Red Ruse

Chapter Six

Evangeline

I should be furious.

Father certainly is. He hasn't stopped shouting since we were forced to leave, railing at anyone within earshot. Ask him to stop, and he'd only rant harder.

Mother knows better how to hold her temper. Her snakes curl around her seat to hiss at passing servants, so starved for mice they might settle for human flesh. Opposite me, Tolly nods, the closest he can get to a sign of solidarity.

"This is preposterous." Father slams his fist against the table. "In the middle of the engagement, of all times!"

Mother clucks her tongue. "It is certainly . . . unfortunate."

"As has been established," Tolly mutters.

I chuckle, and Mother gives me a severe look. "This is no laughing matter. He spent weeks engaged to that Titanos girl, and just as he was about to end it, she throws court into chaos." Hisses fill the air. "You have a Coriane on your hands."

I stiffen.

"A schemer. A seductress." Mothers cuts through her steak as though it were Mare's heart. "Someone who doesn't play by our rules."

Tolly wipes his mouth, grimacing. "Elara would never–"

"Elara isn't king, is she?" A snake slithers from her shoulders to rest on the table. "You'll have to remind him where he comes from. Why Titanos can be nothing more than a guilty pleasure."

My heart pounds as I remember the medicine I asked Elane to fetch. I'd been weak to memories of my own punishments, of healers denied after an exam failed. "She's not a Titanos."

"Of course not." Father almost smashes his glass against the table. "Ethan would never sully himself with a red."

Mother scoffs. "What do we call her, then? Mareena?" Her lip curls. "Calore?"

I sharpen my voice to fine sneer. "Her name's Mare Barrow."

"It's strange." Tolly changes the subject before Father can interject. "Cal never mentioned dancing with that servant girl. Only Titan–" A severe look. "Barrow. Only Barrow."

Mother pauses. "The footage was awfully blurry."

Father scowls, teeth grinding as he saws through his steak. "Another reason to demand an audience immediately."

"Patience, darling." She chews her meat before swallowing. "You earn no favors when you screech like a dog."

I stand, plate untouched. "We'll find out soon enough."

"Soon enough" comes many hours later, another feast to make up for the one cut short. I'm not the main event this time, but that doesn't calm the gossip bubbling among those beneath my station. At least there's one person who'll never be riled by it.

"Lady Haven." The name tingles on my tongue, shimmers like a sunbeam at dawn. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

She smiles, lips red as the raging flame of her hair. "Likewise, Lady Samos."

Before we can slink off to a private corner, however, a head of dark blonde curls pops from behind her. "Me too!" She has Samos eyes, dark and almond shaped, and something in me stirs with uneasy recognition. "My name's Lupa, but you can call me Lu."

Elane stiffens, eyes locking on mine as if to apologize. Lu pays her no mind. "What's your name? I mean, I know it already but it's always fun to pretend."

I scoff. What is she, ten? "My reputation precedes me."

"I'm fourteen."

A headache bursts behind my temples, and Elane frowns. "Was your age in question?"