Veiled Innocence (Book One, The Soul Cycle) by Krystle Jones Page A

you too well.” They slowly turned a corner and proceeded down the wing that contained her chambers. “You’d feel guilty and return to me within less than a day.”
    Ursa sighed. “I should know better than to argue with you at this point.” She glanced behind her and leaned closer. “The dark-haired woman is Countess Merí, and the red-headed girl is her handmaiden. They were traveling down Dreaka’s Road when bandits descended upon their party and robbed them clean of nearly everything they own. Everyone else was killed, their escorts, the driver… they barely escaped with their lives.”
    Lian frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would the bandits leave them alive and no one else?”
    Ursa shrugged. “From what I gather, the bandits thought they were as good as d ead, and from the looks of them , I’m apt to believe them.” She shuddered. “It makes me cold all over to think people like that exist in the world.”
    Lian thought of her mother lying helpless beside the bank of a river as her father rode off to rejoin his hunting party, oblivious to what he had done. No one ever suspected the duke was capable of rape.
    “Yes,” Lian said flatly, “I’m afraid they do.”
    Rumors, Lian. They are j ust empty rumors. Maybe she died of natural causes and not… She mentally shook the image from her head.
    They reached her bedchamber , and Ursa led her straight to the bed. Ursa helped her up and was tucking the sheets around her when Lian asked, “Did you see Gabriel down there?”
    Ursa froze. “I don’t recall,” she said stiffly. “There were too many people. Why would I care if he’s there or not?”
    Lian raised a brow. “All right,” she said slowly. “Sorry, I was only asking.”
    Ursa’s shoulders sagged as she finished smoothing the sheets and turned around. “If you require nothing else of me, then I need to return downstairs. There’s m uch to be done. Good night, my L ady.” She kep t her back to Lian as she spoke and left without a single glance behind her. 
    That’s s trange. She never calls me ‘my L ady’ when it’s only the two of us. Maybe it’s the stress of everything that’s happened lately. She’d tell me if something was wrong.
    Once again, she found herself alone and suddenly very tired. She nestled deeper into the soft sheets and closed her eyes. The weight of the crystal on her chest coaxed a small smile from her , reminding her she was never alone, and her confusion over Ursa’s somewhat cold exit faded. 
    Nothing mattered anymore. It was all nothing but a dream; the beautiful visi tor, Orris, Gabriel, her sister – all of it.
    She caught tiny points of blue flicking in and out of the shadows from the corner of her eye. Then she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her lips and dreamed of dancing in a field of blue flowers.

CHAPTER 8
    Red
     
     
    FOR THE NEXT TWO days , the court buzz ed with excitement, both fo r the impending Engagement Ball and the mysterious countess.
    Servants and staff flitted about with such anxious looks on their faces that Lian was unsure how they managed to accomplish anything at all. 
    As she mended, she was able to leave her chambers for longer periods of time before feeling faint, and what she saw amazed her. 
    The gloomy fortress was completely transformed. Fresh flowers and silk streamers in varying shades of red and gold hung from the polished sconces and banisters, adding an uncharacteristic cheer to the dark corridors. Any chips in the walls were r epaired with a dollop of mortar or covered up entirely with a decoration of some sort. Tattered tapestries were replaced by newer ones.
    The garden was the most astonishing makeover of all, having gone from a graveyard of dead plants and overgrown weeds to a state of manicured, healthy perfection. Shabby bushes were cut into shapes of different animals, and all vines and moss were removed from the swamp-green statues until the marble underneath shone in the sun. She had