I feel the underlying threat of his words like a papercut slicing over my skin.
Manu comes closer, dark eyes imploring. “Piece of advice, Doll, never let the people come up with their own narrative, because you’ll rarely like what they say. But if you take control of this now, if you give testament, then all the monarchs will be able to put on the show that everyone needs to see. We can move past this, and all this talk of war can be put behind us.”
My moiling thoughts twist in an eddy. I have no idea what to say or what to think.
Luckily, I’m saved a response when a guard comes striding forward. “My lady?” The man stops short when he notices Manu and then looks uncertainly between us.
I paste on a forced smile. “Yes?”
“There’s someone here to see you.”
I hesitate, surprise filling me. “Alright.”
“I’ll leave you to it, Lady Auren,” Manu says as he begins to walk away. “Just...think about what I’ve said.”
The guard and I both watch as he departs, and I let out a strained breath before I turn back. “Is there really someone here to see me?” I ask. “Or did you make that up?”
“I’ve been told there’s someone here requesting to see you.”
My brows draw together. “Who?”
“I’m not sure, my lady. I was only sent to fetch you.” He looks around nervously. “I’m sorry that you were out here alone with the Third Kingdom’s advisor. I will alert the other guards and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” I say, because the last thing I want is for Slade to get angry at his guards. “Lead the way.”
He nods and I follow behind him to return inside the castle, and I wipe my hands over my brown dress, hoping there’s no grass stuck to me anywhere.
To my surprise, he doesn’t lead me anywhere upstairs, but toward the front door of the castle.
“They didn’t allow whoever it is to come inside?” I ask.
“No, my lady. Not without your permission.”
That takes me aback. What must they think? That I have any kind of authority here? It’s strange, even to me.
When we reach the entrance hall, there are three guards waiting by the open door, and at first, I can’t see who’s behind them. Yet when the sound of our footsteps echoes in the large, open space, the guards turn, and my eyes widen at the two figures standing there.
Rissa and Polly.
I stop in my tracks, mouth slightly open in surprise.
“Well, are you just going to stand there?” Rissa asks, delicate blonde brow arched up. “Or are you going to invite us in?”
I wasn’t sure where to bring them, so I settled for the drawing room on the second floor. I haven’t been in here before, but it has plenty of seats and a nice view of the river through the window.
Polly is glaring daggers at me from her spot on the chaise where she sits next to Rissa. Her black dress is covered in mud at the hem, as if she walked through the rivers, straight up to Brackhill’s door. It seems like it’s hanging off of her too, her curves far less noticeable than they were before. Her blonde hair is lackluster and tangled in a braid, but it’s the circles under her bloodshot eyes that are the most shocking. That, and the state of her peeled lips and cuticles. As if she’s been picking at the skin there, shucking them off strip by strip. Polly has always been beautiful, but right now, she’s rundown and almost sickly looking.
“What are you looking at?” she snaps, and I jerk my eyes away from her.
I turn to Rissa, and although she too appears as if she’s lost some weight and looks travel-worn, she doesn’t look worse for wear.
“I didn’t expect to see you,” I tell her.
Rissa looks around the room, eyes lingering on the green striped wallpaper. “Yes, well, when we left Ranhold, I had every intention of taking a cart and getting out of the city, but Polly was in a bad way.”
Polly’s eyes tighten, her head swiveling. “I wasfine.”
Rissa presses her lips together. “You werenotfine.”
