There were courses of everything from soups and roasted vegetables to fish in an array of sauces, extraordinary concoctions of some meat, and poultry done a dozen different ways with cream, nuts, and honeyed apricots. The desserts were just as elaborate: delicious spun sugar concoctions, hot berry puddings with creamy sauces, cheeses, fruits, and more chocolate than you could possibly imagine.
We were halfway through dessert when the man next to Leticia spoke up. “Lady Leticia,” he said, fawning over her in obvious hopes of being noticed by the lady who was betrothed to the Prince of Eldoren. “When will the prince return from his travels? I have an urgent matter to discuss with him.”
“I cannot divulge that information, Lord Mornington.” Leticia smiled sweetly, but her eyes flashed with anger.
“She has no clue where my cousin is,” whispered Damien in my ear. I could tell he didn’t like Leticia, but she was a very difficult person to like. “He prances off whenever he wants, and my uncle has to constantly send guards to bring him back from whatever inn or tavern he is holed up in.”
I was taken aback; Damien really hated his cousin, the prince. It wasn’t only in my family that the Blackwaters’ jealousies ran rampant. I knew that if they had their way, they would overthrow the king and take over Eldoren. Were all these rumors true about the prince?
Across the table, a conversation was turning into an argument.
“You cannot possibly think that the Black Wolf is anything more than a thieving outlaw,” said an old earl loudly, sitting up straighter in his high-backed chair. “He must be caught and brought to justice.”
“But he saves so many innocent lives,” said a plump middle-aged lady who I recognized as the Countess of Dewberry. Aunt Serena had introduced us earlier in the drawing room. “He should be awarded a knighthood if you ask me, Marcus.”
“A knighthood,” spluttered the old earl, putting down his silver goblet. “Have you gone insane, woman? When that outlaw is finally caught, he should be hanged. I shall bring this to the notice of the council. Outlaws cannot be permitted to take the law into their own hands.”
“But he does so much good,” the countess insisted, holding her ground.
“What good is he to us?” The old earl was going red in the face, looking like a ripe tomato ready to burst. “All he does is save those heathen fae. If you ask me, I think I quite agree with Morgana that the fae should go back to Elfi and stay there.”
The countess gasped and turned away from the earl, refusing to even look at him.
I was so engrossed by their conversation that I didn’t notice the man next to Leticia trying to get my attention.
“So!” said Lord Mornington, glancing at me. “Rory, is it?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And you are a mage in training at the Academy at Evolon?”
I nodded.
“Yes, yes, very good. All the Morningtons have been to the Academy at Evolon too, you know. Except myself. Sadly, I was not graced with the magic you possess.” Lord Mornington leaned back in his chair and fondled his wispy beard. “Young Damien here must be teaching you a few things, eh?” He gave me a lewd wink.
My spine stiffened as I glared at him. What did he mean by saying that Damien was teaching me? There was definitely nothing I wanted to learn from him. And what was that wink about? Did he think I was dating Damien?
“No, my lord,” I said as sweetly as I could, even though I was fuming inside. “It’s more that I could teach Damien a few things—in magic, that is.”
The bald, paunchy lord laughed so loudly at my answer that he dropped his silver wine goblet, and red wine splattered all over the table and over Lady Leticia’s hideously expensive dress.
She jumped up. “You clumsy clod, you,” she screeched at the mortified Lord Mornington, who clumsily tried to mop up the wine from her dress with his napkin and, in the process, proceeded to spread it around, creating an even messier stain.
“Stay away from me,” screamed Leticia, swatting Lord Mornington’s hands.
Footmen rushed to assist the screaming lady. The Duchess of Blackwater got up as well and tried to pacify her, but it was no use. Leticia Glenbarry, the future queen of the kingdom, gathered her skirts in a huff of stained satin and marched out of the dining room. I giggled to myself. She deserved it, the snooty thing.
Lord Mornington apologized all around, and he sat back down at his seat while the footmen miraculously dried everything and replaced the offending goblet with a new one, filled only halfway this time around.
I turned to Damien, but he did not look like he was laughing. His eyes flashed with malice. “Who do you think you are, anyway?”
My jaw tightened and I lifted my brows. All this time Damien had been cordial, and now suddenly he hated me again. What had I done?
“How dare you tell Lord Mornington in full hearing of everyone else that you could teach me,” he ground out between clenched teeth so no one else could hear. “I am a Blackwater. My blood is one of the most magical in the whole kingdom and beyond. You are nobody, a little girl from a faraway town that no one has even heard of. You think you can teach me anything, I will show you what it means to cross a Blackwater.”
“I’m sorry.” I glanced around. I didn’t want a scene now, especially here. “I didn’t mean it like that. I was just trying to make a joke.”
His beady blue eyes darkened. “Well, it wasn’t funny.”
Luckily, the duchess announced that the men could retire to the drawing room, and the ladies would go to the parlor. Everyone got up from their seats and headed out of the dining room.
Damien gave me a dark look
