3

Vivian stepped down from the stage. Her head swam giving her vertigo as she looked around the crowd of clapping nobles. Not because she had been accepted, that had been all but official before the ball, instead her thoughts were consumed by the man Lynn Jet. She should have realized who he was, all of the hints had been there. She had met him at the bar for Silts sakes! That should have at least hinted to her whom she had been speaking to. It hadn’t even occurred to her to make a connection even when he told her his first name. He had refused to dance and when she had kicked him his leg had obviously not been normal. Looking back, his left arm never once moved while she spoke to him. It all pieced together so simply now, she felt silly and foolish.

Thoughts continued to swirl in her head as she stumbled into Lord Ivory’s embrace. She shook her head softly, why did it matter that she had spoken directly to the Lynn Jet? He had approached her. Sure, everyone she spoke to warned her to avoid the tragic boy, but it’s not her fault no one had ever given her a description. The way they all spoke about him, she figured that with so many disfigurements he would have looked more…ugly. Instead he had seemed more mysteriously aloof.

“You looked ravishing up there, my Vivian. A beauty beyond words. I wish that simpleton Lord Opal hadn’t botched the perfection with his stuttering. But, pretty soon you’ll be on your way to Silvian Island and away from these frivolous fools.” Lord Ivory hugged her tight. She wrapped her own arms around him in response. His body felt solid with toned muscle despite his age. Even with the speckled gray trimming his black hair, anyone guessing his age would be hard pressed to get anywhere near the right number. “I saw you were dancing with several other nobles. Well done, you performed marvelously for it being your first time.”

“Thank you Lord Ivory,” Vivian said.

“Congratulations, Vivian. It would seem you have won our little bet.” She turned around to see Lynn. In a moment she processed what she had earlier taken to be a cocky swagger actually appeared to be a hobble. He couldn’t even walk properly any longer. No wonder he had refused her dance, the poor man. From what she understood from her studies on the local nobles and politics, not only did he have to struggle with his physical difficulties every single day of his life, his family had died and he had been left an entire estate to run as the youngest official lord in the court.

““Lord Jet. I humbly apologize for earlier. I wasn’t clearly aware of your status. Please excuse my inappropriate behavior from before. I meant no insult to you or your house. I still am incredibly ignorant to many of the faces and names in the court. Naturally, any silly promises you made me no longer need to be fulfilled. Is there anything I can do for you?”

One of the first lessons she had learned from the tutors Lord Ivory had given her had been that the most proper response to give to someone you were uncertain of was, undoubtedly, the politest one.

Lynn’s face hardened. The amusement in his eyes flickered out after her words were spoken and replaced with an intense coldness. His lips pursed into a flat line.

“No. That will be all.” The tail ends of his gentleman’s jacket flapped as he turned away from her.

Had she said something improper? She had been kind to him, even forgiven his debt to her. It would make sense that her words would relieve him, not upset him.

“A broken boy.” Sadness filled Lord Ivory’s tone. “I didn’t expect you to be acquainted with the Jet boy. I’ve heard he keeps to himself at social events. How is it that you are acquainted?”

“I met him just tonight. He approached me and thought I must be attempting to fool noblemen into giving me something. He claimed I was obviously not a noble.”

Lord Ivory chuckled and cupped her face in his hand. “My Vivian. Anyone who thinks you are not a noble on sight, must not only be broken in the body, but the mind as well.”

“But he was right. I don’t have a drop of noble blood in me.”

“Wrong. You are a Natural. You have more noble blood running through your veins than he and I do put together. You are a Topaz! The first of a long lineage.”

“I suppose so.” Vivian paused. “What happened to the Jet family? I remember learning from my tutors that there was some sort of tragic event and that only the youngest member survived. Can you tell me the details?”

Lord Ivory rose his hand as if to stop her words. “No, I will not give you details. The aftermath I witnessed was too grizzly for even me to stomach, much less a lady like yourself. I will say that not only did every member of the household perish, their city of Nornex died as well. I, myself, have sent scholars to study the city’s remains but spending mere minutes in the city causes my scholars to be stricken down with illnesses. Everything from headaches to blindness. If exposed for too long, the scholars die. Not just men though, nothing can survive in the city. We attempted to set animals loose in the city but they died not long after the release. Once we gathered up soil from the one of the city’s gardens that was on the edge of town. Next to nothing will grow in it, save for a specific species of flower. Though, even that, grew gnarled and blackened as if by some curse. That Jet boy you spoke to was the sole survivor in the entire city. No one quite understands what happened in the city or how he somehow managed to escape with his life. It’s quite the scholarly mystery.”

“How have I not heard of this?!” Vivian was astonished. An entire city destroyed in moments. That seemed like an occurrence straight out of the legends next to Silvis or the tragedy of Tyr.

“We decided that it would only put fear in the public so we kept the city’s demise exclusive to official history books and the nobility. Naturally, rumors escaped but we countered them with our own rumors of Nornex closing their doors and placing themselves in quarantine due to political turmoil within the Jet family and plague. It has truly been a trial to keep the secret, especially since merchants continue to assault our excuses while attempting to gain access into the city. I doubt the ruse will last much longer, maybe another year at most. But, the impact of the public learning should have faded with the years.” The way he spoke he sounded almost nonchalant about the topic.

Vivian looked about the room scanning it for Lynn. Several of the boys she had danced with grinned at her. Now that they had discovered that she was headed for Silvian Island they seemed a great deal more eager to dance with her, despite her fumbling through dance steps earlier. Only Lord Ivory’s presence kept them at bay. The respect his status demanded still astonished her.

Silts, she was bad at dancing. The tutors Lord Ivory assigned to her had crammed a great deal in during the last four months but dancing never came up in her studies until only a few days ago. Not to mention, no one permitted her to attend any of the many other balls put on by the nobility before now. Lord Ivory had wanted her to be kept a secret and kept her away from public events. She felt out of place here and flummoxed by all that was happening.

She spotted Lynn stumbling out of the room. A book in hand. Vivian took a step toward him intending to apologize if she offended him, though still without the slightest clue as to what she might have said.

“Would you do me the honor of giving me the final dance tonight?” a man said, interupting her thoughts. Vivian recognized him as one of the other candidates for Silvian Island. “I feel I should at least introduce myself as we’ll both be studying together.”

The ballroom door closed behind Lynn, shutting him out of her view. She took a step in his direction but before she could comprehend what was happening, the boy, who introduced himself as Ivan Quartz, had escorted her across the ballroom floor. They found a rather clear path through the ballroom floor and Ivan Quartz placed his left hand on her back while she set hers on his shoulder. As the song had already begun, they waited for a moment before he launched her into the rhythm. He gave her a charming smile.

Just as they took their first steps, one of the glass chandlers shattered. Shards sprayed across the room. A woman screamed and one of the guards fumbled for his sword when a knife sprouted from his face. Someone shoved her, causing her to spiral toward the ground. Ivan disappeared amongst the throng of nobles racing toward the doorway. There was a horrifying snap from across the room which she could only assume was a bone cracking. Then she saw him.

He was clothed entirely in a scarlet outfit. The only skin left exposed surrounded his cold eyes. They locked on her. She scrambled to her knees. Her body shook as the man took several steps toward her. Knives materialized in his gloved hands from his sleeves.

Vivian squeezed her eyes closed. Shaking hands in front of her. She prayed to every god she had heard of, to her mother’s spirit, to the hero Silvis, and even the all-consuming Silts. She didn’t want to die. Not again.

There was a grunt. Her eyes jolted open at the sound and saw the assassin tumbling toward her. At first fear overtook her but it only took a split second for her to realize he didn’t have control over the fall. Her eyes caught a glimpse of what had been the cause of his sudden clumsiness. The pant leg of the man seemed seared in a circle leaving a dull red flower with a bone pistil in the center. Before the man landed she lifted her hand up defensively to cover her face from his body weight. The flames leapt from her hand embracing the man entirely. For a single second, the red clad assassin lit the ballroom up in a blinding blaze. Then the light and flames instantly disappeared. The man’s hand twitched but now his clothing and flesh were indistinguishable in color. An acrid scent filled the room, her stomach turned at the metallic, sulfuric odor.

Her mind flickered to her past, a time when flames had climbed up her skirts as her screams chorused with her little brother’s. Pain. So much pain. Towards the end she had struggled so hard just for a single breath that had resulted in her choking down smoke and searing her lungs. Her body had been unable to cough, attempting and failing to get enough air to relieve her.

The distinct taste of salt filled the edges of her mouth. Vivian realized tears trickled down from her eyes. She wasn’t dead. Ropes didn’t bind her to a burning post. She lay collapsed on the marble flooring of a ballroom.

In a mere moment, Lord Ivory was there by her side. She buried her face in his chest. Was this the fate of a Natural? Why had she come back to life? The only splinter of memory after death that she could recall was immense peace. She longed for that moment of peace. Lord Ivory was whispering calming words to her but they flowed over her, lacking any comprehension.

After gasping for breath. Vivian settled herself down and managed to take her face away from Lord Ivory’s chest. She glanced about and almost regressed back to her previous state when she saw the body before her. Any sign of life ceased to exist in it. But, crouched awkwardly beside it was Lynn. His beard caked in blood and his hair matted down with patches of more blood. He didn’t notice her looking, his attention seemingly consumed by the corpse, but his presence reminded her to remain calm. Vivian turned away from him. She needed to steady herself. She was perfectly fine. Absolutely no harm had come to her. No physical damage. No reason to allow tears to escape her eyes. All was well. Right?