Lia placed her hands on Tavia’s shoulders and gently squeezed them. “Some men are best loved from a distance.”
That made Tavia bury her head in her hands and sob. “He’s already di-distant!” she cried. “He-he’s been away fo-for days.”
“Well . . .” Lia began. It had only been one day but she was not about to correct her princess. This was an extremely delicate situation. For the first time since setting eyes on Julian, Tavia was conflicted. A right word might convince Tavia to leave willingly. A wrong word, and she would be doomed to staywith him forever—maybe as a skeleton in his secret wing.Lia shuddered.
“You know, sometimes sailors have to go away for years,” she mentioned. “It’s sort of part of the job.”
Apparently, this was exactly the wrong thing to say. Tavia straightened up, snatched a keyring from the table, and stared toward the ceiling with the expression of a joyful martyr.
“What matters then, is I have the house ready when he returns!” she declared.
Tyrell was rubbing his forehead looking exactly how Lia felt—confused and annoyed.
“Come Lia,” Tavia said, holding up the keyring and heading toward the door. “I was silly to get so emotional. I’ve got to finish preparing the East Wing and I need you to help me.”
“Just a moment!” Tyrell stepped in front of the door, blocking Tavia’s path.
Lia locked gazes with him, raising her brows in alarm. He was scowling at the woman he adored with a scorn that put Julian to shame. It was so completely unlike the Tyrell she knew—something about this place must have been making everyone mad.
Somewhere in the distance, thunder clapped.
“You cast her off so cruelly,” Tyrell seethed. “You haven’t even attempted an apology and you expect her to return to your service just like that?”
What was Tyrell doing?They were finally getting through to the princess and he was demanding an apology on her behalf? Serving the royal family in itself was an honor. Princess Tavia did not owe her anything.
“It’s alright, my lord,” Lia pleaded. “Let’s just go with her and perhaps . . .”
She wasn’t sure what her plan was, she just knew they had to go with the princess and see if they could break through to her somehow.
Tyrell crossed his arms. “The only place we are going is Leviathan hall.”
“Oh,” Tavia breathed, locking an almost admiring gaze onto Tyrell’s face. “We can’t go there. That’s the one place Julian forbid.”
“Which is exactly why we’re going,” Tyrell insisted. “You show us where it is and we’ll find some way of getting in.”
“Oh, I have the key!” Princess Tavia volunteered, holding up the silver and sapphire key Lia noticed her fingering earlier that day.
“He . . . gave you the key?” Tyrell questioned.
“He gave me all the keys,” Tavia shrugged. “He just very specifically told me not to use this one.”
Lia and Tyrell exchanged a glance.
“You don’t find that odd?” Lia asked.
“Well . . . no . . . but . . .” Tavia began aggressively tapping the silver key in her hand. “I’ve kind of been wanting . . .” A troubled look washed over her expression. “No, I can’t betray his trust.”
“Tell him Lord Tyrell made you do it,” Tyrell ordered.
“Hmm . . . yes. That could work.” Tavia smiled. “Alright. This way.”
16. The Incredibly Creepy Shanty
Lamplight danced across the tapestried walls revealing countless battles of man and beast written in thread. Sea monsters of one kind or another were either eating stranded sailors, or being harpooned by sailors, depending on who the seamstress favored in each piece. Teeth, tentacles, things like great whales and things like coiling snakes all made their appearances in turn.
It seemed to Lia that all the red dye in the five kingdoms had been procured for the making of these pieces which was probably why Tavia’s hand was trembling, and her lamp was jittering, and the light was dancing across the walls in the first place.
The corridor leading to the forbidden hall was dark and dusty, abandoned by most of the household. And yes, there was an ever growing stench that made Lia’s nose crinkly up as she resisted the urge to pinch her nose. It wasn’t like garlic though—more like some combination of standing water and rotten fish.
