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“Who?” I demand.
It’s Niera who looks up finally. There’s an apology in her eyes as she answers. “The royal family, my princess.”
“But why?” I ask. My chest tightens to think of Roark ordering such a thing. He wouldn’t though, would he?
Marcella resumes working on my nails, not looking up from her work as she speaks. “Because those in power here wish to keep it that way. They get to play shadow politics with the outside, visit the outside when they wish, enjoy any freedoms they like, and yet they still get to live out this fantasy they have created, like medieval kings and queens. Everyone wins, so long as they are on the top of the social ladder.”
“Marcella…” I say, failing to find the words to express the guilt I feel. While I know I personally haven’t done anything to cause this, I feel responsible in a way. Even if my power as a newcomer to this place is probably laughable.
“You don’t need to say anything,” says Marcella. “You’re a kind woman, I can tell. If you do become queen some day, just remember me. Okay?”
“Of course,” I say. “I’ll remember all of you. Though I think my chances of becoming a queen are very slim.” My mind plays back the dance and the way Titus finally emerged from the room where he was lying bloodied and unconscious. I had expected him to come confront us, but instead he only glared our way before leaving. And now it has been two days without so much as a call to have breakfast with him.
“You mean because of you and Prince Roark’s love affair?” asks Kadene, who leans forward eagerly like a pigeon waiting for a scrap of bread.
Marcella bulges her eyes at the girl. “Kadene!” she hisses.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I don’t know if you could really call it a love affair.” Unless you want to give my stomach the butterflies. “I have spent some time with Prince Roark though, yes. And I suspect Prince Titus doesn’t approve.”
Niera shares a mischievous grin with Kadene.
“What’s he like?” asks Niera.
I smile a little, searching for the words. “Intense?” I try, but the single word doesn’t seem to do him justice. “He’s like a force. I don’t know if that makes sense. But when I’m around him, it’s like he’s a man who goes beyond the boundaries that hold normal men, like there’s nothing he couldn’t take if he wanted it--nothing he couldn’t do if he chose to. It’s overwhelming and exhilarating all at the same time. I guess when a man like that chooses to spend time with you, it’s more flattering than you can imagine, because, well, he could be doing anything else. Literally. But he’s there with you.”
Niera bites her lip, smiling. Kadene wears a clear expression of jealous wistfulness, and Marcella looks worried.
“It sounds like you’ve done more than just spend time with him,” says Kadene.
Marcella doesn’t bother to scold Kadene this time, and I see the worry deepen in her expression as she pulls at a strand of her long brown hair.
My cheeks redden, but I nod. “What should I do?” I ask.
“Follow your heart,” suggests Niera. “If you feel the way you say you do, you have to choose him. You’d be miserable to let a man like that slip away.”
I’m surprised the shy, redheaded Niera is being so bold right now, but she seems to have a romantic side and it’s making her forget her shyness for now.
“That’s dangerous advice, Niera,” says Marcella. “Even the lower classes know Prince Titus has his eyes on the throne. There’s only one way for him to get it, too. Roark would need to be out of the picture. Getting tangled up with Roark would turn you into an obstacle, and Titus has a long history of eliminating obstacles from his path.”
A chill runs through me, making my stomach turn over. “Roark is the eldest brother, though. Doesn’t he have more resources at his disposal? Can’t he protect himself?”
“That’s just it,” says Marcella. “Titus is more or less an open book. He is a brutal man with clear intentions. Most agree he would go to any length to get what he wants, even if it was something as underhanded as poisoning his brother. But Prince Roark is a mystery. There are dark rumors surrounding him, things that suggest he might be far more dangerous than Titus, but no one knows. As far as resources go, Titus likely has the upper hand because Queen Korinthia would throw her allegiance behind him in any dispute.”
“So it would be Roark against the kingdom?” I ask.
“Well,” says Marcella. “It would be Roark and you against the kingdom. Though I wouldn’t put it past Roark to have a few tricks up his sleeve.”Calian meets me after Marcella, Kadene, and Niera are done prepping me for the day--a routine which still hasn’t managed to stop feeling surreal. Having a team of three women spend an hour making me as beautiful as humanly possible every morning has done wonders for my self confidence. Go figure.
