The Shadow Tide

CHAPTER 17 - Melody

Finally, the king came to his senses and postponed the engagement ball, but only for seven days. Additionally, messages were sent to some of the guests with apologies that, due to recent events, the guest list was being reduced.

Now there was no more hiding the truth. The return of the Shadow Tide was printed in newspapers all over Pratoria, and the words painted on the wall of that alley in Crescent were on the front page of thousands of copies scattered throughout the kingdom.

All of Arian's appointments in the days following the attack were cancelled. Belinda spent more time with him in enclosed spaces like the library and the music room, and they rarely walked in the gardens.

Other than that, Arian could be usually found in the secret room, the only place where Brethen felt she could truly relax. There were no secret passages or hiding spots there.

For several consecutive nights, Arian worked late, and Brethen didn't leave his side. She ended up falling asleep on the velvet sofa in the corner of the room, waking up to the prince squeezing her arm. They descended the tower stairs together, went to their respective rooms, and did it all again the next day.

"What are you doing?" Brethen asked for the tenth time, watching as Arian leaned over the counter.

She noticed the materials in front of him: open books, vials with strange liquids, a silver chalice where he mixed some of the ingredients, all done with millimetric precision.

"You'll see, be patient," he answered for the tenth time, without looking at her. "You can go rest, Brethen."

The next afternoon, Arian was sitting by the piano in the music room. Belinda and Amina sat near the window, watching the prince play. Brethen arrived in the middle of the song, after receiving the updated report from the guard — nothing new, they said — and leaned against the wall by the door to watch.

Near the window, Amina and Belinda whispered quietly until Amina lightly squeezed the other girl's arm and stood up, walking towards where Brethen was.

"I don't know if you've heard of something called sleep," Amina whispered as she stopped next to Brethen, "but you clearly need it."

Brethen chuckled. It was ridiculous that she, who was sleeping much more than Arian, seemed to have been run over by a herd of bulls every morning, while he remained impeccable, without dark circles, and with his mood unchanged. He used magic for that, of course, but it wasn't fair.

"I think I'll only be able to sleep properly after the engagement ball," Brethen whispered back, leaning towards her friend.

"You're not alone. Belinda is a bundle of nerves too."

Brethen looked at the girl still sitting near the window. She had an upright posture, hair perfectly coiffed in a low bun, and a healthy blush on her cheeks. Nothing about her indicated that she was a bundle of nerves.

"I bet Arian is too," Amina added.

"He's really good at hiding that kind of stuff. Belinda too, apparently."

"At least they have that in common," Amina laughed.

Brethen narrowed her eyes at her friend, tilting her head.

"Are you saying they don't have anything else in common?"

"No, Breth," Amina restrained another laugh, "I just expressed myself poorly. Belinda is great, and Arian seems to like her. You don't need to worry about that too."

On the other side of the room, Belinda stood up and went to Arian, who had finished the music. She put a hand on his shoulder, a gesture that seemed extremely natural, and the two spoke quietly. Then Belinda walked towards Brethen and Amina, and Arian started playing another song.