Chapter 17
Rummy
Sleep did not come. Every time I closed my eyes, visions of death and decay crashed through my mind.
I was no stranger to death. Midgrave had been a fucking graveyard in itself. Especially when the vampyre attacks were so rampant.
I had known poverty. I had known illness. Starvation. I’d witnessed apathy in those who refused to help.
But what I’d seen in the streets of Pericius?
Those people were fighting for their lives. And they were terrified.
We’d now been given two sides to this damn story.
King Cornelius’s side—the letter requesting aid. Where we were asked to send our army to help settle the uprising.
Then there was the side the people of this kingdom were on. Those on the streets who were starving and begging for help. Those who were terrified, who fled if they had the means.
Jessiah was right to be suspicious. We had to uncover what King Cornelius was doing to these people and what he had planned. He seemed a little intense, maybe, but to use some sort of mighty dark power? To wield literal death over his own kingdom?
To raise the dead?
What was the point of that? What would he gain from forcing his people into starvation and sickness?
The healer was no help. The riddles and vague answers got us nowhere. I still wasn’t even sure we could trust her about the king.
Raising the dead was insane. And for what?
It made no damn sense.
Not to mention the point that resurrecting the dead would take a dark, forbidden power. A power that the king did not possess. A power that was only discussed in legends and nightmares.
I tossed and turned between the silk bedsheets. The sun would be up in an hour, maybe less. And I hadn’t slept a damn minute.
My mind wandered to Jessiah. Time and goddess-cursed time again, I pictured the way he’d watched those people.
He hadn’t grown up in Midgrave like I had. As the son of the mighty archangel, he’d been surrounded in luxuries. But he had seen death. He had seen decay, just as I had.
Only, he had been on the other side of it all.
My chest tightened. We’d only begun to learn about what was really happening in Pericius, but so far, it didn’t look like a rebellion at all. The streets were full of children. Of women begging for food. Men who could do nothing but plead for help.
I’d be the first to admit that my heart was cold, but damn it all, what I witnessed last night had brought tears to my eyes.
When we left the healer, we’d crept back into this warm, cozy castle, where there was plenty of food and wine, where the multiple wardrobes in my room alone were stuffed full of glamorous dresses, where we’d have to pretend like our lives were all great and fine.
It made me fucking sick.
There was no way I could sleep with all this on my mind.
So I pulled myself out of bed and threw on a fresh pair of trousers and a loose top.
Many of the women here wore dresses, but I was still not used to the luxury.
It had been a fun change of routine for dinner last night, but that was a fantasy. An illusion.
Today, I was back to being plain old Rummy. There was nothing special about me. Nothing luxurious.
I pulled my black boots onto my feet and made my way to the door. When I flung it open, a figure loomed on the other side, scaring the life out of me.
“King Cornelius!” I reined in my reaction quickly and plastered what I hoped was a warm smile onto my face.
To my surprise, he seemed equally flustered. His hand was raised like he’d been ready to knock, but he quickly dropped it, clasping his hands behind his back, and took a step back.
“Rummy, good morning.”
“Good morning to you, too.” The tension in my shoulders eased a bit. “To what do I owe this surprise?”
His eyes met mine, and I could have sworn he looked… almost shy.
“I hoped you would accompany me on a morning walk.” He ducked his head nervously. “The castle is beautiful this time of the day. We have the perfect view of the sun rising over the horizon, but I know it is early and I wasn’t sure I should disturb you, so—”
“Please.” I stepped into the hall, pulling my door shut behind me. “I would absolutely love a walk. My attempts at sleep are getting me nowhere. You’d actually be helping me.”
My racing heart slowly calmed itself. I couldn’t imagine he’d found out about our escape last night. If he had, I couldn’t imagine he’d behave so congenially.
“I’m happy to help.” He held his arm out to me, and I swiftly accepted.
He led me through the main halls of the castle, but soon, we were heading outside, guards pulling open a set of doors that took us to a terrace with stone steps that led to the grounds.
He was right. The view from here was incredible.
The sun rose over a garden that spanned the horizon as far as I could see, the sky painted pink and orange and purple.
Flowers in colors I had never even seen before lined the path.
Butterflies and other insects fluttered around, bringing the castle to life.
After what I’d seen last night, I needed this. A reminder that beautiful things still existed in the world.
“I must say,” Cornelius said as we walked side by side. “I quite enjoyed your company last night. More so than I would like to admit, actually.”
I smiled softly as we strolled lazily. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Bad?” he repeated. “No. Surprising? Yes.”
I ducked my head, playing coy. “Oh, please. Don’t try to tell me you don’t have a plethora of beautiful women here to keep you company. I’m sure a king as good-looking as you spends many evenings charming and dining with company.”
He put his free hand over his chest and inhaled. “You must think some truly heinous things of me, if that is what you picture my free time looking like.”
We came to an intersecting garden path and stopped walking. I slipped my arm from his and turned to meet his gaze. “I suppose I don’t know you well enough to picture how you spend your time at all.”
His smile widened. “Then I suppose we’ll have to change that, won’t we?”
I peered down at my feet, pretending to be a shy, awe-stricken girl who humbly accepted such kind words from the King of Pericius.
“Have dinner with me tonight,” he said. “Alone. I’d love nothing more than your company under the moonlight. While your male companions are a delight, I’m interested in learning more about you.” His face grew serious. “Only you.”
He was bold, that much was certain. But I smiled again, fluttering my lashes. “I would be honored.”
We’d just continued our stroll when a guard rushed into the garden, his sword clanging at his hip, and lowered his head in deference to Cornelius. “There is an urgent matter that requires your attention, Your Highness.”
Cornelius’s smile slipped as he dismissed the guard, but when he met my eye again, it had been fixed in place once more.
“Then it is done. I look forward to it, Rummy. You’ll have to excuse me for cutting our morning walk so short. Perhaps we’ll have another chance in the future.”
I let my lips curl up slowly. “I would like that very much. I’ll see you this evening.”
With that, he turned on his heel and stormed away, following the guards out of the courtyard.
Urgent matter. What could be so urgent to a king who appeared to want nothing more than to spend his free time flirting with a useless fae from Scarlata?
Did I really want to have dinner alone with him? No, but if it allowed me to get closer to him, to discover his secrets, then it’s what I would do.
See? I wasn’t entirely useless, after all.
I wandered the garden by myself for the next few minutes.
I’d never been much of a nature lover, but this place had the potential to change my mind.
The beautiful flowers were only the start.
Toward the edge of the garden, massive trellises were woven with thick, green vines that must have taken years to grow.
The whole garden had to have taken decades to develop.
I was no expert, but from the look of it, every plant had been placed with intent and curated with care.
I was so enthralled by the nature of the garden, I didn’t hear the footsteps approaching behind me.
“Early riser?” Xavier asked. “You surprise me again and again.”
I jumped at the voice, but when his identity registered, the anxiety drained out of me. “It’s more of a late night than an early morning.”
Xavier looked annoyingly refreshed. He clearly hadn’t stayed up all night thinking about the starving children in the streets the way I did.
He stepped forward, pretending to admire the same plants I’d been looking at.
“Jessiah told me what you saw,” he said, his voice lowered. “Are you sure an evening alone with him is a good idea?”
I shrugged. “How bad could it be? He’s just a man, Xavier. He has his secrets, obviously, but he just wants my company. We’ll be fine.”
“Good luck telling Jessiah that.”
That got my hackles up. “I don’t think it’s any of Jessiah’s business.”
With a scoff, he shook his head. “You two are ridiculous.”
“He doesn’t need to approve of my every action, Xavier.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “He might be your commander of the army, but he sure as all hells has no say in my life.”
Xavier stiffened, but he didn’t argue. Probably because he knew I was right.
As a soldier, Xavier actually had to listen to Jessiah.
Me? I was solely in control of myself.
We were here to get information, weren’t we?
And if the charming king wanted to invite me to a romantic dinner, then I’d enjoy getting dressed up again and I’d go.
By the grace of the goddess above, I actually got a little sleep that afternoon. Though I still slipped in and out of dreams for hours, tossing and turning on the massive bed until the sun finally went down.
It was then that I scraped myself out of the silken sheets, drew myself a bath, and got to work on my mess of blonde hair.