Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)(16)

Tamsin barely ate or slept. Adelaide existed in her usual way. She gave little thought to her test results and mostly just hoped she’d have a few good choices. Occasionally, she’d practice pronunciation with me, which I found incredibly useful, given her excellent speech. She in turn loved hearing me imitate the accents of other languages. I’d caved to Professor Brewer’s suggestion and learned several.

“That’s incredible!” laughed Adelaide, the night before exams began. “You sound just like this servant that used to work in our house.”

We were supposed to be studying linguistics, but she had talked me into taking a break and imitating someone from Skarsia. A native Osfridian could usually tell I was Sirminican when they heard my natural accent, but my origins were harder to pick out if I masked Osfridian with something else.

“Do a Lorandian one,” Adelaide urged, her face alight.

When I did, Adelaide fell over onto her bed giggling, but Tamsin sighed loudly. “If you two don’t care about your own studies, at least stop interrupting mine. And I grew up around the corner from a Lorandian baker. You’re a little off.”

“No, she’s not.” Adelaide sat back up, still grinning. “They have regional differences just like we do. She’s got the northwest perfectly.”

Adelaide’s smile was infectious, but I did feel bad about bothering Tamsin. She looked so serious surrounded by books. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I know how much this means to you.”

“Everyone knows,” added Adelaide, turning serious. “But you’re going to kill yourself. Take a break. At least get a full night’s sleep.”

Tamsin glanced down at her work with bloodshot eyes and shook her head. “I can’t risk it. I can’t risk messing up. I have to do the best. I have to be the diamond.”

We’d be assigned gemstone ranks based on the order of our scores. It wasn’t an exact system. It was more of a fanciful theme the Thorns had come up with to present us in Adoria. They wanted to dress us up in striking colors and embellishments and use the gemstones as a guide to who the more “valuable” girls were. Some jewel ranks were flexible, but the diamond was unquestionably the top one—and girls from the other three manors would be competing for it as well.

“We think you’re already the best,” Adelaide said loyally.

Tamsin managed an indulgent smile. She fretted about the jewel ranking constantly, and we reassured her each time. “I just need everyone else to think so too. There are forty girls involved now. I at least have to make the top three. I have to meet the best men.”

“You will,” I said.

“And we’ll do anything to help you.” Adelaide’s sober mien began to turn mischievous. “Including not distracting you with Mira’s amazing accents. I guess I’ll go read up on Female Studies.”

Even Tamsin laughed at that, and although she never broke her studying that night, I noticed she seemed to smile a little more.

But the tension doubled the following morning when our first round of exams began. Even Adelaide felt the heavy mood. Cedric came to stay with us for the week and offered words of encouragement if we passed in the hall. Mostly, he tried to stay out of our way.

Some exams were written while others required performances and demonstrations. For Professor Brewer’s, we each had to stand in front of the class and read a passage aloud that we’d never seen before. I held my paper tightly, trying not to ruin it with my sweaty palms. It described the wool industry in northern Osfrid and contained several words I’d never heard. I used what I knew of Osfridian phonetics and hazarded guesses at their pronunciation. When I finished and looked up from the paper, Professor Brewer’s proud expression told me I’d done well.

After that, I felt as though a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I still worked hard on the rest of the tests. I served tea with grace. I played simple tunes on the piano. I whirled across the ballroom, counting steps in my head. I wrote essays on Osfridian culture, history, and fashion. When the week finally ended, I knew I hadn’t done everything perfectly, but my scores would be solid. I would pass. The question would be where I landed in the ranks, but that was mostly a curiosity. What mattered was getting to Adoria.

The whole house breathed a collective sigh of relief at our hard-won freedom. Smiles returned, and spirits lifted—especially when Mistress Masterson told us we could have a party to celebrate Vaiel’s Day. It was the day the orthodox church of Uros honored Vaiel, one of the six glorious angels, with feasts and parties. It was also the shortest day of the year and was celebrated by Alanzans with prayers and rituals to Deanziel, one of the six wayward angels, as they contemplated the return of the light. Both groups treated the day as a major holiday. Each one thought the other had corrupted it.

Cedric slipped quietly away after sunset, trekking out into the snowy night to honor all twelve angels in his own manner. He made it back for dinner and the party that followed, and I let myself truly enjoy the festivities. A few of our instructors celebrated with us, and we all played games and drank sweet wine after eating. Future husbands dominated the conversation, and I didn’t mind. There was such a feeling of hope and excitement buzzing through us all. It made me believe anything was possible. I’d find Lonzo. Maybe even a husband I liked. And I’d have Tamsin and Adelaide in my life forever, no matter where our marriages took us. After seeing so much darkness over the years, I now had a world opening up before me that was filled with joy and possibility.