“Again, what is your point?”
I stepped through the door to my room and turned to face him. “I’m just trying to understand the order of things.”
He leaned forward, menace twisting his features. “Be careful, girl. You are not equipped for palace intrigue. I would hate to see something happen to you should you try your hand at it.”
I lifted my chin defiantly. “I am not interested in palace intrigue. I am interested in the throne that belongs to me.”
His lips spread in an arrogant smile. “They are the same thing.”
I shut the door without another word and pressed my back against it. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath and my head spun with all that had happened tonight. Crenshaw was right.
I was not equipped for this.
25
It had been two weeks.
My uncle had not invited me to another dinner. I had not seen nor heard from anyone except Matilda since the first night we arrived.
The days crawled by so slowly, I thought I would die from a combination of nerves and boredom. At least at the temple I’d had daily chores and lessons and people to watch.
I had only Shiksa in this room. She had developed into a sleek little lady by now. Her coat gleamed as white as ever, but she was becoming more ferocious and harder to keep secret.
Matilda assured me that Oliver had posed as a Soravalian servant and everyone in Elysia was leaving him well enough alone. I found it ironic that my monk from Heprin could roam the palace freely while I was confined to this room as a prisoner. At least I didn’t have to worry about him.
Taelon had the crown, but he had not stopped by even once to pay me a visit or update me on my situation. All my information came through Matilda, who heard it second hand from the Elysian staff, who heard it by eavesdropping. There was no way to be certain whether what finally passed to me was true.
Three mornings ago, Matilda had come barging in the room declaring that the trial was to be delayed several months because the king of Barstus had an unfortunate case of the pig mumps. All day I sat fretting over how I would survive months confined to this room.
But by evening she had returned to say that no, the Barstus king did not have pig mumps, it was only wished that he had pig mumps by a chambermaid that he had tupped during his last visit.
My blush had stretched from my cheeks to my toes.
When I couldn’t stand it for a second longer, I’d asked about Taelon. Matilda had told me that he still wasn’t in residence. And that he hadn’t been for our entire stay. His staff and royal guard had remained, but Taelon had urgent business that required him straightaway.
Shiksa was curled up on my lap, snoring lazily, when Matilda charged into the room, her hands waving wildly. “They’re here!” she squealed. “They’ve come!”
I jumped to my feet, ready to retrieve the sword I kept handy. “Who? Who’s here?”
She ran over to me and with two hands pushed my shoulders until I sat again. I tried to stand up. She applied a surprisingly heavy amount of pressure.
“Sit!” she ordered. “They’re here! And what if they want to see you now? And you look likethis? I cannot have you looking likethisif you’re going to leave this room!”
“What do I look like?”
I looked down at the nightgown I hadn’t bothered to take off. I’d promised myself a bath at some point today, I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. But I’d brushed my hair this morning.
Or was that yesterday morning?
“Ouch!” I tried to squirm from Matilda’s grasp, but she held on tightly by tangling the brush in my impossible hair.
“Your hair looks like your fox’s nest. Now sit down so I can make you presentable for the kings and queens.”
“They’re here?” I gasped.
She harrumphed. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!”
I tried to sit still, but I was too agitated. “Have you seen them?” I asked breathlessly. My heart took off in a gallop as I realized that the moment I had been equally dreading and anticipating was here. I could finally face the council and explain everything. And they could finally decide my fate.
