Page 13 of A Queen’s Game (Aithyr Uprising #1)

Chapter Nine

Valeriya

V aleriya sat with the ladies of the Queen’s Court, concerned about the words they exchanged. They were drinking tea on the terrace above the Queen’s Garden that held dense flower beds and twisting paths. It was their usual spot, but they had a new topic of conversation: the half-elf.

Lady Grytaine Lasyda gossiped with a smile plastered to her lips.

“A shame that Keyain’s mystery wife is so…

.” She paused dramatically, feigning to search for the word.

“Dull, if you will.” A few of the ladies hid smiles behind their hands as they failed to keep their composure.

As per usual, Grytaine basked in the attention.

Though she was nearly through her first century of life, she had the tact of a child.

Valeriya held her sigh as she wished the lady would stop trying so hard.

Coming from a wealthy family—not a noble one—made Grytaine unique in the Satiroan court.

Her marriage to Royir, the Minister of Coin, was far more bizarre, being that he was her senior by four centuries.

Though there was much gossip about the courting and marriage, Grytaine learned to thrive on it.

Such thick skin made her a fine fit in the Satiroan court, where gossip ran rampant.

The one downfall she had, Valeriya noted, was that she didn’t know when to keep her lips together.

Grytaine turned her focus to the youngest lady in the Queen’s court. “Have you met the half-elf yet, Elyse?” Valeriya’s expression remained pleasant as Grytaine baited Elyse once again. Withholding a sigh, she prepared to intervene.

“I haven’t had the pleasure.” Elyse’s eyes grew wide with the attention as her bronze skin flushed red. Such a nervous girl. Even after being in the Queen’s court for five years, she remained as apprehensive as her first day.

“Pity,” Grytaine said. “You should see what his wife is like.”

Elyse’s eyes darted to her lap as her jaw worked, and Valeriya waited just another moment before stopping them. One way or another, the girl would learn to speak for herself. Elyse cleared her throat, not bothering to lift her head. “I’m sure she’s lovely.”

Grytaine hid a sharp smile behind her teacup. “That’s one way to describe her.” A round of stifled laughs filled the terrace. “Though after meeting Lady Marietta, I can understand why you were so appealing to him.”

Elyse’s gaze shot to Grytaine and her lips moved, though no words came out.

In her lap, her hands tore at the fabric of her dress.

When it became clear she wouldn’t answer, Valeriya cleared her throat.

“Grytaine, your and Royir’s anniversary is coming up, is it not?

” The room turned their eyes from Elyse to her.

“Exciting times. I’m sure you’re both eager for a child. ”

Grytaine’s smile faltered. “Quite eager, but of course there’s still time.

” Valeriya stilled her smile at the response.

It was an obvious target to aim upon, but her husband wanted another heir and grew impatient.

As if there wasn’t enough stress on reproduction for nobles.

Valeriya had her own horrible experience as far as that went. She pushed such thoughts aside.

Lady Tryda, the wife of Satiros’ Minister of Law, spoke up.

“I’m sure you’ll conceive any day now, my dear.

” Gray marked the temples of the heavyset elven female, her dark skin lined with years.

After centuries at court, she always offered drops of wisdom to share.

Much to Valeriya’s annoyance, most of it was directed at her.

As the previous Hand of the Queen to Wyltam’s mother, Valeriya thought it would help bolster her position among the nobles.

Instead, Tryda often shared how she could be a better queen.

“As for Keyain’s wife,” Tryda added, “we should look at her situation with empathy. Lady Marietta has endured more than we can imagine; it will take her time to recover. Until she is ready, perhaps we should give her the confidence that she is not her normal self.”

Valeriya noted the ladies who exchanged smirks behind their teacups—Grytaine included.

Someone whispered the word clip . After all the time spent in Satiros’ court, Valeriya had hoped to change their views of pilinos for the better.

With Marietta’s arrival, the amount of work she had left to do became glaring.

After all, if the court that presided over the city-state still slipped slurs and demeaning comments, then how would pilinos ever become equals?

Irritated, Valeriya tapped her teacup. Marietta would bode well as a test for the court, to see how they accepted a half-elf into their ranks.

Of all the nobles to be accepting of pilinos, Valeriya hadn’t expected Keyain.

Some of the court whisperings said that Keyain developed a close relationship with Wyltam’s mother—the horrid Queen Olytia, who set the strictest laws against pilinos in Satiros.

Despite that, he had married Marietta. Something like hope sparked from within, that even those with the strongest hate for pilinos could change.

There was a chance, maybe, that Valeriya could use Marietta towards her goal.

If she grew close with the half-elf and showed she carried her favor, then perhaps Marietta could draw relationships from the other nobles at court.

Yes, that could work, but it left one glaring question: what happened to Marietta, and why was she left in Enomenos for so long?

The truth of her history needed to be uncovered before Valeriya could plan on using her. That meant she had some work to do.