Part 20 (1/2)

Standing right outside on the dock was a small hobgoblin, maybe three feet tall. In some ways, hobgoblins were like miniature ogres, except that they were far more symmetrical in appearance. His features were humanoid, but his skin appeared slimy, with thick grayish brown hair sticking up wildly on his head. Like ogres, hobgoblins were insanely strong.

I'd met hobgoblins before, and I realized that I'd actually met this one in particular. He was Ludlow Svartalf, the right-hand man of Sara Elsing, the Queen of the Vittra. He'd accompanied her on trips to the palace in Doldastam before.

Just to the right and slightly behind him stood Finn Holmes, offering us an uneasy smile.

Standing behind both Finn and Ludlow were rows of troops, lined up down the dock. Most of them wore the dark emerald uniforms of the Trylle, but a fair amount had the deep burgundy uniforms of the Vittra, worn by both hobgoblin and troll alike.

”Queen Wendy Staad of the Trylle heard about the plight of Skojare, and after considering it, she decided to send half of her army to aid you in your fight against the Kanin,” Finn explained.

”In addition, Queen Wendy and King Loki persuaded Queen Sara Elsing of the Vittra to join in the fight,” Ludlow added in his low, craggy voice. ”Queen Sara has sent a third of her army to join your fight.”

Mikko appeared too stunned to speak for a moment, but finally he managed to say, ”I am forever grateful for your offers, but I am not sure that I can ever repay your kingdoms. We are not in a position to indebt ourselves so greatly to such powerful kingdoms.”

”We are not asking for anything in return,” Finn told him. ”We are simply here to help you as you may need us.”

”We are here to serve, King Mikko,” Ludlow said, and he bowed before him. Finn followed suit, as did the troops on the dockall of them bowing before the Skojare King.

FIFTY.

masquerade ”We need to celebrate!” Linnea declared. ”We're not all going to die, and if that doesn't call for a celebration, then I don't know what does!”

It was hard to argue with that logic, so I didn't even try, and neither did Mikko.

Since the Trylle and the Vittra had pledged their allegiance and a chunk of their soldiers to us yesterday, we had spent the entire time trying to combine our armies. It required more effort because each of the tribes had such different strengths.

Many of the Trylle had powers of psychokinesis, meaning they could move things with their minds or even start fires. Since the soldiers present were all lower-ranking trackers and civilians (and stronger abilities went along with the more powerful bloodlines of the royals), they weren't very powerful, but they had did have some psychokinesis.

The Vittra were physically stronger than almost any other tribe, possibly barring the Omte. Despite their smaller stature, hobgoblins were easily as strong as ogres, if not stronger. And while Vittra trolls were generally more attractive and smarter than the Omte, they could be just as quick-tempered and aggressive.

The Skojare could breathe underwater, which wasn't very useful for this fight. They were also the least skilled in combat, and the other two tribes were often frustrated by their inability to properly defend themselves.

More than once during training I saw a Vittra soldier throw a Skojare guard across the room in irritation. Ridley, Finn, and Ludlow were doing their best to keep order and get everyone working together, but it was no easy task.

It was during our training in the afternoon that Linnea came into the ballroom, excited about the cause for celebration. She insisted that everyone needed a morale-booster and a fun way to bond, and the way to do that was with a party in the ballroom.

With that, she tossed everyone out, telling us to go practice outside where the Trylle and the Vittra had set up camp in Storvatten. I spent the rest of the day out in the warm spring rain, teaching Skojare new maneuvers and fighting in the mud.

After a hard day of training, I walked down to my guestroom to wash off all the dirt in a warm shower. I'd almost made it to my room when Linnea came rus.h.i.+ng down the hall toward me, carrying three garment bags in her arms.

”Bryn!” she called to me, nearly tripping on her long satin dressing gown in her hurry. When I turned to face her, she realized how filthy I was, and she slowed down. ”I was going to hand these off to you, but you'll get muck all over the bags. I'll just put them on your bed while you go shower.”

”Why are you bringing me garment bags?” I asked.

”For the party.” Linnea gave me a look like I was an idiot and brushed past me as she went into my room. ”I know you weren't able to pack your finer clothes with you, so I grabbed a few gowns that I thought you might like and would fit you.”

”That's very kind of you, but I hadn't planned on going to the party,” I said as I walked more slowly into my room.

”Don't be ridiculous, of course you are.” Linnea kept her back to me as she carefully laid out the bags on the bed. ”You're integral to everything that's happening here, and you need to be here to mingle and get people to trust each other.”

She unzipped each of the bags, pulling out the gowns a bit so I could see them. I'd owned some nice dresses in my life, but none as fabulous as these.

One was a rich navy-blue fabric that looked like liquid when it moved, and with a slit so high, I would be worried that my panties would show. Another was snow-white satin with diamond and lace embellishments creating an ornate illusion neckline. And the last was pale aquamarine, embroidered with flowing designs and sapphires, and a bit of tulle under the length filled out the skirt.

”And besides,” Linnea went on as I stood, transfixed by the lavishness of the gowns, ”you've earned it. You've been working so hard lately. You deserve a night to let your hair down.”

I nodded slowly. ”Okay. I'll go to the party.”

She clapped her hands together. ”I would hug you, but I don't want to get covered in mud. Now hurry and get ready.”

In the end, it wasn't the logic of her arguments that won me overalthough she had been right. It was simply the sight of the dresses. Something in the troll blood made it hard to deny luxury, which was why we all had such a penchant for gems and jewelry.

But also, a part of me just really wanted to wear a gown that was made for a Queen.

I showered quickly but thoroughlythere was no way I was ruining one of Linnea's dresses. Then I hurried back to try them all on and pick one.

While I'd been showering, Linnea had sent down a masquerade mask and a pair of pale sapphire earrings. The silver mask was gorgeous and delicate, its ornate flourishes encrusted with diamonds. Attached was a note that read, ”Wear me.”

The difficulty of the choice was made easier by the fact that the aquamarine one was snug in the chest, squis.h.i.+ng my b.r.e.a.s.t.s in a very unflattering and uncomfortable fas.h.i.+on. While the darker navy dress felt like heaven on my skin, the slit felt too high, and it also had a plunging neckline, a combination that felt slightly improper for this party.

The white one fit perfectly, almost like it had been made for me. The illusion neckline allowed a hint of cleavage, and it was open in the back, showing off a bit of skin. While the length was longer than I normally liked, it was light and flowed away from me, so I didn't think it would be a problem to run or kick in if I needed to.

Once I'd finished with my hair and makeup, I went down the hall to admire myself in the full-length mirror of the bathroom.

Since I wasn't doing anything other than looking at my reflection, I'd left the door open, which allowed Konstantin to pause and whistle at me.

”Well done, white rabbit.” He smiled crookedly at me, but his eyes were serious as they a.s.sessed me.

Something about the way he looked at me made my skin flush a little, and I turned to face him. ”Thanks.”

”It's kind of a shame I'm missing the party tonight,” he said.

”Why aren't you going?” I asked in surprise.

Based on the way he was dressed, I a.s.sumed he planned to attend. He had on a simple black uniform, similar to the one that Ridley had worn as Kanin overste, with epaulets on the shoulders, and a sword in a scabbard that hung from a belt around his waist.

While Ridley and Tilda had taken to wearing the s.h.i.+mmery blue uniforms of the Skojare, Konstantin had managed to dig up one that showed no allegiance. No color, no insignia, nothing to tie him to any kingdom.

”I'm walking the perimeter of Storvatten, along with some of the other guards,” Konstantin explained. ”Since we don't know when Mina and Viktor are going to strike, we're keeping a lookout.”

”d.a.m.n.” I looked down at my gown, suddenly feeling very silly. ”I should change and go with you.”