The golden vines may be tempting to look at, but I’ve learned that everything in this castle is insidious. Every tangled trail and curling bloom is nothing but a baited trap.
Lady Helayna digs into her pocket and pulls out a handkerchief, wiping at her watery eyes as we head for the door. “Yes, I miss my Ike. He was a good man.”
He was a cheater like all the rest, though I keep that thought to myself.
My head dips. “I was very sorry to have missed his burial.”
“Oh, I didn’t presume to expect your attendance, Your Majesty. You’re so busy managing the kingdom,” she assures me, tucking her handkerchief away.
She pauses before we can make our escape to the door, noting the cage built on the other end of the room, the bars stretching all the way to the hidden hallway at the back.
“Strange,” she murmurs, gaze pausing on the pile of silken pillows still lying on the ground, as if Tyndall’s pet is still around to laze on them day and night.
When my husband told me he’d be expanding Auren’s cages to allow her entry to the atrium, I was livid. This room, even though I detest it now for what he’s turned it into, it’s stillmine.
My mother cared for these plants that were so carelessly killed, choked inside metallic coffins. This was the room where she died, her bed brought up so she could be amongst all the green, thriving growth, breathing in the perfumed blossoms on her dying breath.
Tyndall threw it all in my face by bringingherin here. By letting her look up at the windows my mother lived and died beneath.
Perhaps that was when I truly started to hate him.
“Your Majesty?”
I blink over at Lady Helayna in surprise. I hadn’t even realized I was still stopped, staring at the cage.
Shaking my head, I give her another practiced smile. “Pardon. I was just watching the storm begin to break,” I lie, purposely flicking my gaze past the cage to the windows instead.
She nods knowingly, her gaze moving up to watch the thickening snow as it begins to pile over the dome, casting us in hues of gray—a somber sky. “I should go before the storm gets worse.”
“Let me walk you down.”
We pass by four of my guards on either side of the atrium’s doorway, their sure footsteps following behind us as we begin the long journey down the stairs.
“Thank you for inviting me to tea and for the tour of your atrium, Your Majesty.”
“Of course. I do hope you’ll come again,” I reply.
I wait, hoping for her to bring up the one topic we’ve both been dancing around all afternoon, but she says nothing. My teeth start clenching together again.
By the time we reach the first floor, Lady Helayna’s handmaidens are already there, waiting with her coat and hat. She draws her mourning veil back up, hooking it to the hat that her lady places on her head, features going muddled behind the sheer black fabric that drapes over her face.
Once she’s helped into her coat, she turns to me. I keep the pleasant smile on my face, though beneath it, I’m fuming, going over everything I could have done or said differently, wondering if another tactic would’ve worked. Calculating which of the nobles might still be swayed even without her.
Lady Helayna curtsies, her dress sweeping across the worn golden floors. “My queen.”
I give her my hand, though my smile is tight. An entire day. I wasted anentireday on her and—
Her grip tightens on mine in a friendly squeeze, face slightly obscured as she leans in conspiratorially. “You have my full support of ruling Sixth in your husband’s stead.”
I pause, the cool, smooth victory spreading through me like fresh ice. The cold is a balm to my spirit, a win that brings me that much closer to keeping control.
I may not have been born with magic, but I’m going to prove to Tyndall, to my court, to myentire kingdom, that I hold my own kind of power. With it, Sixth Kingdom will become stronger than ever.Iwill become stronger than ever.
“The fact that any of the other noble houses are hesitant is beyond me,” she says, and I can almost feel the roll of her eyes. “A Colier has ruled Sixth for generations and will continue to do so. You can rule here, while the king continues to aid Fifth Kingdom and secure our borders.”
This time, the smile that curls my lips is genuine. Having a female head of house is a rare thing, and I knew it was the perfect opportunity to gain a foothold inside the noble circles. A simple afternoon of pandering, and I’ve got her.
Having the countess in my corner will make it easier to gain the trust of the other noblewomen. I know for a fact that they all speak to one another, and Lady Helayna is the one they look to as a leader amongst them. If I can get all of the women on my side, it’ll be a major victory.
