Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)(3)

“I know.”

“No more sneaking around.”

“I know.”

“No more alley fights.”

“I know.”

“No more daggers to throats.”

“Cedric, give me some credit.” If we hadn’t been in the cathedral, I would’ve shouted it. “I’ll be the picture of decorum at this finishing school of yours. I’ll get cultured and refined. I’ll let you show me off at all those parties and wear those beautiful clothes you’re always going on about.” I glanced down at my worn, stained dress. “Actually, I won’t mind that part. Or even the studies.” The war back in Sirminica had ended my education there.

Cedric’s enthusiasm returned. He really needed to work on discretion. “I know Adoria’s your end goal, but try to enjoy the journey too. It won’t be that bad.”

“Even for a Sirminican?” I asked archly.

The bright smile faltered. I took it as a bad sign that he didn’t spout off the pretty assurances and sales pitches that came so naturally to him. “Your first year’s still in Osfrid. Even though you’ll be at one of our country manors . . . well, you’ll face the same bias you see here in the city. Adoria will be a little laxer. Sometimes. But you’ll win them over. They’ll see who you really are.”

After almost two years in Osfrid’s capital, I was skeptical, but I didn’t let that show as I stood up. The priest had finished and was strolling near our side. “Thank you,” I whispered. “This means everything to me.”

Cedric tapped his pocket. “So does this.”

“Don’t come out right after me,” I warned. “Wait a while.”

“I know, I know. You’re not giving me credit again.”

I walked out of the cathedral, squinting at the bright afternoon light. The noise of midday Osfro was crushing after the sanctuary’s stillness. Before me, the city whirled with life. Wagons and horses clattered down the cobblestone street, and vendors pitched their wares. Pedestrians packed the spaces in between, some headed toward a specific destination while others begged for food and work. Blocky stone buildings loomed over everything, their gloomy solidity a testament to Osfro’s history.

Osfro is an old city, I thought. A city set in its ways. There’s no opportunity for me here. Lonzo knew that when he sailed to Adoria. When he left me behind.

The cathedral doors creaked open, and I stared in surprise as Cedric emerged. “You were supposed to wait,” I chastised.

“I forgot to tell you when we’re leaving for the manor.” He placed a jaunty brown hat atop his auburn hair and tried to block out the sun with his hand. “In four days. Wait at the border of the Sirminican and Bridge districts—by the market. My father and I’ll pick you up around the first bell.”

“Are you sure your father won’t mind me?”

“Not his choice. He let me recruit two girls. I’ve picked them—sort of. I have to finish the other’s paperwork.” Cedric sounded unconcerned. Seeing as he’d adopted a religion that often led to death and imprisonment, a father’s anger was probably minor by comparison.

“Recruit? Are you leading this girl into a sinful life?”

Cedric and I both spun around at the crotchety voice. The monk of Vaiel was still there, leaning against the arch and clutching a leather-bound copy of A Testament of Angels. The shadows had obscured him. Panic shot through me, and then I relaxed as I replayed our brief conversation. We’d said nothing about an outlawed heresy. Cedric and I faced no danger in discussing the Glittering Court.

“No, Brother,” said Cedric politely. The monks weren’t church leaders like the priests of Uros, but they were treated with the same respect, venerated for their complete immersion into study of the faith. “Quite the opposite, actually. She’s joining the Glittering Court.”

Even though I couldn’t see the monk’s face, instinct told me he was staring at me—and scowling. “The Glittering Court? Is that what you call your sordid operation? I may be removed from the world, but I know its ways. Men ‘recruit’ Sirminican girls all the time, taking advantage of their downtrodden situation and forcing them into despicable deeds. I saw you earlier, girl. I saw the watch interrogating you.”

“We were only chatting. I haven’t done anything wrong. And the Glittering Court is very respectable.” I tried for calmness and humility. The last thing we needed was for him to draw the city watch’s attention back to me. “I’m going to take etiquette classes and then find a husband in Adoria next year.”

“And not just any husband,” Cedric boasted. “She’ll meet only the richest, most elite bachelors of the city. Men who’ve made their fortunes in the New World want equally elevated wives—and my family’s business supplies them.” He’d used those exact same words when we met. I wondered if the salesman in him couldn’t help it.

A beat of silence followed as the monk contemplated this. Then: “Which city?”

“Cape Triumph. In Denham Colony.” Cedric kept smiling, but the shift in his posture betrayed his nervousness. I didn’t blame him, with that list in his pocket. Church officials wanted to make an example of native Osfridian converts. Hangings had become common.

When the monk still didn’t respond, I crossed my arms and fixed my gaze on his shadowed face. I hoped I was meeting his eyes. “Good Brother, I appreciate your concern. And you’re right—desperate girls with no other options do turn to desperate means. But I’m not one of those girls.”