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He was evil.
I nodded obediently.
“Go to your room,” Lugh said, gesturing at one of the guards to follow me. “Do not talk to anyone.”
When I turned away from him, the soldier with the blue eyes followed me. He offered no words as I walked away from the King’s Tower.
I felt trapped. Lugh had our supporters in a prison somewhere. And the rest of the realm was on his side. Lady Queill could enter my mind whenever she wanted to. I couldn’t think of a way to fix things, let alone find the courage to do it.
We reached my room and I tried not to fall into despair. The blue-eyed soldier followed me silently.
“What is your name?” I asked him as we stopped before the door to my room.
He seemed taken aback by that question. I watched his face and waited patiently.
“Padraig, your highness,” he replied.
“I do not want to be disturbed, Padraig,” I said. “If anyone comes by, could you tell them to leave and come back at a later time?”
His eyes widened with surprise. I knew why. If Lugh or Queill decided that they wanted to talk to me, Padraig could not stop them.
“Of course, your highness,” he said, nonetheless.
It was an agreement between us to pretend. Pretend as though I had any power whatsoever about anything. I appreciated it.
“Thank you,” I replied.
I offered him a little smile, entered the room, and closed the door behind me.
Taking in a deep breath was not enough. I collapsed on the floor, staring into the room and trying to calm myself down.
I did not want to cry.
Still, my eyes burned with the humiliation and desperation that I felt.
Padraig would wait outside my door until it was time for me to go out again. I was a prisoner in my own room.
It wasn’t right. My father was dead, killed by Lugh and his father. I did not know how Lugh’s father managed to die during the coup, but I did not care. I just hoped he had suffered.
Still, even though Lord Merick got what he deserved, Lugh walked around in my father’s castle, pretending to be king. The lords and ladies bowed to him, most unaware of the evils he had done and some focused only on what benefited them.
I hated it. I hated all of it.
“Princess.”
Her voice took me off guard. I looked up from where I had collapsed near the door and saw an old woman, dressed in servant’s clothes. She did not seem frightened or surprised to see my cheeks wet with tears or my dress crinkled from sitting on the floor.
She cocked her head and stared directly at me. Averting my tear-ridden gaze would have been polite, but she refused to grant me even that, it seemed.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to regain my composure. Before she responded, I managed to get up and pat the dust on my dress.
“I came to help you,” she said.
“Oh,” I replied. “I don’t think I need your services today.”
“You do,” she replied quickly.
I could not help the hurt rising in me. Lugh did his best to make everyone forget that I was the rightful heir to the throne. I did not like to think about it, but since my father was gone, I was the queen now.
