Chapter Fifty-Five

  “Do you seriously wao set up a visit to the Grave Society?” Ambrosia asked from her side of the magically heated tub.

  It was the disbelieving tohat grated some. “They have the information I need. And what’s wrong with them? I didn’t think you had anything against neancers.”

  “I don’t have anything against neancers. As you should know. Experieng the Grave Society in Naewauld is like dealing with a stuck-up assistant. The ohat knows they are better than you. Many groups o hire one as ara member for the floors, and their cut is fifty pert of the spoils. All their paths are nearly identical. They give neancers a bad name. Your new skill is hard enough to expin to people who don't know you, but going to e with them will make it so much worse.”

  “I’m w on fixing the issue with [Shadowed Graves] which is why I o see the society. Their information will help me avoid simir mistakes.”

  "That choice wasn’t a mistake. I’ve seen your slight smile when you’re using it. I’d rather they not influence your path. You would have been so unhappy if you had taken [Rot]. I know you haven’t mentioned how you did it, but I’m betting that bothersome skill of yours helped defeat your chi rival.”

  They could both be right. Access to the Society’s resources could help with her st css and skill stone spots. With evolution within sight, any information that might make one choice clearer than others could be key. Yet, Ambrosia wasn't wrong that they were a bunch of sticks in the mud who were fixated on Their way of doing things. Kelly White’s lessons about “Doing something the way all the others do will just get you stuck as a background character.” Rang in her head. You could be a terrible mom but still have good advice.

  “What do you suggest I do?”

  Ambrosia’s smile widened. “What you do best. Turn people's expectations and put on a show with a big fshy surprise. Challenging the duke at the ball. Dang rger than life in the sky. Having a dungeon spirit anoint you a dy. Getting stabbed through the chest in the arms of a prihey’re asking for you to speak before the gathered members. You are the most successful neancer i memory. Keep that expectation of something shog.”

  Harmony groaned. “You know I don’t do that on purpose. Half of those is were things you pnned.” She let herself sink uhe water. Ambrosia had masterminded most of that. The rest was ces. Ambrosia’s legs kicked at her uhe water until she surfaced.

  “Don’t go all doubting yourself. It makes the water cold. The fact that you don’t do it on purpose makes it work so well. But I think you deserve the ce to poo. Go in there ahe truth. They need someoo tell them their way isn’t the only path there is. Then drop something big in their ps.”

  “Fine, I’ll do it your way. Arra and I'll e with a gift.” Having danced in front of a crowd of thousands, how hard could speaking to a small crowd be?

  Drying off Harmony flopped down on her bed while Ambrosia giddily skipped off to make the arras.

  Write out a speech for the event or theory craft her new skill? The tter as always. It was important to fix the issues with [Shadowed Graves] that everyone pined about. [Recall] let her touto how she influehe skill, using [Cold Touch] to direct the tree lord to freeze from fear. Now cepts from [High Kick] could be incorporated to influence people to fight in the face of death maybe? Getting them to run? [Small Armor] and maybe [Awareness] avoid death and flee? Those wouldn’t be the goal of course.

  What do people like about death? Those few who seemed at ease er to please uhe cast of her shadoeasement as the safest way to leave a dangerous situation? That thrill of the dahe beauty of a peaceful rest? [Beauti] would have to py a role, maybe [Style and Grace]? Ideally, those would only be aides or boosts until she mao trol the random nature as well as she did [Manipute Dead]. That’s what a maid was good at bringing order and tidio chaos and messes. All she o do was use [Stride] and see if she could get this worked out the ime she was in Nae’s Garden.

  While evolution was important, Harmony skipped over the Thibodeux book and picked up Garden of Moo review what she’d be up against on the fourth floor. Pnt monsters with paralyzing clouds of pollen. Pollen that rized by alchemists. Large locusts that could e in swarms of up to twenty. Then to top it off a giant snake as a guardian. It felt almost too easy as she drew up a battle pn. [Keen Iigative Awareness] was barely needed.

  The iigative skill annoyingly pointed out that this was being used to distract Harmony from her real problems. While tess Maye had yet to make a move for Adric it was doubtful the woman would stop after he slipped through her fingers. Throwing out the implication she’d leave Adrie while she did the Asdant Games wasn’t enough. Maybe duplicitously publicly set up lodging and aodations for him during the Games? She’d probably try to move before then anyway. The bodyguards should stop ht kidnapping. Perhaps it was time to take a less passive role here. Ink to paper, Harmony sketched out a pn.

  Even that left out the guardian in the shadows. Queen Talia and her helping hands. The authority from that reition had siabilized, tered by quickly rising levels. It was now more useful than not. Could she take back that reition? The idea of implodi almost as bad as being crushed uhat authority if expert Fei’s warnings were to be taken seriously. But was that even an attack? There had been no unication since. Authority didn’t seem like something easily taken away. Both Hyath and Maxwell could unburden themselves in the face of that. With Maye, at least she knew where that woman was ing from. Maybe it was time to take a page out of all those books she’d borrowed from Lord Tyler oopic? There was no hiding in shadows when you cast one so long. As evolution came she wouldn’t be a maid forever.