10. Eshe
Eshe
It’d been two days.
And two different meals that came with two different servants. One plate would barely have anything on it, maybe a piece of fruit and a half-eaten chicken thigh. The other would be a full plate of meat, cheese, and fruit.
The servant who would bring me the least amount of food was an aggressive man who would dismiss me with a grunt, and the other was a sweet, plump, older sort of woman who wouldn’t make a sound.
I wasn’t an idiot, but Casimir and Ezra were.
I knew that Ezra was trying to weaken my strength and endurance, but Casimir was still decent enough to feed their “guest.” Eventually, the male servant stopped coming on the second day.
I would never know if it was because Ezra indeed wanted me to starve, or if he figured out his attempt to weaken me was useless because his brother had been feeding me plenty.
Neither Casimir nor Ezra had paid me a visit. I was sleeping in my enemies’ palace, and my sanity was slipping by the hour.
When I asked the nice woman where they were, she informed me that Ezra was on a business trip and I would not be able to see him anytime soon. Why did he own a fighting arena, and why was he going on business trips when Qahl duties were here in Urnaz? What was he doing with his time?
After calculating the times the servants would check on me, I decided it was safe to venture out for the first time.
If I were lucky, I’d find Ezra and kill him.
First, I had to find weapons. I decided as I braided my black hair away from my face.
Using my marbled needle, I slid the latch off and got myself out, barring it back shut.
The woman servant had brought me extra clothes—no doubt thanks to Casimir. I got rid of my Priestel outfit and exchanged it for a plain white linen dress, snatched around the waist.
I remember from the times I had played hide and seek with my brothers and Casimir that the Qahl quarters were at the very back of the palace. Through the marbled hallways, I made my way to the courtyard in the very center of the palace.
He was such a stick-in-the-mud. Ezra caught Casimir, Kavid, and me playing a game of run and punch.
One person had to find the rest and had to chase them down until they punched them in the arm.
Whatever. Totally inappropriate for a princess like me, but we were on vacation.
Okay, not really. We were visiting Urnaz to discuss terms–again–whatever that means.
And here Ezra was, hands on his hips, staring at us in the middle of the palace hallway like he was disappointed in our mere existence.
“Casimir. I looked everywhere for you before the meeting this morning.”
Cas pursed his lips but said nothing. Coward.
“Kavid. Your father is waiting for you with Yonam.”
Kavid’s face turned bright red. Pansy.
Ezra’s eyes slid to mine. And he just shook his head at me. I rolled my eyes.
“You will never be able to tell me what to do, you empty sand-brained prince,” I said to Ezra. Kavid and Cas’s eyes went impossibly wide. I flipped my hair over my shoulder for the extra effect and stormed off.
Sure, I acted like a ten-year-old, was immature and all, but there was no way in hell I was going to let my enemy tell me what I should or should not be doing. Father would be proud.
With slow and controlled movements, I watched the area for any particular royal members and found no one but a few guards walking about.
I stayed behind the outdoor columns and walked through the outer courtyard, under the shade and in the coolness of the breeze floating through. The taps of my sandals echoed softly on the marble floor.
Glancing up, I headed toward the gates of Ezra’s quarters.
The double doors were open under a large archway, and I passed through.
I entered his private wing and was stunned by how dark and how beautiful it was.
The inner walls guarding this courtyard were covered in ivy and jasmine vines, and large olive trees filled the area, almost blocking out the sunlight from the path I walked.
It looked like a miniature palace, but if it was half underground.
As soon as I cracked the door open, darkness welcomed me, and my eyes noticed the long green velvet curtains shutting out the light.
More like a dungeon.
Dark tapestries filled the empty spaces in the hallways, making it so my footsteps would not echo.
Perfect for me.
I heard voices down a hallway on the right, but none that I recognized. In a split second, I decided to go up a staircase. I kept myself glued to the wall.
I was a butterfly. Quiet, just fluttering through and, of course, doing so beautifully.
As soon as I hit the second floor, I followed the only hallway in front of me. My heart pounded—I was intruding in his space, and I loved it.
I loved that he had no idea I had escaped. I loved how easy it was to do it and how easy it was to enter his quarters.
The long hallway continued into another; several doors lined each wall.
The guards’ presence in it indicated his room was here.
The whistling sound I made bounced off in the opposite direction from where I stood and distracted the guards from the door that blocked Ezra’s chambers. The guards looked at each other once before leaving their post in search of the suspicious sound.
I crept forward, thanking Garamgai silently in my head for his numerous techniques.
The door was locked, but of course, I assumed it would be and came prepared.
I placed the wooden key I made with the three beads on top and inserted it into the door hole.
I wriggled the wooden key until I heard a click. I lifted the key, but that didn’t work.
I lowered it again.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Something was jamming the key from unlocking. I took the wooden key back, and I ripped one of the beads I glued on.
The floating voices were nearing me.
I placed the wooden key back, lifted the key, and wriggled until—click.
Ah, so he had a two-insertion keyhole. It was unlikely for a royal palace, and most would not have suspected it.
Too easy.
I slipped in before the guards returned to their posts. With little breath, I shut the door quietly, and the shadows of their boots flooded under the door crack.
I whirled around, and Ezra’s chamber nearly took my breath away.
It was three times the size of my prison chamber, smelling faintly of cinnamon and leather, with a velvet green sofa sitting under the large window sills at the end of the chamber.
His bed sat to the far right, surrounded by burnt red vertical columns that curved into a sharp end at the top, as if it was made to stake heads.
Okay. Interestingly intense.
There was a wooden desk between his bed and the windows that had multiple books, a vase full of fresh jasmine flowers, and stacks of papers on top of it.
My heart pounded against my ribs just thinking of the possibility of getting caught.
He would brutally kill me.
I was not sure why that made my body tingle and why my mind liked to play with the boundaries of life and death. I had to find out the truth about Ezra and what he was hiding. They both said they didn’t have anything to do with my family’s deaths. I was going to prove them wrong.
Hurrying over to the desk, I flipped through the books and papers, not finding anything useful.
Browsing under the bed, the sofa, and his ottomans, but I found nothing.
I didn’t know what to expect, but at least something that told me he had a weakness or that he was hiding something.
Somehow, this room looked as if it hadn’t been lived in for years.
I knew that wasn’t the case, or else there wouldn’t be fresh vases of jasmine on the tables and guards wouldn’t be in front of his door… yet something didn’t seem right.
When it was time for me to admit my failure—something I rarely did—I went to the window. I opened the window and crawled onto the sill. Slowly, I crept out onto the ledge and closed the window behind me.
The ground was a good twenty feet below me, at least. I jumped down, grabbing hold of the palm tree nearby, and twisted my body to rotate around it until my feet touched the earth again. I brushed the bark off my hands. A few pieces splintered my palms.
Scanning my new surroundings, I realized I was at the edge of the palace perimeter and took it upon myself to explore the outskirts. A few guards passed by me. I smiled innocently, but they kept their permanent frowns. The guards muttered among themselves, and I didn’t like that.
They didn’t know I was a prisoner, or else they would have taken me. Ezra and Casimir kept me their little secret.
My lips curved at how easily I could escape.
As soon as I turned the corner of one of the palace buildings, I saw a small woman pass through the small doors near the front gates.
My heart slammed against my ribcage as I recognized her and her basket full of loaves.
I rushed over to her with a smile on my face.
“Seda!” I beamed.
I placed my arms around her small shoulders.
“Mara?” Seda’s brows knitted in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
I was going over a few lies before a voice interrupted my thought process.
“Seda.”
Both Seda and I whipped our heads toward Ezra, who had found me—us.
I narrowed my eyes. He wasn’t supposed to be here…
My nose flared for a moment, realizing Ezra was outsmarting me.
Clearly, the servant had been told to lie to me about his whereabouts.
I was foolish to believe her so quickly.
Now he knew I had somehow made it out of the prison he threw me in.
It was a trap.
But he’d have to haul me back there, and I didn’t think he’d rush that kind of fight in this company.
“My lord.” Seda bowed her head, and the sight made me want to shake her fragile body apart and force some sense into her. But I decided against it when I noticed how she was already trembling slightly.
“How is your family?” Ezra asked, placing his hands in his linen pockets—ignoring me.