“Is there more to it?”
“Have you been in the presence of a King, Darcy?” Lyn asked.
Rui shook her head. Shehadbeen in the presence of a King, and that King had even tortured her. But she couldn’t tell them that.
“Most souls haven’t and most never will,” Lyn said. “The Kings have an aura, and their spiritual presence can be crushing. It takes a while to get used to it. We don’t normally send new attendants to serve a King directly until they’re acclimatized to the workings of the Inner Court, and we don’t send them into the throne room alone the first time.”
“I’ll be fine,” Rui said with a confident shrug.
Raymond turned to Lyn. “Look, if the girl was sent here to be an attendant, then this is part of her job description. I’m in charge of the kitchens, and you’re in hospitality management. We have our own duties, and it’s not our responsibility to wait tables.”
Slimy Raymond was such a jerk. Had he been like this too when he was a mortal? But Rui had to side with him to achieve her goal. “He’s right. I asked for this job, so I’m prepared to do whatever it takes.”
“Okay,” Lyn finally agreed, “but if you faint in front of our King, I’m not taking the blame. Come with me.”
She walked over to a door with a lavender plant embossed on the wood and turned the knob twice to the right.
The door opened, and Rui followed her into a facility that smelled strongly of laundry detergent. Various machines whirred and clacked as clothing and towels and sheets were spun and rinsed and dried. A conveyor belt with various pieces of clothing hanging on it zigzagged acrossthe ceiling. Steam rose from a corner. Multiple buttons were flashing and multiple things were beeping at the same time. Rui had never seen such organized chaos.
Lyn pressed her palm to the touchscreen on one of the machines.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting your uniform.”
Still gawking at the machinery, Rui said, “I thought you’d magically change my outfit.”
Lyn gave her a puzzled stare. “We’re ordinary souls. We don’t havemagicor any powers, and we can’t draw from the spiritual essence of the underworld the way the Kings do.”
Wanting to kick herself for her blunder, Rui faked a ditzy giggle. “It was a joke.”
The conveyor belt came to a stop, and Lyn grabbed the hanger right above them. “Try this—I’m pretty sure I got your sizing right. Changing room’s over there.”
“This isn’t a suit.” Rui’s confusion increased as she examined the outfit Lyn had given her. It was a black dress with a flouncy skirt that ended at mid-thigh, and it came with a detachable white bib-like apron with a scalloped neckline. There was also a white under-bust corset that had to be laced up the front and the back with black ribbons.
“These are the old uniforms that the Tenth King forced on staff who were assigned to be personal attendants. He seemed to find it amusing, and we couldn’t say no,” Lyn explained, wrinkling her nose with distaste. “We never knew when or if Ten would visit our Court, but we had to make sure his orders were carried out, no matter how frivolous, just in case he did. Don’t worry, you won’t have to wear it for long.Our King wants them changed, but the new uniforms aren’t ready yet.” She handed over a pair of black knee-high platform boots, a ruffled hairband, and a black choker with white frills. “These go with it too.”
Rui’s temper frayed when she realized what she was looking at. The dress, the weird too-short apron, the corset and the boots—it was acosplaycostume. A salacious version of a maid’s uniform popular in certain cafés in the city where waitstaff would dress up according to theme. Ten must’ve found inspiration during a visit to the mortal realm.
Sensing Rui’s dismay, Lyn said, “I’m sorry.”
“No worries,” Rui said, smiling, when in fact, there were many worries. She dashed into the changing room, swearing under her breath and calling Ten the most vicious names she could think of. If she ever saw him again, she was going to stomp his face in with these boots.
Soon after, armed with a silver platter of assorted sushi, Rui arrived outside a set of giant doors that went all the way up to the thirty-foot ceiling.
Lyn adjusted the ribbon on her corset. “All you need to do is make it across the hall. Put the food on his table and leave right after unless he tells you to stay. There’s no need to say anything if no one speaks to you. Don’t eavesdrop. Don’t look directly at him either, in case his spiritual presence is too much for you to handle. Understood?”
Rui nodded, wincing. The tight headband was digging into her skull.
Lyn checked her tablet. “I have to go. The doors will open soon. Go back the same way we came after you’re done, and we’ll finish your orientation tour. Good luck, Darcy.”
Rui’s heart was thumping against her rib cage, but she composed herself, holding her head high and the silver platter at chest level. She had come to the underworld for a purpose, and that purpose was behind these doors.
There was a creak.
The grand doors swung open, and she entered the throne room of the Fourth Court.
31
