Page 90 of A Queen’s Game (Aithyr Uprising #1)

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Marietta, Before

M arietta swore under her breath. Keyain was two hours late to meet for dinner. Again.

Hunger gnawed at her stomach as she paced back and forth in their room at the inn. The asshole. Never courteous of her time, but gods forbid if she were more than a minute late for him. It was always about him and what he needed. The selfish prick.

As her anger grew with her hunger, she left a note saying she’ll be at the Firewater Tavern, picking his least favorite place in Rotamu.

Served him right. If he wanted a say in the matter, then he should have been on time.

With a huff, she left the inn, heading down the main street parallel to the Halia River.

His tardiness was a new development recently.

Though he was messing up, his protectiveness of her rose to a new high.

Even meeting with a client was next to unbearable for him, let alone the meetings that went longer than she anticipated.

Often she would find him pacing outside of whatever business she worked with.

Embarrassed didn’t even begin to cover how she felt about it.

Gods damn prick. Always a pain in her ass.

The winter sun had already sunk below the buildings, painting Rotamu in shades of dull gray as delicate snowflakes drifted to the cobblestone street. Against the chill, she drew her wool cloak tighter around her body, thankful for her thick leather boots.

Marietta took her time walking, savoring the icy burn in her lungs, puffing clouds of air out her nose, though her stomach growled at her speed. Deities damn Keyain for making her that hungry, for turning her mood sour from a late dinner. Marietta sighed as she walked into the tavern.

“Oi, Marietta!” called a short human male from the far side of the room. He wore a red tunic from one of the temples. Marietta could never remember which one.

“Meruk! It has been some time since we ran into one another,” she said, approaching his table. Meruk was an old acquaintance, a cleric to a god. Like herself, he appeared to be familiar with many around Enomenos.

“That it has! Are you alone? Care to join us?” Meruk gestured to an open seat between a human and a half-elven woman.

“I’m supposed to meet my partner but I can sit with you while I wait.” Marietta sat next to a man who also wore red.

Meruk and his companions caught Marietta up on the news of Rotamu.

It was the typical gossip she expected to hear—rumors of a popular singer’s troubled love life.

The local drunk had disappeared for a few days.

A young girl ran away in the middle of the night.

The one shred of news that surprised her was a fire burning down an alchemist’s building in the North River district.

The owner, an elven woman from Syllogi, had died inside.

Marietta placed a hand over her heart. “That’s terrible. Any ideas on what happened?”

Neither Meruk nor his companions answered. Instead, they stared over Marietta’s shoulder.

“Mar, a moment?” Keyain’s strained voice said as he gripped her shoulder.

Marietta closed her eyes with a sigh. His tone was the only warning she needed. “Excuse me,” she said to the table.

Not sparing Keyain a glance, Marietta walked to a quiet corner void of other patrons. With a cross of her arms, she glared at Keyain.

“So much for waiting for me.” The veins in his neck bulged as he ground his jaw, lips tightening to a thin line.

“You were late. Again.”

“I was busy and came as soon as I could.” Keyain gestured toward Meruk’s table. “What are you doing with the cultists?”

“Don’t call them cultists. Meruk is an old acquaintance, and he asked me to join them when he noticed I was alone, since you couldn’t bother to be on time.”

“I don’t owe an explanation,” he said through his teeth. Despite the freckles dotting his cheeks, he was terrifying, almost scary; but Marietta knew he was all bark, no bite.

“I’m tired of this, Keyain. You’re always late, treat the people I talk to like they’re rubbish, and your attitude is piss poor at best. If you’re going to act like this, then go back to the room.”

“Watch your tone with me.” His face was feral as he forced himself to take a deep breath. “Mar, I’m under a lot of stress, okay? I’m sorry. Please, let’s go.”

“Sure, you’re stressed, but you won’t share why. Again. What are you hiding?” Marietta stared him down, refusing to yield.

“We’ve been over this. If I could tell you, I would. Now let’s leave the cultists here and go.” Keyain grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the door.

Marietta ripped free from his grasp. “Enjoy eating alone, Keyain.” She returned to Meruk and his friends with an apology, the tavern door slamming shut behind her.

Keyain would be furious, but at that point, Marietta didn’t care.

The increasing possessiveness and his attitude grew tedious, always getting antsy to let her out of his sight for too long.

Marietta hated it, and hated his new behavior.

To grab her as he did? That sent her over. Keyain deserved to eat alone.

As an added insult to Keyain’s anger, Marietta stayed for an extra ale.

When she returned over an hour later, he had torn apart the room, their possessions scattered everywhere and sheets ripped from the bed.

Strewn across the floor were the contents of her bag, the fabric shredded.

Keyain sat on the bed, his head in his hands.

“What did you do?” she whispered.

Shame coated his ragged expression when he looked up. “I’m sorry, Mar. I want to tell you everything, but I just can’t right now.” Keyain’s gaze faltered, falling to the floor.

Marietta walked over to him, placing a hand on his back. “You can’t keep losing your temper like this.”

“I know. When I see you with them, I just can’t control my anger.”

“What do you mean by ‘them?’”

Keyain stumbled over his words. “Uh, them, the humans—err, the temple. You know what I mean.”

“For someone who insists on traveling Enomenos, you sure have little tolerance for pilinos.” Marietta crossed her arms. “Stop saying derogatory things, or I’m leaving you.”

“Mar, if you knew what I knew—”

“Then tell me!” she yelled, throwing her hands in the air.

“I can’t! Okay? I can’t tell you.” Keyain stood up, grabbing her shoulders. He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against her own, holding her face with both his hands.

“Please, Marietta, move with me to Satiros.”

“What?” She pushed away from him.

“Move with me.” Hope filled his eyes as he repeated himself.

“You said you wouldn’t ask that of me,” she hissed, jerking away. “I will not move to a city-state where I’m considered a lesser citizen. Are you out of your mind? Do you think I’m a lesser person?”

“No, Mar, of course not,” Keyain said, grabbing her hand. “You’re not like them . Please, I love you so much, and the thought of losing you crushes me. I can’t keep this up. It would be so much easier if you moved with me, please. I’m begging you.”

“The only way I’m moving to Satiros is if you drag me there against my will. If you expect a future where we live together in Satiros, then we should talk about not continuing this relationship.” Marietta pulled her hand out of his grasp.

Tears welled in his eyes, and his mouth tugged into a frown. “Mar, please. I can’t let you go. We’ll figure something out.”

“I don’t think we will,” she whispered.

Keyain wrapped his arms around her. “I’m not letting you go,” he murmured into her hair, followed by a kiss.

Tears fell from her eyes. Four years together, and that was what they had to show for it. Keyain was well aware she didn’t want to move to Satiros—that she would never go.

Though she wasn’t sure where their relationship would lead, Marietta was okay with it. Keyain would leave for six months of the year, sending her the occasional letter, and they’d be back on the road together for the other six. It worked for her, but clearly, it wasn’t working for Keyain.

Despite the love she had for him, a part of her knew she should leave him.

His attitude, his actions were unfair to her; yet, he always apologized, always reeled her back in.

The back and forth was nauseating. One minute, Marietta was ready to grab her bags and leave.

The next, she was hugging him as she cried from his apology.

The funny thing about love was that it didn’t need to make sense.

Marietta had little reason to stay with Keyain, but every time she stepped away, he would pull her back by the strings attached to her heart.

However, the longer their relationship continued, the more her love altered.

In the beginning, they spent their nights with friends as they drank and danced and lived their lives.

Now, most nights were spent in their room at an inn.

Marietta was happy to have the alone time with him, but her friends had tried to intervene, saying that she wasn’t acting like herself when he was around.

Part of her thought that was her lifestyle changing, that part of her wanted to settle down.

A deeper part of herself knew she changed for Keyain, for what he wanted.

It was tiring to love someone like Keyain.

The constant push and pull of emotions, the constant fights and rage.

With his new effort to move her to Satiros, she could only feel dread about the idea.

Not only would she have less freedom, but not having months of a break from Keyain’s anger would be too much. He was too much.

Marietta couldn’t predict the future, but she knew one thing that was for sure to happen—she would eventually leave Keyain. The only question was when.