Alan returned with a red bottle and a few pieces of bread and cheese. Amaris’s mouth watered at the sight. He poured himself and Adelaide a glass before retreating silently to his place by the mantel, while Adelaide returned to her chair. She rolled her eyes at Alan and poured a glass for Amaris, who gave it a good sniff and then again as it lured her in. It was divine, like strawberries. She took a sip and wanted to sink to the floor.
“What on earth is this stuff? It’s delicious!”
“‘What on earth’? What a foolish phrase,” Adelaide whispered to herself and then completely dismissed it altogether.
Oh shit.
“Kusu. The duke likes to keep a steady supply from Jintaishu.”
Amaris took another sip, savoring the kusu and pretending Adelaide’s comment didn’t short-circuit her brain.
“Most prisoners dine on stale bread and water. You should count yourself lucky.”
“Lucky?” Amaris wiped the liquor spilling down her chin. “I’d hardlycall being a prisoner in any form lucky.”
“It could’ve gone differently,” Adelaide insisted, raising her brows as she drank from her glass.
“How could it have gone any worse?”
“Watch your tone,” Alan seethed, his fingers twitching as they hovered over his knives.
Amaris ignored his taunt, but the hairs along her arms spiked at the proximity of his weapons. “I’m not a murderer. This is all a big misunderstanding.”
Alan scoffed, and Amaris refrained from ripping her boot off and chucking it at him.
She set her drink down and sat in the chair beside Adelaide, hiding her hand balling into a fist. “What gives him the authority to decide my fate?”
“He is the duke,” Adelaide said as her gaze panned to her jacket upon the bed.
Amaris caught the subtle caress of her arm and the scratch of her thumb against one of her scars. Adelaide didn’t wear any weapons for others to see, but she had those marks and bruised knuckles. She was a fighter, that was for sure, but why had she been hiding in the throne room?
Amaris thumbed her engagement ring and took a stab in the dark. “He’s your father, isn’t he?” Amaris waited in the silence, knowing she hit her mark when Adelaide blinked and swallowed her drink.
“Not many people catch that minor detail.”
“After your father announced Theodoric as his son, it made sense. You two must be related with your black hair and green eyes.”
“Our mother’s.” Adelaide smiled, swishing her kusu in a circle. “Beautiful traits from the Burchard side of the family.”
“If he’s your father, why were you hiding behind the curtain?”
Alan stopped mid-sip, his eyes shooting to Adelaide as she draped her arm over the back of her chair and prodded at the inside of her cheek with her tongue.
“Why did you run away?” Adelaide threw at Amaris.
She felt the unease as Adelaide studied her, but she tracked her eyes set on her engagement ring.
“Does it have anything to do with the rock on your finger?”
“No,” Amaris lied, sliding her hand under her thigh. “Are you a soldier like your brother?”
Adelaide’s fingers tapped against the back of the chair, her eyes shifting to the window as she took another drink. “No.”
Even with her short reply, she’d offered Amaris more than anyone else. Her daddy issues were apparent, and she was young. She wasn’t a soldier but looked well-versed in a fighting ring, which meant she was rebellious. If anyone here would go against the duke to help her, it would probably be her.
“You look like one,” Amaris began, concocting the beginnings of her plan of flattery to befriend her. “Your attire is similar, and you look tough with your scars.”
Adelaide’s jaw clenched.
