Inyuin Celestara's Arc

Chapter 6 of 6

Thora's words hung in the gazebo. By morning the captain would strip her of her post. Inyuin looked at the guard who had opened the gate for her. She had won the room tonight. She would not let Thora lose everything for it. "Take me to him," Inyuin said. "Now, while the families still watch." They crossed the grounds back to the dark fortress. Its jagged towers cut into the storm clouds. Violet light burned in the tall windows. At the great arch, the captain stood waiting. He was a broad man in polished armor, arms folded, jaw tight. He looked at Thora, then past her, as if she were empty air. "You left the east gate," he said. "Six years, and you throw it away for one dance. You're finished here." "I stood that gate six years," Thora said. Her voice was flat. "No one broke through. Not once." She did not beg. She stated it like a fact carved in stone. Inyuin stepped between them. Her gown pulled the eye. Real stars glowed in the thread, and the captain's stare caught on them the way the nobles' had. "You know this dress," she said. "The old families bowed to it tonight. They named me worthy in your lord's hall." "I know it," the captain said, careful now. "Then know who let me through the east gate." Inyuin nodded at Thora. "Your lord's hall got its guest of honor because she opened that door. The families saw an outsider prove herself. They will remember who made it happen. Punish her, and you tell them their favored dressmaker was smuggled in by a fool." The captain's jaw worked. Behind Inyuin, at the side arches, nobles had drifted out to watch. The silver-gowned woman was among them. She gave the same small nod she had given on the dance floor. The captain saw it. His folded arms loosened. "The gate stayed shut on her watch," he said slowly. "That's true." "It did," Inyuin said. "Keep her at it. Or give her better. Your choice. But it will be seen." The captain was quiet a long moment. Then he looked at Thora, and for the first time he looked straight at her. "You keep your post," he said. "East gate. Dawn watch." He turned and walked back into the violet dark. The nobles drifted away. Thora let out a breath she had held too long. "He looked at me," she said. "Six years, and tonight he looked at me." "You kept your post," Inyuin said. She took Thora's hand. "We can be together now. No captain hanging over us." Thora's grin faded fast. "East gate," she said. "Dawn watch. That's an hour off." She looked at the sky, gray at the edge. "And the lord heard your name tonight, Inyuin. The one who rules who leaves these walls. He'll want to see the dress himself."