Delaine growled. “Pick up the dresses. Place them on the hangers. Line up the shoes. Can you at least do that?”
Her brow tightening, Reyla slowly nodded.
It was all I could do not to cry. How was I going to help her? I needed to fix her mind if I could, but the first thing I needed to do was remove her collar without killing her.
“Good.” Delaine’s lips tightened. “You may end up being more work than help, Reyla, but we’ll see what we can do with you. If you find anything that’s soiled, set it aside for the sprites to take care of.”
Reyla nodded again. She didn’t look my way, and she gazed at the wall blankly before moving around Delaine and entering the closet where she lifted a dress and started slowly arranging it on a hanger.
“She’s not much for conversation,” Delaine said with a cackle.
Fuck Delaine. If I zapped her with my finger and lit her hair on fire, would Brenna notice?
Before I could do anything about Delaine, she left the bedroom. “I’ll go tidy the living area.”
It had looked pristine when I was there; I doubted it needed any straightening. I bet she was going to sit on a sofa and relax, but I didn’t care if she did. Anything that kept her away from me and Reyla was a good thing.
Zayde strode into the room. His gaze sought Reyla before his shoulders loosened. I wanted to snarl at him, accuse him of not protecting my friend, but he was as helpless as me here.
When he entered the sitting area, I followed, fidgeting with a tangled necklace while watching them.
Brenna sat up and fluffed her hair. She slid off the sofa and walked over to stand in front of him.
“Zayde,” she said in a surprisingly breathless voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Reyla’s my collared Nullen. I stopped by to make sure this arrangement was working out.”
“She just arrived.” Brenna’s gaze drifted toward the closet where Reyla continued to mechanically hang dresses. I worked to unravel another necklace. “She’s rather quiet, but I’m sure she’ll work out fine.” She looked up at him with color burnishing her face.
“How are the wedding plans coming along?” he bit out. His gaze flicked to me, but he didn’t acknowledge me, not even with a blink of his eyes. Was he pretending he didn’t know me?
“Well enough,” Brenna said, lowering her gaze to the floor. “I have a wedding dress fitting today, and the sprites are bringing by the rest of my trousseau to ensure I’m happy with the organizer’s choices.”
The clothing the king planned to strip off her body. Or would he bother? Once collared, he might simply drain her Lydel power and leave her lying lifeless on the throne room floor.
“You’ll be a gorgeous bride,” Zayde said.
“Thank you.”
He shifted to the side, and his gaze met mine. The pleading there told me he wanted me to remain quiet about our relationship and perhaps, what I was seeing with Brenna.
These two . . . I wasn’t completely sure about what was happening here, but I had my suspicions.
If they were caught, the king would kill them.
“I’m sure everything will be lovely.” Brenna’s shoulders lifted and dropped with her sigh. “How else can I feel about all this?” She walked over and perched on one of the sofas, staring toward the fire perking merrily on the smooth marble stones. “I’m doing all I can to . . .” Her words choked off, and she sent a glance at me.
I slunk back into the bedroom and pretended I was absorbed in straightening the doily on a nearby table, fluffing the flower arrangement and picking up a few fallen blossoms to throw away.
“I’ll see you another time, then,” Zayde said curtly.
“Yes. Please visit me again, soon-to-be,” Brenna gulped. “stepson.”
He left, and she slumped on the sofa.
I backed all the way into the bedroom and continued to putter around, straightening it while Drask fluttered his wings on my shoulder.
Delaine sauntered into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, watching while Reyla and I worked.
