“That’s not the easiest—or the safest—way to sneak in,” she said.“Why not go in through the royal apartments?”
Because that route was less exciting, and I had a feeling Ezrielle would have bribed some of the guards to keep an eye on her room.
“This is the only way we won’t be noticed,” I said.
A slight tremor shook her hands.“Let’s go through your room, then.It’s less climbing, which means lower chances of being seen.Or falling.”
I frowned.Why was she bothered by this?She had done it before, and the tower wall we’d scaled last night had been much higher than this one.My eyes flicked to where I’d wrapped her wound.
“Is it your shoulder?”I asked.
Her lips thinned.“I’m fine, but there isn’t a large lip on this one.Are you sure you want to come?”
I straightened with offense, both at her insinuation and lack of answer to my question.“Why wouldn’t I?”
She rolled her eyes.“Because I don’t think you realize how difficult it will be.”
I harrumphed, taking off my cloak and handing it to her as I led the way back to the royal apartments.“I don’t want any of the soldiers gossiping.”
More than I’m sure they already had.
She frowned, and I watched a blush stain her cheeks before she pulled the hood over her head.The same blush from when I’d nearly kissed her in the damp tunnel.
I nodded to the outer guards as we passed through the doors.They acted like they weren’t paying any attention to us at all, but I caught both trying to peek underneath Analleia’s cloak as we swept past them.Gossips never slept here.Information and secrets made up the highest form of currency even among the royal guards.
Shadows painted the hallway, collecting in the crevices and corners like forgotten items.The silence of the corridor unnerved me, the lack of noise resulting in a buzz that filled my ears.No soldiers milled about, although twenty would come running if I called.Howland was in the retiring room across from mine, asleep for once in his life.I wasn’t quite sure how I had managed to sneak out without him knowing—twice.He seemed to sense my movements and intentions in his dreams.
Analleia pulled her cloak down farther, a question hanging in her gaze as she surveyed the emptiness around us.“Shouldn’t we at least try her door first before we dangle above the abyss?”
I hesitated, then nodded to the right, leading her through the darkness to Ezrielle’s door.The golden knob resisted the push of my hand, rejecting me.
A snarl curled across my lip, a curse on the tip of my tongue.Analleia elbowed me out of the way, slipping something from her hair as she squatted down in front of the lock, fiddling a small hairpin inside.I rolled my eyes.These were the royal apartments of Paravellia.If she thought she could break into the room with a little—
The lock clicked, the door swinging inward to reveal a dim room.
My jaw went slack.
That should not have been possible.
Analleia smirked up at me as if sensing my shock.
I eased the door open, ushering her in before closing and locking it behind us.
It had been years since I’d entered Ezrielle’s apartments, and the last memory of being in here as a child, with my uncle and the constable, was not fond.My hands tightened into fists, my breathing picking up.
Sheer lace and exotic prints overpowered the room, intertwining into the most extravagant array of interior design I had ever seen.Ezrielle knew how to spend money—and she was good at it.
“Where should we begin?”Analleia whispered.
“Everywhere.”
I strode over to the desk, rifling through the papers and various powders scattered across its surface.Seamstress.Cobbler.Perfumes.A list probably consisting of every diplomat she had slept with since the Paravellian Balls started and what she had gained from each of them.Appointments.Nothing out of the ordinary.I opened drawers, looking for what, I wasn’t sure.My fingers crept along the edge of the wooden desk, seeking out any hidden mechanisms that would grant entrance to an invisible pocket.
I came up empty.
I resisted shoving everything onto the floor.Walking out of here without leverage was not an option.
I flew through the room, begrudgingly making sure everything was returned to its original position and place instead of ransacking it.Ezrielle collected a lot ofinterestingthings, but nothing that equaled blackmail.
