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The sounds of glass shattering and a cry ringing out from the top of the staircase cut me off.
Einar pales and dashes up the steps without hesitation. I move to follow him, prepared to help in any way I can. My heart is pounding in my chest, while I envision what could have caused the sound, who might be in pain, injured, or even being attacked.
“I said no, Zaina!” His booming voice echoes off of the tall ceilings and bare walls. “Go back to your rooms.” His words stop me on the second step. They are final, his command clear.
He doesn’t wait to see if I will obey, only motions to the guards nearby. They walk toward me to enforce his order.
Khijhana growls, and her ears go flat as the men approach. They hesitate for only a second before I pick her up, forcing her to obey as I have to.
I clench my fists around her fur in an attempt to fight down the panic and fury rising inside of me. The guards are thrumming with tension. Whether it’s for the person who cried out or because of the king’s raised voice, I can’t tell. They silently lead me back to my rooms, exchanging a few hushed words with the guards who stand watch by my door.
Khijha paws gently at my face, her claws retracted, as she tries in her own small way to comfort me. I scratch her behind her ears, and she purrs, but it offers me little consolation.
My head is spinning, and my heart is thundering in my chest. I’m not sure why I expected this tour to go any differently than the last one, but at least it taught me some things that I didn’t know before.
One. The king has no trouble raising his voice to women or humiliating his own wife.
Two. He would rather keep things from me than accept any assistance I might have to offer.
Three. I need to know what is in the West Wing.
If I am going to begin to unravel any of the secrets that shroud this sands-forsaken castle, it will undoubtedly start there.
Chapter Sixteen
For all the king had said I looked like death yesterday, I certainly feel like it today.
My mouth is constantly dry, and my bones always ache. It seems that no matter how much rest I get, it’s never enough.
I’ll be damned if I’m in bed again when he flounces in with his superior expression, though, so I force myself to stand.
Besides, I know him well enough from our brief encounters to know he will pretend nothing happened yesterday, and I will not let that stand. Everyone has heard the rumors of the beastly king and the castle full of people no one has seen up close in years.
Now I’m here, in the midst of it, and it makes even less sense than the convoluted stories. Someone is going to tell me what’s going on.
My steps are unsteady on the way to the table as it is, and Khijhana nearly topples me entirely in her haste to wait at the door for Sigrid. She’s an intelligent little nuisance, I’ll give her that. And she seems to be growing before my very eyes.
Surely, her paws weren’t that big yesterday...
Sigrid arrives before the king, for a change. He is late. Worse yet, Sigrid has brought another of her horrid tonics.
With a sigh, I force the thing down. Every last salty, citrus tasting bit of it. I’ve already determined it’s not actually poison, and it does help, just as it did yesterday.
“Shall I assume the king won’t be joining me this morning?” I phrase it as a question, but I already know the answer.
She hasn’t brought him a plate, and I’m not surprised he’s avoiding me after yesterday. I am, however, curious to see what she has to say about it.
“You need be drink more water. Your body is hungry for liquid,” she deflects, picking up the wooden pitcher and pouring me a large glass. “The mountain sickness, it sits with you.”
“Sigrid?” I press, and she sighs.
“His Majesty has much things to do with the kingdom today.” She is already moving toward the door as she answers, uncharacteristically eager to get out of this room herself.
“I thought you said he had nothing better to do than spend time with his wife?” I inject polite interest into my tone, but I doubt she is fooled.
“The things are come up,” she answers.
Her tone has a ring of truth to it, but I can’t let it drop.
