The Speckled Duckling was the kind of place that chose you to attend, not the other way around. It was under the ownership of the Prince of Lightera. Despite his lofty title, Prince Elytra was a socialite with no real interest in the goings-on of the court. He preferred the company of lesser nobles and businessmen, often meeting them at his so-called hunting club.

  Griffin, Baron of Fesserton, had a standing invitation since their days at the academy. The two of them met at least once every year at this club to drink and listen to the pitches of those entrepreneurs soliciting funders in new, but not always lucrative, ventures.

  It was Prince Elytra who had brokered our marriage agreement between Griffin and my brother Wesley at this very club. Now, a year after the arrangements were finalized, it felt like we had come full circle. And yet, it was my first time visiting. Unmarried women were not permitted to enter the club. Only the wives or other married relatives of the men personally invited were permitted entry. Still, I’d heard secondhand of the gossip that spread easily when wine was included with the price of entry.

  I rubbed the lace of my gloves into my palm. Though there wouldn’t be any business pitches in the women’s room, a single misspoken word or impolite mannerism would instantly spread to the ear of every person of any real social importance. On top of that, it would embarrass Griffin to show off a low-skilled bride who could not even act in a proper fashion. My presentation and the deals made today would shape our future prospects.

  Griffin’s face was buried behind pages as he pored over his notes and figures. There were even more documents in the back of the carriage, along with the box from the previous night. “Is there something I can help you with?” I asked, looking for a distraction.

  “You let me take care of the business. You’ve already helped more than enough.” He muttered, not pulling his face from his notes.

  My family, though remote, was quite wealthy, and our marriage brought certain expectations for our lifestyle. Griffin’s household offered both strong magic and proximity to power with his connections to the royal family, but not wealth. The expenses of keeping up with the courtly lifestyle weighed on him, but he never permitted me to look over the finances. He may not have wanted to worry me or he may have not yet come to trust such a new wife. Either way, not knowing mixed with his tendency to grant me anything I asked for made me wary.

  “I can help with the numbers.”

  “There’s no need.” He folded the stack of papers down and glanced at my fidgeting hands, then up into my eyes. “You have nothing to worry about. The princess will be with you, and she has adored you since the wedding. You only need to relax and enjoy your time.”

  I clasped my fingers together to stop their incessant rubbing.

  He flipped the paper back up over his face. “You really must do something about that energy of yours before Eleanora gets here.”

  I smiled. “I don’t think relaxing is an ability I will need. They say boys are more energetic.”

  “I’ll believe that when I get a wife that can manage to sit still for more than a minute.”

  Griffin abruptly adjusted his posture and began packing up his papers. Like most nobles, Griffin had an inherent skill. He passively sensed the presence of living people and animals as naturally as sensing one's fingertips in space. On our first night, he shared with me the intricacies of his capabilities, including the emotional trigger needed to use his active skill. Regularly, though, he rarely thought to explain what he sensed, leaving me to guess at his motivations.

  “We’re here?” I asked, looking out the window.

  Our driver, Deerum, was pulling past the expansive front gardens to the stone steps of the Speckled Duckling. A colorful inlaid statue of the titular bird sporting a top hat was installed over the door. The audacity to paint a statue in such vibrant colors just to place them outside where they’d bleach in the sun gave me a shiver.

  The carriage came to a stop. Griffin exited first, wearing an emerald three-piece suit. I took his hand and stepped out into the midday sun. Lila had dressed me in a ballooning green summer dress to match his. It was out of fashion, but openly displaying one’s pregnancy in public was not only a faux pas in these circles but also bad luck. For now, my stomach could pass as the result of newlywed indulgences.

  We entered the club together and were immediately whisked off in different directions, me to the women’s parlor and Griffin to the smoke-filled room just down the hall. Deerum trailed after him with papers and boxes.

  The princess, Lady Seraphina, was waiting in a baby-blue silk dress that hugged her form and dropped down to her shins, exposing her ribboned heels. Her dress was shorter than I’d ever seen a noblewoman wear, but Lady Seraphina was the height of fashion. In a month, every young noble lady in the country would be taking up her hem.

  The moment I stepped into the emerald green and gold-painted room, I knew Lila had made a mistake. I would blend into the walls of this place.

  “Cassia! At last, I’ve been waiting for you.” Princess Seraphina clicked across the room with the grace of a cat. “My dear. You look lovely. I see married life is treating you well.”

  She leaned into me and whispered, “Don’t think you can fool me. I can see you and Griffin have been enjoying your nights together.” I blushed scarlet, and she looked pleased at my reaction. “Come on. I know you have a head for numbers, and I need your help at the table.”

  Lady Seraphina drew me down to the poker table where three other ladies, two countesses and the Queen Mother herself. “Don’t be shy and show them what you’ve got. It won’t be their first time losing to me, darling. Loreta, Ethel, my lady, this is Cassia, Griffin’s new wife.”

  “Oh, no. I don’t think so.” The Queen Mother raised her hand to call for a servant. She turned to the other ladies. “Don’t let the princess fool you. This one has an intellectual skill.”

  “Just let her play a round,” said Lady Seraphina.

  “I don’t want to impose.” I scratched at my collar. “And my skill is quite weak.”

  “Don’t be modest. Here.” Lady Seraphina sat me down in her seat as Lady Ethel shuffled the cards. The princess leaned over my shoulder. Her skill radiated out, lightening the mood of the table.

  To my disappointment, the Queen Mother acquiesced. “Well, just until they bring the dice, I suppose.”

  Lady Ethel dealt the cards. I fumbled to pick them up, covering them with my hand: a four of hearts and a two of clubs. Ethel laid out the first three cards: three of hearts, five of hearts, two of spades.

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  Loreta was the first to call. “The Duke of Carroll has got himself yet another new lover. His wife passed away nearly three years ago, but he only hops from lover to lover, each of them thinking they’ll end up his wife. Really, he was such a promising young man, with such a useful skill, but all he uses it for is the flowers of his bedroom.” The other women snickered.

  From what I could remember, the Duke of Carrol could enhance the harvest, but he rarely suffered the use of such a feminine skill.

  Ethel raised. “Pearl, the Count of Gladrean’s fourth granddaughter, hasn’t shown a single skill yet. She’s almost 20 now. Such a shame. It seems his line is growing weak, likely the fault of that daughter of his, marrying a merchant of all things.”

  The table quieted for a moment. Lack of a skill was a social death sentence. Since magic ran in noble lines, a weak or absent skill was a shorthand for infidelity. It was possible for two skilled parents to produce a skill-less child, but it was extremely rare. I wasn’t na?ve to the rumors being spread about me.

  “Raise,” the queen mother moved additional chips into the center. “Well, Pearl is a lovely young lady. She sings like a lark. I’ve heard rumors of a career in ?the theater. That would suit her very well.”

  “Indeed,” said Loreta. “In fact, my son, James, has requested her to sing at the launching of his new ship, The Sea Snail, on its maiden voyage to the Pear Coast. I thought it was a brilliant idea. Their names even match. It’d be quite the blessing.”

  “I fold.” I laid the cards face down.

  The game continued circling until Loretta called the queen mother’s bluff and the women moved on to dice games. I did my best to blend into the sofa. The rest of the conversation was more marriages, births, and deaths of people I hardly knew, and my mind drifted to the problem of my loom shuttle.

  The lady’s guide I’d read in preparation stressed the importance of meeting as many people as possible at any given party, but I had failed to leave my table. Some other ladies had come by, but only for my companions.

  As I left, Princess Seraphina kissed me on the cheek. “Do come by again. I look forward to having you to myself so we can talk properly. I’ll call for you soon, so don’t get too comfortable.”

  I smiled. “This was a lovely evening. Thank you for your hospitality.”

  Griffin met me in the lobby, looking as ragged as I felt. He was swaying too. It looked so unnatural to me that I didn’t realize until he stumbled on his way into our carriage that he was quite drunk. Surely the deals the men brokered didn’t require this much lubrication. He lay down on the seat with me, placing his head on my lap in the cramped carriage.

  “How did the business go?” I asked.

  “You’re so pretty.” He responded.

  I pulled the lace off my hands and rubbed my face, praying for patience. “Griffin, did you sign anything in this state?”

  He sat up suddenly and cupped my face so that my lips puckered. “Who do you think your husband is? Of course, no signatures after the second glass.” He laughed heartily at my scrunched-up face. “I hope Eleanora looks like this face.”

  I pulled his hands off my face and pulled his head back down to rest in my lap. “Go to sleep. You’re no good like this.”

  “I only had three glasses.”

  “I doubt it. We were there for hours. It’s fine. A night of fun every now and again is not so terrible.” Still, it surprised me. Not even at our wedding had he let himself drink this much.

  “I really did only have three glasses. Sweet wine. Like candy. You don’t like candy, do you? Haha. Are you so sweet that it just tastes normal?” He chuckled for a while as we rode down the road.

  I was drifting off when Griffin bolted upright. His eyes were hazy, but he was trying to focus on something. After a beat, he shouted up to the driver. “Speed up. Someone’s coming.”

  He was reaching out there into the dark, but his skill required concentration. And his eyes were drifting.

  “Deerum, ready your crossbow!” I shouted.

  A screeching whistle sounded from outside. A pack of whooping men on horseback were coming around the carriage.

  “There’s seven of them. On horseback.” Griffin called out.

  I shook my head. He must have been confused. What band of robbers could afford seven horses?

  Deerum’s voice called out from above, “Sir, there’s something blocking the road ahead. We need to stop the cart.” The horses neighed in fright as the carriage slowed. Just a moment later, there was a sickening thud on the roof. It slid off to the side. I tried not to think of what it might be.

  Griffin’s grip was tight on my wrist as he struggled against the drink. “Quick, get under the seat. No, if it’s robbers, they’ll search the carriage.” Just then, the cart shuddered to a stop. “We’re coming out. Don’t shoot. We’ll comply.”

  “What do we do?” I whispered.

  Griffin kissed my shaking hand like he had a thousand times. “Everything is going to be ok, my love. When I say, you need to run.”

  He didn’t say we’d run. Just me.

  Griffin exited the carriage first, shielding me behind him. He let go of my wrist to hold up his hands in surrender. “You can have anything in the carriage. You can have the whole carriage. We don’t want any trouble.”

  There were five robbers before us, but I could hear the other two behind the cart. The forest loomed on either side of the dirt road. The sun had set, and there wasn’t a single light to be seen beyond the lamps of our carriage. Before us, a stack of logs blocked the street. Behind us, I could make out a lump in the road. I looked away.

  The robbers were dirty, rough-looking men, but they rode their mounts properly as if they were trained. Soldiers, perhaps, left unemployed after the military campaigns.

  The oldest among them dismounted. A permanent sneer wrinkled his face, showing off his yellowed and rotting teeth. “Ah, Sire.” His vulgar accent drew out the title, mocking us. “We will take everything in this cart.”

  I caught a glimpse over Griffin’s shoulder of a gap in the dense leaves. Could my dark clothing hide me there until morning?

  The older man drew closer. He drew a long knife from his belt and turned it over so it gleamed in the carriage’s oil lamp light. “There’s just one problem. You see, the cart is only half the bounty.”

  In a motion so fast it blurred, he dug the knife into Griffin’s side. Griffin cried out and splayed his hands, immobilizing all five men. “Run!”

  My knees locked and my blood went cold.

  “Run!” He roared.

  Like walking through molasses, I took a step forward. The men from behind the cart were coming closer. The five immobilized robbers tracked me with bloodthirsty eyes.

  “Faster. Run.” His voice was fainter.

  I stumbled to the woods, leaving Griffin behind. Roots grasped at my feet while I struggled to run on the uneven ground.

  Two men emerged from behind the cart. I turned away as I heard another sickening shick of the knife entering flesh. “She’s going for the woods.”

  The branches pulled at my clothes and skin, tearing into me, but all my focus was on listening for their approach. In only a few moments, it had grown too dark to see even a few feet ahead. I felt a curved stone large enough to cover my body and crouched behind it. My whole body was shaking now and my breath wouldn’t quiet. The forest was spinning.

  “Where’d she go?” The other men from around the carriage were entering the woods now.

  “We can’t lose her. It needs to be a clean kill.” A raspy voice sounded from the other side of the stone.

  I covered my mouth with the fabric of my dress, stifling my breath.

  “She won’t be far.”

  “Oi, come out here and help us look for his bitch.” This one was somewhere to my left, just a little further away.

  The one on the other side of the rock rustled ?something from his pocket. It took a moment to recognize the striking of a match. My stomach dropped. His face, lit with the flickering flame, peeked around the stone. “Ah... there you are.”

  I tried to get up, but he was already on top of me. The flame went out and panic set in. I scratched at his arms and face. “Hush now.” He leaned forward, crushing me into the ground as he drew his knife.

  No! The thought screamed through my mind, overtaking everything else. The knife plunged down.

  I activated my skill.