Page 127 of A Queen’s Game (Aithyr Uprising #1)

Ryder ushered her into a waiting carriage, neither she nor him sitting before the driver had it in motion, the guards armed and in position on the outside. “Keyain took precautions. Three carriages left the palace at the same time. Only two will arrive at the temple.”

Marietta rolled her eyes. “This is completely unnecessary.”

“Keyain would do anything to protect those he loves, even if that person doesn’t deserve it,” he said, draping his arm across the back of the seat. He crossed one leg over a knee, smiling out the window at the passing city.

“Apologies, I should love the man who abducted me—”

“I wouldn’t continue that sentence, Marietta.”

She narrowed her gaze at him as he looked back at her.

“I trust Keyain,” he said, “and I’m smart enough to realize I don’t know all of his reasonings, but you know what makes a good leader?”

Marietta refused to reply as she held his stare.

“Though I don’t have all the details, I know, without a doubt, that Keyain took you back for more than just personal reasons.” Ryder looked her up and down. “That’s what makes him a good leader—I trust he knows what he’s doing and tells us only what’s necessary.”

Gods, no wonder Amryth couldn’t stand being around him. “Sounds like blind ignorance to me.”

Ryder laughed again, looking back out the window. “Oh, I like you. I see how you and Keyain could have worked.”

Marietta bit back her irritation, realizing that snapping at Ryder would yield nothing but more frustration.

The carriage wove through different side streets to the south. From Marietta’s sense of direction, they overshot the distance to the temple, and then wove back. They took a lane parallel to the Halia River, weaving through side streets before pulling into an alley.

The temples rose in the distance, and the black stone of Zontykroi pulled her gaze first. It was as ominous from behind, with a stone wall encircling a courtyard at the back. Above the stone rose spikes of cypress, their boughs still in the stagnant air.

As they journeyed further into the alley, the white stone of Therypon’s temple came into view. Bright blue banners waved from the upper floors towering above. Like the temple of Zontykroi, a stone wall guarded the back, filled with trees and other greenery beyond.

“So here’s how your visit will go,” Ryder said, sitting forward with his gaze sweeping the streets.

“We enter through the back, you give a very brief goodbye to the attendants, and then I will escort you to a private prayer chamber. You may take as long as you need, but I will be vigilantly waiting outside the door.”

“I sound more like a prisoner,” she said, her heart sinking. How would Deania and Coryn help her if Ryder watched her so closely?

“Well, it’s mostly for your protection. Word of your pregnancy has spread, and Keyain didn’t want to take any chances.” He stood, stooping in the low cab as he offered Marietta his hand. “Everything else is because I don’t trust you.”

“You don’t say,” Marietta grumbled, ignoring his offered hand to stand.

Ryder laughed as he opened the door, stepping out of the carriage where guards flanked the two steps to the courtyard’s entrance. He looked back at her, flashing a grin as if he always found something amusing. “Let’s go give your goodbyes.”

Olive and oak trees spotted the temple’s back courtyard.

Beds of echinacea, chamomile, milk thistle, and valerian flourished in patches, the flowers familiar from her mother’s gardens in Notos.

Foxglove and castor bean plants grew in a few spots, which surprised Marietta that they’d have such poisonous plant life.

A group of armed attendants approached from the doorway. At their front was Coryn, lips tugging into a frown. Ryder stepped closer to Marietta’s side, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Welcome back, Marietta,” Coryn said, one side of his mouth lifting into a smile. “Odd circumstances but congratulations on your pregnancy.”

Coryn and Deania believed she was actually pregnant. She fought the fear that climbed up her throat, threatening to choke her words. “Odd is one way to describe this,” she said, pulling out of Ryder’s grip.

“I will let Keyain know you send congratulations to him as well,” Ryder added. “He’s very excited to be the father.”

Coryn furrowed his brows. “I don’t doubt that he is.”

“It’d be best if you remembered that,” warned Ryder.

“Gods, Ryder. Enough,” Marietta snapped. “Can I please go?”

“Of course,” Ryder said, grinning. “Lead the way, attendants.”

Deania met them inside, her face lined with worry as she took in Marietta. “I’m happy to see you’re alright,” she said, her high-pitched voice sweet.

“Why wouldn’t she be alright?” Ryder asked, hovering at Marietta’s shoulder.

Marietta turned to him, taking a step away with a glare. When she turned back to Deania, she threw her into a hug.

“Everything will be alright,” she whispered into her ear.

The panic eased in Marietta’s chest. They would help her—Deania and Coryn wouldn’t let Keyain take her to the countryside. She pulled away, finding Coryn at her side. As she raised her arms to embrace him as well, Ryder’s hand landed on her shoulder, stopping her. “I think that’s close enough.”

Coryn’s eyes narrowed on Ryder. “You’re almost as controlling as her husband.”

“I’m but an extension of Keyain,” Ryder said. “I act on his behalf.”

“Great,” Marietta said, “as if one Keyain wasn’t enough.”

“Well, one Keyain didn’t stop you from making poor decisions,” Ryder replied.

Marietta turned to snap at him, but Ryder spoke over her. “Please show us the way to the private prayer room. We shouldn’t dawdle. So you both are aware, this will be Lady Marietta’s last visit.”

Deania and Coryn exchanged worried glances. “You can’t prevent Marietta from visiting the temple,” Deania said, taking a step down the hall.

“You’re correct.” Ryder guided Marietta to follow. “But it’ll be hard to visit the temple once she’s no longer in the Satiros proper.”

The questions they had died on their lips, their stares falling on Marietta. She lifted her chin, grimacing. Aware of Ryder’s close inspection, she didn’t dare give them any look, any hint of what Keyain had planned, and how she felt about it.

They wove through the temple, Ryder at her back, with Coryn and Deania leading the way. The guards that traveled with the carriage waited at the exit. Ryder gave brief instructions to survey the back, adding that the second team would monitor the front.

The prayer chamber sat at the heart of the temple on the top floor. A window set high in the wall lit the room made of all-white stone. At the far end was a modest-sized statue of the goddess and before it a single bench. “Take the time you need, Marietta,” Ryder said, pushing her in.

She glanced back once to Deania and Coryn, concern lacing their features as the door shut behind her. Alone in the room, she took a shattering breath.

She had to escape—this couldn’t be her future. Even if she wasn’t with child, today only confirmed her biggest fear: if Keyain found out she was lying about being pregnant, then he would ensure it happened after all of this. After the news became so public, he wouldn’t risk the embarrassment.

The room felt confined, too small, as her breaths came sharp, sucking nothing into her lungs.

Marietta’s vision blackened on the edges as she collapsed to the bench, trying to breathe.

Keyain would get what he wanted—and it wasn’t her on trial.

Keyain would get his family. He would make Marietta carry his child.

He would force into her the life she never wanted.

With a heaving gasp, tears came as she suppressed her sob.

Suddenly, there came the warmth flaring from the center of her chest and easing her breath. “ You never walk alone ,” a voice whispered at the back of her mind.

Through the haze of her panic, she turned to Therypon’s statue. The heat flared again, steadying her breath. Marietta wasn’t alone. She would be Therypon’s Iros, and her friends would help her. Never again would she be trapped.

She focused on her steadying breath. On a count to four, she inhaled through her nose, exhaling slowly through her mouth, until her heart settled and she could breathe again. In her calm state, she shut her eyes, clearing her mind to pray to the goddess. She would know what to do, how to help.

A minute into freeing her thoughts, there was a soft swish from behind the statue.

When she opened her eyes, she found Amryth standing at a hidden door in the wall, face taut with worry as she held a finger to her mouth.

Glancing at the room’s entrance, Marietta stood and walked to Amryth as quietly as she could.

When she stepped aside, a man in a similar cloak to Marietta’s appeared, his hair long and curled like her own.

With a wink, he went and sat on the bench, his back to the door.

Amryth took Marietta’s arm, guiding her down the secret passage as the door slid shut. Marietta wanted to cry, to hug Amryth, but she hurried her steps, anxiety rolling off her.

After a few minutes, Amryth paused, listening through the wall, then pulled it open. Beyond was a dark room, lit only by a candle, and within the glowing light, she saw Coryn and Deania. Marietta sighed with relief, pulling Amryth into a hug as the door shut behind them.

“I’m going to murder Ryder, I swear to you,” she said into her hair. “As soon as Keyain said he forbade me to take you, I knew what was happening.” She pulled back, placing her hands on Marietta’s shoulders. “When does he plan on taking you to his manor?”

Marietta huffed a small laugh, knowing Amryth knew Keyain better than she did. “Next week.”

“Then you need to decide,” said Coryn, drawing her attention. “We have enough Iros congregated to perform the ceremony right now, but we have a few questions.”

“I’m not actually with child,” she said, hoping to quell his anxiety. Instead, he exchanged glances with Deania.