Page 9 of A Traitor Sister (Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom #2)

9

LIDIANE

A zur stands in front of me and looks me up and down. “Why the glamour?”

Isn’t that just great? He can see through glamours! I want to smother him with his hat.

I don’t think I can skirt around his question, so I tell him part of the truth. “Trying to appear unremarkable.” I omit that I’m also trying to look ugly.

He squints and stares at me, then shrugs. “Huh. It isn’t working.”

I nod and hold his stare so that he knows he can’t intimidate me. I also keep the glamour on, since he made no request about it.

And then he stares. Is he trying to pierce my skull with his eyes?

The silence and expectation exasperate me, but I don’t dare break it.

Finally, he crosses his arms. “Are you here to kill, poison, incapacitate, or wound Renel?”

“No.” My voice conveys how absurd I think his question is.

Not that I would mind killing the sham king, but I wouldn’t dare put Marlak’s life at risk. Not only that, trying to kill Renel in this castle would be idiotic suicide, and I’m not that reckless.

He pauses. “Are you here to kill or hurt his female human guest?”

“No.” Again, I think my tone of voice conveys what I think of the question.

“Fair, then. When did you infiltrate the castle?”

A few words cross my mind, like recently , not long ago , but I think he’s looking for a specific reply, and I’d rather not delay my inevitable fate. “Today.”

He strokes his chin and stares at me. “I don’t want to know what you’re doing here. If you want to survive in this castle, you’ll need a role. Who’s supervising you?”

Here comes the enslavement.

I knew it. I’ll be enchanted and become a servant here. My throat feels dry and bitter.

No matter. I’ll have to hope that Marlak, my brother, or perhaps even the rebels will find victory and bring me freedom. Perhaps even Tarlia will be able to do something. I’m not afraid.

His voice then breaks me out of my stupor. “I asked you a question. Who’s supervising you?”

“Nobody.”

He snorts. “You won’t last a day here. If anyone asks, tell them you work for me.”

I swallow what feels like tar and nod.

“I want your word,” he says.

“If anyone asks, I’ll tell them I work for you.”

“Good, and you won’t tell anyone your true intentions here.”

Hmmm... What? I don’t know what game he’s playing, and I certainly don’t want to guess it. It’s not like I was eager to talk about my plans with the guards here, so I agree. “I won’t tell anyone about my true intentions.”

He smiles. “See? Much better, isn’t it?”

I’m so completely creeped out I think I’m about to faint. “Better than what?”

Oh, no. Blurting a stupid question is definitely worse than fainting.

“You tell me.” He raises an eyebrow. “Or rather, don’t tell me. No, tell me something. Were you leaving the castle, or do you plan on staying?”

This is the tricky question, of course.

“Staying,” I mumble through gritted teeth, hating that he’s not even giving me any opening to dodge his questions.

“And you want to pretend to work here.”

When he puts it like that, it sounds stupid. I shrug. “Yes.”

“Doing what?”

“I don’t know. Anything.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Nothing.”

His laugh is relaxed. “Don’t we all?” He gets serious again. “You need a task. What would you like to do?”

I wriggle my hands. This could backfire tremendously, but it’s worth a try. “I’ve always loved to make clothes, to help women be beautiful. If I could accompany a female fae… Or a guest…”

He crosses his arms again and strokes his chin. “A guest? You mean the human visitor?”

“She’s… female, right?”

His eyes narrow. “Promise not to threaten her life.”

“Of course I won’t threaten her!”

“Go, then. You can be her lady-in-waiting.”

I don’t know if I smile or cringe. What is he planning? Perhaps it’s better to ask than to dread for every foreseeable second.

“Are you going to punish me?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Would you like me to?” His voice is soft, measured, careful. Seductive?

I think I’m about to puke. “No!”

“You make that face, but I’m sure you know there’s a taste for everything in this world. Now go! Before I ask you more than I should.”

“Go… be the human visitor’s lady-in-waiting?”

He taps his earlobe, where a small earring glints. “Got a problem in your ear?”

“No.” I turn to walk to the door, but I feel as if there are worms in my stomach. I turn back to him. “Is this a trap?”

“Trap for what?”

“You realized I’m not really a servant, and I’m here pretending to be one. You didn’t even ask for an explanation.”

He closes his eyes and takes a long, deep breath. “I mean no harm either. If anything, I’m saving you from harm.”

“You didn’t even ask my name.”

“Perhaps I don’t want to know. See, I’m a very busy fae, sworn as a guardian to the acting king. My survival is tied to his life, my will tied to his wishes. This is who I am: Renel’s weapon. You’re right to be afraid. But even the mightiest sword sometimes rests. I’m not his weapon right now, and you should embrace your luck. I don’t want to hear your reasons or your explanations.”

I bow and retreat to the door without turning, facing him in disbelief. When I feel the door behind me, I open it and leave. All the muscles in my body tell me to bolt and run. Instead, I take a deep breath. I’m on my way to Tarlia’s room. This is good, right? We’ll plan and plot together. I’ll support her, help her find Renel’s secrets, and defeat him.

But at what cost? Why is Azur letting it happen? What’s his goal? I don’t know, and this not knowing is a cold void sucking up my joy.

And then again, I survived. I can keep fighting.

TARLIA

I tell my heart to quiet down, as if it were a scared bird I had to soothe, when Otavio walks in.

“Sit.” He points to the chair.

I do as he says, realizing I’m more nervous than I expected. This is going to be the hardest part.

Otavio wipes a wet cloth on my face. The touch surprises me. Maybe it’s an impression, but I could swear it’s softer, more careful. Maybe it is an impression.

He’s removing the paste from my face, and I’m waiting for him to notice that something’s wrong.

I don’t hope to fool him completely. That would be impossible. He knows the texture of my skin, the thickness of my hair, even the shape of my face and body. Still, I’m counting on his skewed perception, and using his teachings against him.

People only perceive what they deem to belong in the realm of possibility. They’ll adjust their perception and ignore any divergence, rather than challenge their beliefs. Otavio thinks I’m Astra, and has no reason to believe that his adored pupil would have run away. He has no reason to think I’ve taken her place. From this vantage point, he’ll overlook some details, since they don’t fit his expectations. The issue is that there’s a limit to how much he’ll be willing to ignore, and I’m not quite sure where that limit is.

He rubs a finger on my cheek and frowns. “Your skin is so dry!”

I almost want to roll my eyes. White flower extract tends to remove oil from the skin, and the mask had a lot of it. But then, Astra’s skin is oilier than mine, so here’s the first test.

“I think…” I try to sound like Astra: sweet, apologetic, obedient. “The soap I used while in captivity…”

Otavio shakes his head. “Had some curse. That’s the only explanation.” He huffs and takes something from his cosmetics bag. “We’ll have to start over.”

He’s angry at himself, not at me, probably puzzled that he gave me the wrong facial treatment. I want to snigger but hold a placid expression instead.

As he’s preparing some kind of cream, someone knocks on the door.

Otavio shakes his head. “I was told we would be undisturbed. Fae’s vague promises are nothing but worthless.”

Undisturbed. A wave of nausea comes to me. Why does he want to be alone with Astra?

When he opens the door, Lidiane walks in. All at once, my entire body uncoils and releases my worry about her.

She hesitates, then says. “I’m the human girl’s lady-in-waiting, sir.”

I wonder how she got rid of Azur, and if she did.

Otavio narrows his eyes and stares at her up and down. “Then you can wait outside.”

“Of course. I’ll be in the hallway.” She bows and leaves.

Otavio shuts the door.

“You know, I wouldn’t mind some company.” I try to sound sweet instead of assertive.

“She’s probably here to spy on us, and we already had more than enough interruptions.”

“Weren’t you going to treat my skin? She can see it.”

He clicks his tongue. “And then tell Renel, and he’ll suspect I’m changing the way you look. That won’t do. He’ll want someone naturally beautiful.”

“I’m naturally hideous, of course.” Ugh. Too snappy.

He steps behind me and puts a hand under my chin, so that he looks at my reflection in the mirror. “You will be the queen of all the fae kingdoms.”

So he has some grandiose, devious plans. Of course. Nobody spends nineteen years on something insignificant. I pretend to be puzzled. “Wasn’t it just the Crystal Court?”

There’s something sinister in his laugh. “One step at a time. Look too far ahead and you’ll trip.”

What’s his plan? He won’t tell me, of course, even if he hasn’t realized I’m not Astra. But there’s a part of it I need to know.

“What about Tarlia and Sayanne?”

He laughs again. “You need to forget them. They’re inconsequential. Nothing. They were just pebbles so that I could hide the diamond.”

Pebbles. Nothing. That’s what my life is worth to him. That’s why he killed my family: for nothing. Every nerve in my body tenses and heat rises to my head. I could strangle him right now.

I control myself and say something Astra would say, “The Almighty Mother says every life matters.”

His fingers squeeze my shoulder. “Will you stop reciting that dreadful religion? It’s all lies. All fake. While it was cute to pretend to be pious in the Krastel castle, idiotic beliefs will only drag you down.”

I agree with him, but Astra would be hurt. This is my excuse to stop holding back my tears. So much anger in each drop.

I’m not a pebble. Oh, no. I’m a boulder. A boulder who’ll stand in his way.

The only reason I don’t kill Otavio right now is because it would be too easy. I want to see him suffer, see him watch his precious plan fall apart, see him despised and rejected by the girl he molded from infancy to serve his whims. That will be more satisfying. It’s the reason I wake up, the reason I breathe. I’ll watch Otavio being humiliated.

“Great. Just great.” His voice prickles my skin. “Now your eyes will be red and swollen.”

“Maybe Renel will console me.”

“You don’t want pity. You want adoration. Devotion.”

“And your creams will help me with that?” I deserve a prize for managing to ask that without a trace of sarcasm.

He smirks. “That, and all your training.”

His strong concoctions must have damaged his brain.

W hen Otavio finally leaves, I take a deep breath. I can’t believe he didn’t realize I wasn’t Astra. He probably noticed some odd little things here and there, but they were not odd enough to make him question his assumptions.

I can’t say I’m relieved. There’s that old anguish creeping up on me, marring my thoughts, clouding my sight. That old anguish, my longest companion. In Krastel, in nights like this, my solace was Fachin, and before him, another guard, and another. Not hard to invite one of them to my bed, and then fuck away all my anger, my fear, my worry. But I’m not in Krastel.

I’m also worried about Lidiane, and instead of letting that worry eat me alive, I open the door. There is a guard there, sitting on a stool. Cute, with dark brown hair and pointy fae ears. I wonder what it would be like to bite those ears.

I smile at him. “Are you here to make sure I don’t escape, or to protect me?”

He doesn’t even get up, but returns the smile. “I can escort you if you want to go somewhere. And I can’t let anyone in.”

Except that he let me and Lidiane in, but that was likely the power of my cape. Old Tarlia would most definitely find a way to bring him to her bed. I wish I could. That would make me forget Ziven, at least for a few minutes. But I’m impersonating Astra, who wouldn’t do that, and I’ll have to at least pretend to try to seduce the fae king, and I’m not sure if screwing one of his guards is advisable. And yet I wish I could push my anguish away.

“If I have a request, can you help me?”

“It depends.”

“A lady-in-waiting was assigned to me, and I’m wondering where she is.”

He gets up, looks at both sides of the hall, then back at me. “When someone passes by, I’ll ask them about her.”

I’m not sure if that’s enough. “Can we look for her?”

“I’m here.” Lidiane walks in brisk steps toward me, carrying a bundle under one of her arms. When she approaches us, she addresses the guard. “I was told to remain in the room with her. Azur’s orders.”

The guard shrugs and sits down again. “Sure.”

I decide to ask the guard an important question. “Can you hear us from here?”

“No. Rest assured, you have your privacy.”

“Can anyone else hear us?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Not that I know of.” His eyes then travel to me and Lidiane, and he smirks. “Have fun.”

“You too.”

Lidiane and I walk in and shut the door behind us.

“How did it go?” I ask.

She throws the bundle on the bed, and I realize they’re some blankets and a pillow. “Very strangely.”

“How?”

“Azur assigned me to be your lady-in-waiting.”

“He did?”

“Yes.” She presses her lips together.

“Why?”

“I don’t know, and I hate not knowing. He questioned me, and found out I got here only today, so he knows I’m not a castle worker. I’m glad nothing happened, but at the same time…” She raises her shoulders and shivers. Then she points at the beddings. “I was given this, so I can sleep in the room with you. That will make it easier for me to keep your glamour. So it’s good.” Her tone contradicts her last words.

I try to think. “Maybe… Do you owe him a debt?”

“No.”

Only one explanation comes to my mind. “Then he must want what all men want.”

She huffs. “Oh, I bet he has more than enough of that.”

“There are things you can’t get enough of.”

“He’s one of the most beautiful fae in the kingdom. And one of the most powerful. Most women would be delighted to visit his bed.”

“But not you.”

Lidiane rolls her eyes. “He’s a disgusting high fae, working for Renel, making sure we are exploited. I would go to his bed if it meant a chance to kill him. And either way, he didn’t seem interested in that, thankfully.” Her tone then changes. “To be very honest, I was afraid he’d coerce me.” Her chest moves down as she exhales.

That’s one thing in common between human and fae women; that fear in the back of our minds of what can happen when alone with a man. I feared for her too, but I want her to forget what must have been some stressful moments.

For some reason, I sense my body trembling from head to toe. Not my body—the floor.

A low-pitched rumble comes from the walls, and everything trembles, and then shakes. I hold on to the pillar of the bed. Lidiane does the same, her eyes wide. It’s when I notice that all the furniture is bolted to the floor. Still, the room is trembling so much I fear the ceiling will collapse on us.

Curiosity gets the best of me and I decide to go to the window and see what’s happening outside. A sudden jerk drops me to the floor, but I get up and make it. There’s nothing. Just darkness outside, and it’s not the darkness of a moonless, cloudy night or a windowless room. It’s something else. Eerie, strange, fascinating—terrifying.

And then slowly, stars appear in the sky. Endless sky, with no mountains blocking the way. The trembling and rumble stop, replaced by a soft, continuous whooshing.

Lidiane joins me at the window. “We’re near the sea, I think.” There’s some apprehension in her tone.

“The castle moved.” I don’t know why I need to voice the obvious, and still, only when I voice the words I accept that this really happened, that I just experienced one of the most spellbinding magical phenomena in our lands.

It moved. I experienced the castle moving. And we’re close to the ocean.

I’m overcome with happy laughter.

For a moment, all that matters is that I’m here, experiencing something magnificent, seeing the world outside Krastel, experiencing fae magic.

Wondrous, amazing fae magic, in these lush fae lands.

ASTRA

T he soup in front of me is hot, well seasoned, and delicious, but everything inside me is cold, numb.

After I got to Nelsin’s house, I told him and Ferer what I saw in Renel’s mind, without going into details on how I saw it. I was expecting that they would know immediately what my vision meant.

Perhaps it was silly hope, but I swear, when I saw those images, it was as if a lock clicked open, as if the vision had been a key, even if it didn’t make sense to me at the time.

And yet, they didn’t know what the symbol meant. The vision also had a lake, and they had some suggestions of where it could be located, but nothing precise.

Now I’m anxious, wondering how we’ll find Marlak, considering even returning to the Crystal Castle to try to pry more information from his vicious brother. But if it’s useless information, what’s the point?

And then, to make matters worse, I felt as if Marlak was in some horrific pain, horrific torment, a grisly feeling crawling under my skin. And here I am, eating, as if this was a normal evening.

Ziven just came downstairs and is also eating, in an unusually deep, thoughtful silence.

I was horrified to learn what happened to him and Tarlia.

Attacked.

Almost killed.

All for coming here to see me. And now they can’t even return to their lives. Was there any life for Tarlia in Krastel?

At least I’m glad Ferer and Nelsin helped them, and I’m incredibly thankful that they took in Ziven.

Still, my stomach knots and knots with too much worry, too much annoyance at my incompetence.

Ferer stares at me, always so perceptive. “It will be fine. Finish eating for now, then we’ll go over your vision and try to decipher it.”

I nod. Even breathing is hard.

Nelsin is by the stove and turns to us. “I can bring some books and we’ll figure out that symbol.”

Ziven is staring at his soup as if it was a deep pool with fascinating fish in the bottom, then turns to me. “Are you sure that what you saw was where your husband is?”

My shoulders sag. Of course I’m not sure of anything. “I was thinking about Marlak and his location when I touched Renel, looking for that answer. I could be wrong, of course. But the vision was so specific.”

Nelsin steps behind me and places a calming hand on my shoulder. “Eat, Astra. We’ll find him. And we have other ways to locate Marlak.”

We will . In the future.

I was expecting that we would be rushing to save my husband right now. Of course it was a stupid idea. Even if we discovered his location, it’s likely a highly protected prison, so we’d need to plan carefully. Still, if we knew it, we would have a direction, a starting point.

“For how long do Tarlia and Lidiane plan to remain in the castle?” Ferer’s voice is deceptively casual.

A nervous laugh almost escapes me, but I rein it in. There’s no point hiding, and I tell him the truth. “Until they defeat Renel.”

Ferer covers his face with his hands.

Ziven snorts and rolls his eyes. “How not surprising.”

There’s anger in his tone? Odd. I feel that I need to explain Tarlia and Lidiane’s motivation, even though it should be obvious. “They want to learn something to help us defeat Renel, and they are in the perfect position to do that. But I can return to the castle and do that myself—once we rescue Marlak.”

Ferer shakes his head. “Don’t say nonsense.”

“But it’s smart,” I protest. “Take him down from the inside. It’s a wonderful opportunity. Why squander it?”

Nelsin, who was standing, sits. “They’re both capable and should be fine.”

At least one person is trying to be helpful.

I recall something they told me, and say, “They claimed their sense of self preservation was intact, meaning that they won’t risk their lives.”

Ferer looks up at me. “I guess we’ll have to trust them.”

Why are they making me feel guilty? Sure, I could have insisted that they leave the castle, but I know Tarlia, and I understand her stakes. With nowhere to go, she likely felt the need to do something useful.

Be useful or be expendable.

Why do I hear it in Otavio’s voice?

And Lidiane likely wants to fight for her people, and I respect that too. Frankly, I would do the same. In fact, if needed, I won’t hesitate to return to the Crystal Castle to try to topple Renel.

But understanding doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty. “It wasn’t my idea, but I’m sorry… for being out here while they’re there. I just wanted to find Marlak.”

Ferer traces a finger over the wooden table. “Threads of destiny will be woven, and resisting them will only trap us.” He raises his eyes and faces me. “Lidiane’s an adult, and asked me to respect her choices, so I guess that’s what I’ll do.”

He doesn’t sound the least happy about it, which makes sense.

Silence falls over the table like a thick, prickly blanket, broken only by my spoon tapping the side of the bowl.

For so long, I’d been dreaming of hot soup.

I don’t want hot soup. I want my husband.

As I’m swallowing the hot broth, someone knocks on the door. I sit still, and so do Ziven and Nelsin.

Ferer, for his turn, exhales in clear relief and rushes to the door. I’m not sure if I should hide or remain where I am. When the door opens, I can’t believe my eyes.

Dark blue shirt like this morning, but wet. Messy, curly black hair, and rings. That’s Marlak.

Marlak.

My heart is about to explode with surprise and joy and relief. And then there’s all that anger still stirring in my chest, asking for a turn in my wheel of emotions.

“They took her,” he says, his voice shaky, desperate. He sounds out of breath, as if he had run here.

Ferer steps back and points at the table—and at me.

In one moment I’m standing, looking at him, in the next I feel his arms around me, his lips on mine. I’m not sure how he breached the space between us so fast, I’m not sure how he got here, all I know is that this is the kiss we never had before, swallowing all the anguish of the last few hours, burying the pain of his absence.

Our lips meet like it’s the first and last time, like it’s an eternity—and I want to melt in his embrace.

But I also want to yell at him.

I push him away, but he doesn’t budge, since his arms are still around me. At least our lips are not joined anymore.

His dark eyes are focused on me with so much love, so much emotion, and yet I hope he sees all the rage in mine.

“I’m furious. Furious, Marlak.”