Chapter 51
The wretched creature drew me into her lap with force, her arms coiling around me like chains. Her vile smirk returned, as detestable as ever.
"How did you know it was poison?" she whispered.
"I am not so foolish as you presume."
"Do not amuse me. You are precisely as foolish as I thought."
"Where is Alethea?" I demanded, my teeth clenched tightly.
She slipped her right arm from around me and leveled the ring with her eyes, studying it. I took the chance to pull away, but her other arm clamped down, holding me fast.
The faint glow confirmed its authenticity.
She gave me a sidelong glance and slipped the ring upon her thumb, where it sat as loosely as it had upon my toe. Her arms closed about me once more.
"How did you obtain it?"
"It matters not! Where is Sister Alethea?!"
"How very brave you are now…"
"Your Majesty!" wailed the woman I had struck. "That harlot murdered my son and laid hands upon me! You must grant me justice!"
"Your Majesty, why do you allow her to sit upon your lap?" a man cried out, his voice sharp with indignation. "It brings disgrace upon the late King and Queen!"
"Was that a glow I saw in the ring?" a woman whispered to her neighbor.
"Surely not," another gasped softly.
"May we begin the toast?"
"Your Majesty, what are you whispering about? We are owed the truth!"
"Your Majesty…"
"Your Majesty…"
Their voices rose like a storm and rang through the hall, yet to me, they became a meaningless murmur. My eyes locked upon the queen, my fury undimmed.
"Release me."
She chuckled. "The performance has yet to begin. Judging by the rage in your eyes and the tears still clinging to your lashes, you must, by now, grasp the nature of your situation. Oh, Naevia… how dreadfully daft you are. And to think you claimed not to be as foolish as I believed."
She then turned to a nearby guard and gave the slightest tilt of her chin. He bowed and departed the chamber.
"How was your time beyond the palace? Did you enjoy the festival?" she whispered, her breath brushing my skin. "There is a song the people have written about you. Did you hear it sung? It has grown quite popular. It speaks of you roaming the palace like a bitch in heat…"
I turned my face away from her, disgusted. A fresh wave of hatred surged within me and I spat directly into her face.
"So fierce," she laughed lightly, leaning forward to wipe the spit upon my shoulder. Then her eyes narrowed. "What is this bruise here?"
"What do you imagine?! Your soldier struck me and laid me senseless!"
"Oh?" She lifted her chin. "Sir Zevrin."
"Yes, Your Majesty," came the curt reply from somewhere near.
"Seek out the soldier who brought Lady Naevia back and the captain of his unit. Convey them both to General Orlo at the border. They have disobeyed my orders... you see. The General shall know what is to be done…"
"At once, Your Majesty," Sir Zevrin answered and withdrew. The queen's smile returned to its sweet and hateful curve.
"I do wonder," she murmured to me, "who aided your escape?"
"If you seek gossip, take it to your vile courtiers! Where is Alethea?!"
She tilted her head. "She is dead, perhaps with Ombrithar now."
I rammed my forehead against hers with all my force, my anger so consuming that I felt no pain.
"Ouch," she chuckled, blinking a few times. "Very fierce."
"Where is my friend's body?" I demanded.
"Ah. You should have been clearer," she said, as if settling a trifling matter. "My men cast it into the river."
I raised my hand to strike, but she caught it and folded me in an iron embrace, pinning my arms to my sides.
"So violent. From killing a man, to striking a noble, to spitting and headbutting me… the Queen herself. I am almost grateful you resemble a skeleton now, else I might not endure your blows. Look at you. You cannot even writhe from my arms."
She leaned in, her breath foul with cruelty. "Weak. Just like your father. Just like your mother."
I clenched my jaw, my rage blossoming ever stronger within me.
The guard who had departed returned then, bearing a silver tray. With every step he drew closer, a sense of dread thickened the air. The scent was unmistakable.
Poison. Again.
My fury slowly gave way to fear.
She released one arm and gestured for him to come forward. At once, I tore myself from her grasp, stumbling back a few steps as the tray approached the foot of the throne.
"Lady Naevia," she cooed sweetly, "will you take it like a lady, or shall I be forced to pour it down your throat?"
My heart pounded. "T-the ring…"
"Yes?" she replied with false innocence. "What of it?"
"You must keep the promise…"
"And I am keeping it."
"T-then why…"
"To the late King and Queen!" a nobleman cried suddenly, lifting his glass high into the air. "And to yet another splendid festival!"
One by one, glasses were raised throughout the chamber, glinting in the light like blades.
I began to walk swiftly toward the open doors of the grand hall. I had been a fool to believe she would honor the vow made by the first King.
The nearer I came to the doors, the closer they drew together. When at last I reached them, they slammed shut with a cruel finality. I pressed a trembling palm to the wood.
What am I to do now?
I turned back. The devil had already risen from the throne and was making her way toward me with casual ease. The guard bearing the tray followed closely behind.
"Go, my dearest friend… be brave…"
Alethea…
A choked sob escaped me.
I scanned the chamber, the faces, the glittering crowd, hunting for any slender chance of escape.
"…be brave…"
My eyes flicked left and right in rapid succession, my heart beating, my chest aching with the hollow weight of Alethea's absence. My eyes landed on a petite noblewoman, a smirk upon her lips, a silver hairpin bright in her coiffure. She was shorter than I, yet she appeared in good health. There was no possibility I could manage her in my current state. She would not suffice.
"So then, what shall it be?" the queen asked, now halfway down the aisle, each click of her heels echoing through the chamber.
My eyes darted from one woman to the next. I began to move about the chamber, searching for the perfect victim, my breath quick. I stood taller than most women even without heels, yet they all seemed to be armored by health and favor.
Her.
No.
Her.
No.
"What is she doing?" a woman whispered.
"Panicking," a man scoffed.
A delicate woman stood at the far corner, her breath still unsteady from a recent cough into her handkerchief. Her face was heavy with powder, clearly applied to conceal the pallor of illness. She appeared to be in her fifties, and she was positioned in the perfect spot.
I hurried back to the first petite lady as quickly as I could. Her eyes narrowed in confusion and she took a step back. The nobles about her raised their brows in amusement. I plucked the silver hairpin from her hair and ran straight for my chosen mark.
"My hair!" the startled woman cried behind me.
"Is she mad?" someone muttered, and the murmurs rose.
I lunged at my victim, one arm across her chest, the hairpin poised at her throat. I fixed the assembly with a look that forbade movement.
"One more step and I shall stab her," I warned.
"Lady Inthessa!" a bystander gasped, retreating. "How dare you threaten Lady Inthessa?"
Lady Inthessa. Of all fortunes, the very mother of Duchess Rowena. A terrible smile touched my lips. What a perfect discovery.
"Release the lady!" a man shouted.
"Naevia!" the queen hurried forward and halted at a measured distance.
I grinned, pressing the hairpin slightly deeper into the old woman's throat. "I wonder what will happen if I end her life. If I apply pressure… blood shall surely flow…"
"Naevia," the queen extended her hands toward me, her tone cautious. "Let us speak calmly. Release Lady Inthessa first."
From the far end of the hall a soldier drew a bow and aimed. The queen followed my glance and snapped, "Lower that!"
The man quickly did as ordered.
Her gaze returned to me. "Naevia, shall we converse?"
"I have no desire to parley with trash," I replied, moving toward the great doors.
A man stepped too near and I drove the pin in a fraction further. "Back," I ordered.
He retreated on uncertain feet.
"Help…" Inthessa whimpered.
My eyes cut to any who dared approach as I forced Inthessa to keep pace with me. She began to cough; I ignored it and hurried on until at last I reached the doors.
"Release me!" an urgent voice demanded from beyond.
I turned my eyes to the doors at that, my heart racing all the more.
Nerissea.
She had come.
Sudden weight bore me to the earth, yanking the hairpin out of my hand. I struck the ground, the queen on top of me. She flipped me on my back, seized my nose, and poured the foul liquid between my lips, then clamped her palm over my mouth. I fought it, holding the draught from my throat as best as I could. When breath became a desperate need, I swallowed against my will and she at last removed her hands.
She leaned in close. "You are free now. Ah, what a pity. I had so hoped to keep you caged for the rest of your days."
A pause, then her voice dropped to a whisper. "However, if you wish to go on living, you must take the antidote each day, for the poison in your body shall never fade. And that, my dear, is found only here… within the palace."
I wept in sorrow. If it were in my power, I would have sent her to the deepest pit of damnation.