The north wing dining hall already overflowed with the scent of boiled herbs and petals.
Arriving early, I chose the table at the back, by the winter gardens. The one Lianza and I used to share when we pretended we weren't together. How ironic that I now used it to complete a System mission.
Anaïs appeared at four sharp. Copper-red hair falling in wild strands below her shoulders. Disoriented pine-green eyes that recognized no face.
She smiled upon seeing me. She walked toward me with unhurried steps, but short ones.
"Dariel. I thought you wouldn't come."
"I said I would, and I kept my word."
She sat across from me. Her fingers played with a small spoon before a servant brought the tea. Her hands trembled. From cold or nerves, I couldn't say, but I leaned toward the latter since the weather wasn't conducive to cold.
"It's my third day at Mayorka. I arrived on Saturday... and I still don't know anyone. The nobles here are... different."
"I don't recall seeing you at the Welcome Ball."
Anaïs placed a hand over her mouth.
"Impossible. I would have died of shame if I had attended," she said, shaking her head.
"And what do you mean by 'different'?" I asked, changing the subject.
"In Rahlarka, nobles from important families ignore you. Here... they show you a smile while hiding a dagger behind their back."
"That's a good observation."
"Are you a noble?"
It was the kind of question that would have offended any noble; surely the original Dariel would have fired back insults.
"Technically. House Elcronne."
Leaning closer to her, I whispered as if I were about to share the most amusing secret in the world:
"The lowest of them all."
"And how do you manage to survive here?"
"Perhaps my nickname 'The Dog at Her Heels' will give you a clue."
Anaïs frowned. She hadn't understood. Better that way.
The tea arrived. She held it with both hands. I pretended to drink mine. Mayorka tea still tasted like dirty water with petals to me.
"Why did you help me this morning?" she asked. "You don't know me."
"A gentleman doesn't need to know a lady in distress to help her."
Anaïs curved her lips and looked away.
"Most people would have walked right past, you know?"
"I'm not most people."
[How romantic!😭]
I closed the notification.
Anaïs lowered her cup. Her cheeks were starting to show a blush. She looked at me for two seconds too long before diverting her gaze back to the gardens.
"Yes. You're different from the rest, Dariel Elcronne."
"Just a guard with good timing."
Anaïs tilted her head, puzzled by what I'd said. For someone not well-versed in the courts of Mayorka, a member of House Elcronne was the same as one from House Vereth, Vane, Taint, or any of the important noble houses.
"I'm a bodyguard," I continued. "Remember, my lady: 'The Dog at Her Heels.'"
"Not at all," she denied, her gaze fixed on me. "You're much more than that. I can feel it."
A voice cut the moment short.
"Well, well!" someone greeted me from afar. "If it isn't our esteemed Dog at Her Heels, and with company!"
It was Lord Caspian of Vereth. He wore his house's characteristic green suit with gold embroidery, and held a cup of tea. Evidently, he was no longer drunk, but something told me he had a hangover.
Beside him was Alexia Vane. She had her fan closed and wore her curly brown hair loose over her shoulders. She looked at me with surprise. Then turned to Anaïs. Then looked back at me.
"Sir Dariel," she said, with that voice that always went up a pitch when she saw me. "Are you going to introduce us?"
"Lady Vane. Lord Caspian." I gestured to the table. "Why don't you join us for a bit?"
Anaïs looked at me, subtly shaking her head. If my presence already inspired nerves in her, the presence of two members of important houses should give her a heart attack on the spot.
Caspian sat down without hesitation. Alexia sat next to him. Their shoulders brushed. He gave her a smile that three days ago he wouldn't have been able to articulate.
I was glad for him. Something changes in a man's attitude when he finds love.
"May I have the honor of knowing your name, fair lady?" Caspian asked Anaïs.
The word 'fair' made Alexia turn toward Caspian and slap his shoulder.
"Lady Anaïs, from Rahlarka Academy. I'm on exchange."
"Rahlarka?" Alexia's eyes widened. "The mountain academy? The ones who manifest Empero weapons and ride creatures? There are many legends about their dragon riders. They're the most powerful aerial army in all of Earolden."
"Generals Endaro, Galavar, and Anazziahla," the girl replied with a gleam in her eyes. "They're the pride of Rahlarka."
"How sad that their power depends on the bond they have with creatures," Caspian said, his academic pride wounded. "A true warrior uses his own Empero to defeat his rivals."
He was right, in part. Since its founding, the Mayorka Academy of Nobility and Empero had produced the best Empero warriors. Here, you could only graduate if you achieved the rank of Empero Knight or Lady Rank S and mastered your ability... besides needing the unanimous approval of the Empero Council. To graduate with honors, you needed to reach the Empero Legend category, one of the four most difficult ranks to achieve.
"Rahlarka has grown considerably stronger in recent years," Anaïs countered. When it came to defending her people, the girl showed the confidence of a queen. "We now aspire to first place in the Earolden Tournament."
"According to the information we've received from all the other academies on the continent, this year's tournament will be very closely contested," Alexia said, trying to mediate between both. "The other academies have warriors who even have a chance of defeating Ardwyn, one of Mayorka's greatest promises."
In The Throne of Ashes and Thorns, that tournament was one of the biggest turning points. If things went wrong... Better not to think about it. There was still a long way to go before reaching that point. For now, there were more immediate problems to deal with.
Caspian livened up at the topic of the tournament and started talking about the Empero Knights from Mayorka who had participated in previous editions. Alexia listened attentively, though her eyes went from Caspian to Anaïs and from Anaïs to me, her gaze full of curiosity.
Anaïs, meanwhile, had stopped trembling. Her hands wrapped around the cup with firmness. She followed the conversation, but every so often she drifted toward me. She observed me with the attention of someone trying to decipher a difficult puzzle.
"And you, Dariel?" Anaïs asked. "Will you participate in the tournament?"
"I'm not an Empero Knight."
"But you have Empero, don't you?"
The table went quiet. Caspian stopped talking. Alexia snapped her fan shut.
"How do you know I have Empero?" I asked.
Anaïs shrugged.
"In Rahlarka we're taught to feel others' Empero. Empathy is the foundation of our Empero type. It even becomes instinctive in us. Yours is... dormant. But it's there."
Caspian looked at me with one eyebrow raised.
"Since when do you have Empero, Elcronne?"
"Recently," I admitted.
"And what type is it?"
"I don't know yet," I admitted, half-lying. Because even if I knew, I still didn't understand what it was really about or how it worked.
Besides, even if I knew, I wouldn't have told them. The truth about my Empero was a secret I had to keep. After all, it was one of the keys to saving Lianza from this unfair world.
And I had no intention of risking something so important just to show off in front of a couple of nobles.
The conversation kept flowing until the tea ran out. When I checked the time, it was already six.
"Well, when you find out, let me know," Caspian said, raising his cup. "So I can bet on you at the betting houses."
"There are no betting houses in Mayorka, Caspian," Alexia said.
"Is that so, fair lady?" Caspian replied, and Alexia smiled at hearing him call her 'fair.'
"Then prove me wrong, Lord Caspian."
Were they flirting?
A glance was exchanged between Anaïs and me. She had noticed too.
"Lord Caspian, I suggest you bet on someone else. I'm a bad investment."
Anaïs touched my hand. The gesture was brief. Her fingers brushed my bandages.
"I don't think so," she said quietly.
Then I felt the cold.
My head didn't turn. There was no need to.
After all, what kind of man would he be if he didn't recognize when the woman he loves is in his presence?
Lianza stood in the hallway connecting the dining hall to the west wing. Arms crossed. Her garnet Empero tinted the air for three meters around. She wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Anaïs. At Anaïs's hand on mine.