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Chapter Six
Aika
“Damian is being allowed a chance to redeem himself.” Mother shatters the silence. “He will be investigating the fires from now on.”
If I didn’t already feel so hollow, I would now.
Not only am I not going back to Melodi at the Chateau on the island, but now Damian will be investigating me. He might be a monster, but he’s not a fool. Besides, he would love nothing more than to see me fall.
She didn’t order him away just to tell me that, though.
Mother crosses the small distance between us, her heels clacking on the stone. Approaching me, she reaches out her hand to cup my cheek. Her touch is ice and death, but I can’t help the small part of me that leans into it.
She’s the only mother I’ve ever known, after all.
“An opportunity has arisen for us,daughter.” She moves her hand to trace an old scar in my brow. “You’ll have to be more careful now, Aika. No more work that could damage your hands or face. I need you looking pristine.”
I go still. It will be impossible to do my job as her enforcer and be careful, but that never mattered before. On the rare occasions I need to be Lady Aika Delmara, I wear gloves over my scarred knuckles and heavy cosmetics on my face.
So why now?
“Am I going somewhere?” I ask carefully.
“I have finally convinced thehagto bring her son out of hiding.”
She makes her way to the window, throwing open the black velvet curtains to allow the light of the moon to brighten the room around us.
“Honestly, if I had known she was going to turn into a hermit, I would have let the older one live a little longer,” she mutters. Then, in a louder voice, “The queen is throwing Corentin’s traditional masquerade ball for her remaining son, and unlike his brother, hewillchoose his bride from the ladies presented there.”
A thousand thoughts run through my mind. The royal family sequestered their remaining children after the heir died under “mysterious” circumstances, along with the commoner he had just eloped with. This news will rock all of Corentin, with every last noble throwing their daughters at Prince Francis in an effort to climb higher in rank.
But for Mother to bring this up means...
“You want me to marry the prince,” I say without inflection.
Mother turns back to me, pride shining in her expression.
“Exactly. All you will need to do is be present and make a show of spending time with the prince. I’ve already handled the rest.” She looks me over intently. “At least it is amasquerade ball.”
I don’t so much as twitch at her underhanded comment. She chose me because I blend in, whereas Zaina’s overt beauty demanded attention.
“Oh, and, Aika?” Something in her voice makes me steel myself for the blade of the guillotine to drop more thoroughly than it already has. “You will need to stay here more often than you have been. We have an image to maintain now that you will be more obvious in society.”
“Of course,” I answer quickly, though my lips have gone numb.
The limited freedom I have managed to wrangle is being ripped away from me, piece by piece. Before I can think better of it, I find myself asking another question.
“What is my objective?” My tone is neutral while I wait for her to bestow the same life sentence she did on Zaina. The bearing of an heir.
Mother’s sharp gaze meets mine, and I imagine she knows exactly what I’m asking. She arches a perfectly manicured brow and stares at me for a long moment before answering.
“I need a specific piece of information, something only imparted to the royal family. I’m sure with your skills, it won’t take you long to obtain it.”
A relieved breath whooshes out of me. Short term, then, and no babies required. I open my mouth to ask what information, but she silences me with a raised hand.
“That’s all you need to know for now.” She waves her hand toward the door, signaling the end of our conversation.
I stride from the room without hesitation, reminding myself with each step how much worse this could be.
At least I’ll never go hungry there. Though it’s been years since I was starving on the streets, that gnawing feeling in my belly never feels quite far enough from me.
By the time I reach my rooms, I’ve almost managed to convince myself this will be a good thing.
After all, there’s no use in dreading the inevitable.
