Maryn chuckled. “You can’t be serious. She’s fit for a maid, not a queen’s lady. She has a degenerate leg and dyes her hairpurple, for stars’ sake.”
“Neither of which should have anything to do with her ability to assist me.” I didn’t have an initial opinion on Letti’s assistance before, but I did now.
“It certainly speaks to her judgement,” Maryn said. “Or lack thereof.”
Letti proved trustworthy enough for Gregorios. And I hardly trusted any of the peopleMaryndecided to place near me. “I’ve made my decision.”
Maryn’s tongue flicked over her pearly teeth. I stood my ground.
“The queendom will not be pleased to hear their new Chosen has no proper education and does not hail from an Academy,” one advisor said. “There will be concerns once they learn a second princess has been Chosen this year. We must do our due diligence to assure everyone, especially the barons, that she is being educated properly in the ways of Scorpion royalty.”
I resisted the urge to toy with thecommunicanecklace hidden beneath my loose dress. So long as I wore it, no one would suspect my Geminian background.
I still couldn’t fathom being Scorpion. My whole life was, to an extent, a lie. As my mind flitted through every interaction with my grandparents, a swell of panic rose within me again. I attempted to shove it down. Now was not the time nor place to lose my shit.
Just a little longer.
“Enlist tutors from the Scorpion Royal Academies,” Gregorios suggested. “It has been done before for educated princesses.”
“Excellent thinking, Seer,” the other advisor praised. “We’ll ensure she’s educated in the ways of all courtly affairs, true Scorpion history, economics, politics, and the like. Her mornings will be spent with tutor sessions followed by afternoons learning royal etiquette, with evenings seekinghudrowith our seer. We’ll need to get her fitted appropriately. Our prized tailor will take months to produce an entire wardrobe?—”
“Wait to call upon the tailor,” Maryn said. “No sense in having him waste his time if she’s to perish like the others before you.”
I suppressed a snort.Ihad little confidence in my ability, but her boldness was off-putting.
“Er—certainly.” The advisor nodded quickly. “As for her grooming?—”
“Mygrooming?” I repeated.
“That hair of yours needs taming, your nails need polishing, and your brows need waxing.” The advisor blinked behind thick spectacles. “Among plenty of other things.”
“Shadowing you would be wise, too, Queen Regent,” Gregorios suggested.
“Ifshe survives her trial, I’d be happy to advise her. More importantly, we must plan a welcome celebration here at the palace. A ball for all the barons and their families, as is tradition.We must do all we can to assure them this is no trick and the curse is on its way to being broken.”
“Once she is fully healed, of course,” Gregorios said. “As is the expectation for all new princesses and princes.”
“The drought has decimated our lands and economic stability,” an advisor countered. “Time is not on our side. She must?—”
“The glyphs will take time to heal. After some rest, I will teach her the ways of water so she can findhudro.”
“The queendom does not have time forrest, Seer. Nor do we. Our people are suffering. Our economy is in shambles.”
“I’m well aware?—”
“The apostai have taken advantage of our penury,” Maryn said calmly. “They’re running rampant throughout our cities. Our curse has sparked fear across the skies. On the upcoming Equinox, the courts are rumored to call for a vote to incite a marriage decree between our next queen, or myself. If that were to happen, we would be forced to enter into a union with another royal, granting them the ability to exert their powers in Scorpio whenever—and however—they pleased.”
Silence blanketed the room.
“Would that be so bad?” I blurted. “If it meant another queen could wield their water magic here?”
I was met with incredulous stares. One advisor chuckled into her hands.
“There is a reason why it’s never been enacted before,” Maryn chided. “We would lose our sovereignty. They would be free to exert their power however they wished. Their people would be allowed to cross our borders and overrun our queendom without need of a travel stone. Our culture, our way of life, will be forever changed.”
“I see, I only meant?—”
“Not to mention,” Maryn interrupted. “Neither of the water queens have an interest in such a union. The king of Aries, however, has been quite vocal about nominating himself.”
