Frost Bound (Entangled with Trickery #1)

Dahlia

Chapter Thirty

Dahlia

It was an odd feeling to be the tiniest person in a group.

Dahlia hadn’t really noticed it until a sea of finely dressed giants surrounded her all speaking at once—some in Loriian, others in the common tongue, still others in Fierran.

None of it made sense. It was just a jumble of words.

She just nodded and smiled as she was whisked up the stairs on the king’s arm and through a set of three-story-tall arched doors. Dahlia glanced over her shoulder at the starry night, already wishing she were somewhere else.

She had felt overwhelmed and lost in Florrant, but the ice palace was something altogether different. It was wealth and opulence that Lia couldn’t have imagined.

The king released her, and people surrounded her, but she didn’t hear a thing they said as she soaked in the palace’s opulence.

Columns of pale blue marble supported the arched ceiling, which was threaded with silver veins. Crystal chandeliers with hundreds of flickering flames sparkled like diamonds, each casting multi-hued light. Third-story banisters appeared almost as if out of thin air on each side, and led to an impressive split staircase that was wider than most homes she’d lived in.

You don’t belong here.

She glanced down at her dirty travel leathers, running her fingers over the slices Neve’s claws had made when they were attacked near the Seed. What must the courtiers think of her? Did they see a grubby human girl?

False queen.

She took a shallow breath, searching the sea of faces for anyone familiar. The king was moving away from her with his entourage. She curbed the inclination to call out to him. He wasn’t her friend. She needed to remember that.

A warm hand touched her elbow, and she jumped.

Loshika’s face swam into view. Her forehead crinkled. “ Reilleve ? Are you alright?”

“ Sei ,” she murmured, finally acknowledging all the eyes on her. She smiled warmly, trying not to be intimidated.

Don’t be afraid. You’ve been in front of audiences all your life.

A robust giantess pushed her way through the group and gave Dahlia a crooked smile. “Welcome, reilleve ,” she said in common tongue, bowing low before rising. “I am Jaessa, the head housekeeper.”

“It’s lovely to meet you, Jaessa.”

The housekeeper’s cheeks darkened to a deeper purple, something Lia had observed was a blush. “We have been anxiously awaiting your arrival since we heard of your illness. If you are ready for a bath and to retire, I will show you to your room, where the healer will see to you.”

Dahlia nodded. “Thank you, but I have my own healer.” She looped her arm through Loshika’s, ignoring the pointed stares at the giantess’ scars. “I would like to meet your healer as well, but perhaps on the morrow.”

The housekeeper dipped her chin. “As you say, reilleve . Follow me please.”

Lia nodded to giants as she passed them. She tried not to flinch when immediate whispers in Loriian followed.

They’re judging you. They know you’re a liar.

The housekeeper led them up the carpeted stairs, to where it split. Reaching the third floor, Jaessa turned right, the hallway curving. The left side of the hallway was arched glass panes two stories tall that faced the lake. The moon cast an ethereal glow over the surroundings, making it picturesque.

Servants tried to mask their surprise as she passed them, dropping into deep bows or curtseys.

The housekeeper turned right to another wide staircase away from the view. They climbed two more stories, then Jaessa opened a door to the right.

“Welcome home.”

Dahlia stepped inside the room, clinging to Loshika as she soaked in the opulence of the chamber.

It was enormous—like five rooms put together—a half-moon shaped bedroom. To her left, a wall cut toward the windows, a wide fireplace in the middle of the wall that Lia could stand in if she wanted. Shelves of books and trinkets bracketed each side. Two delightful chairs and a long couch were arranged around the fire, making it seem like a room of its own.

Delicate curtains draped from arched windows to the floor in dainty puddles.

Lia waded farther into the room, soaking in the view.

Another fireplace was mirrored on the opposite wall with a tall circular tub before it. She released Loshika and made her way to the washing basin, running her hand over the curtains, along the silk pillows that reclined on attractive divans.

When Dahlia finally reached the bathtub, all she did was stare. It could have fit eight people—or four giants. Who needed a bathtub that large? And how much water would the staff need to boil to fill it? She blinked at the faucet. Did they have running hot water here?

Jaessa pointed to the paneled wall to the right of the fireplace. “The wardrobe is hidden behind that door.” The housekeeper bustled around the tub and opened a door to Lia’s right. “The shower and toilet are in this room.”

“You have plumbing?” Lia asked.

The housekeeper nodded, her lips pressed together. “Only the best, my lady.”

The giantess seemed a little miffed, but hid it well. Lia offered a smile. “I meant no offense, Jaessa. I’m just surprised. Your home is quite magnificent. It’s a marvel of modern science. Even Florrant can’t offer a shower.”

That seemed to do the trick. The housekeeper beamed.

While Dahlia was curious about the shower, she refrained from snooping around the toilet room. She finally turned around and walked to the bed that stood in the very center of the chamber.

Like everything in Loriia, it was giant sized.

Gauzy fabrics hung from the ceiling and around the bed, creating an intimate cozy space. She ran her fingertips across the silky, flawless furs that adorned the mattress. It hosted so many pillows she could have created her own mattress with them. A tasteful but raw crystal chandelier hung above the bed, adding a bit of sparkle to the space. She reached the end of the bed, her knees brushing one of the trunks from Astera.

Lia spun around and sat on the burnished wooden truck from her country and stared out the windows. It was the most striking abode she’d ever had the pleasure of visiting. She should have been excited, but all she felt was dread and exhaustion. What would happen next? How long would it be until she saw Cosmos again?

“How about a bath, my lady?” Jaessa offered. “It must have been a long, cold ride for you today.”

Dahlia smiled gratefully at the housekeeper. “And use all that water for one person? I think not.”

Jaessa blinked at her. “It’s no problem.”

Lia waved a hand at the toilet room. “I will shower later.”

The housekeeper frowned. “Please allow me to get it ready for you.”

It seemed the giantess would not be happy unless she helped. Dahlia heaved herself from the trunk, trying to look as ladylike as possible, with Loshika silently following her. “I would be grateful if you showed me how it works.”

Jaessa nodded, and opened the door for Lia and Loshika.

The room was large, with a commode in a small separate room to the left. Raw aquamarine formed the long western wall. The floor dropped down two steps, forming a sunken rectangle. The wall to the north was covered in a crystal so flawless it could have been a mirror.

Dahlia blinked at her reflection, and then looked to the housekeeper as she pointed to two knobs on the right wall. “One controls hot water and one cold.” She adjusted them and Loshika gasped as water poured down from the ceiling like heavy rain collecting in the sunken rectangle and then flowing out the drain in the center.

A giggle slipped from Lia in delight. This would be her new home. She couldn’t wait to try it.

Jaessa grinned. “Everything to your liking, reilleve ?”

“I more than like it. I love it. Thank you.”

“My pleasure. I’ll make sure linens are ready for your ladies in waiting.”

Lia cocked her head. “My ladies?”

“Yes, the king has provided four ladies-in-waiting for you as a marriage gift.”

It didn’t feel like a gift. It felt like another way for him to spy on her. But that wasn’t Jaessa’s fault. “No need to trouble them tonight.”

“I will help her,” Loshika said. “I will care for our reilleve .”

“Then I will say goodnight, lae reilleve .” The housekeeper bowed before exiting the shower room.

The air grew warm and damp as the shower continued to rain down miraculously.

“Have you ever seen something like this, Loshika?”

“No, my lady.”

“Would you like a turn?”

Loshika frowned and waved a hand at the shower. “This is not for the likes of me.”

Nor for Dahlia.

Feeling a little desperate and a whole lot out of place, she grabbed the healer’s hand and tugged her toward the shower. “Well, you did say you would help me…” Lia darted into the spray, towing the giantess along. She laughed and held her hands up to the spray, Loshika squinting at her.

“We’re in our clothes, reilleve .”

Lia spun in a circle. “They needed a good wash, don’t you think?”

Loshika tsk ed, but the corner of her mouth turned up. “You are something else, my lady.”

“Thank you. Now let’s find some soap and get the stink of travel washed from our hair.”