“The emperor has been around for centuries,” I remind her.
“Do you think the dragon has something to do with his immortality?” she asks.
“No.” I’m certain it’s the relics, but I’m not going to tell her that.
“You were just—curious, right? Just helping the prince?”
“Of course,” I tell her.
“So, no more research?” Her shoulders sag in relief.
“No. But I do think I need those books about the gods. It will be a nice way to redirect my time. The late empress has a beautiful temple. I think she’d want me to be more pious.”
“That’s nice. She’d have liked you. And she’d have liked to know that her faith will be taught to her grandchildren one day.” She smiles at me. “You didn’t get much sleep last night, did you?”
“Why do you think I asked you to come over? I need you to make me look like I haven’t been crying all night.”
“Of course,” she says.
Juliette is still a liability. She didn’t give them my name, and I suspect it’s because she knows how this game is played. That the whole court revolves around your proximity to power. And as the future wife of the prince, I hold more power than most.
But I know I can’t trust her. I can’t trust anyone.
Even Lee let me down. Lied about my brothers and deprived me of my only way to communicate when he took my ruby. And now, I’m trapped inside the castle without any way to contact him.
I’m going to have to finish this on my own.
First the emperor, then the prince.
Then, maybe I’ll even release their dragon.
I spend hours every day in the empress’s temple. I eat with my ladies and engage in court gossip, hoping something that can help me is let slip. I avoid Brevan as much as possible, only making polite conversation with him as he leads me to the temple or to dinners with Caiden. My embroidery improves, and I read several of the books about the gods. I even manage to retrieve the books that were left behind in Katherine’s room. I am the model of what a princess should be while I quietly research and buy time.
Sometimes, the prince joins me in the temple. He lights a candle and bows his head, then sits silently. He never stays long.
Dinners with him are quiet and reserved. I ask him about his day. He asks me about mine. But he doesn’t share details, and my details aren’t interesting.
I still can’t find a way to kill the emperor. And I’m running out of time. I’m monitored whenever I leave my room, so books are my only option, and I have to be careful with those after everything that happened.
I scour every inch of the walls in my new rooms and come up wanting. They must have made sure I got a room with no exits. I am trapped.
Will I spend the rest of my life in this role? Living someone else’s life? What happens if I have to go through with the gifting ceremony and the wedding? Having children? Becoming empress eventually?
My head hurts. I rub my temples and close my eyes.
“Are you ill, Your Highness?” Antonia asks.
I look up. “It’s just a headache.”
“Shall I send for tea?” she asks.
“Thank you.” I’m holding a book but mostly I stare at the fireplace, watching the dancing flames. It’s still too difficult to focus and I worry that I’m letting Katherine, and everyone in the rebellion, down.
Antonia returns a minute later and sits next to me, embroidery hoop in hand. “I requested peppermint. It’s soothing.”
She pays more attention to me than ever before. Antonia’s desperate to fill the role that Marian, then Katherine, held as my closest companion. It didn’t work out so well for either of them, but I understand her desire. She’s from the least noble house of all my ladies, even though she makes an effort to be the most proper. She’s determined to improve her family’s station.
“Sorry I’m late,” Charlotte announces as she sweeps into the room. “I overslept.”
