The dining room was cavernous. Like the waiting room, it had polished marble floors and a chandelier. The chandelier could hardly light this room, however, which was mostly dark. At the center of the room, under the chandelier, there was a long, brown table, already set. The girls walked directly to their place. Seri didn’t know where to go, but the sorcerer walked beside her.
“I will show you to your seat. May I have your hand?”
“No,” she said.
“Very well,” he said suavely.
He did not touch her, but he did lurk near to her, as near as he could, it seemed, without touching her. Seri marched in silence. She wanted to scream and push him away. She wanted to punch him or slap him. Her fingers curled into fists. She knew she wouldn’t. She was afraid of what he’d do to her, and the spell would probably prevent it. Besides, it was not what she needed to do tonight. Tonight, she was supposed to observe.
He held out the chair for her, and Seri sat down stiffly, numbly. He—Brandeis—walked from girl to girl, greeting them, smiling at them, sometimes brushing past them and grazing their shoulders with his fingertips. Like they were his property, she thought. Like his wives—and yet not his wives, since as soon as they yielded to him, he got rid of them. What did he want? She still did not know, but the question was pressing on her, clawing to get out.
Brandeis took his seat at the head of the table, and servants came in with wine and food. They were real people, which was brazen of him. As one came near her, she whispered to him, “I’m Serihilde of Castle Staghome. I’m a prisoner. Tell my father, Lord Ekhard, that—”
The servant left before she could finish.
The girl next to her shook her head. “The servants are all deaf or blind or foreigners who cannot speak our language. They will not help you.”
Seri looked at her plate and said nothing.
Brandeis was at the head of the table, with Rilla on his left, and a blond girl on his right. He was chatting to each of them on and off. Seri, being furthest from him, was not in his clear line of vision. This was good. She did not want him to see how even this small setback made her spirit slump.
She wanted to be strong and to be calculating, but she was tired and hungry and afraid, and right now she hardly seemed able to move. Trays of food were put on the table, but she did not take them.
“Serihilde.” Brandeis’ voice echoed across the hall and made her jump. “You are not eating.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said, truthfully.
There was a long pause.
“I understand that tonight has been rough,” Brandeis said. “But do not think you can starve yourself. You will eat.”
“Tomorrow,” Rilla said smoothly, putting her hand onto his. “She will eat tomorrow, I promise you. The flight here has unsettled her stomach. A good rest, and her appetite will be restored.”
Brandeis looked at Rilla and smiled. “I’m sure you’ll take good care of her.”
The whole display sickened Seri further. She did not want anyone else coddling this man on her behalf. She wanted to tell him that she would eat, but not for him. However, a lump had grown in her throat, large and sticky, and she had trouble talking.
The meal continued, and it felt like a blur. When it finally ended, and the plates had been cleared, Brandeis stood up.
“Thank you for the pleasure of your company. Tonight I require Lady Serihilde to join me in my private room.”
“I will not,” Seri said.
“That was not a request.”
“I’m not well.”
“You are well enough,” he said. “You will join me. Everyone else is dismissed.”
The other girls rose and began to leave the room. Their shoes clattered on the polished marble. Seri wanted to join them, but she was glued to her chair. She didn’t know if it was magic or fear or if she was truly sick. She felt dizzy. Her stomach throbbed and her head spun.
As the last girl left, the double doors slammed shut. Brandeis rose from his chair and walked over to her. His feet made an ominous tap, tap, tap on the floor. Still she did not move. He prowled behind her.
“I’m not an unreasonable man,” he said, and he was close enough that she could feel his breath. “In fact, I’m quite lenient. I don’t tell girls what to wear or what to eat or what to do in their free time. But what I require, I require. You will not defy me, do you understand?”
Seri looked at him. “What do you want?”
“I want you to come to my room.”
“And what will you do to me there?”
“We will talk,” he said. “Relax. I am not going to attack you.”
“You attacked me before.”
“And that part is done. Now we can be civil.” He walked by her. “Take a few breaths. Drink some wine. Collect yourself. And when you’re ready, come inside to meet me.”
He trailed past her. A single door opened, spilling light into the dim room. He strode through the passageway, leaving her in the dining room alone.
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