Page 28 of Bride of Ash & Dust

“Seriously, though,” Acelina says with a delicate frown. “I know it can be difficult, coming here. Especially leaving your father, knowing he doesn’t have much time left.”

I frown. I wouldn’t say leaving my father was the hardest part of coming here. And why wouldn’t he have much time left?

“How is he holding up?” Acelina continues. “It must have been hard, not having him at the wedding. At least you looked gorgeous.”

“I— Thank you,” I stammer, swallowing hard. I hadn’t realized Acelina was at the wedding. “I mean, yes. It was. Hard.”

“It’s so horrible to watch your parents age,” Dulcia adds, as if that has anything to do with this conversation. “Really, we’re sorry his health is failing.”

I blink. The three women are watching me with very serious faces from behind a haze of steam rising from their teacups. Morning sun slants through the windows behind them. Those windows must open to the garden, because birdsong threads its way through this strange conversation.

I think of the last time I saw my father. He came out on horseback to escort the procession of Vsenrog guards to the front gates of the city. His cheeks were red in the cool morning air, and his two ceremonial swords flashed in the thick afternoon light.

He didn’t stop to embrace me. I didn’t expect him to, but still, it would have been nice to have some sort of goodbye. Especially since Elrick wasn’t there. The last I saw of him was my father shaking the hand of the leader of the Vsenrog troops before I slipped through the city gates and left Marion forever. He looked just like he’d always looked; strong, regal, and cold.

I open my mouth, then close it. Some strange whisper of intuition tells me not to disagree with the acting queen in such a public setting.

“My father didn’t attend my wedding either,” a soft voice whispers.

It takes me a moment to recognize the one who spoke. It’s Basili, the wife of the son Anura described as not a nice person. She keeps her dark eyes on the table, and there’s something about the way she holds her shoulders that makes me think she’s trying to make herself as small as possible.

Dulcia snorts. “I wish my family hadn’t witnessed mine,” she mutters. “Gods, I don’t think I’m ever going to get over that humiliation. Dear Prince Jak cried so hard I thought he was having a seizure. At least he had the decency to disappear the next day.”

Acelina laughs. It’s a merry, ringing laugh, the kind that can make an entire room smile. She laughs like a queen.

“To our dear husbands,” Acelina declares, raising her teacup in the morning sun. “Long may they remain at their distant posts.”

The women raise their cups. Something sharp flashes in Basili’s expression, and I wonder if this is a joke for her. Or for any of them. Acelina raises an eyebrow at me, and I lift my cup as well.

Our delicate teacups clink together. I watch Basili shrink in on herself as she lowers her cup, and a strange sense of resolve tightens in my chest.

That’s not going to happen to me, damn it.

I’m not going to let this place crush me.

Chapter 17

Lilias

ALONE WITH THE KING

“My dear Lilias,” a man’s voice says from the shadows.

I try not to jump. Next to me, Anura’s eyes widen. She’s leading me back to our room through the warren of hallways and courtyards that make up the palace of Vsenrog. I haven’t really been paying attention to where we’re going; my mind is still whirling after meeting the three wives of King Malrik’s eldest sons.

I smile politely, then turn to the man who spoke to me.

King Malrik grins at me. He’s standing in the shadows of an arched doorway to a small, dark room. I freeze. He walks toward me, his gaze lingering on the swell of my chest beneath the tight laces of my green velvet dress.

Don’t ever let King Malrik get you alone, Alia told me. Fear pulls my throat tight even as my training forces me to bow low before the king.

“A moment of your time,” the king purrs.

“Of course,” I reply. My voice is thin and high.

King Malrik’s hand closes around my arm like an iron manacle.

“We’ll walk together,” he declares.