“What’s astasia?”
“Dried seed pod. Good for aching head.”
I managed to lead her back to the front of the palace, where Galen chatted with other guards at the giant copper doors. “Get the carriage,” he told one of them. “I’ll escort her back to the manor.”
“Don’t bother,” Wren said, pulling up the hood of her cloak. “Rain never killed anyone. And even if it did, it’s still preferable to riding with you.”
“Devastating,” I murmured as his lips twitched with unspoken insults.
“Later,” she told me. And when another guard pulled open one of the doors, she trotted outside and down the steps.
“I’ve never met anyone so damned stubborn,” Galen said when he was sure she was out of earshot.
“Really,” I said, voice dry as week-old flatbread.
“Is that supposed to be an insult?”
“Take it however you want.”
I needed a break from books and dust, and I wanted to discuss what I’d found with the prince—and hope he took that chance to be a better man than his father. And that was the only reason, I told myself, that I would seek him out.
I found my way back to the throne room, but it took two wrong turns and passing delicious scents (probably kitchen) and clanking sounds (probably armory) before I found the corridor Talia had first led me down. I passed several unfamiliar people along the way. I could feel them staring behind me, and I wondered if they, like the Lady, thought I was here to seduce the prince. Yet another reason to find the practitioner and earn my way out.
The palace guards outside the throne room doors, on the other hand, simply stared ahead when I reached them. I didn’t even merit a glance. Surely word had spread that I was a thief, and it wasn’t especially flattering that they didn’t consider me much of a threat.
One of the doors was slightly ajar, so a faint line of golden light shone into the hallway. I peeked through the gap, but couldn’t see all the way down to the dais. Maybe another of the builder’s plans—to make it harder for spies to watch the prince’s moves.
I heard quick, efficient footsteps.
“Hello, Talia,” I said before she came around the corner. Shenearly jumped, which had the objects on the tray she carried shaking.
I stepped forward to steady the jar of wine before it could tumble off. “Sorry to surprise you.”
“I didn’t expect anyone to be standing there,” she said. “Much less call out my name.”
“I recognized the sound of your footsteps.”
“That’s…a unique skill.” She nodded toward the doors. “Did you go in?”
“Not yet. I wasn’t sure if it would bother him.”
“He does have a lot of work—including fixing every problem left behind by his predecessor.” She didn’t bother to hide the bitterness in her voice. “But I’ve brought him a tray, as he’s due for a break.”
“I can take it in, if you’d like. I have questions for him.”
There was a twinkle in her eye, but she shook her head. “It’s my duty.”
“I’m living here for free. It’s the least I can do.” I held out my hands.
She frowned, but passed over the tray. “If you don’t mind, it would be helpful. There are market deliveries shortly, and I need to assist the cook.”
“It’s no problem.” I nodded toward the doors. “Do I just put it on his lap, or…?”
She grinned. “The table in the workroom behind the dais would probably be better.”
Where I’d seen documents stacked on my first visit to the throne room. “Right.”
A servant in a white cap and apron walked toward us. “Ma’am.”
