it, completely in his own world. He didn’t even notice Two’s worried stare. “I never knew.”
He trailed off. I handed him the flask I’d stolen. If it wasn’t shadows, we’d nothing to worry about. Monstrous people were old news.
Still, seeing your friends like that never got easier.
“I’m sorry you know now.”
Nineteen
Isidora dal Abreu fixed me up with evenly spaced stitches that puckered my skin around the edges. She covered the rest of my hurts in sweetly scented salves, and she slipped me a jar of it with a pat on the hand. I sat with Four and Two in silence, trying to erase the memory of that drip from my mind, and watched the other auditioners race through the gate. Five showed up while I was still getting bandaged, his shoulder already taken care of and his face sporting a black eye I hadn’t given him. Six and Ten stumbled over the line together, their shackles unhooked from each other but still dangling from their wrists. Eleven and Fifteen raced for second-to-last place.
Fifteen won.
Ruby ran circles around Eleven as she finished, tapping her heels with a spear. The familiar, shaky panic of the shadows hadn’t left me, and grim-faced guards filtered in from the forest. Three’s death hung heavy over all of us.
Too heavy for Two and Four to even speak.
“With eight left alive, your physical training is now over.” Emerald’s soft voice drew our attention. “Your training is not however.”
Elise had been right: there were rounds, and I’d survived the first one.
“You will cease your attempts on each other’s lives tonight.” Ruby tightened the knots of his mask. “Your servants will help you relocate, and you will be on your best behavior.”
“Your new rooms are as much a test as this run,” Amethyst said. “You will be housed within the true grounds of the palace, beyond the River Caracol, and you will be expected to behave as guests of Our Queen. We will be watching.”
They were letting us into the palace proper? With all the lords and ladies and honorable court members who balked at dirt? They couldn’t let everyone beyond the river and wall, and they’d have to trust Opal to behave properly at court. Which meant our next lessons were—
“Poisons, etiquette, and basic medicine training will begin tomorrow after breakfast.” Emerald had to be grinning like a fiend behind her mask because her voice was laughing at us. “At which point, you may resume the competition.”
“We expect you to kill in ways to reflect your growth.” Ruby gestured for us all to stand. “Those of you taking other lessons will still attend tonight. We’ll explain everything else tomorrow.”
Amethyst nodded. “You’ve all done well. We were trying to break you physically. The next part may let you rest your body but not your mind. Rest well. You’ll need it.”
The Left Hand turned away from us to address a crowd of soldiers all sporting various bruises and scrapes. Isidora and Ruby turned to each other, whispering back and forth.
We were dismissed.
Maud walked me back to my room. She offered me her arm once, after catching sight of the bandage around my side and the dried blood dotting my clothes, but I shook her off. I’d already nearly died and made a fool of myself. The other auditioners didn’t need to see how weak I was.
But Isidora said Ruby slept with a lamp, and the rest of the Left Hand had seen the shadows. Surely they’d understand my panic.
When we reached the room, Maud peeled my shirt away without disturbing the stitches. My room was spotless—the tub tipped in the corner, the mice gone, and all my clever contraptions for keeping people out taken apart. She set a washbasin next to me.
“Isidora gave me salve—in my pocket.”
“Lady Isidora dal Abreu?” Maud rifled through my ruined clothes and pulled out a tiny jar.
“Suppose I should get used to using their titles.” I leaned back, eyes too heavy to stay open. “She was nice. Emerald said she treats the Left Hand.”
“She certainly does.” Maud hummed and checked my stitches. “She and Ruby have been inseparable since he won his mask. Can’t blame her—he’s terrifying but polite and protective if he likes you.”
I snorted. “What else you know about her?”
“Only gossip—married Nicolas del Contes five years ago when she was eighteen, sticks close to Our Queen and the Left Hand, and keeps a laboratory scarier than anything I want to do with. Her husband’s a sneaky one, dressing up like soldiers and servants to keep an eye on things.” Maud pushed a tray of food toward me—a small slice of bread slathered in butter and a smaller bowl of berries. “She’s nice though. She doesn’t charge you anything if you’re sick and can’t afford the medicine.”