“Here I am!” she cried cheerfully. “So sorry for the delay. I wasn’t too long, was I?”
If Mireille could see the damage that Adale had done to Esofi’s makeup, she said nothing about it as she set the tray down on the nearest surface and began to pour out goblets of water.
“Here,” said Esofi, picking up another one of Albion’s letters. Adale had almost forgotten about them. “This one mentions you as well, I think. I’ll be surprised if we don’t find half of them have your name in them somewhere…”
Adale looked down at the letter but found that she could not focus on the words while Esofi’s body was so near to hers, close enough that Adale could feel the princess’s slow, measured breathing and see the gentle rise and fall of her chest. She wanted…
Adale forced her attention back to the page in front of her. But it seemed that she was not the only one having difficulty focusing.
“Mireille,” said Esofi after a few painfully long minutes. “I think I would like to visit the Temple of Talcia today.”
“Oh,” said Mireille, the disappointment in her tone evident. “Shall I find Lady Lexandrie, then?”
“Oh, never mind her,” said Esofi dismissively. “The crown princess will accompany us as well, I think…?” Esofi glanced at Adale.
“Yes!” said Adale quickly. “Yes, of course, I…yes.”
Mireille’s look of dismay had been replaced by a wide grin.
“Good,” said Esofi, setting her kitten down on the floor before rising to her feet. “Give me fifteen minutes to prepare, and I shall meet you at the stables. Mireille, tell the hostlers to ready a carriage.”
“Never mind that, I’ll do it myself,” said Adale.
“You?” asked Esofi. “But that would not be proper.”
“No, really, it’s fine,” said Adale, getting up as well. “You need your lady, and I’ve nothing to do in the meantime.”
Adale left the room with a warm feeling in her chest and a spring in her step. She wondered if Daphene or Lethea were sober enough to accompany her on the trip, but then she wondered if she wanted them with her, propriety be damned. Esofi’s lady would be there, and that was technically enough, but…
If only Theodoar was still here, she knew he could behave for long stretches of time if she bribed him enough.
Adale burst into her rooms, hands shaking from a strange mixture of anxiety and joy. “Are either of you awake?” she called, banging her fist on the door that led to the accompanying rooms. “Daphene! Lethea!”
It was Daphene that fumbled her way to the door, eyes still closed and hair in disarray. She might have been wearing last night’s dress.
“Castle on fire?” she mumbled.
“No, I—”
“Don’t care.” And she went to close the door in Adale’s face. Adale jammed her boot in the way before it could close.
“I need an attendant,” said Adale. “How quickly can you be ready? We are going to the Temple of Talcia.”
“In the middle of the night?” murmured Daphene, rubbing her sleeve against her eyes. “Why?”
“It’s almost noon,” said Adale sharply. “I need you to come and distract Esofi’s waiting lady for me.”
“Esofi?” Daphene seemed to wake a little. “Is that what this is about?”
“Yes,” said Adale. “I need you to meet me down at the stables in fifteen minutes.”
“Fift—!” But Adale was gone before Daphene could even begin her complaint.
The stables were not too crowded this time of day, though the hostler put on quite a show of being very busy the moment Adale walked through the doors. Adale told them of Esofi’s plans and then left them to prepare the carriage. In the meantime, she visited Warcry, who was in his stall.
“I’ve nothing for you today,” said Adale as he nipped at her collar, clearly hoping for apples or boiled sweets. Adale’s gaze went to the still-empty stall beside him. There was a slightly discolored spot on the door where the nameplate had been removed.
“I’m sorry,” Adale said quietly, rubbing her palm against Warcry’s nose. “I’m sorry.” She pressed her face into his neck and inhaled his familiar horse scent, warm hair and dry straw. At least he didn’t blame her. He might, if he were capable. But he wasn’t, so he didn’t.
Esofi and Mireille arrived shortly, followed by Daphene ten minutes later. They got in the carriage and, accompanied by more guards than Adale thought was remotely necessary, headed out to the Temple of Talcia.
“Where are you going to get your students from?” asked Adale, trying to strike up another conversation. “Most of our citizens with Talcia’s magic just ignore it their whole lives.”
“I know,” said Esofi. “But I’m hoping an impressive new university will encourage them to start thinking about appreciating their gifts. Besides, after they complete their education, they will be all but assured a prestigious job defending their country.”
“If they are courageous enough,” pointed out Adale. “Some might be less eager to fight a dragon.”
“Perhaps,” said Esofi. “But for the sake of protecting their homes…”
“You must think I’m useless.” Adale laughed. “I’ve never even seen a live dragon, except from a very great distance, and it might have just been a very large hawk.”
“I would not want you to seek one out if you’ve no means of defending yourself!” cried Esofi. “Besides…”
“Besides what?” asked Adale, for Esofi suddenly looked very worried.
“Besides, I think you may see one soon enough,” Esofi murmured.
“What do you mean?” asked Adale.
“They are moving inward,” said Esofi. “Even your generals have spotted the patterns in their attacks. I believe their true target is Birsgen.”
“But we’ve been beating them!” protested Adale. “Most of the time, at least. And besides, we have your battlemages now. And you.”
Esofi’s severe expression lightened for just a moment. “Perhaps you are right. Even if an attack does come, maybe we will be able to fight them off with minimal losses. Still, it is never an easy victory when one fights a dragon.”
“Not even for you?” asked Adale.
“No,” said Esofi. “Not even for me. Every dragon has a unique personality and fighting style. It is much like fighting a Man, I suppose. And they are clever, even if they’ve lost most of their gifts. I consider myself very fortunate that I’ve never been forced to face one alone.”
“I think you could do it,” said Adale. “If you had to.”
Esofi gave a small laugh. “I pray it never comes to that.”
The carriage came to a halt, and they disembarked at the steps of the Temple of Talcia. It was nowhere near as large and impressive as the Great Temple of Iolar, though still, Adale thought, perfectly acceptable.
Esofi, though, was frowning deeply as she walked up the black marble steps that led to the temple itself. It was similar in layout to the Temple of Iolar, with a walled courtyard in front of the temple proper. This courtyard, however, was not quite as well-kept, and it seemed that many of the flowers had become overgrown.
The courtyard wasn’t busy at all. Aside from the temple birds, a staple of any of Talcia’s temples, the only signs of life there were a pair of acolytes, who were working to refill the feeders with seeds. At the sight of the princess’s approach, they began whispering to each other.
“I wish to speak to the archpriestess,” announced Esofi. “I have important news for her.”
The archpriestess was an old woman with a soft and wrinkled face and long, silver hair. She leaned heavily on a polished black walking stick for support as she emerged from the temple. An ordinary-ranked priestess was just behind her, looking concerned. Both women were dressed in the traditional midnight-blue colors of the goddess.