Page 37 of A Lie so Pretty and Poisonous

Rory,

The rain has made my efforts to track enemies of the crown challenging and perilous. I am afraid I cannot return to you until I am able to pick up the trail of these monsters and bring them to justice. I will be away for a few more days. I hope that this does not cause you any stress or concern. You will have to endure that brute for the time being.

I think of you often. Give Cora my best.

Yours,

Gabriel

That. Brute. I had only interacted with Darragh for a few short days, but not once had he turned into the vicious brute that Gabriel and everyone else seemed to think he was.

I tossed the letter onto a table in the sitting room and turned my attention back to Anya.

“Is everything alright?” Her eyebrows drew together. “I can feel a twinge of anger from you.”

Damn that enchant of hers!

“Just a letter from Gabriel saying he will be gone for longer than he intended.”

Anya scoffed. “Typical man. Always keeps you waiting.” She picked up A Socialite’s Guide to Seraph Etiquette from the table and held it up with a raised eyebrow and scrunched nose. “Find anything interesting in here?”

I laughed. “Not even a little. It’s full of the same bullshit I learned growing up. It seems that nobles are nobles, no matter the side of the barrier.”

We both broke out into hearty laughs. I pointed to A Historical Narration of Tironaill. “I actually read a substantial amount of that one.” I was hoping to learn how seraphs built their society after the threshing wall was erected, but the only thing I found close to that time period was a passing mention of a “Great War” that happened a few hundred years after the seraphs were banished from Edenalee. Everything else in the book was politics and culture.

Anya grimaced. “Oof. I remember that book from my history lessons. I much preferred math.”

We walked into the sitting room, and I pocketed the discarded sweets wrappers Cora had left strewn about. “So, what should we do on this dreary day?”

“I thought I would teach you a card game that is popular here.”

“That sounds fun! I miss playing cards, but it has been decades, so I am a bit rusty.”

I learned how to play from the staff at Alwine Manor when I was fifteen and trying to hide from the aristocrats at yet another ball my mother was throwing. I was bored, so I slipped out as soon as my mother was distracted and ran down to the servants’ hallways, finding our coachman, gardener, and two footmen playing cards in a small room. For two hours, I sat in a poofy dress learning how to place bets with a handful of cards. It was only when my chambermaid, Orela, walked past the room and saw me that I was forced to return upstairs. She was scared my mother would find me there and fire them all. She was likely right.

The card game Anya taught me was straightforward enough to follow. It was nice to be able to relax and enjoy the company of a woman who didn’t have some weird one-sided competition with me and was only conversing to try to sabotage me in any way they could.

“Ugh! You’re so good at this game. Good thing I have nothing to bet, or you would have all my coin.” I chuckled.

Anya let out an easy laugh. “I used to play with my two brothers growing up. They were ruthless and never let me win. I had to play well because we used to bet on doing each other's chores. I hated mucking the horse stalls. That was the worst.”

“A noble who does chores?” I angled my head and rearranged my cards.

“Oh, yes. My father was the Commander of the King’s Army before Gabriel. He believed in discipline and taking pride in hard work. His expectations of his soldiers were high, and the expectations of his younglings were higher. My two brothers even entered the King’s Army when they came of age. We were required to take part in the household affairs. Still, as rigid as he could be, he also loved us.” Her gaze wandered out to the rain splashing the windowpane.

I reached for her hand, squeezing it. “You miss him.”

“I do. My father and brothers have all crossed to the underworld. I miss them every day. It is just me and my mother now.” Anya straightened, shaking off her pensiveness. “Enough about me. Is there anyone in Edenalee who is missing you terribly?”

“Just my dear friend Greta. She gave me a job and taught me so much about plants and herbs. Greta is like a mother to me, and I miss her so much.”

“What about Cora’s father?” Her eyes flicked up to mine and back down to her cards.

I sighed. “He worked in the stables, and I was an avid equestrian. We fell quickly and passionately in love, and we fled together so that we might make a life of our own, away from my family’s influence. That ended with Cora being born and Micah leaving us when Cora was about six months old. I have no idea where he went or what I did to make him leave. We didn’t have much, but we had each other, and when Cora came along, Micah was such an enthusiastic father. His parting was unexpected and painful, and his absence carved out a piece of my heart. I keep it guarded now. I was in no position to raise Cora on my own, so I had to go back to my mother and beg for forgiveness. My mother loves to remind me of the shame I brought her. An unwed noblewoman, running off with a stable hand and getting pregnant. Scandalous.” I laid my hand on my chest in jest.

Anya searched my face, and tears formed in her eyes.

“Hey, are you alright?” I asked, brows knitted together. I laid my cards down.