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She’s probably never had anyone stand up for her.
Her eyes narrow as a sickly smile curls one corner of her lips. “Asher isn’t the one who did this to me,” she says, motioning to her face and neck.
“Then show me the man who did, so I can teach him a lesson,” I say, her evasiveness stoking the anger within me.
She steps closer to the bars, and it’s me who retreats, backing my face out from the gap. “That may be a tad difficult, seeing as how I killed him,” she says, and her smile fills her face, dangerous and menacing.
I jerk away, thoroughly confused. Scanning her from head to toe, I try to figure out how a woman, so soft and fragile, could kill a man with hands large enough to wrap entirely around her neck.
“My guard and I were in Terra, seeking to punish a lord who had a habit of putting his hands on women. I ended him,” she says, but my mind is chasing after her words, trying to piece together everything I know about Umbra.
Her guard? Punishing a lord in Terra?
“What do you mean by your guard?” I ask, my eyes searching hers.
“Well, Captain of Lux, I’m the Queen of Umbra. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” she answers, stretching a hand through the bars.
I stumble back, shaking my head.
That’s not possible. What kind of game is she playing?
“There is no Queen of Umbra. King Asher never married. Surely, we would have known if he had,” I say, my anger flaring at her lies.
This must be a ploy to unnerve me. They’ve sent her here to see what she could get me to believe, but I trust nothing said in this kingdom.
She withdraws her hand, adjusting the cuff of her sleeve. I glimpse white scars wrapping around her wrists.
Was she a prisoner here?
“Tell me then, Captain. What is a king’s greatest weakness?” she asks, lacing her fingers together in front of her.
What kind of question is that?
A righteous king doesn’t have any perceived weaknesses. This must be a trick.
What would be a weakness for King Leopold?
Realization hits me across the face harder than it should. My king would be devastated if he ever lost Junie or the queen. Their lives are ruled by his fear of losing them, always tucked away in Brightwick.
“His queen and heirs,” I answer flatly, knowing we’ve missed a critical piece of information about Umbra.
Asher has a wife.
“Exactly. Because love is the death of peace of mind. A queen would be a target for the other kingdoms, looking for something to exploit to gain an upper hand on Umbra,” she says.
That’s why King Leopold doesn’t allow Junie or the queen to travel much. He’s afraid someone will try to kidnap them for ransom or to force a favor from him. But does King Asher truly care about anyone other than himself? Or is he hiding his queen so all the power remains his to wield?
“How? How does no one know about you?” I ask, needing to gain as much information as I can.
Her smile turns sinister, but her eyes flash with an emotion that doesn’t match. Hurt, or pain maybe?
“Because I don’t exist in this kingdom or anywhere else in the realm. The only people who know I’m the queen are oath-bound to the divinus and will die before revealing our secrets,” she says with coldness in her tone.
I blink rapidly, trying to process and figure out what all this means. How are these people so loyal to a monster of a king?
It must be fear of death or worse that keeps them in line.
“I’d like to make a deal with you,” she says, interrupting my thoughts.
