Like the Dawn (Lark #3) (4 page)

              “You're fine,” I assure her. “We were just heading outside anyway.” Even if we weren't, the library is definitely big enough for all of us so I don't understand why she's so worried about it.
              Adele bends down to pick up the book that she just dropped but ends up being unable to juggle both that and the other books already in her arms and ends up dropping them all. Grey rushes over and helps her.
              “Thank you,” she tells him, her cheeks are still pink.
              “Where would you like me to set these?” he asks.
              “Over there is fine.” She points to the table closest to one of the large windows overlooking the castle grounds.
              He sets down her books and she thanks him again. It's strange how nervous she's behaving. She and Grey are friends yet they are acting incredibly uncomfortable around each other right now. I can't help but ponder possible reasons behind the sudden change between the two of them.
              I have long suspected that Adele has feelings for Grey but she's never acted this way around him. So what's changed? Before I can give it much thought Grey is asking if I'm ready to leave.
              With an inward groan I nod—bring on the geography.
              I glance back to tell Adele that I'll see her in a little while and catch her looking down at the book she has opened on the table, silently wiping away a tear from her cheek. I know now that my earlier suspicion was right—she was sad and it has everything to do with me and Grey.  

Chapter Four

             
I
decide to change before meeting up with Adele so I return to my room after my lesson with Grey. If I'm honest, I'm mostly just looking for an excuse to delay. I can't stop thinking about  what could have been the reason behind her tears in the library. I know it has something to do with Grey.               Does she know that he still has feelings for me? Did she happen to see that moment between us? Is this going to change our newfound friendship?              
              The way he looked at me made me feel something, but I'm not all together sure what that something is. It's hard to wrap my mind around what I'm feeling with so many other things going on in my head.
              I don't think I'll say anything about it. She doesn't know that I saw her so I'll just try to pretend like I didn't. Avoidance. Yep, that's the best solution for everyone’s sake.
              No. I can't do that. In the past I would have totally avoided an awkward conversation like this but I can't do that anymore. I have responsibilities and it's time for me to grow up, so as much as I'd like to ignore this complicated situation, I know that I can’t. Adele is my friend, and she's obviously hurting so I should try to do
something
about it.
              I have to look the part of the princess most of the time but I can be more myself around Adele and Isobel. I change into a simple sundress that I can wear with sandals. Despite the fact that I'm getting used to wearing the fancy ball gown dresses, I still hate them and I hate heels even more. Heels are the devil.              
              Nobody seems to question me when I do dress more casually so I suspect that they really don't care what I wear. I'm almost tempted to see how they would respond if I wore jeans but I decide not to risk it.
              The silky dress is a pale shade of green that brings out the green in my eyes. I wear my hair down but decide on a whim to curl it into soft ringlets that remind me of Maddie Rose which makes my heart ache for my baby sister and my mom. I know there's nothing I can do about it so I try to focus on the present only—it's the only way I can get through the day.
              I'm nervous about hanging out with Adele after witnessing her silent tears, but I'm also really curious about what she has for me. I spent most of the morning trying to come up with different possibilities. I was hardly able to pay attention to anything Grey was trying to teach me. I think I frustrated him more than usual today.
              Realizing I have no other excuses to delay any longer, I make my way down to Adele's room.
              She's currently staying in the castle like the rest of the Royal Council so her room is in the guest wing. I knock lightly on the door and she answers quickly.
              “Come on in,” she calls out. Nothing in her voice betrays her earlier sorrow which means, if I really wanted to, pretending I didn't see anything shouldn't be too hard.
              Her room decor is sophisticated—deep teal walls, sleek dark hardwood floor with an expansive rug that looks so soft I'm tempted to slip off my shoes and bury my toes in it. There's a desk piled high with books and papers stacked neatly. It's obvious she keeps a tidy room. Everything is supremely organized—not that I'm at all surprised.
              “What's wrong?” she asks, noting my apparently obvious discomfort.  
              I don't answer right away as I try to gather my thoughts on how to address such a delicate issue.               “Mia?” she presses on. “What is it?”
              “Are you in love with Grey?” I blurt. So much for being tactful.
              Her eyes widen in shock and she turns away as though too embarrassed to look at me.
              “I—uh,” she starts.
              “I'm sorry!” I tell her. “I didn't mean to just blurt that out.”
              She shuts her eyes tightly and blows out a gush of air. “It's just—that isn't—it's not something I feel comfortable talking about right now.”
              “I'm sorry.”
              “It's fine. Don't apologize. It's hardly your fault.”
              But somehow, I find that hard to believe.
              “Let's just move on, okay?”
              “Okay.”
              She doesn't waste any time as she immediately opens up a book sitting on her desk and points to a picture of what would be a normal looking knife except for the fact that it is glowing.
              “I think this might be important.”
              “Important for what?” I ask doubtfully staring down at the puny weapon.
              “Defeating the Dökkálfar.”
              “That little thing? It doesn't really look like it would do much damage even if I was miraculously able to get close enough to actually stab one of them with it.” I eye the picture warily. “Surely there's more to it than just that.”
              “I think there must be. I just don't know what it is yet,” she admits, and I can tell that she's really frustrated by that fact. Her eyebrows pull up in frustration and she bites the inside of her cheek as she stares down at the picture as though willing it to give her the answers she seeks.
              “What makes you think it's important?”
              “This is one of the old relics from the Bronze Age,” she informs me. “It's not just any relic though. This one is supposed to possess the power of the Sun inside it and well, you know how the Dark Elves feel about the sun.”
              “Yeah, but even if that's true—does that still apply? You know, now that they can roam freely?”
              “Just because they can walk in the sunlight, doesn't mean they like it.”
              “But I doubt it has the same effect on them as before,” I point out skeptically.
              “That's not important—I think we should look into this.”
              “Look into it how exactly? I mean, what are you hoping to find out?”
              “I think we need to find the old relics,” she declares. “I think the key to defeating Dugan lies with them.”
              “Okay.” I don't really understand how a special dagger is going to increase my chances of success but since I don't have any other ideas I guess it won't hurt anything to look into it further. “Maybe Alberico knows where they are?”
              “I doubt it. I don't think anyone has seen them for thousands of years.”
              “Stuff like that could just disappear without a trace?”
              She shrugs. “Maybe. I've never heard of them before now, but I hope that we might be able to find a clue.”
              She looks meaningfully at a rather large pile of thick ancient-looking books—all of which appear to be written in elfish. And despite all of Grey's lessons, I still can't figure out the dang language. It all looks like a bunch of gibberish to me.
              Adele is looking at me expectantly and I realize she wants my help.
              “Will you help me?” she finally asks.
              “You know I can't read that stuff. But by all means, knock yourself out if you think you will be able to find something.”
              “I know but I could use the extra eyes.”
              “I don't know. I mean, of course I want to help but it seems like it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack—while blind,” I quip.
              “Okay fine,” she grumbles. “I'll read through the books myself and let you know if I find anything that looks like it  might be worthwhile.”
              “Sorry, Adele. I don't mean to be so unhelpful—it's just that this is one area where I would be absolutely no use.”
              “It's okay, I understand. But maybe you should really start trying to learn elfish.” She smiles. “It might be kind of important later, you know.”
              “Fine,” I say with an exasperated sigh. “Do you have a beginner's manual for that?”
              “It's really not that complicated.”
              “Coming from the genius girl who grew up with it,” I argue. “I could barely pass German and it's one of the easiest languages to learn.”
              “Sprechen sie deutsch?” She speaks with perfect pronunciation and gives me a smug smile.
              “Show-off.” I shake my head. “You know, sometimes it's really hard to like you.”
              She just laughs.
              “How did you learn German anyway?”
              She shrugs her shoulders and answers with a grin, “You can learn anything from a book.”
              “I don't think that applies to those of us with average intelligence,” I point out. “Come on, Isobel is waiting for us.”
              We walk down toward Isobel's chambers. I thought that maybe she'd want to leave the place she previously shared with Finnegan, but she didn't. I knock lightly on her door and a moment later, she opens it.
              “Hello,” Isobel greets us. “Come on in.”
              I could definitely see the small changes that she made to the space to make it more of her own. I'm sure the memories of the betrayal from her husband are still raw.
              The tone of the room is still the same. It's filled with soft blues, grays, and marble with rich mocha-hued hardwood flooring. But the majestic grand piano that used to sit off to the side of the front room is no longer there.
              There are more flowers in here now than I remembered from before. Vases adorn nearly every available space giving the room a more feminine feel.
              “I thought we could enjoy our tea out here,” Isobel says, gesturing to the open French-style doors that lead into a private garden.
              We follow Isobel down the stone path that opens up into an entire patio surrounded by beautiful purple, blue, and white flowers. 
              In the center of the garden is a square canopy with gauzy white curtains blowing gently in the cool breeze on all four sides. Inside sits a table draped in simple white cloth that has been set with her antique-looking pale robin’s egg blue china.
              As I hoped, she is serving her usual assortment of beautiful cookies that are almost too pretty to eat. I wonder if she makes them herself or if she has someone in the village make them for her. I don't think anyone in the castle makes them since I've only ever had them when I've joined Isobel for tea.
              “Thank you for inviting me along. I don't think I've ever had tea with you,” Adele tells Isobel.
              “Well, you are welcome any time.” Isobel replies with a warm smile.
              “It's beautiful out here.” Of course it's beautiful everywhere in Álfheimr, but this feels somehow even more spectacular—like our own little secret garden.
              “Thank you, your father had it created for me,” she admits before taking a sip of her tea. “He said that since I refused to move to a different chamber, he wanted to give me something that was only mine. That had nothing to do with
him
.”
              She doesn't say Finnegan's name but we all know that is who she's referring to.
              “Did he really?” I ask, in awe of the thoughtfulness of my father.
              “He did,” she says, smiling back at me fondly. “Its my new favorite area of the entire castle...perhaps even the entire kingdom.”
              I take a hesitant sip from my teacup once I think it may be cool enough. It's sweeter than what she usually serves.
              “What is this?”
              “Oh, yes, it's blackberry,” she answers.
              “I like it.”
              “Yes, I do too. I tried so many different flavors before finally finding a new favorite after...” she trails off, but it's okay because I understand why. I'm not sure I'd ever be able to drink my favorite tea after being poisoned either.
              We sip from our teacups silently, enjoying the serenity of the garden.
              “This is nice,” I say and it is. It's so peaceful just sitting here breathing in the sweet air and enjoying the warmth of the day. “I mean, I feel guilty being so unproductive today, but—by the way, do you know why the meeting was postponed?” I ask Isobel.
              “I believe it's because Odin has yet to return from Raumelfr.”
              “Raumelfr?” I repeat. “What's that?”
              “Hasn't anyone ever told you about the two other Ljósálfar kingdoms besides our own?” Isobel asks, surprised about this apparent oversight in my education.