Page 72 of A Queen’s Game (Aithyr Uprising #1)

“In the first years of Queen Olytia’s rule, she proved to be a capable ruler of Satiros.

Through strict laws and restructuring her court, she brought security and hope to her people, driving incoming refugees from all over the Akroi region to live in the city-state.

Her name became synonymous with idealism, a future where all could praise her—”

Satiroans praised the late queen like she was a deity?

Never would someone view a city-state leader or the Enomenoan Unionization Council members more than who they were—an elected official.

They didn’t receive special treatment because they did not differ from anyone else, held to the same standard as all.

Was that the difference between having a monarch rule?

Do people learn to praise instead of holding leaders accountable?

Gods, that was a dangerous line of thought.

Kings and queens get their ego stroked at the cost of their people.

Was ego the sole reason for such praise?

Or was it to maintain the power of their throne?

Marietta shook her head. It was too early to tackle such thoughts.

“Her name became synonymous with idealism, a future where all could praise her for the everlasting change in Satiros. Under her rule, she strengthened the laws against pilinos, solidifying their role in society. Some ill-informed critics—”

Ill-informed critics? Marietta flipped to the cover of the book, laughing. Did Queen Olytia write this herself? The book was an ode to her greatness because of placing pilinos scum in their lowly place. Of course, Keyain had this on his shelf.

A soft tapping sounded from Keyain’s study, so subtle she may have missed it if she focused on reading.

She must be hearing things. The palace was old and bound to make noise.

Marietta reopened the book to her spot, but the tapping came again.

Curious, she set aside her book and tip-toed to the study when it stopped once more.

A panel of the wooded wall swung open, Marietta gasping and taking a step back as Queen Valeriya stood in the passageway, donned in simple pants and shirt. “Hello, Marietta.”

Her mind blanked, registering what she saw. The Queen of Satiros appeared in a hidden doorway, not dressed like a queen.

Queen Valeriya read her expression and laughed. “Surprised? I have something to show you.”

Marietta shook her head, bringing a hand to her temple. “What is this?”

“I need your help, Marietta. I’ll explain more if you come with me.”

“I don’t understand.” Marietta glanced around the room.

“Shocking, I know, but this,” she said, gesturing to the passage behind her, “ensures we’re alone.”

Marietta took a hesitant step forward. “How did you even know about this hidden door?”

“A queen’s secret, if you will.” A smirk came to her face, yet she offered no further explanation.

“And if I don’t come with you?”

“Then you’ll miss a great opportunity to inflict Keyain pain. Do you love Enomenos, Marietta? Do you wish to help?”

That caught her attention, her pulse quickening. “Yes.”

“Then come. I have much to tell you.”

Marietta hesitated, remembering Keyain’s warning about the Queen. But what did he know? Marietta had fewer reasons to trust him. Shaking off her nerves, she followed Queen Valeriya through the door, the wood-paneled wall clicking shut behind her.

A small light globe sat in the Queen’s palm, illuminating the narrow staircase that spiraled down. Marietta followed the Queen in silence.

Gods, this was a terrible idea. Why would the Queen want Marietta to help Enomenos? Beyond hating Keyain and the King, what reason did she have to aid the region? Perhaps it was a trap, yet curiosity drove her forward, eager to learn what waited at the end.

Queen Valeriya strode ahead of her, looking nothing like the conniving Queen in gowns during tea. Marietta’s stomach knotted as she realized that this was the real side of her.

The stairs ended deep beneath the palace.

The light globe lit the dark passageway as they continued forward, taking off down the hall and turning onto a connecting walkway.

After making a few more turns, they arrived at a hallway lined with wooden doors.

They stopped at one of them, Queen Valeriya pulling out a key from her pocket and unlocking it.

They stepped inside, locking the door behind them.

The room was small, with odds and ends along the walls. In the middle sat a table covered in papers. The Queen moved a box to block the bottom of the door frame and then lit a few more light globes around the room.

“What is this?” Marietta asked, awe mixed with nervousness.

The Queen walked around the table, stopping across from Marietta, splaying both hands flat on the surface, her weight leaning into them. Her red hair looked like fire in the golden glow. “Marietta, how much do you care about Enomenos?”

“Very much, you know this,” Marietta said, confused.

“I do, which is why I know you’ll keep what I’m about to say between just us.” Queen Valeriya lifted her chin, her eyes shining in the light. “For the past year now, I’ve been talking with the Exisotis.”

Marietta laughed but silenced herself at her serious expression. “No, you haven’t.”

“I worked with them to prevent the slaughter of Wyltam’s army at the hands of Keyain.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “But I was unable to prevent it with the information I had.”

“Slaughter? Keyain didn’t say it was a slaughter.” As much of an ass as he was, he wouldn’t lie about something like that, would he?

“Why would he tell you anything?” she asked. “And what he does tell you, how do you know it’s the truth?”

“I know about this.” Marietta held the Queen’s gaze. “Keyain wouldn’t lie to me about the city I love, the people I love.”

“Ah, yes,” the Queen drawled, rolling her eyes. “The male who took you from your home, forced you to marry, and kept you drugged would never lie to you.”

Her sarcastic tone hit a nerve in Marietta as she clenched her fist. “And why should I believe you, Queen of the city-state that attacked my home?”

“Because I was the one to help you when Keyain kept you drugged.”

Marietta bit back her retort. Queen Valeriya prevented her from being drugged further, told her the truth about Tilan. “Why are you calling it a slaughter?” Her voice was smaller than she had hoped.

“The Satiroan army moved through and killed everyone who didn’t surrender. It was a bloodbath.” The Queen swallowed, her gaze falling to the table. “My sources in the Exisotis said thousands of civilians died.”

Marietta leaned onto the table for support as the room spun. Keyain said they attacked a section of the city, but if it was a slaughtering—oh, gods. Her friends. Her community. It couldn’t be true. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I didn’t have the right information,” she said, her voice strained. “I couldn’t prevent it on my own. And you, Marietta, you are with Keyain every day. Only you can steal information from him.”

Her heart throbbed in her chest. “What kind of information? And how?”

“Reports, even if it’s glimpses of them. If you can steal them, then all the better.”

Marietta laughed mirthlessly. “He doesn’t trust me to leave the suite, let alone be near his work.”

“Then distract him,” Valeriya said, cocking her head.

“He loves you; that much is clear. Use his love against him. Earn his trust and lower his guard.” She paused, a slow smirk coming to her lips.

“If you can play the part of a loving wife, it would not only help with that, but could be a distraction for Keyain.”

“I tolerate him as much as I can already. Why would he need to be distracted?”

“To drive a wedge between him and Wyltam.” The Queen spoke quickly, her hand moving to her chin. “If we can separate them, if we can deteriorate their relationship, then the whole court will suffer. Marietta, we could do damage from the inside while making a difference with the Exisotis.”

Marietta could affect the war. She would have to suffer Keyain’s attention, but she already saw the cracks in his relationship with the King.

All she had to do was pry it open. If she could do that, then she would be close enough to Keyain that he’d let down his guard, meaning she could steal information.

“Okay,” Marietta said, meeting the Queen’s gaze. “For the community I lost, I can fake being in love with him again. But I need your word that it’ll work.” Marietta exhaled slowly. “This will open up a wound that healed years ago. It can’t be for nothing. It has to work.”

The Queen stepped around the table, grasping Marietta’s hands, her eyes earnest. “That is a promise I can keep. Together, you and I can sabotage this war, and at the end, I will turn Satiros into Reyila, where pilinos are equal.”

Emotion clogged Marietta’s throat. To change not just the lives of those she cared about, but of all those she had yet to meet, was more than she could ask. “Then I promise to do my best, Queen Valeriya.”

“When it’s just us, Valeriya will suffice.

” She dropped Marietta’s hand, her lips curling up to one side.

“After all, we will be working together.” Valeriya took a step away, leaning against the table again.

“You’ll have to be a better liar. Keyain can’t learn you’re up to something, and you always have a tell. ”

Marietta winced. “Am I that bad?”

“Yes, you’re pretty obvious. Your expressions always reveal your emotions except for when you lie.”

“How do I fix that?”

“Just act the part. Pretend you’re the sweet, devoted, demure wife of the elvish nobility, the dream wife existing to bear him kids.

” Her tone was sarcastic, and she rolled her eyes.

“Or imagine him as someone you love, as someone you could say or do those things to. Just dive into it, don’t think about anything else.

Make yourself believe that you feel those emotions. ”

“I can try,” Marietta said, looking down at the table, noticing a paper with neat rows of numbers. She grabbed it, recognizing the ledger. “What’s this?”

“The crown’s income and costs from the army. It’s long to parse through. Here.” Valeriya handed another stack to Marietta. “Those are the papers I managed to grab, though they’re a few months old.”

The army cost Satiros a vast sum of gold. Mentally, Marietta tallied up the costs, realizing the number written on the sheet was incorrect. How did the Queen get these documents? Marietta skimmed through the rest. “Do you have something to write with and a paper?”

Valeriya handed her charcoal and a blank sheet. Marietta started making her adjustments on the new page and compared it to the numbers listed on the original documents. After some time, she had adjustments for the month’s tracked expenses.

“Who’s in charge of these?” Marietta looked up at Valeriya, her hands still hovering over the paper.

“Royir. He’s Minister of Coin.”

Marietta thought of the old elf she met in the hallways with Keyain, the one who called her a clip.

“He’s made a ton of errors, claiming that the losses aren’t that severe, but according to my numbers.

.. they’re losing a ton coin. The army is costing them a great deal.

” She pointed at the numbers she wrote off to the side.

Valeriya laughed. “Of course it is. This is the exact number that Satiros is losing?” she asked, pointing to Marietta’s notes.

“It is.”

Valeriya rolled up the papers. “I can work with this.”

“You’ll give my notes to the Exisotis?”

The Queen hesitated. “Yes, I will. I don’t know what they’ll do with it, but this is a weak spot that they can exploit,” she said, placing the papers in her pocket. “We should head back before anyone notices that you’re missing.”

Back in the suite alone, Marietta paced, thinking over the plan she made with the Queen—no, Valeriya. There was danger in trusting her, in agreeing to steal information and hand it to her. After all, how did the Queen of Satiros have a contact in the Exisotis?

Valeriya hated her husband. That much was clear. But did she really wish to tear apart the court she ruled over? To help the pilinos, Marietta guessed she’d have to break apart the court and start fresh. None of the presiding males would ever agree to change.

The part Marietta hated to admit was that tricking Keyain into thinking she fell back in love with him would be beneficial, regardless of the Queen’s intentions. By distracting the two people in charge of the war, the Exisotis and Enomenos could attack while Satiros was weak.

It just meant sacrifice on Marietta’s part.

Not that she had a difficult life in the rich palace, but to kiss Keyain, to act as if she loved him after he murdered Tilan, would rip open old wounds and likely create new ones.

But like she told Valeriya, for the people she loved, she would give everything, even her life.

Marietta hoped it wouldn’t come to that.