Page 55 of Queen of War and Ruin

I jump. That’s the prince’s voice, drifting out of the open door on the far side of the room in front of me. Another voice replies, but it’s too low for me to make out the words.

I glance around the antechamber. There are a few chairs along the walls and an elegant table in the center of the room. A vase filled with spring flowers catches the light that filters in through the high windows.

There is absolutely nowhere to hide in this room.

“Well, when will they finally arrive, then?” the prince demands, his voice echoing through the antechamber.

I swallow hard. It’s obvious I shouldn’t be here, but gods, I have to know what they’re talking about.

I step into the antechamber, my eyes fixed on the closest painting hanging on the walls. It’s two horses running through a field, although it looks like it was painted by someone who had never actually seen a horse. Their legs don’t bend that way.

“Yes, of course,” the prince snaps, his voice echoing around the room. “I know we need to accept their offer. I already said that.”

I freeze, my eyes fixed on the painting.

“I don’t even want to marry her anymore,” Laurance declares. “That bitch is out of her mind!”

My chest pinches. I would never marry Laurance, but hells, maybe holding a blade to a prince’s throat wasn’t the smartest move, strategically speaking.

“It should come from you,” a man answers. This voice is lower, softer, and it trembles slightly.

The king. I’ve never met him before, but there’s something in that low, soft voice that makes me think this is a man who is used to being obeyed.

The prince snorts. Someone coughs. It’s a heavy, wet, thick cough, and it makes me think perhaps the king’s illness wasn’t exaggerated. Finally, the coughing ends, and the king speaks again.

“Vsenrog,” he says, “is a better ally than enemy.”

Damn it. My hands clench into fists at my sides.

“Yes, yes,” Prince Laurance says. I can almost see him waving his hand in the air dismissively. “And we’ll force them to negotiate.”

“No,” the man replies in a stern voice. “We give them something they want. And, in exchange, we get something we want.”

“But we have an army,” Laurance says in a voice that’s almost a whine.

The other voice replies, something harsh and sharp that I can’t quite make out before his words are swallowed by another ragged coughing fit. I back away from the strange horse painting, my heart trembling in its cage.

They’re going to give Vsenrog something they want? Gods above, that could be any one of us. Elrick. Zarek. Even me.

We came here to beg for allies.

But Ethiria is a trap. Zarek was right, damn it. He was right about everything.

My hands twist together at my waist. I need to get out of here. We all need to get out of here, now, while we still can.

I step out of the antechamber and start down the hallway. A group of serving girls in white aprons climbs the steps in front of me, heading toward the chamber where the prince is discussing matters with his father. One of them looks at me like she can’t quite place my face.

“My lady,” she says in a soft voice, like she’s speaking to a spooked animal, “can I help you with something?”

I take a breath and stifle the urge to look back over my shoulder. I’m only a few steps away from the room where the prince is talking about making an alliance with the kingdom that destroyed Marion. About giving them something they want.

I give her my most charming smile.

“I’m looking for the stables,” I say. “I’m afraid I got a little turned around.”

The girl glances at the other servants. One of them shrugs like she’s not at all surprised a noblewoman would be looking for horses on the upper levels of the castle.

“Could you help me?” I ask, pushing on before she has time to think too hard about what I just said. “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble. You could just point me in the right direction?”