Page 66 of A Queen’s Game (Aithyr Uprising #1)
Chapter Forty-One
Marietta
O nce again, tea time with the Queen led Marietta to spiral; yet this time had no tea or queen—just the King and his ridiculous plan to agitate Keyain.
Irritated, she paced in the hallway to the Queen’s Garden.
Why would the King offer Marietta retribution against Keyain?
His Minister of Protection? His offer made little sense.
Even if she were willing to be his pawn, why would agitating Keyain benefit him?
Marietta had witnessed Keyain’s wrath and jealousy.
Often in the last weeks of their relationship, he would act out violently against those who talked with her, unable to control his emotions.
He became near-obsessive, clingy, and overprotective.
Hate burned in her chest at the memory. No, the King’s deal would only make her situation worse.
Not having a reason for the King’s proposal nagged at her mind. This went deeper than Keyain hiding his marriage. He might have made King Wyltam look foolish, but whatever his actual reasoning went beyond that. The question burned at the tip of her tongue: why?
Not being able to gauge the King’s emotions left her at a disadvantage.
He was an emotionless void, cold and fathomless; yet, her mind lingered on the moments his icy demeanor melted with a small smile, amusement in his eyes.
Sure, he was cold, but he was also intriguing. An enigma. A threat. A headache.
“Marietta? Is everything alright?” Amryth said, approaching from down the hall.
“Just a very odd afternoon.” Odd didn’t even describe it.
“You’re rattled like last time.” Amryth’s expression said what her words didn’t. Did the Queen do something?
“I’m alright but I can’t go back to the suite like this. I need a distraction.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Can I show you something? Something you can’t share with Keyain or anyone else?” She itched under her skin to move, to be busy.
“You think I’d tell him anything at this point?”
Marietta smiled. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t. Can you take me to the kitchens?”
“Welcome back, Lady Marietta!” called a voice as they entered the bustling kitchens. The older elven man from her last visit approached with a smile. “That pie was splendid! We made the changes you had suggested.”
Amryth looked at Marietta with furrowed brows.
The tension in Marietta’s shoulders eased. “You don’t know how happy that makes me,” she said, smiling. “Though I’m afraid I forgot to ask for your name the last time I visited.”
The old elven man dropped into a bow, silver hair gleaming in the light. “Chef Emynuel, my lady.”
“A pleasure to see you again, Chef Emynuel. Do you mind if I take over one of your workspaces?”
The chef gestured for her to go ahead before returning to his work. With a quick smile to Amryth, Marietta went to the pantry for the ingredients.
“Are you going to explain or will I have to guess?” Amryth said at the door, her arms crossed.
Marietta thrust a bag of almond flour at her and turned back, gathering other supplies. “This is just something I need to do.”
Amryth shrugged her shoulders, looking annoyed to hold the bag, but carried it back to the station.
A plume of flour rose as Marietta added her dry ingredients to a bowl. In another, she whisked together softened butter with sugars. The kitchen workers used a magical item that mixed ingredients with no effort. Marietta heard of the device, but she was baking for the familiarity of her methods.
She folded the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture before adding the eggs, mixing the batter until smooth. Once added to a round pan, she slid it into the oven and patted the flour off her dress.
“Well, that was surprising—I haven’t seen you smile like that ever,” Amryth said with a softness in her eyes.
“Baking brings me joy. That’s why I stopped helping businesses and opened a bakery. That and the long hours of traveling were taxing for Tilan and I.” Marietta cupped her chin, leaning on the counter.
“I’m glad I got to witness a genuine part of you. You’ve seemed empty of a person since you’ve been here.”
“Because I have been. Losing Tilan, even with his lies,” Marietta said, emotions choking her words, “hurts. It hurts so much.” She bit the inside of her cheek, eyes blinking so tears wouldn’t fall.
“I miss him. I miss the life we had built. Being here, in this kitchen baking, reminds me that I had that life. That I could make my own decisions—that I had freedom.”
Amryth considered her words. “You mentioned before that Tilan was a fraud. What did he lie about?”
With a glance around the room, ensuring no one paid attention to their conversation, Marietta dropped her voice. “I knew less about my late husband than I thought. According to Queen Valeriya and Keyain, Tilan was a leader of the Exisotis—Keyain even had documented proof.”
Amryth let out a long sigh. “That part I was aware of, unfortunately. When Keyain briefed us on the mission, he shared that a leader of the Exisotis captured his wife. I thought you knew he was in the Exisotis.”
“I didn’t,” Marietta said quietly, dragging her finger through the loose flour that remained on the counter. “And I also learned Tilan knew Keyain. That the Exisotis planned for Tilan to marry me to use against him.” A shaky breath exhaled from her. “Our relationship started with a lie.”
Amryth placed a hand on Marietta’s arm. “Did you ever once feel like he didn’t love you?”
“No. Never.”
“Then perhaps, even given the circumstances, he really did love you.”
The sounds of the kitchen filled their silence, Marietta remembering her days at the bakery. “When I decided to open the bakery, I was most excited to sleep next to Tilan at night. To see him every day, to not be away from him.”
As another swell of emotion tightened her throat, Marietta focused on slicing almonds for the cake. When Marietta had needed help prepping, Tilan closed his smithy for two weeks to help her. And she loved it—two weeks of just them and the excitement of a new business.
The day the bakery opened, friends and old clients lined the street. Tilan was with her, helping her, supporting her. There were so many people to be thankful for, tears coming to her eyes as their faces flooded her memory.
“All the people I cared about in Olkia—I don’t know if they’re okay. I don’t know who’s alive.” Tears dropped as Marietta stilled, her hand gripping the knife as she stared at the countertop.
“You lost more than your husband that night. You lost a family, a community.” Amryth patted Marietta’s back. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
Marietta took a deep breath, slowing her tears. “The temple helped. It reminded me that people care, that life goes on, and I have to keep trying to survive.” She peeked into the oven, seeing the browning of the cake, and pulled it out.
“That’s what it did for me,” Amryth said after a moment. “Helped guide me on my journey to heal.”
On a stovetop, Marietta brought honey and water to a boil into a sweet, sticky syrup while the cake cooled.
“I can’t thank you enough, Amryth,” Marietta said, looking up. “You saved me, and I’m forever grateful.”
“I only wish I never left.”
Turning to the cooled cake, Marietta shrugged and drew a knife around the edge of the cake pan to loosen the edges, then flipped it over onto a plate. She added the almonds to the honey syrup and then spooned the mixture over top of the cake.
That was her favorite cake recipe, reminding her of sunny summer afternoons. The sweetness of the honey and the nuttiness of the almonds made the perfect combination. It was her go-to recipe because she could always get the ingredients in Olkia.
Marietta cut the cake into slices, sharing it with Amryth, Emynuel, and whoever stopped to see what she made.
“This is spectacular.” Amryth covered her mouth, which was still filled with her first bite. Emynuel and his team murmured in agreement. Marietta smiled to herself, happy to have made something for them to all enjoy.
An afternoon filled with laughter, swapping of stories, and helping the staff gave Marietta a chance to work through her frustration, to reset her mind. Much was different in Satiros, but for one afternoon, she could pretend she still lived a normal life.