Page 42 of Shadow Throne King
The bath maid blinked, turning her head as though shocked I was addressing her. Then, slowly, she bowed her head in a nod.
“Was she a good mistress?” I asked.
The bath maid froze, glancing to the door where Asahi lingered before dipping her chin again.
“That is what everyone reports,” I said. “It is a hard reputation to live up to. I hope I am as kind as she was known to be.”
Something in the bath maid’s expression relaxed, and I continued, trying to see where her weak point was, trying to determine when she would unbend herself enough to say even a single word to me.
“Were you close with her? It seems everyone who served her was. She was so well-liked that it makes it hard for me to imagine how anyone could want to hurt her, much less her beloved child.” I let my eyes slide closed again, listening as the servants in the other room continued to speak quietly as they carried out their duties. The bath maid said nothing, and if she moved, it was as quietly as a Dog.
“Yes, she was so well-loved, so kind, I’ve not heard anyone say anything about her that would make me doubt her loyalty to Emperor Millu or the Imperium.” I kept my words a murmur.
The bath maid sniffed, her breath so sharp that I knew I had hit on something. When I opened my eyes, she had paled, her hands fisted tightly on the towel she held ready for me.
I raised both of my eyebrows, pretending at innocence. “Is that not true?”
The bath maid opened her mouth and let loose an incomprehensible warble. I frowned, sitting up and turning to face her properly. She shut her mouth, face paling, drawing one hand up over her lips.
At her throat, a band of reddened flesh stood out starkly. I had taken it for a birthmark, but with her skin so pale, the wrinkled flesh was obviously a scar. Was that the mark of a collar?
“Is everything all right?” I asked, all pretense gone. Something was clearly wrong; she couldn’t speak even when she wanted to.
“I wouldn’t expect her to answer,” Quuri said from the door.
Turning away from the maid, I let my gaze linger on the steward.
“And why is that?” I asked.
“Her tongue has been removed.” Quuri stepped forward, taking the towel from the bath maid and gesturing her away.
The other woman fled quickly, leaving me with the steward, whose expression was severe. I stood, the water dripping off me to splash back into the bath. When I climbed out of the bath, I gripped one of the stones tightly, feeling the pressure of the rock, the sharp angles. It would not take much to turn it into a blade.
Quuri began drying my skin and leaving a chill in her wake. How long had she been listening to our conversation before interrupting? Why hadn’t Asahi stopped her?
“Why was her tongue removed?” I asked. “I’ve not heard of that punishment before.”
Quuri busied herself with drying my back, so I could not see her face when she said, “It was a better fate than the Dogs who served Emperor Millu suffered. She was a personal servant of Empress Koque.”
“And for that, she had to be permanently maimed?” I asked.
“She should have been with the empress when she died. She should have been able to summon help before the empress took her last breath.” As she dried my chest, Quuri’s nostrils went narrow.
As harsh as her words were, her hands were gentle, and when Quuri finished, she moved to the side of the room, selecting a small glass vial of scented oil and beginning to rub me down. Her hands were professional, using long strokes that massaged the relaxed muscles.
Whoever she had been in a past life, she knew how to do this. What had she risen from to become steward of the Lakeshore Palace?
“You know,” I said quietly as she began to work on my legs, “the king of Krustau has sent Emperor Tallu messages. He said that Empress Koque and Prince Hallu did not die with Emperor Millu. The Shadow King claims he has the prince and that Empress Koque went to Krustau willingly on the night of her husband’s death.”
Quuri’s hands stilled on my ankle, and she slowly drew back before shaking her head once and beginning to work on the opposite leg. Her fingers dug into my calf painfully, and she said, “I saw the empress’s body myself. She was dead. The Shadow King could not have her or the prince.”
I said nothing, letting her finish her task before asking again, “Why was the empress’s personal maid robbed of the ability to speak?”
Quuri put the stopper in the glass bottle, the click of it loud in the quiet between us. “His Imperial Majesty has requested your presence at the evening meal.”
I nodded in agreement. I would get no more out of her. Heading out into the room, I was surprised to see some of my own clothing already set out for me. When I raised my eyebrows at Asahi, I saw the slightest smile in the crinkle of his eyes.
“Nohe knew you would need clothing when you arrived here. Unlike His Imperial Majesty, you don’t fit into your predecessor’s attire.”