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“Your friend worked in the fire rooms,” Orla said dryly. “Did she work there the night of the ball?”
Seren grasped onto Orla’s words. I knew why. She needed an explanation.
“Yes,” she said, somewhat excitedly. “She was there. She ran away when the monsters broke in. She managed to hide in a room, and the monsters didn’t seek her out. After the ball, she told me it was her fault for not realizing the pipes had been messed with. Do you think that’s why? She felt guilty?”
“I don’t know,” Orla replied, but I knew she was hiding something. “What happened then?”
“She was...” Seren started, but her lips quivered again as though she would break into another wail. Orla stopped her. This time, I knew she was using her magic to calm down Seren because the shift was too abrupt and unnatural. Seren kept speaking in a flat voice. “She was scared. I knew that because she locked her door thrice at night. We don’t even have that many locks in our doors, so she must have changed her locks to make that happen. She would open the door only after hearing my voice. Although nothing else happened after the ball, she got increasingly worried. I told her she needn’t be. But she didn’t listen. Sometimes she cried at night. I heard her through the opened window.”
“What did you hear tonight?” Orla asked.
“I went to bed but couldn’t sleep. Going to sleep so early is annoying sometimes. The castle is awake, and we have to sleep because we rise early and... I hate it. I felt bored, so I decided to visit Liltra...”
Despite Orla’s mind magic urging her to continue, Seren seemed in pain as the following words spilled from her mouth.
“She hadn’t locked her door. I knocked and knocked, but no answer came. I decided to enter. She was...” Her voice broke, and I saw the terror in her eyes that was not reflected in her flat voice. “Dead.”
“Was she cold?” Orla asked.
My heart ached for Seren, and I immediately turned to Orla to try to meet her gaze. This was cruel. I didn’t know what Orla was trying to do, but it was wrong.
Seren opened her mouth and closed it. She couldn’t say it.
“That’s enough,” I heard myself say.
I expected Orla to scold me for intervening with what looked like a questioning. She did not. I felt her focus being pulled off Seren as she looked my way.
“It is,” she said, deep in thought as though she had only realized it then. “Sleep.”
I thought she was putting a spell on me. But it was the maid whose eyes closed shut. I looked toward her when I heard her move. She gently placed herself on the bed without opening her eyes. Her chest started moving up and down very slowly.
She was fast asleep.
“I have to close myself off to their emotions when doing these interviews,” Orla said. “That’s why I wanted you here. Sometimes I go too far, and someone should stop me.”
“You’re not mad?” I asked, utterly confused.
“No,” Orla said. “This was why I called you here. The girl is in pain, but I needed her account fresh before anyone fills her mind with corrupted realities. I wanted you to make sure I did not push her too far. I tend to do that when I feel a secret.”
I nodded. Mind magic was a complicated thing. If Orla had to push away Seren’s grieving emotions while trying to understand what had happened, she wouldn’t know when she had gone too far. It made sense.
But what Orla said about secrets intrigued me.
“You can’t make them reveal their secrets?” I asked.
“Not always,” Orla replied. “If they want to share their secret, it is easy to convince them to do so. But if they’re adamant about keeping their secrets, they might keep it buried and if I do not know they have a secret, I might not be able to find it.”
“She did say that Liltra was cold to the touch when she came into her room,” I told Orla. “And she said she only came in to gossip with her about a stableboy and a lady. Perhaps that was the secret you felt. Seren must have been agitated at the idea of sharing a scandalous gossip with the king’s mind magicker.”
“Perhaps,” Orla said thoughtfully. “You said she didn’t hear anything?”
“She didn’t mention it even if she had,” I replied.
“Everyone was at supper,” Orla said.
I did not know what she was getting at. Still, I nodded.
“The hallway would be empty,” she continued. “These rooms are far enough from the great hall that the music and the chatter wouldn’t reach.”
