“I served our late empress. But I am the only one of her ladies who remains here. The others have all joined the temple of Amate, the goddess of the sun, a tribute to our late empress ’s piety.”
I force a smile, but I’m certain it comes across more like a grimace. There’s a lot of secrets buried in this court. Considering Marian is the only one who wasn’t sent away, I have to assume she’s in the emperor’s pocket. I will have to be very careful around her.
A knock sounds on the door, and Marian hurries to open it. Brevan is standing outside. “Good evening, Lady Marian.”
“Good evening, Lord Maxwell.” Marian inclines her head.
“I am here to escort the princess to dinner,” he announces.
I walk to the door, and Brevan offers his elbow. It’s a drastic change from our earlier encounter. I don’t accept it. Instead, I walk through the door and step into the hall. “Shall we?”
He lowers his arm. “This way.”
“Do you join the royals for dinner?” I ask.
“No, of course not,” he says.
“What about for balls or parties? Do they have you there as a guest, or do you just stand in the corner and glare at people as they enjoy their lives?”
“I do rather enjoy glaring,” he says.
We turn down a few halls and then take a flight of stairs up a level into a grand open space lined with stone columns carved to look like plants. In the flickering lamplight, the vines and leaves almost appear to move. Our footsteps echo in the large empty space.
As we get closer to the columns, I recognize some of the leaves. The different leaves on the columns each belong to a plant that is poisonous.
“What is this place?” I stop and spin in a slow circle, taking in the room.
He points, and I look up at a ceiling made of glass. Stars twinkle above us.
“Used to be a garden for the empress. The emperor had it emptied after she passed.”
“Did he love her?” I ask.
“I am certain your marriage will be fruitful and prosperous.” He resumes walking.
“I’m not asking about my marriage. I’m asking about the emperor’s. I’ve heard that nobody’s seen him since she died. Is it because he’s in mourning?”
“This is where I leave you.” He stops in front of tall double wooden doors guarded by a pair of night legionnaires.
One of the legionnaires pulls a door open for me, and I walk inside without a backward glance at my escort.
Three
The long windowlessroom is lined with flickering sconces that cast eerie dancing shadows over the murals on the walls. One entire length is painted like the woods in winter. It’s so realistic that the ominous branches seem to reach for me. Wolves twist between the trunks, their paws obscured by painted snow. The other side shows the woods in summer, full of leaves and life. Deer and rabbits stare out at me with vacant eyes. Somehow, the summer side seems more unsettling than the winter.
A table made of dark polished wood sits in the center of the room, lined with red velvet chairs. Candelabras are spaced evenly across it, making the polished surface gleam.
There’s one person in the room, and he stands but does not move to greet me. I drop into a curtsy.
“So you do have some sense of manners,” the prince drawls.
I rise and find him approaching me now. I wait.
“You couldn’t be bothered to greet me properly before,” he says.
“You’ll have to forgive me, Your Highness. I’d had a long journey and was not myself.” The simpering tone I’m using makes my insides crawl.
“You’ll have to excuse my father’s absence. He is away from court more often than not these days.” He offers his hand, palm up. I place mine on top of his, and he leads us to the table.
