That was exactly how much Narine needed!
“But I’ll be able to stay in the castle and eat for free?” I questioned.
He nodded. “You will.”
“Can I possibly have an advance on my first moon’s payment? There is something really important I need to buy. It cannot delay.” I swallowed hard. Asking a man for money never felt good. Asking the king for an advance on a job I hadn’t started felt awful. But I wanted to surprise Narine with the payment for her sister’s wedding in full.
His brows drew together. “Do you have a gambling problem I don’t know about?”
I laughed. “No, and in the spirit of no more lying… it’s for my maid’s little sister’s wedding.”
He stared at me for a moment, maybe reading into my answers, and then his brows drew together to form a knot in his head. “You would pay an entire month’s salary to a maid you’ve known less than a moon?”
I nodded, hoping he wouldn’t say no or tell Annabeth.
“Very well. See the castle merchant tomorrow,” he said. “I will clear it.”
When he finally left, I couldn’t believe how much my luck had changed. I’d be able to send most of the money home every month to my mother and sister, and I’d have the job of my dreams. The king would get his heir with Joslyn and everything was going to work out…
Then why did it feel like someone had carved a hole in my chest with a knife?
THIRTEEN
“What’s this?” Narine asked, wide-eyed as I tossed the pouch of one hundred jade coins into her open palm. I’d gone first thing this morning to the castle merchant and he’d had a bag of coins all ready for me.
“That is your sister’s wedding payment, and you have the rest of the day off to go deal with your affairs,” I told her, unable to keep the grin off my face.
“How!?” she shrieked, laughing as she opened the bag to peer inside. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked up at me.
“I got a job. That’s my first moon’s advance,” I stated.
She shook her head, trying to hand me back the bag. “No, I can’t. It’s too generous. You have your own sister’s wedding to pay for one day.”
I chuckled. “Weddings in Cinder Village cost ten jade coins, and everyone brings a dish of food to share. Trust me, I can afford this.”
She chewed at her lip, shaking her head in amazement. “I… I don’t know what to say. What job did you get? Here in Jade City?”
“I’ve been asked to join the king’s Royal Guard. I start my first practice in an hour, after I pledge loyalty to the king.”
Narine’s brown eyebrows hit her hairline. “The king asked you to join his Royal Guard after all that?”
“I know. Crazy, right?”
She nodded. “I’ll say. Did you hear the news that he’s marrying Joslyn?”
I inclined my head, trying to keep the emotion out of my face.
“I heard he’s desperate for an heir but no one knows why. He grieved over Queen Amelia so hard, no one thought he would remarry so soon, but…” her voice trailed off.
I knew why. But it was my secret with King Valdren. Drae, now that we were on a first-name basis. I respected him enough to keep it private. If people knew that their magic and very livelihood was tied up in him having an heir, it would create a panic across the realm.
“He must have been really taken with Joslyn,” I said.
Narine nodded, and wished me a good day before leaving with her coins.
I left my quarters and made my way outside to the training grounds with pep in my step. I was wearing my mother’s leather armor and I was ready to be a Royal Guard badass like Regina.
I made my way quickly to the great hall, where Regina had asked me to meet her and the king for my loyalty swearing. When I got there, she was waiting outside the door with her hands clasped behind her back.
“Ready?” she asked.
I nodded. I had no idea what this little adventure would involve, but I was prepared to pledge my allegiance to the king and be knighted or whatever into his army.
She opened the large double doors and I glanced up, my breath catching in my throat. Nearly the entire army was here. And it looked like some highborn families too. The Royal Guard stood in perfect rows, facing the aisle that I was now walking up with Regina beside me. I wanted to shrink into myself and die. I hadn’t expected this kind of a crowd. It seemed like a way bigger deal than I had expected. When we reached the front, I gave polite smiles to the highborn families, confused as to why everyone was here for a simple oath of loyalty.