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“I don’t know what you mean,” I tell him, and I stare at him unflinchingly.
Lasta takes a step towards me and closes the space between us. “I know how to deal with feral animals,” he whispers, and I swallow convulsively as his hot breath caresses my face.
“Here, we take feral animals, and we put them down. And that is exactly what I’ll do to you if you lay a hand on the Prince or Princess. If you even attempt to hurt them, I’ll separate your head from your body so quickly, you won’t even have time to mourn your short, pathetic life.”
I step away from Lasta and turn on my heel. I don’t run until I turn the corner, and when I do run, I don’t stop until I get to Slyth’s chambers. I am breathing heavily, my chest heaving, when I close Slyth’s bedroom door.
Then I walk over to the window, and stare out of it, as I think of everything Lasta said.At least one person here knows exactly why I am here. Who knows how many other people Lasta has told of his suspicions?
The thought that Lasta might have told Prince Zalith that I am here to do harm is sobering. “Maybe I shouldn’t do this,” I murmur to myself. “Maybe I should just give up. Maybe I should just let things go.”
But then my mother’s face invades my line of vision like a warning bell, and I am flooded with a decade’s worth of pain and hate. I might be risking a lot, but I need my revenge. Because I’ll never have a moment’s peace if I don’t get the revenge I have been working towards my entire life.
I remain at the window for the rest of the day. I drag a chair over to the window and sit there, taking in the view of Lodra.
I know that Slyth is busy with royal matters, and I cannot help but miss him as I sit and stare out at Lodra. Directly below me, I have a view of another courtyard, and I watch as various naga servants walk back and forth across it all day.
I am ready to get up from the chair and head to dinner when the sun starts to set. But then I see her, and I know I have finally gotten my opportunity.
Princess Aurora, walking on her own, both hands cradling her large belly as she moves down in the courtyard. I know she is going to the Healer’s hut at the other end of the courtyard, and I remember what Esteria told me earlier today. Princess Aurora goes to the Healer’s hut twice a day, usually with Prince Zalith in tow.
Except this time she’s alone.
I cannot let this opportunity go.
My mother’s face is all I see as I leave Slyth’s chambers and follow Princess Aurora into the darkening night.
23
SLYTH
Lasta’s words haven’t left my head since he said them.
He said them in a taunting manner that seemed to stick to my skin, slip into my ears, and take up residence in my mouth.Could he be right? Could Lorelai have a different agenda?
I am starting to think that maybe I shouldn’t have brought her to the castle. I am starting to realize that my blatant, endless love for Lorelai has blinded me to the truth.
And that truth is that she might be a danger to Zalith and Rory.
But I cannot help but hope that both Lasta and I are wrong about Lorelai as I head back up to my chambers after a long day of meetings with Zalith.
I haven’t seen Lorelai all day – she was asleep when I left this morning – and I am aching to see her. And not just because I want to ensure that she isn’t here to hurt anyone.Should I just confront her? Should I just ask her why she’s really here?
And how exactly are you going to handle it when she tells you she’s here to hurt the people you love? How exactly are you going to handle it when she tells you that she’s not here because she loves you?
I know as soon as I step into my chambers that Lorelai isn’t there. I have studied, I have learned, the intricacies of her scent after all these weeks, and there is a clear absence of her singular fragrance when I walk into my rooms.
My stomach twists itself into knots as I stand in the entryway of my chambers.
“What am I going to do if Lasta is right?” I say out loud as I try to think of a way to minimize whatever disaster is about to happen.
Because I can feel it. I have learned, after years of being Zalith’s faithful servant, how to predict when things are about to go wrong. Learning how to foresee danger is important when your life revolves around protecting someone.
The first thing I do is force myself to take a few steps into the room.Search for her weapons,is what I tell myself as I do a sweep of my chambers.
Lorelai’s small pile of belongings is piled on the bedside table on her side of the bed. I search through them and find no weapons. I go through the closet where the servants placed her new and old clothes, and I find no weapons there, either.
It is only when I am on my knees, peering underneath the bed, that I realize that Lorelai has gone rogue with her weapons.You’re a royal advisor. If you panic now then what good are you?I chastise myself as my heart thuds erratically and my breath becomes shallow.
