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I was surprised at that demand, but I had no way of refusing it without looking like a frightened child.
“Of course,” I replied sheepishly. “Her room is right next door.”
Orla nodded and took off before me.
Bryn acknowledged Orla with a bowing of his head as we walked toward the maid’s room. The door was closed. She seemed to be listening to something for a second before she knocked on the door.
“Yes?” Seren’s sheepish voice reached us from the inside.
“May we come in?” Orla asked politely.
We heard footsteps before the door opened wide. Seren looked disheveled, but when she saw Orla standing at her door, surprise took over her.
“Master Orla,” she said.
“May we come in?” Orla repeated.
Seren looked over her shoulder as if she was worried about the condition of her room. I saw her realizing how unimportant that was as she nodded. “Of course.”
We entered her room. I followed Orla in, not knowing why I was there or what Orla wanted from me. Orla closed the door behind us.
“Sit,” she told Seren. It sounded like an order, but her voice was compassionate.
Seren took a seat on her bed.
Her room looked exactly like Liltra’s.
It wasn’t large. There was a narrow window on the other side of the room, looking out to the city of Qam like mine did. Her curtains had not been pulled to cover the window, but the sun had been down for a while, and the room was dark except for a single candle.
Although her room was two doors from mine, her quarters were much smaller. I guessed it was because the room they had given me was reserved for nobility while hers was a maid’s room, just like Liltra’s. The lords and ladies who stayed on this floor needed maids close by to ensure their needs could be attended. I did not have a maid myself, but my status as a champion required they put me in a room suitable for nobility.
Orla’s voice pulled me away from my thoughts. I was doing it again, thinking thoughts that did not matter to occupy myself rather than focus on the horrible reality in front of me.
“You knew her,” Orla said.
The maid looked taken aback.
“Of course,” she replied. “I was her best friend.”
“Do you know why she would do this?” Orla asked.
Seren shook her head, but then, her expression twisted with sadness.
“She was worried,” Seren replied. “I didn’t think much of it since everyone’s been worried about the war and the monsters for a while now. We all fear what is to come, but I tried to assure Liltra that the king would protect us. The Winter Castle is the safest place in the realm. She shouldn’t worry...”
Orla nodded. “So she’s been on edge since the queen declared war?”
I didn’t know what Orla was trying to get at. Seren might have been scared that the realms were at war and perhaps the Unseelie might lose, but one did not take her own life because she was afraid to lose her safety. There had to be something... Something else that pushed her to do such an awful thing.
“Yes,” Seren replied. “I mean... No. I didn’t think she was unraveling... I thought. I thought her fears were justified. We all fear the war, and ever since the ball, we all know we’re not completely safe here. But I thought she would get better once she realized the castle is being protected even more since that breach. I should’ve known she was afraid. I should have been there for her.”
Seren covered her face with her hands and started crying. Orla seemed thoughtful for a second before her gaze focused on Seren.
She was probably reading her mind. I knew from Jasmine how powerful Orla was. It would be easy for her to read Seren’s mind without her even realizing it.
“It’s not your fault,” Orla said.
Seren looked calmed down instantly. I knew it wasn’t Orla’s words that did that. It was likely her mind magic.
