Dorelea shrugged. “It was simple enough. She’s just a gullible human.”
Gullible?
Until tonight, I had no reason to distrust Arnon or his family. Even now, I didn’t understand why they drugged me or what they were going to do with me.
What could I have done differently to protect myself from this?
It was just a drink...
The pollen of glacier saffron.
Dorelea’s words tugged at my memory. Where had I heard them before?
“You should’ve drank the glacier saffron... It would’ve made things so much easier...”
Leslo had said something like that to me, hadn’t he?
He’d offered me a bottle before I got into his van. It’d been a colorful, swirling drink, not the milky one like Dorelea had given me. But the pink shimmer in both was similar. It certainly would’ve made things much easier for Leslo had I drunk itand become obedient like this. He could’ve bossed me around without needing to punch me unconscious.
Arnon rubbed his hands. “Well, lucky for us this gullible human has not a shred of magic to protect her. Now, let’s change the course of history. Shall we?”
I’d never seen Arnon smile so cheerfully, and his excitement filled me with dread.
What were they planning to do with me?
I couldn’t ask. I couldn’t open my mouth. I couldn’t even blink, despite my eyes growing dry.
“Come with me.” Dorelea waved her hand, and my body snapped back to life.
As if pulled by an invisible string, I followed her out of the room. Now that I could move, I could open my mouth again. I still wasn’t sure if I could ask questions or even make a sound, but I decided not to try, out of fear she’d order me to be quiet. I needed my ability to speak to scream for help if I saw a friendly face.
There were plenty of people in the palace, many faces, but none appeared friendly. Servants gaped at me with curiosity. The prince’s courtiers strolled along the marble pathways between the glowing pools. No one seemed perturbed, appalled, or even mildly uncomfortable when their eyes met my pleading stare. Instead, they either looked away, indifferent, or smirked expectantly, as if they were in on something I had no knowledge of.
Dorelea descended into a pool up to her waist. Her skirts fanned out around her legs. Her incredibly long hair floated behind her like a black cape as she waded through an open door into the next room.
Were they planning to drown me? Yet I had no choice but to follow the princess, as if attached to her by an unbreakable chain.
A cloaked, hunched figure met us in the partially submerged room. A long slab of black marble was placed in the middle. It was the only piece of furniture in here, or at least the only one above water.
“And here she is,” Dorelea announced triumphantly, presenting me to the cloaked person like I was some prized animal delivered for a sacrifice.
A sacrifice?
The thought that this might be exactly what they planned to do with me sent a chill of terror through me. Yet my feet were rooted in place, not allowing me to run or even to step away.
The cloaked figure lifted their head, revealing the weathered face of an old woman. Deep grooves crisscrossed her brow. The skin on her cheeks looked like crinkled paper. The few strands of her pale cyan hair that had made their way from under her hood looked hazy, like the strings of fog that were seeping through her clothing.
“Here she is,” the woman echoed, giving me a long once-over. “The king’s pet. What exactly does he like about her? It’s not like he can even use her to alleviate his male urges, provided he still has any.”
Her cracked voice grated on my nerves like a false note creeping into a melody. Her black cloak seemed so out of place in Olathana’s world of pale, gentle pastels.
“It’s not like he has a choice,” Dorelea scoffed. “Who else would stay there long enough for him to get attached? He killed every siren in the palace who didn’t escape in time. No one in their right mind would spend even a day with him. He has to rely on a dimwitted human for company.”
I sucked in a breath in indignation but bit my tongue, saying nothing. If I still had the ability to speak, I wasn’t going to give Dorelea a reason to take it away from me.
My huff didn’t escape her, however.
“Oh, spare me the outrage,” she snapped at me. “If you were any smarter, you would’ve long run too. It’s not like he put you in chains or locked you in a tower.”
