AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Silas’s face darkened, and he leaned across the table. “Lara isyourmistake, Serin. You may have made her a weapon, but you failed to instill in her a true sense of loyalty, which allowed her to be swayed in a way that Keris never will be. For all his failings, for all his faults, Keris is loyal to his family and to Maridrina. And if you so much as—”
A sharp knock at the door caused him to break off, and Zarrah’s heart sped with the certainty her escape had been discovered. That she’d lost her chance.
“Come.”
The door swung open, but instead of a guard stepping inside to bring warning, a young man entered.
Keris’s brother, Otis.
He bowed low. “You summoned me, Your Grace?”
The king cast a sour glare in Serin’s direction, suggesting that it had been the spymaster who’d done the summoning, but then he rose and embraced Otis. “It warms my heart to see you, my son. How fares Nerastis?”
“Quiet, Your Grace, but—”
The bedroom door opened, and Lestara stepped out. “I would take my leave, Your Majesty,” she said, bobbing a curtsey.
“I told you to stay where I left you, woman,” Silas snapped, rising to his feet. “Get back in that room!”
Except it wasn’t Silas’s reaction to Lestara that drew Zarrah’s eye, but Otis’s.
The color drained from his face, and he stared at Lestara as though she were a ghost. Serin noticed the reaction, too, his brow furrowing as his eyes skipped between Lestara and the prince.
Silas pushed Lestara back into the bedroom, following her in even as he berated her carelessness. But instead of listening to his father’s tirade, Otis strode to the window.
Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Zarrah pressed herself against the wall, holding the corner of the curtain with her fingers to keep the wind from revealing her as Otis looked out.
“Serin,” he said, “Who sleeps in that room there? The one in the shadows.”
Zarrah held her breath as Serin approached, joining the prince at the window. “Which one, Highness?”
“There. You can’t see it in the darkness, but there is a window.”
The Magpie was silent, and her mind raced, wondering which window the prince was pointing at. Wondering why the sight of Lestara had provoked this line of questions.
“That room is where Zarrah Anaphora is kept, Highness, as it is the one with the bars. It is quite secure, if that is your concern. For all her faults, Coralyn shows every caution when it comes to the harem’s safety.”
“So it’s not Lestara’s room?” Otis’s voice was stilted. Breathy, and Zarrah’s mind raced as she tried to puzzle out what he was thinking.
Serin huffed out an amused breath. “Certainly not, Highness. Lestara is favored and has rooms next to Coralyn’s. There.” He hesitated, then said, “Why do you ask?”
Silence.
“The Valcottans killed my Tasha.” Otis’s voice was barely audible. “Sank the ship she was on. There were no survivors.”
Zarrah’s chest tightened, because it was probably the truth. Her aunt’s fleet sank Maridrinian vessels constantly. Zarrah had personally ordered the sinking of several, though they’d all been naval vessels.
“A tragedy that should never have occurred, Your Highness. She was with child, no? Traveling on a naval vessel to visit you in Nerastis?”
Serin’s voice dripped with sympathy, but Zarrah’s instincts jangled with the certainty that if she could see his face, it would be wearing a smile.
“Yes.” Otis’s voice was strangled. “She’d intended to surprise me. If I’d known, I’d never have allowed her to take the risk.”
Serin made a soothing noise that made Zarrah’s skin crawl, for no one could take comfort from such a monster.
“Yet instead of strangling Zarrah Anaphora like she deserves, my father sees her treated like a princess. Offers to return her, unscathed, in exchange fortrade termsthat will never hold.”
“It’s Keris’s plan, but your father seems inclined to indulge him.” Serin sighed. “I can’t fathom how terrible that must feel, Your Highness. The Anaphora woman deserves to have her head on a stake, yet for the sake of trade negotiations, she sleeps peacefully in your family home.”
