Surreal checked into a room at The Tavern. Marian had invited her to stay with the family, but the guest rooms in the Yaslana eyrie held too many difficult memories that she didn’t want to deal with. The rooms at The Tavern held memories, too, but the Rihlanders were a short-lived race, and each generation “freshened” the look of the rooms. Same room but not the same.
Ebon Rih also held a lot of memories for her, both good and bad, but there was room to move there, room to breathe.
After arranging with Marian and Nurian to have dinner at a dining house that specialized in seafood, she’d gone down to Riada—and The Tavern. On her own for a few hours, she wandered the village streets. She’d been thinking about purchasing a house for herself somewhere, a residence that wasn’t part of the SaDiablo holdings. She’d toyed with the idea of settling into a village, but she hadn’t found any village or any house that called to her.
The truth was, she liked living in Amdarh, liked living in the town house. Dhemlan’s capital city had neighborhoods, and she could take a healthy walk to some of her favorite shops if she didn’t want to use the family’s conveyances or hire a horse-drawn cab. She liked the feel of the city and the variety of talks and entertainments available. She liked all the theaters.
But the town house wasn’t hers, and if she purchased one in the city, that news would be all over Amdarh before the ink was dry on the deed, and whatever protection her wedding ring provided for Daemon would be lost. That would be dangerous for everyone, especially now that Sadi’s Queen was once more in residence at the Keep.
She’d figure things out. In the meantime, she was here to request information about someone who was never mentioned.
She didn’t know what had happened between them or exactly when it happened. She remembered just that Wilhelmina Benedict had made a choice—and Jaenelle Angelline had accepted it.
Surreal stopped in front of a store window and pressed a hand to her chest, trying to ease the ache there. Years ago, Witch had helped her release the burden of all the girls she hadn’t been able to save—including herself. Maybe, if she helped Saetien on this part of the girl’s journey, it would help this new wound to heal.
Nurian and Marian arrived together and knocked on the door.
“When Lucivar heard about our dinner plans, he arranged for us to ride in a fancy aristo carriage drawn by two horses and including a driver who is exclusively ours for the evening,” Marian said, laughing.
“Hell’s fire.” Surreal stepped back to let them enter her room. “What does he think we’re going to do besides eat dinner? Drive around the village, drinking sparkling wine while singing bawdy songs?”
“Now, there’s a thought,” Nurian said. “And I’ll apologize now for any remarks I may make about food you leave on your plate. I haven’t had a dinner with just adults in a long time.”
“The three of us should take a couple of days in Amdarh to go to the theater and some place that’s a female indulgence,” Surreal said.
“That would be lovely,” Marian said with a sigh. Then she called in a sealed paper and held it out. “Lucivar brought back an answer from the Keep just before I was ready to leave. And he said to tell you he’ll accept whatever arrangements you and Jillian make for her Virgin Night.”
“Do you want us to wait outside?” Nurian asked when Surreal hesitated to take the paper.
Surreal shook her head, took the message, and broke the seal.
After a brief stay at SaDiablo Hall, Wilhelmina Benedict resided on the Isle of Scelt for the rest of her life. If more information is required, the Seneschal and I suggest that the person looking for answers should begin the journey in Maghre.
—Geoffrey, historian/librarian
“Did you get the answer you wanted?” Marian asked.
Surreal handed her the paper and waited while she and Nurian read it.
“That’s . . . sparse,” Nurian said. “Wouldn’t the Keep have more information about one of the Blood?”
“I’m sure they know a great deal more than that,” Surreal replied. “But I think the answer underneath these words is this: anyone who wants to know about Wilhelmina Benedict will have to earn the information. And the first step is going to Maghre.”
As the women went out to the carriage, she wondered how Sadi was going to respond to his daughter’s request to travel to the other side of the Realm.