Page 119 of A Queen’s Game (Aithyr Uprising #1)

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Marietta

M arietta woke to Keyain ripping off the covers from the bed, to him looming over her. “Get up.”

“What are you doing?” she protested, inching away from him.

He grabbed her arm, dragging her to her feet. “I said get up.”

She shook free of his grasp, staring at him through sleepy eyes. Anger lined his face, and he wore his training clothes. “What do you want, Keyain?”

“Let’s go.” He grabbed her again, pulling her from the room.

“Wait—let me change.” Marietta wore only a silk nightgown.

“It’ll be an encore to your performance last night,” he hissed, pulling her through the dining room.

Marietta dug her feet into the carpet. “What are you doing?” She fought his pull, ripping her arm away from him.

Keyain jerked her forward. “Elyse. Something happened and she won’t talk to me.”

Marietta’s heart stopped. “Is she okay?”

“No, she stayed the night with Brynden. Something is wrong.”

Gods, she probably got to experience his fervent worshiping, only to find Keyain on the doorstep the following morning. Such humiliation would have been devastating.

Keyain pulled her out the door, and Marietta let him, jogging with the pace.

She could feel it, the nervousness under his anger, the way the atmosphere in the Noble’s Section seemed to change.

A cluster of feelings crowded her chest—heat, stirring wind, crackling burn, heaviness, unease.

She ran faster, ahead of Keyain, causing him to pick up his pace.

Keyain threw open the door of Elyse’s suite to find Gyrsh sitting on her couch. Keyain barreled towards him, fists clenched and a snarl on his face. “Find Elyse,” he demanded to her. “You’re breaching the agreement, Gyrsh.”

“I merely had a chat with Elyse after my contacts I’ve been working with for months had an incident with her,” he drawled, inspecting under his nails.

Marietta hoped Keyain punched the smirk clean off his face. She wished to watch it happen, but she needed to find Elyse.

She knocked on the bedroom door. “Elyse?” Upon no answer, she entered the room, closing the door as Gyrsh’s grunting sounded. “Elyse?” she called again.

She heard a sniffle from the bathroom and walked to the door. “Elyse, everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” Elyse said, her voice nasally, followed by a sniffle. “Don’t worry about me, Marietta. I don’t want to be a burden. I’m alright.”

Though a door stood between them, Marietta knew she lied.

“Something happened,” Marietta said, putting her back to the door, sliding down, “and if you don’t want to talk right now, that’s okay. But I’m going to be right here if you need anything, alright?” She slid her hand under the door. “I’ll sit here for as long as you need it.”

Elyse didn’t answer. Marietta could imagine her pain, the humiliation. Gods knew she had felt it herself.

“You don’t have to respond, but I’m going to tell you a story I think you’ll want to hear,” Marietta said, leaning her head back, staring at the ceiling.

“Sometimes we do things we’re not proud of—that hurt our hearts and cause our minds to linger.

” She paused, fidgeting with her hands as the memory came back.

“The night I met Keyain, I was meeting with his friend, who wanted a position as my bodyguard for when I traveled. I had no idea that the Satiroan Minister of Protection sat across from me—flirted with me.”

Marietta forced herself to take a breath. “His friend was a prick, and I left after he called me a clip. In my anger, I walked down a street I shouldn’t have. Alone in the dark I made myself a target. Someone attacked me and almost dragged me into an alley.”

Her voice trembled at the memory, at the metal biting into her throat.

“Out of nowhere, Keyain appeared, punching the man until he no longer moved. He saved me. Took me back to my apartment,” Marietta paused, the swirling emotions in her chest easing.

“Gods, I was so scared, so shaken after the attack that I didn’t want to be alone.

” She laughed, wiping away a tear as it fell.

“At my apartment, he offered to take the position of my guard. Do you know how I reacted?”

Elyse was silent on the other side of the door, so Marietta continued.

“I slept with him, quite literally a stranger I just hired to travel with me after I watched him likely kill a man with his hands. It was the most reckless and idiotic thing I’ve ever done.

He was a stranger from Syllogi, and I made myself vulnerable to him. ”

A thump hit the door, Elyse sliding down its face. The chaos in Marietta’s chest settled as Elyse grabbed her fingers under the door.

With a smile, Marietta continued. “The morning after was uncomfortable. I remember trying to throw him from my apartment, recanting my offer, but he insisted. It wasn’t until a few months later that it happened again and that we finally became a couple.

” She squeezed Elyse’s hand. “I was so embarrassed—humiliated—after that first night, but guess what.”

“What?” she whispered through the door.

Marietta sighed in relief. Good, she was responding. “Life went on.”

There was a moment of silence before Elyse let go of her hand, the door unlocking and swinging open.

Marietta shifted, so she faced the door.

When it opened, she saw Elyse, face red and blotchy from crying, her hair a mess, still in yesterday’s gown.

A large red mark marred her neck, the sight jogging something in her memory, but she pushed it back, opting to pull Elyse into an embrace.

Elyse began to cry again, Marietta’s shoulder growing wet. She hushed into her hair, rubbing her back. “I know, Elyse. I know and I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“It hurts so much,” she sobbed.

Marietta’s breath caught, emotion choking her throat and blurring her vision.

“I know. I know, Elyse. It’ll all be okay, I promise.

” Her pain was so raw. Marietta was the one to push to pursue Brynden for fun, forgetting that this could be the outcome.

This was her fault. Marietta pulled her closer as she fought her own tears.

She thought she knew what she was doing, thought she knew how to handle the court.

Now she made a mess of her and the King.

She’d led Elyse to her heart ache. Keyain was right—she didn’t understand court life and now other people were paying the price.

The realization made her hate Keyain more.

They sat in silence for a few moments as their tears lessened.

“Want to know the worst part about my story?” Marietta said, laughing, though she felt no amusement.

She remembered her fight with Keyain the night before, all the anger and hate between them.

“I didn’t know Keyain was the Minister of Protection until a few months ago. ”

Elyse jerked up, hitting Marietta’s head with her own. “What?”

Marietta rubbed her chin, saying, “I didn’t even know we were married until I arrived.” Elyse furrowed her brows. “Because I’m half-elven, Keyain didn’t need my consent to marry me, so he did it without my knowledge.”

Elyse sucked in a breath, her body trembling. “Can I tell you something,” she whispered with wide eyes, “that you can’t tell anybody else?”

“Of course. Your secrets will always be safe with me.”

“He lied to me too. The entire time—Brynden’s not his actual name. I found out this morning, after we….”

Marietta bit back her surprise. Of all the things she expected Elyse to say, that wasn’t it. “What?”

“His name is Azarys. He lied—”

“And he warned you not to tell anyone.” The two jumped at the sound of Queen Valeriya’s voice. She towered above them with a frown tugging at her lips.

“Queen Valeriya—”

“Enough, Elyse. Az was clear of the consequences if you told anyone.” She paused with a sigh. “I trust Marietta with this knowledge, but you both must never speak of this again.

Marietta flinched. The Queen must not have known about the night prior to trust her still.

“You knew?” cried Elyse.

“I did. You both need to listen to me carefully,” she said, a translucent bubble appearing around them, muffling the yelling coming from the suite.

“If either of you speaks a word of his name, you will be killed. Even I can’t protect you,” she said, her icy blue eyes locked with Marietta, “regardless of our relationship. Understood?”

“No,” Marietta said, anger stirring. “I don’t understand—”

“Enough, Marietta. You and I will speak in a week. I’ll send you the details.”

Confusion crossed Elyse’s features, eyes glancing between the two. Marietta only nodded her head.

“Good. Now I’m going to drop the barrier and force Keyain and Gyrsh out of the suite. I suggest both of you lie low for a few days for both of your latest exploits.” Queen Valeriya gave Marietta a pointed stare, turning her gut to ice.

Gods, she did know.

Marietta and Elyse remained on the floor as Queen Valeriya left the room. After the commotion from the suite died down, the Queen ushering the men out, Elyse leaned into Marietta. “Does it ever stop hurting?” she whispered.

Marietta’s heart shattered, her voice so small and broken, but she didn’t have it in her to lie. “No,” she whispered back. “You just make room for it.”

Pain from love was long-lasting. After she left Keyain, he remained in a forgotten part of herself.

Tilan remained as well. For the men she loved were etched into her heart, forever branded there.

Yes, both lied and lied continuously, but Marietta still loved parts of them. That didn’t just fade away.

Elyse was about to learn that pain, though she quite possibly couldn’t love a man she hardly knew; yet Marietta saw how she acted with him.

The truth would hurt her, and like Marietta, the love Elyse had for Brynden would remain in her heart.

When the silence became too much, Marietta said, “Let’s get you washed and into some comfortable clothes. ”

Marietta spent the day with Elyse, the two lying in her bed.

Marietta told her about the rest of her night—told her about the King’s kiss in the stairwell.

Elyse shared what happened between her and not-Brynden.

Marietta didn’t have it in her heart to tease her, knowing her pain was so raw, and likely it would remain as such for the foreseeable future.

How fortunate that, despite the awful things that had transpired since her arrival in Satiros, Marietta still had a friend. Elyse was quiet, thoughtful, bashful, and kind. And somehow, in their short time together, they learned they could lean on one another.

Friendship, in its most basic shape, was simply that. To support one another, to uplift and encourage, to listen and be heard. Elyse was her friend, and Marietta was sure of one thing at that moment—she couldn’t abandon her.

Elyse could blossom if far away from Satiros, away from all the toxic bullshit that saturated these people. Stunted, they never gave her the proper care to grow. Perhaps they could escape Satiros together.