“I really must insist on seeing Lady Raelyn,” the prince says firmly. “Considering she herself told me she never leaves the manor unless she’s deathly ill, I don’t understand why she isn’t available.”
Darling Stepmother is going to find a way to punish me. I just know it. Should I just make myself known now?
If I’m going to be punished anyway, might as well go all in.
I take one step when Stepmother says, “You are quite forward, Your Highness. I suppose I can check on her and see if she is willing to take a caller. Don’t get your hopes up.”
I sag against the wall. She’s just going to make more excuses for me.
“I’m happy to wait as long as it takes,” he replies smoothly.
Gods, I could almost kiss him. Thank Kyros and Luna he is willing to stand up to that witch.
Footsteps come toward me, and I quickly run in the opposite direction.Shit.If Stepmother catches me eavesdropping, it will only be worse for me.
I turn the corner just in time and toss the sheets into the never-ending pile of laundry.
“Raelyn!” Stepmother snaps.
I spin and look at her, hoping I don’t come across suspiciously. “Yes, Stepmother?”
“A certain prince is here looking for you. Would you happen to know anything about that?”
“Um . . . well, we met formally at the ball last month and he seemed to take a liking to me,” I reply, hoping no one saw us together last week.
“He is quite insistent about seeing you, but clearly, you’re in no condition to see him.” She looks me up and down judgmentally, as if she isn’t fully responsible for my current state. It takes everything in me to bite my tongue and keep from retorting back.
“I can go change and send him away?” I offer hesitantly.
Stepmother taps her toe as she holds a perfectly manicured finger to her lips. “You must be delicate about it. I can’t have you offending the prince now, can I? If he’s not going to marry Princess Helene, I fully intend for him to match with one of your sisters, and I won’t have you stand in my way.”
“Yes, Stepmother,” I say quietly. Why she won’t let me have this, perhaps I’ll never understand, but just maybe . . . “I can encourage him to call on Erika or Chessa, if that’s what you prefer.”
“Of course I prefer it, you insolent brat. You can’t possibly thinkyoudeserve a prince, can you?”
I try not to flinch at her tone, at the words that cut even though I don’t want them to.
“You are far past your prime, Raelyn. You had your chance to find a husband, and now it’s too late. You are nothing but proof of your mother’s disgrace.” Stepmother stands before me, wagging an accusing finger, and I shrink in on myself. “You don’t even deserve to have the name Astoria. Your father is a fool to allow you to remain here. If it were up to me, I’d have exposed you long ago. But I am a gracious woman and allow you to serve in this household. If you do not, you will be cast out. Do I make myself clear?”
Each word is a blow. Does she have proof? The way she can say that without a shadow of doubt makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry.
Unbidden tears prick my eyes as I stare up at her, recognizing the triumph in hers. After weeks of trying, she finally found the words to break me.
“How can you say such hateful things?” I blurt out.
All of her beauty fades as the scorn on her face takes over. “I know your secret, Raelyn. You are not your father’s daughter.”
“Th-that’s not possible,” I stutter. “Father would have surely said something to me if that were true.”
“He is all the more a fool for not telling you then. Don’t you think it odd that you’re the only sibling who needs a special tonic to keep your illness at bay?”
I close my eyes, as if it will keep her words from being true.
“I found the doctor’s notes. You don’t have an ounce of Astoria blood, and if you do not convince the prince to choose a worthier sister to call on, I will expose you for the disgrace that you are.”
A pit of despair threatens to overwhelm me. Any joy at seeing Kian today is overshadowed by this new knowledge Stepmother has thrown at me. Is she telling the truth? Perhaps she’s just saying this to hurt me.
But deep down, her words ring of truth. I have always felt different. My illness is unique to me, as she said. Perhaps it really is Father who has been lying to me all these years.
