She hummed, wrapping yarn from her hand to her elbow. “You know you’ve been followed every time you’ve gone into town this week, yes?”
“Yes.” I rolled my eyes. “By at least two of your men, and one of your women.” I winked at her. Quite a few women who worked for her also shared not-so-quiet times with Valerie, though as far as I knew, there was no special woman in her life. “And I caught a couple of the Guild trainees two days ago sniffing around.”
I’d also made sure they ended up walking down alleys in very sketchy areas of town, where I knew Valerie’s men could handle any confrontations. I wasn’t sure why the Guild was following me. They’d been the ones to flunk me out. I’d just left, like the students who had failed in the years leading up to that.
For a moment, a thought occurred to me, and a knot began to form in my gut. “Valerie, have you ever employed any ex-trainees from the Guild? Those like me, who failed their tests?”
Valerie’s gaze was pitying. “Roya, you can’t really think the Guild lets anyone go. With all that training, all that knowledge about poisons, and the inner workings of their organization?” She walked over and pulled me away from the kettle of yarn, moving it slightly farther from the fire, and taking my chin in her hand. “You did think that, didn’t you? That those who left were still alive out in the world.”
I nodded, my face heating with more than the fire. “I’m an idiot.”
“You’re just young.” She hugged me, rocking me slightly from behind like a mother might. Her arms were as strong as mine from her weapons practice.
“I was never young.” I let myself relax in her embrace. “I watched all the older Omegas besides you get taken away and never return. I heard the stories, heard their screams in my nightmares. From the time I was small, I knew how cruel the world was. I just hoped Thorn—” I clamped my lips together, but it was too late. “I’m going to pay him back for cheating me, if it’s the last thing I do.” And it would be, I knew. He would probably kill me before I could get within twenty feet.
Valerie sighed heavily. “He’s loved you for years, Roya.”
Ugh, yes. Like a father, or an older brother. Until he turned on me.
“He betrayed me,” I hissed, pulling away. “He’s the reason they’re out there trying to kill me, waiting for the right moment.” My blood iced. What if they didn’t wait? They might decide to attack Valerie’s home. “I have to leave. I can’t endanger you and your lovers. I’ll go—”
Her glare stopped my panic. “You’ll do no such thing. With Vali tucked into her castle in Rimholt, I am the only queen this city has left. And I earned my title with a knife in my hand and a garrote in my hairdo. I’ll thank you very much not to insult me so, child.”
Her sniff of pique made the rage I felt unravel. “Fine, Mother,” I teased. Her face twitched the tiniest bit, and I hoped I hadn’t hurt her. She had never had any children. Maybe she regretted that, even if she loved women, instead of men. She would have made an incredible mother; she’d done wonders with me.
The corners of her mouth lifted, but this time her smile was forced. “I want you to think, Roya. Why would Thorn, who protected you for so long, who guided and taught you… Why would he suddenly betray you? What could possibly have brought that about?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be so angry!” I half-shouted. The only secret I had that would turn any Verdanian against me was… “Maybe he figured out who my real father was. Did you tell him? That Milian was—” She sucked in a shocked breath, and I whispered an apology before she could speak. “I’m sorry, Val, I know you didn’t. You would never.”
All my Omega sisters had promised never to speak that secret out loud. The others had all been biological daughters of royal officers, though Milian called us all his own children. But I was special in a way that would’ve had me murdered a thousand times over if anyone knew. I was Milian’s own—and only—child.
Valerie rubbed at her temple like she had a headache. “You know better than to question my loyalty, or my discretion,” she chided, pointing one perfectly manicured fingernail at the door. “Go for a walk, remind yourself how to be civil.”
“I need to change.” I smelled like piss.
“That defeats the point of today’s chores. Your scent has been attracting strange Alphas all week. That’s who was following you. My men have taken at least ten out of the city, and made sure they knew it would mean their lives if they returned.” She narrowed her eyes. “Eight did return.” She never bluffed; those men were now dead.
I felt my jaw fall open. “Why?”
“Your herbs ran out days ago, yes?”
I nodded. “You said Angel might be able to get some more.” Angel was one of Valerie’s underworld connections. Though I had never met her, I knew Valerie respected her, maybe even feared her. She had access to a ridiculously varied supply of poisons, and helped run a black-market apothecary near the docks. Valerie had also sworn that Angel was the finest seamstress in Verdan. She’d taken my measurements with string and sent them to Angel’s shop, promising to commission me a dress for my birthday. That is, if she didn’t murder me first.
She was practically raving now. “Even if it was safe for you to keep taking them, Angel can’t be found! My maids have been changing your sheets and laundering your clothes as often as they can, but it’s not working. Not enough. You smell like wedding flowers and the cake besides. Goddess, Roya, my lovers have been keeping me up all night every night, driven to new sexual heights because of it. I shouldn’t complain, but I need a nap, so go for a damned walk!”
I froze, and she did as well, and then we both let out a horrified snort—the same sound, like we were sisters. Which we were, in a way.
“I can try to find more herbs,” I said, my voice as small as I could make it. “I don’t mean to—”
“Ah, my love,” she murmured, grabbing me in for another hug. I felt so safe in her arms. “You can’t help it. Who knew out of all of us broken Omegas, that asshole would finally make one who was whole? I just wish the world were a safer place for you.” She ruffled my hair. “Pay better attention, baby spy. They’re all out to get you.”
ROYA
Ikept my stinking clothes on and went for the ordered walk. After only a few streets, I realized she was right. Not only did I identify my three guards, all trying to stay unnoticed—but I also saw Luka and Karl, two of my least favorite trainees from the Guild.
When the attack came, I was selecting some apples and potatoes for dinner—not that I cooked at Valerie’s, but I was sure her chef could use them, and it gave me a reason to pause and peek through my curtain of hair at my followers. There were no royal police present on the streets at this hour; they came out in force at dusk. Valerie’s guards were watching, but not closely.
The sky was going dim as clouds moved overhead, promising rain, and the streets were a dull gray and brown, matching the wooden shops and pubs that formed the market square. Pale blue and yellow tents sheltered most of the stalls, but I stood under an awning attached to a storefront, lined with tables stacked high with fresh produce. A wagon filled with empty burlap sacks sat to my right, its driver dozing in the afternoon warmth.
