Both Jansen and I stopped upon entering and bowed.
The Duchess smiled. “Please, rise.”
Aware of her stare, I straightened. “You look lovely today, Your Grace,” I said, the lie slipping smoothly from my lips. Of course, the Duchess was lovely, but it was barely skin-deep.
“You are far too kind,” she replied, rising as we came forward. She clasped her hands at her waist in a manner that caused her breasts to strain against the tight satin of her bodice. I half-expected one of the pearl buttons to snap off and take out one of our eyes.
Her husband gave a bare smile. “The others will be joining us very shortly. Would either of you care for something to drink?”
“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary,” Jansen answered, moving to stand at the Duchess’s side. I followed. She must’ve nearly drowned herself in gardenia because I almost couldn’t detect the sweet and stale scent of the Ascended. “Has the Maiden been informed?”
The Duke leaned back in his chair. “She will be in a few moments.”
My attention sharpened on him. There was an odd, eager glint to his eyes, which were like shards of obsidian as he eyed the door. He gave me the distinct impression that he was up to something while the Duchess spoke to Jansen about the next set of guards who would be leaving training soon. The Duke wasn’t paying attention to the conversation, instead returning his gaze to the papers on his desk. Then again, it was suspected that he had little interest in running the castle or the city.
Approaching footsteps from outside the chamber caught my attention, but I gave no sign of it as a spirited burst of anticipation buzzed through me. I had no idea how the Maiden would take this.
The door opened, and she entered. Immediately, her steps faltered. Though most of her face was hidden, the shock was evident in the parting of her lips.
Tawny Lyon, the tall and lithe Lady in Wait often seen with her, entered next. She came to a complete stop the moment her dark-eyed gaze landed on me. Surprise flickered across her rich brown features as her head jerked back, causing gold and brown curls to bounce. Tawny quickly looked to the Maiden, the corners of her lips tilting up slightly.
The Maiden still hadn’t proceeded any farther. Her chest under the white robes rose sharply, and her right hand twitched, repeatedly opening and closing at her side, where her dagger had been sheathed the night she’d come to the Red Pearl.
Was she carrying it now?
Heat hit my blood as my gaze shifted to the shapeless bottom half of her robes. The quick pounding pulse of arousal was extremely problematic.
“Please,” the Duke spoke. “Close the door, Vikter.” He waited as the guard fulfilled his request. “Thank you.” Teerman lowered the paper as his attention shifted to the Maiden. That odd, eager glint returned to his eyes as he motioned her forward. “Please sit, Penellaphe.”
Penellaphe.
My head gave a slight jerk. Obviously, I knew her name, but I’d never heard anyone speak it. I silently repeated it, preferring it to the Maiden. Immediately, I recognized that was an irrelevant preference.
The Maiden came forward with a cautiousness that hadn’t been present while she was at the Red Pearl. No longer looking in my direction, she sat on the edge of the middle bench, her posture impossibly rigid as she placed her folded hands in her lap. The Lady in Wait situated herself behind the Maiden. Vikter, however, moved to the Maiden’s immediate right, almost as if attempting to put himself between her and me.
“I hope you’re feeling well, Penellaphe?” the Duchess spoke as she returned to the chair beside the desk.
The Maiden nodded.
“I’m relieved to hear that. I was worried that attending the City Council so soon after your attack would be too much,” the Duchess continued, sounding surprisingly genuine.
The Maiden’s response was minimal, a slight incline of her head.
“What happened in the garden is why we’re all here,” Duke Teerman stepped in, and even though it seemed impossible, the Maiden’s posture became even stiffer. “With the death of…” His brow furrowed. “What was his name?” he asked of his wife, whose brows pinched in confusion. “The guard?”
Was he fucking serious?
“Rylan Keal, Your Grace,” Vikter answered flatly.
The Duke snapped his fingers. “Ah, yes. Ryan,” he said.
The Maiden reacted then. I doubted anyone else noticed because no one watched her as intently as I did at the moment. Her hands balled into fists—tight ones that bleached the knuckles of her hands white.
“With Ryan’s death, you are down one guard. Again,” the Duke added, smirking. “Two guards lost in one year. I hope this isn’t becoming a habit.”
Well, he would be disappointed because it likely would be.
“Anyway, with the upcoming Rite, and as you draw closer to your Ascension, Vikter cannot be expected to be the only one keeping a close watch on you,” the Duke said. “We need to replace Ryan.”
A muscle at the curve of her jaw flexed.
“Which, as I am sure you realize now, explains why Commander Jansen and Guard Flynn are here.”
The Maiden gave no sign of even hearing him.
“Guard Flynn will take Ryan’s place, effective immediately,” the Duke announced. “I’m sure this is surprising, as he’s new to our city and quite young for a member of the Royal Guard.”
The corners of my lips twitched.
“There are several Rise Guards in line to be promoted, and bringing on Hawke is no slight to them.” The Duke leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. “But the Commander has assured us that Hawke is better suited to this task.”
“Guard Flynn may be new to the city, but that isn’t a weakness. He’s able to look at possible threats with fresh eyes,” Jansen spoke then, mostly for Vikter’s benefit, I guessed. “Any number of guards would’ve overlooked the potential of a breach occurring in the Queen’s Gardens. Not due to lack of skill—”
I could’ve sworn I heard Duke Teerman murmur, “Debatable.”
“But because there is a false sense of security and complacency that often comes with being within one city for too long,” Jansen continued. “Hawke does not have such familiarity.”
My eyebrow rose at how Jansen addressed me, using my first name. Setting a tone. Smart.
“He also has recent experience with the dangers outside the Rise,” the Duchess added. “Your Ascension is a little less than a year from now, but even if you’re summoned sooner than expected or at the time of your Ascension, having someone with that kind of experience is invaluable. We won’t have to pull from our Huntsmen to ensure that your travel to the capital is as safe as possible,” she said, referencing those whose task it was to escort travelers from city to city. “The Descenters and the Dark One are not the only things to fear out there, as you know.”
She was right.
Yet I didn’t think the Maiden realized who was the true danger in this chamber or in the city and beyond.
“The possibility of you being summoned to the capital unexpectedly played a role in my decision,” Jansen explained. “We plan trips outside the Rise at least six months in advance, and there could be a chance that when and if the Queen requests your presence in the capital, we’d have to wait for the Huntsmen to return. With Hawke being assigned to you, we would be able, for the most part, to avoid that situation.”