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“She was seen in Gromalian waters recently. Why did Eryndan not capture her?”

“According to rumors, they have an agreement of their own, Your Majesty.”

My lips didn’t curve. No amusement was evident on my face. I was much too experienced for that. And yet Sabium slowly looked at me anyway, as if he couldfeelsuch amusement.

I just stared back.

Sabium was likely wishing he’d understood just how much of a threat Rostamir would be before he created that barrier. Perhaps he was beginning to learn just how little most women appreciated being caged.

IfIhad planned in his place, I would have ensured the pirate queen was either dead or tricked into traveling just outside of the barrier before I created it. The resulting chaos and lack of leadership would have ensured her pirates turned on one another. Then, I would have waited until they were at their weakest and taken the remainder of her fleet for myself.

“Dead,” Sabium said. “Make it happen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I could almost feel sorry for Tymedes. The pirate queen hadn’t gotten where she was by being an easy target.

He bowed and walked out. Sabium met my gaze. “You have something to say?”

“I want to see him.”

He didn’t bother asking who I was talking about. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed. “A stray cat would have been a better mother, and now you choose to be invested in the boy’s life?” Getting to his feet, Sabium ignored the servant who pulled out his chair. “You should focus on your own position,my love.”

He strolled away, leaving me with my wine.

“Out,” I said. The servants disappeared.

* * *

The nanny didn’t say a word. The boy was kept away. I could come and go as I pleased. And as I strolled the grounds, I focused on the small freedom I’d gained.

Not the sick, twisting shame that cramped my stomach.

A tiny child. I’d frightened a tiny child. Made him cry. If I could have gotten away with it, I might have killed him.

What had happened to me since I’d come here? Was it Sabium’s poison? Or had this place just brought exactly who I was to the surface?

Months passed. I no longer studied each courtier’s face, waiting for the whispers to begin. No longer waited for Sabium to darken my doorway and demand to know why people were talking. Why they said I’d denied the child was mine.

My thoughts returned to escape. To murder. One day, I would find a way to end Sabium. It wouldn’t be this year. Or the next. But it would happen. I would make him pay for what he had done to me.

And then the nanny appeared.

Inmylibrary.

She had pale skin, dark hair, and sharp eyes. And she was in my territory. Alone. The only person with the power to make my life even more difficult.

My smile must have been a terrible thing to witness.

She didn’t flinch.

“Your son is sick, Your Majesty. He needs you.”

The nanny held my gaze, and I saw the unspoken threat in her eyes.

“If you’re thinking of killing me, you should know I have an attack power,” she murmured. “It’s one of the reasons I was chosen as your son’s nanny. To protect him.”

Her audacity might have been impressive if she weren’t blackmailing me.