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But all I had was my words and my power, and I couldn’t think what use either of them might be in the situation.
The room hosting the party was a large one I had yet to encounter, almost grand enough to be called a ballroom. The polished floorboards shone in the light of innumerable branches of candles, and a long table bent slightly under the weight of the food covering its surface.
Plants mages had filled the room with blossoms, their vines growing through the open windows and doors or twining upward from large pots placed around the edge of the room. They created a riot of color and scent, reminding me that we were far from home.
I had expected the party to be teeming with people, the room so crowded you could barely move. But while there was a small crowd, they were fewer in number than I had envisioned.
The Constantines themselves stood out, their clothes finer than anyone else’s, the gold and silver threads sparkling in a way that suggested they were spun from the actual metals. But besides them, I could see only familiar faces from the ship.
I peered around the room, sure that I had to be wrong. But the more I looked, the more certain I became. When my eyes alighted on the same serving girl, now bearing a tray of drinks, I hurried over to her.
She beamed at me, her eyes shining as she looked around at the sumptuous room.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” she breathed. “Even better than I imagined.”
“But where are all the people?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” She surveyed the partygoers with a crease between her eyes. “I don’t think anyone is missing.”
“I mean, where are the locals?”
“The locals?” Her eyes traveled to a clump of Constantines standing close by. “You mean the Constantines? You can see Ambrose and Kendry over there, and just beyond them is—”
“No, no, I mean the regular people. From the town.”
She burst out into the same peals of laughter as earlier, and I finally realized why she had found my original question so amusing. The idea of her attendance hadn’t been laughable because she was low-ranking or poor within the town. It was because no one in the town had been invited to the party at all.
“Is anyone from the town ever invited here?” I asked. “As a guest, rather than a servant or patient, I mean.”
Her laugh trailed off into giggles. “No, of course not. It’s a very great honor that you’ve all been invited. You must be highly favored.”
A sinking feeling made my legs tremble. I spun in a circle, taking in the scene again. The Constantines were now moving through the crowd, a handshake here, a light touch there, a pat on the shoulder. We weren’t favored: we were new. All of this was designed to bind us tighter and tighter to this family and the strange life they lived on this island.
I caught sight of Ida’s happy smile as she bowed her head over the grandmother’s hand. I knew it must have been my imagination, especially at this distance, but I thought I could see her eyes growing more vacant and glassy. I shivered, stumbling my way through the crowd to seek the meager relief of the closest wall.
Strong arms steadied me, guiding me behind the closest large pot where the rest of the room was at least partially shielded from view.
I sucked in a deep breath and then another, the overwhelmed panic slowly fading, replaced with a sense of security. But as soon as my mind kicked back into proper motion, I looked up, the horrified feeling returning.
Nik had meant safety to me for so long that my body responded instinctively to his presence. But on this occasion it was betraying me.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed. “You can’t be here!”
He smiled down at me like he had in the market, except I could see that this time the expression was masking his concern. He’d just seen the state I was in.
“Of course I had to come. How could I miss the chance to see you dressed like this? Delphine, you look stunning.”
I brushed away his words, although some small part of my mind tucked them away to be brought out and treasured later.
“Never mind that. You really can’t be here!”
“It was fine in the market,” he said with his usual confidence. “And it’ll be even easier here since it’s more crowded. None of Grey’s people will be surprised to see a local man dancing attendance on you—not when you look like that.”
“No! Nik!” I grabbed his arm and looked up at him beseechingly. "You're not listening to me. They didn’t invite any locals tonight! It’s only people from the ship and the Constantines themselves.”
I looked around frantically, trying to spot if anyone had already noticed him. At least we were tucked away, mostly out of sight.
“I’m not leaving.” His voice was back to its usual steel. “Not when I haven’t seen you since yesterday morning. And something has happened. I can see that clearly. I won’t leave you. There is no risk I wouldn’t take to keep you safe.”
