Page 85

“So the man hadn’t slighted the king whatsoever?”

I ran my hand through my hair. “He was engaged to Cali’s cousin. The king has met them both twice, at most—the wedding and the picnic.”

Kat slumped the smallest bit. “I’d meant to send the cousin away. But she seemed like the least of our worries at the time.”

“She’s been to The Dark. At this point she’s seen too much for that kindhearted of an exit, anyway.”

Kat nodded, making a grave sound of agreement.

“She’s been making trouble for Cali from the beginning,” I said, my stomach twisting, remembering why I hadn’t wanted to address the subject in the first place. At this point, maybe it didn’t matter what we did with her cousin. Still, there was no reason to be wicked about the whole thing. After all, I didn’t hate Cali like she hated me. “For the sake of our knight, her cousin should have a private execution. Then you can simply tell Cali we’ve sent her home.”

“Reasonable.” Kat stood, her queenly grace returning, as if this conversation had been nothing but a respite from her daily mask. “We’ll confine her to the dungeons today. I’ll schedule the execution for tomorrow morning.”

I nodded. “That’s sorted, then.”

Kat hesitated. “You’re right. I could’ve given you guidance for the king.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry.”

“Doesn’t matter now,” I murmured.

She took a couple of steps toward the door, then hesitated. “It’s just that … you’re not afraid of him. You’ve never been. Not for yourself, anyway.”

I stared at her, trying to capture her meaning. “You shouldn’t be either. He’s known you since you were a baby. He loves you more than his own daughter.”

“My grandmother ruled longer than I’ve been alive, and his whim still killed her. It doesn’t matter if it was the demon that made him this way or being catered to for far longer than anyone should be—none of us are safe while he lives.”

I saw the spark of fear in her eye when she recognized she’d said something treasonous. But it was gone in the next moment, her mask solidified. Ready for her public appearance as the adoring queen of Deus Rex.

But now that I knew what was underneath, I couldn’t really fault her for it.

We were both surviving how we could, in the end.

“Happy birthday, by the way,” I said, trying to smile.

“Thank you, Beric,” Kat replied, pausing in my doorway. “Although, I have a feeling I’ll be much happier when this evening is over and done with.”

CHAPTER 32CALLIOPE

I slept fitfully, feeling sweaty and ill when I awoke. I hadn’t caught anything, I was sure. It was what I didn’t have that was making me sick.

I rolled onto my side, staring into my dark room. It had taken me thirty minutes last night, maybe longer, to find my room in the labyrinth, even knowing about the guiding stones, and the exercise had sobered my anger a bit. Now I missed Beric terribly, no matter how much I wished I didn’t. He was awful, after all. A killer of the cruelest kind. Missing him was completely irrational. Caring for him, foolhardy.

And yet, when Eliza and Faline entered my room, I longed for it to be him, coming to sneak in a cuddle before we had to start the day.

Eliza sat beside me on the bed, her hand cool against my brow. “You’re not well, Cali.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine after I eat something,” I mumbled.

“Perhaps some broth,” Faline said, propping my pillows up a bit before handing me a cup of water. “The king will want all his wives present at court tonight for the queen’s birthday.”

She hurried out of the room to see to the broth herself.

“Perhaps it’s stress,” said Eliza. “Due to yesterday’s events.”

I swallowed a gulp of water with some effort. “Perhaps.”

I realized then that Eliza was looking at me, pointedly, nearly a glare. I stared into my water to avoid it.

“Or perhaps it’s a bout of sickness brought on by severe guilt,” she continued.