“Of course he did. So long as he doesn’t expect me to wear them for him, I guess.” I pulled the sheer cloth on and laughed again when it did exactly as expected—not cover me at all.
“Where are my clothes?” I asked Wistari, who had schooled her expression, though that sparkle had returned to her eyes.
“They’re being cleaned, Miss Adelia.”
“But I’ll get them back?” As much as the dresses were beautiful, they were a farce, a veil to hide my origins, my truenature. Besides, I would be much more comfortable in my own clothes. The last thing I wanted was to owe the king something.
She nodded, then patted the smooth sheets, indicating I get in. I crossed my arms over my chest. I had given her a moment, and I wanted answers. Now. “What did Fallon mean? About the others?”
She wrung her hands, looking anywhere but at me. I only waited; I’d raised Eleanor through her most stubborn years, I could be patient.
Finally, she sighed, shoulders slumping as she met my eyes. “You’re different.”
Not the words I expected. I opened my mouth, ready to demand the truth, but she continued, “There have been five before you. They all came here expecting to marry the king. He takes them into the forest, and when they return …” Her eyes dimmed, lips trembling slightly. “They aren’t the same. Babbling nonsense. The terror in their eyes … They saw something. Something that warped their minds.”
My heart thundered painfully against my ribs. “What happened to them?” My words were barely a whisper, and I sagged on the bed, my unsteady legs unable to hold me up.
“We don’t know. The king sent them away.”
Her voice was far away, and my vision swam, darkening at the edges.
Count, Lia.
My father’s words echoed in my mind, and I tried to listen, but my own thoughts overrode them.
One.
Five women had tried to break the curse, and five women had failed.
Two.
I would be next. What could I possibly possess that they didn’t? A poor tavern wench. No magic. No skills. Nothing that could save armies. Savelives.
Three.
And Eleanor—what would happen to her if insanity took me?
My chest constricted as all the doubts I’d pushed away flooded me. I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t strong or brave.
I’mnot enough. I would fail.
“Miss Adelia, you need to breathe.” Wistari’s muffled words reached me, and I blinked, trying to bring her into focus. She tilted. No, I tilted.
Then my vision went black.
I rose to consciousness with soft hands pressed against my cheeks. Blinking through the haze, I met panicked brown eyes. Strands of honey hair framed Wistari’s face hovering over me. My vision cleared and she exhaled shakily. “Miss Adelia? Are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine. I’m sorry, that attack has been creeping up on me all day.” I shouldn’t have pressed her for the truth, should have known it had a high probability of sending me spiraling, even if I did need to know. I was lucky I had been on the bed when I lost consciousness.
I pushed myself upright, and she passed me a cup of water with trembling hands.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Should I fetch a healer?”
“No!” I cringed at my loud rebuttal. The last thing we needed was to draw attention from someone outside. “No,” I repeated, quieter this time. “I’m fine, Wistari. I promise.”
She nodded slowly, then after returning the cup to the small table beside the bed, she took my hands in hers and squeezed. “You’re different. Those other women were of noble birth or upper class. But you …” No wonder we hadn’t heard about the king’s search for a maiden before Toreshire; he’d been looking inthe noble houses. “You understand the hardness of this land. I can see it in your eyes, Miss Adelia, your ghosts haunt you.”
I stiffened, feeling more exposed than I had in the sheer nightdress. It’s as if she had taken a knife and carved at my insides, revealing my blackened soul.
