A Court This Cruel & Lovely (Kingdom of Lies, #1) (88)

I took a deep breath as she was helped into the carriage, stepping forward so I could sit next to her. My heart tripped in my chest.

“Your Majesty?”

She glanced at me. “Yes, Setella?”

“I was wondering—if it’s not too much trouble—if I could take a few hours tomorrow. My brother works in the castle, and I haven’t had a chance to see him.”

The queen studied my face for an endless moment. Finally, she sighed. “I, too, remember what it was to be young. You may have your afternoon tomorrow.” She glanced around at the others, who had all filed in. “You all may. I am quite capable of entertaining myself for a few hours.”

So said the woman who had six of us trailing after her every day.

The other ladies whispered, clearly planning their time off. Lisveth grinned at me.

I smiled at her but addressed the queen. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

We arrived at the castle grounds, and the queen dismissed us. By the time I’d returned to my room, my head was pounding.

Daselis was in her usual grim mood as she arrived to dress me for dinner. Why I had to change out of a perfectly fine dress and into another one was beyond me, but she’d snarled at me when I made that little comment.

When she finally let me make my way down to dinner, my stomach was grumbling, adding to the discomfort of my throbbing head. I scanned the royal table as I walked in.

Madinia’s father was sitting next to the king. Patriarch Farrow was a fit, muscular man with that red hair and hard blue eyes. His gaze was constantly sweeping the room, as if looking for enemies.

And he was one of the king’s most ardent supporters when it came to the corrupt.

Farrow nodded at something the king said, and I took my seat. Madinia was watching them both, her eyes narrowed.

Lorian sat a few seats away, a bored expression on his face. Obviously, he’d had no problem getting back to his rooms last night. He was gazing at a group of courtiers, but I had no doubt he was also listening to every word the king said.

King Sabium raised his hand, and everyone went silent.

“Today marks the start of a new alliance with Gromalia,” the king announced. “Patriarch Farrow?”

Farrow stood, his eyes alight.

“No longer will the corrupt be able to flee Eprotha, hiding among the pious. Now, the Gromalians will return those who would run from the flames of fate back to our lands, where they will be dealt with. Soon, both of our kingdoms will be cleansed of those who would deny the gods their due.”

My stomach churned. That alliance wouldn’t really be happening since Lorian wasn’t the Gromalian prince. But if that was the king’s plan, it was only a matter of time. We needed to make our way to Gromalia and get hidden before that deal went into place.

Cheers sounded. I glanced at Madinia, who sneered at me. “What?”

“You must be proud of your father.”

She just ignored me, reaching for her wine.

As usual, I felt Lorian’s eyes on me throughout dinner. I focused on my food and rehearsed the apology I would make myself give him. At this point, I would get down on my knees and beg if he agreed to help Asinia.

Auria had sent me a message inviting me for a cup of tea after dinner. It was too early to sneak down to the dungeon anyway, so the moment the queen left, I nodded to the others and made my way out the door.

Unlike most of the other servants, Auria didn’t seem to despise me for my new role. When they sneered at me, she instructed me to ignore it. “Jealousy is normal,” she’d murmured to me once. “But you did nothing except help the queen. The fact that you were rewarded for it was entirely out of your control.”

I’d just nodded.

“Ah,” Auria said, stretching her feet out in front of the fire. “It feels good to be off my feet.” We were in the servants’ quarters—sitting in my old room. Guilt twisted in my stomach as I glanced at my old bed—and the rumpled blankets that told me some other unfortunate girl had been given the spot beneath the window.

Everyone else was still working, but Auria had finished her duties early.

“You know a lot about the people here,” I murmured, and Auria laughed.

“Well, I’ve worked here my whole life. My mother was born in this very castle to a servant who’d been raped by a guard.”

I gaped at her, and she just shrugged. “It happens. Even now. To this day, I don’t know who my father is. I was put to work as soon as I was old enough to scrub a pot.”

And yet, she was still a servant, while I’d walked in and become one of the queen’s ladies.

“Oh, don’t look so guilty, Setella. I would be miserable in such a position.” She sipped her tea, and I finally relaxed.

“What do you know about Madinia?”

Auria smiled. “She’ll be making your life difficult.”

“She tries. But I was raised in a village, and she was raised at court. She has no idea what true difficulty is.”

Auria nodded. “She must be annoyed that she can’t shake you. Madinia’s mother was from a village like yours.”

“You’re not…jesting?”

Auria laughed. “It was a rather large scandal at the time. Patriarch Farrow was supposed to marry the king’s cousin, but he fell in love.” She sighed. “A love match. Can you imagine?”