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“It's the queen,” someone said, and the room went still.
The little boy I met that first night outside my room hurried forward, a heaping plate of food in his hands. He bowed.
“Your Majesty. Thank you for feeding me and my friends.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You ordered that any child who came to the castle should receive nourishment. So since that day, I have been bringing those who need it most.”
I gazed out over the children. They all rose and bowed. “Your Majesty,” they said.
Sansa, the head cook, approached with a permanent scowl on his face. He bowed. “Your Majesty, you see what he’s done? He’s invited all his friends and is forcing us to waste precious time—”
“Keep feeding whoever comes, Sansa,” I said. “And send each child home with a bag of food for their families.”
Sansa blanched. “Each day, your majesty?”
“That’s correct.”
The cook wrapped his hands in his apron. “The staff is already overworked as is—”
“Then hire more help. This is a palace. We have resources. Don’t we?”
He must have realized he wasn’t going to win. “Yes, your majesty.”
The little boy bowed. “Thank you, my queen.”
“What is your name?”
“Jaqueth, my queen.”
“Jaqueth, you let me know if these children need anything else.”
The boy nodded. “I shall.”
I turned to leave. “Oh, and Sansa? From now on, I want you to feed the children in the royal dining hall. Heaven knows, that table is big enough to fit an army.”
I walked back to my bedroom, thinking about how the children’s faces had lit up when I’d entered. The gratitude shining in their eyes. A smile snuck over my face.
No guards waited outside my room.
I slid it open without a sound and slipped inside, wondering how long it would take for Keelin and the others to notice my absence. Funny how despite literally everything changing, having guards follow me around and escort me everywhere twenty-four seven was the one thing that had remained constant.
I moved into the room, my gaze sweeping over the armoire, the cabinet with Morrigan’s potions, and the table where my dishes from breakfast had been cleared away.
And froze.
Roisin sat, bound and gagged to the chair on the other side of the table. She pulled on her bonds, her eyes wide with fear.
My jaw dropped, and I stumbled back.
The door behind me clicked shut, and I spun.
A figure in an oily black cloak stood by the entrance to my room, hood raised, hand braced against the closed door. “Good evening, your majesty.”
Chapter 15
Themanwho’djusttrapped me in my room took a menacing step. At first I’d thought it was Ornan, but his movements lacked the smooth grace of the demon. His ebony cloak obscured his features in darkness.
