Page 24

Clarissa

I was woken the next morning by the bright morning sun. Katrine and Devora threw the thick curtains aside to let in the blinding light.

“It’s time to get ready for your first day, Your Majesty,” Katrine said in her lively voice.

My mother peeked her head around the corner of the large two-bedroom suite the Silenuses had given us. “I thought I heard you awake in there,” she said, sipping from a steaming mug. “You slept in late, dear.”

I rubbed my eyes and only managed a grunt of acknowledgment before tossing the covers off my legs.

I carefully stretched out my injured arm, working out the stiffness and wincing slightly at the jab of pain.

Sleep hadn’t found me easily last night.

I kept dozing off, only to be jolted awake by the faint memory of the driver lunging with his dagger.

Devora led me to the vanity by my bed and had me sit while she dabbed a cream beneath my eyes. “Trouble sleeping, my lady?”

I gave a tired smile. “Is it that obvious?”

“Do you want my honest answer?” she asked, her blue-green eyes sparkling behind her thick glasses with a sort of mischief that made me think of my friend Rose.

“That depends.”

She tapped a spot above my cheek. “These circles under your eyes could rival a full moon.”

I barked out a laugh. She definitely reminded me of Rose. “Alright, maybe we tone down the honesty just a bit.”

“Noted.” She gave me a quick wink before rustling in her bag for more cosmetics.

I stifled a yawn. “So, how long have you been working in His Majesty’s palace?”

“About two years.” She applied a light pink color to my lips. “He hired me from another family. Before that, I was lucky to find work in a tavern or inn in the North Territory.”

“What about your family? What do they do?”

Her hands stiffened, then went back to searching the bag. “I don’t know, Your Majesty. I’ve never met them.”

I opened and closed my mouth quickly. My eyes found my mother, who was chatting with Katrine across our shared suite as the maid helped button her dress.

I couldn’t imagine not knowing my parents.

Even though my father died when I was twelve, I still remembered what it was like to grow up with both of them at my side.

To feel their unconditional love, their firm hand, their pride and wisdom.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I murmured.

“Don’t be, my lady. I didn’t tell you to earn your pity,” she said with a shrug, although her eyes stayed averted from mine. “I’ve made a life for myself on my own terms.”

My lips twitched up. She was rather growing on me. “How did you end up at the palace?”

She paused before finally saying, “How much did you want me to tone down the honesty, Your Majesty?”

I searched her features, surprised by her cryptic answer. “Whatever you feel comfortable with.”

Licking her lips, she said, “Before he became king, His Majesty would often spend his evenings at taverns in the villages. I had the occasional evening off work, and I…caught his attention one night. He brought me back to the palace and requested I be hired on as a maid. He paid far better than my previous employer, so it wasn’t a difficult decision.

He’s been known to do that with those he wishes to… keep.”

Her bright eyes stayed on mine, and I could read between the lines.

I had no misconceptions about what this marriage was going to look like.

No ideas of a faithful husband and dutiful wife…

not while we were an entire ocean apart.

It would be in name only—a way to keep peace between our kingdoms. He was free to do whatever he wished, as much as the idea of collecting people like one collects seashells made my lip curl.

She finished with my makeup, and I rose from the seat. “Thank you, Devora.” I squeezed her shoulder gently.

She rolled her lips, hesitancy crossing over her features. “I don’t keep his attention anymore, Your Majesty. I just thought you should know that.”

I gave her a close-lipped smile and nodded. Before I could respond, Katrine let out a groan from the room next to us. Devora and I rounded the corner to find the maid with her sleeve stuck to the back of my mother’s dress.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I think I’ve gotten myself stuck,” Katrine said to Mother.

I chuckled. “It’s alright; we just need to unhook?—”

“I’ve got it,” Devora said, striding past me. In a flash, she lifted her skirt, pulled a small blade from a sheath at her thigh, and cut through the strand of fabric tethering Katrine to the dress.

I blinked in surprise.

Devora shrugged. “Always be prepared. Now, let’s get you both to breakfast.”

We ate a quick breakfast of oatmeal and berries while Vespera ran us through our day.

The Silenuses were going to accompany Galen and me through a couple of the nearby farms while we met the citizens and learned about their work.

Thorne and my mother chose to come, but Azura stayed back.

I couldn’t say I was disappointed. After my conversation with the older woman yesterday evening and her stiff, cold smiles, something about her set me on edge.

As Mother and I made our way to the carriages, Galen appeared with a grim look on his face.

“Clarissa, I won’t be joining you,” he said. “Dion and I need to discuss the attack yesterday. There are a couple of leads he wants to follow, and I want to make sure we have safety measures in place for you going forward.”

“Then should I stay back too? If you don’t think it’ll be safe?”

“No, no, you go ahead. This tour was for you. I’ve doubled the number of guards with you, and Thorne will be there to keep an eye out.” Without waiting for me to respond, he tipped his head to someone behind me.

I twisted my neck to find Thorne’s gaze on me. I quickly turned back to Galen and forced my features to stay impassive.

“Fine. I’ll see you this evening, then,” I responded smoothly. He lifted two fingers in a brief wave before following Dion back into the manor. Vespera replaced him seconds later, looping her arm through mine and steering me toward the carriage.

“It’s for the best,” she leaned in and whispered. “The men make it so unbearably dull.”

“I heard that,” Thorne said.

The driver stepped down from the box. I instinctively narrowed my eyes at him, trying to see if I could spot any concealed weapons. Perhaps a sharp chip on his shoulder. Or the words “assassin” written on his forehead.

He held out his hand to assist my mother and Vespera into the carriage, and Thorne stopped at my side. “Don’t worry, Empress. He’s been investigated. He’s clear. ”

“Oh—thank you,” I said, surprised he’d noticed my fixation. “Good to know.”

We all settled into the small space. The wheels of the carriage rolled over gravel, jostling us as we crossed onto the main road.

Thorne’s knee grazed mine when he adjusted his position, his leg brushing against the thin fabric of my pants.

Warmth seeped through the material. My eyes briefly locked onto his, and I shifted my leg out of the way.

Vespera spent the short ride asking questions about the provinces in the Veridian Empire, and Mother and I took turns answering.

We talked about the forests of Feywood, the cliffs of Drakorum, the haunted Shadowmere Wastelands of Tenebra.

She was especially interested in the magic.

It seemed Mysthelm didn’t have a very thorough knowledge of how the magic the Fates had given our empire worked, and she was wide-eyed throughout our entire description of the six types.

“What about you, Rissa?” she asked me. I’d finally gotten her to stop referring to me by my title. “What magic do you have?”

“My mother and I are both Shifters.”

She exhaled, a look of awe on her dark features. “What kind of animal? No—wait, let me guess. Something graceful. And regal. A deer, maybe?”

“She’s some sort of predator,” Thorne said. It was the first time he’d spoken. His eyes scanned me. “Something proud but quiet. An animal you wouldn’t see coming.”

My smile faltered. He was…alarmingly perceptive. “What makes you say that, Lord Reaux?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Just a hunch.”

“Like a hawk? Or a large cat of some kind?” Vespera offered.

Thorne leaned back against the thin cushion. I fought the urge to wiggle in my seat under his scrutiny. I simply held his gaze, wishing for the thousandth time that I could still feel my fox half. The missing magic weighed on me every minute of the day.

“Close.” I broke our staring contest and looked back at Vespera. “My Shifter half is a fox. And my mother’s is a wolf. ”

Intrigue flared in Thorne’s eyes. Vespera sighed and said, “It must be wonderful, having all of that power. Seeing magic everywhere you go. Like something out of a fairytale.”

I swallowed and stared out the window to my left, taking in the rolling green hills. “Magic has its troubles too.”

The carriage came to a stop in front of a charming little market.

A dozen or so tables were set up, with canvas coverings lifted high above each to block the sunlight.

I stepped out of the carriage and saw that each table was occupied by men, women, and some children, all selling or trading different wares.

Many had booths full of colorful produce.

Red tomatoes, enormous carrots and other root vegetables, buckets of bright fruit.

Others sold knives and tools. Behind them stretched a massive piece of land that went as far as I could see, with countless straw-hatted workers roaming among the rows of crops.