All too soon she heard the hour bell sounding in the tower that stood behind the building. An hour past noon. She would have to be back in the palace soon. She flipped pages in the book a little faster, feeling frustrated. So far it had confirmed what the Domina had told her, that bindings were a way of sharing power between witches or with the temple or to lend a small amount of power to a man through a blood rite, either on a permanent or temporary basis. She hadn’t, so far, managed to determine how any of these was achieved. The somewhat archaic handwriting was like spider scribblings, each word taking time to decipher. She flipped pages again, going deeper into the book.
The next chapter heading read simply “Amplification.” Amplification? What did that mean? She squinted at the writing, trying to will it to come clear. The inked words were paler and scrawling, making the task even more impossible. Something about two magics? And was that “bound”? Or “found”? The next sentence down started with a phrase that might have been “joining of power,” but the ink was faded to near nothing. The other side of the page was no better. It was going to take forever to puzzle out what it read. She could make out only snippets. Something she thought might be “Unclaimed witch” and “Deliberate or accidental, when joined in this . . . The two are bound . . . The power grows. Greater than the parts . . .” Accidental? Could power be bound accidentally? Is that what the Domina meant by tangled? That she and Cameron were bound somehow?
She stared down at the page, wishing that sheer concentration would make the words come clear. Unclaimed witch? Did that mean a virgin or one not bound to the goddess? The quarter bell tolled above her, and she swore under her breath. She would have to leave now to get back to the palace in time. Just when she was getting somewhere. There was no way she could take the book out of the library. The Illusioners’ Hall had wards upon wards to protect the knowledge it stored. She was just going to have to find a way to return. Soon.
She pushed the chair back from the desk and walked to the shelves. Acting on an impulse she didn’t quite understand, she pushed it back onto a different shelf from the one she’d found it, sliding it in between two much larger books. The dust coating the tops of their pages told her both that perhaps the archivists weren’t all that interested in cleaning the shelves and that none of them had been moved to seek out treatises on the uses of earth magic in the treatment of sheep lately. The little green book was hardly visible between the two larger volumes. She stroked its spine, wishing she had more time. Then, hoping she had hidden her treasure as safely as possible for now, she turned and went to find Cameron.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sophie practically skidded through the door to Eloisa’s suite as the hour bell tolled two over her head, having made her way through the palace at a pace that was as fast as she could manage without actually breaking into a run. Which wouldn’t do. For one thing, given the current atmosphere in the court, the sight of one of the queen-to-be’s ladies running through the palace might just make people panic. Plus there was always a chance that in her current gown and corset, trying to run could cause her to faint all over again. Or that she might, her head still full of what she had read in the library and what it might mean, run someone down.
She caught herself on the doorjamb and tried to act composed as she stepped into her place at the rear of the group of ladies waiting to be readmitted to Eloisa’s bedchamber. Beata wasn’t there—she had to sleep sometime—so Lady Naiomi was the most senior lady present and in charge of the group. Naiomi turned at the sound of Sophie’s arrival and glared her disapproval.
Sophie bobbed a quick curtsy of apology, and Naiomi pursed her lips but nodded. Lady Honoria, who was with Sophie in the last row of ladies, sent a semicurious but sympathetic smile in Sophie’s direction. As Naiomi turned back to face the bedroom door, Lady Honoria leaned over and whispered, “Where were you? And what happened earlier? The Domina hasn’t let any of us back in yet. Just some priors. Beata was fuming when she left.”
Sophie shook her head. “It’s a long way from the erl’s apartments,” she said, prevaricating. “I misjudged the time.” She stared at the bedroom door, willing it to open before all the ladies decided this might be a perfect time to start finding out exactly what had been happening to Sophie since her Ais-Seann.
“You’re still staying with Inglewood?” Honoria asked, her curious expression deepening. “I thought your parents had returned to Kingswell.”
“They have,” Sophie said. “But they’ve taken a house in town, and the queen-to-be asked that I stay in the palace.” Honoria’s parents weren’t any wealthier than Sophie’s and, what’s more, didn’t have the advantage of a link to the line direct. “Are you offering to share your room?” She fervently hoped not. She hated sharing a room. In the somewhat confined world of the ladies-in-waiting, privacy was at a premium.
“No, but why—” Honoria started to say, but then the door opened, revealing the Domina.
“The queen-to-be will see you now,” she announced.
Sophie kept her face smooth but once again felt an inward frown. It should be one of the ladies who had stayed with Eloisa and who told the rest of them when Eloisa was ready for company or wanted distraction. Not the Domina. If the healing they had done this morning had been successful, then surely there was less need for Domina Skey to dance attendance on Eloisa every minute of the day. She must have other duties.
As the group of ladies moved forward, Sophie heard light footsteps behind her. Turning her head, she saw Princess Margaretta walking into the antechamber. The princess wore head-to-toe black like the rest of them. The choker of black pearls at her neck was almost as fine as her sister’s, and there were more dark pearls at her ears and wrists. But despite her somber attire, a smile lit her face.
Automatically, Sophie curtsied and stepped back to let the princess precede her into the bedroom.
Sophie waited until the princess and the lady-in-waiting who accompanied her—a girl a year or so older than Sophie who had recently joined the court—were through the door and then followed.