“Busy night?” Genevieve lifts her eyebrows.
Charlotte’s cheeks turn pink. “Trouble sleeping, but I’ll take a tonic tonight.”
“You’re alright,” I tell her. “You didn’t miss anything.”
Charlotte is having an affair with a legionnaire. We all pretend we don’t know, but she’s terrible at hiding it. I keep wondering if we need to intervene before she’s caught by her family or a higher-ranking soldier.
“Does that tonic happen to get delivered by a certain legionnaire?” Genevive teases.
Charlotte scans the room, her eyes as wide as a child who was just caught sneaking sweets before dinner.
“How’s your mother, Genevieve?” I ask to change the subject.
“She’s better, thank you.” Her shoulders ease and she takes a seat at one of the chairs nearby. “All that praying you did for her helped.”
I don’t believe that, but it seems to comfort her. “I hope she’s able to leave her bed soon.”
“The doctors say her breathing has improved and she can probably travel again by spring.” She picks up a deck of cards and starts shuffling them.
“Good. I look forward to meeting her,” I say. Genevieve’s mother was a friend to the empress and from a prestigious family. But she is a widow, so she didn’t have as much authority as the houses with men at the helm. It is stupid and outdated, especially given all the stories I’ve heard from Genevieve about her mother. She has survived more than most men.
A knock sounds on the door, and I flinch.
“That’ll be the tea.” Antonia rushes to answer.
But it’s not tea. It’s Brevan. He bows. “Your Highness, may I have a word with you?”
I haven’t been able to look him in the eye since our moment in the closet. It was too personal. Too vulnerable. I wasn’t sure how to act around him anymore, so I’d been avoiding him. I suppose I couldn’t get away with it forever.
I set down my book, then walk over to him.
“How can I help you, Enforcer?” I step into the hallway, hoping we’re out of earshot of the others.
“Oh, so that’s how we’re going to play it,” he says.
“You dropped a woman into a pit so she could be eaten by a dragon,” I say, choosing to dance around the other topic. Being angry at him for Katherine gives me an excuse. Especially around others.
“She was already dead before I dropped her,” he says.
I know that’s true; I watched her take her last breath. “That was luck.”
“No. It was magic.” His expression is deadly serious.
“Your magic?” For the first time since that night, I meet his gaze.
He nods.
“Why didn’t you tell me that before? How did you?—?”
He holds up a hand to stop me. “Another time.” His glance behind me lets me know that we have an audience.
“Fine.”
“I’m here because we need to resume your training,” he says. “It’s been too long.”
“I don’t see the point if I never leave the castle,” I reply.
He leans down and lowers his voice. “There will come a time soon when I won’t be here to protect you.”
