Scars of Gold

Chapter Seventeen

"Blue?"

"Sadness."

"Just sadness?"

"It depends on the shade: it could be anything from minor disappointment to complete despair."

"Green?" There was no nod of approval; no indication that I was on the right track.

"Envy?" I hedged.

"That's one possibility."

"Or sickness, greed or poisonous intent."

"Pink?"

"Um...." I broke off. We'd been going over aura colours for hours. I knew this. Evanthe must have said it a dozen times already. It was in there somewhere, I knew it was.

"This is pointless," Ash grumbled from his seat beside the fire. He'd kicked his shoes off and slung his legs over the arms of the chair towards the dancing embers. I wondered, not for the first time, whether I could push the chair over before he'd have a chance to react.

Ash's running list of complaints wasn't helping me make progress. "Working together," was easier in principal than in practice and I'd discovered that he struggled with sitting still for long periods as much as I did.

I opened my mouth to snap back at him, but a knock at the door interrupted me.

"Yes?" Ash drawled.

The door opened to reveal Aleela standing tentatively in the doorway.

She curtseyed towards Ash and Evanthe, and held up an emerald envelope. "This just came for you, your Highness."

"Thank you, Aleela," Ash shocked me by saying as he sat back in the chair properly. He took the envelope from her hands and Aleela left once more with a final curtsey.

As Ash read the letter inside, I noticed the faint haze of his aura around him. An orange-red, for frustration; a hint of yellow, for disgust. When he reached the end, he scrunched the letter into a ball and tossed it straight into the fireplace.

"Ash!" Evanthe protested. "You'll only antagonise her." The emerald paper must have been unique to the sender. His mother, perhaps? I hadn't enjoyed my subsequent morning appointments with the queen any more than the first. It was interesting that both our mothers had the same power, and that Ash's mother was using hers to conceal my auretis, while my own mother was magically concealing the aureti of my brothers. Brothers. Even thinking the word felt strange - like a sweet that fizzed on my tongue.

"Good," Ash snapped, bringing my attention back to the room and the burning letter. "Maybe she'll eventually get the message that I'm not interested."

Hm, not his mother then.

"You know Mari won't be deterred that easily. What did she want?"

Ash screwed up his face. "To invite me to her salon. She's holding a 'small gathering' tomorrow night and requests my presence there."

"She'll feel slighted if you don't attend."

"I'd rather watch dust forming on my windowsill," Ash replied bitterly. I had to fight back a laugh at his words, but the resulting cough only drew Evanthe's attention.

"Maybe this would be a good learning opportunity for Kacia. If she accompanied you as your guard, she could work on her aura manipulation. The party guests will be relaxed and less inhibited than most people she'd come across in the palace. They'll be easier for her to manipulate."

Ash grumbled something about a 'lost cause' but he didn't protest any further.

"That's settled then. Kacia, after the party, I want a report on four different guests' aura and what they indicated, and some feedback on an attempt at manipulating one. Something simple - don't try to colour change yet, just alter the shade. Amplify or diminish: make a happy guest feel jubilant; make a lonely guest more content."