Chapter Fourteen
Saphyra
I rolled languidly across the rumpled sheets and cringed. The bed felt strangely uncomfortable, simultaneously hemming me in, while at the same time not being anywhere near cozy enough. It needed to be bigger, or smaller, or something.
A soft tapping from what seemed like far away pulled me from my dreams, and I squinted against the mellow light streaming through the small skylight. My body was deliciously sore from the night’s activities, and my muscles protested against the movement as I looked toward the noise.
The deep rumble of Lex’s voice reminded me of what we’d done and sent a shiver of pleasure straight between my thighs. His broad back blocked the door, which stood open a crack beyond him. The sound of Violet’s adamant, angry whispers floated to me, but I couldn’t make out the hushed words. They may have been trying not to wake me, but it wasn’t working.
“Stop whispering and just come in,” I grouched. My throat was scratchy and dry after my late night with Lex, and my voice sounded like a frog crawled into my mouth and died. Tasted like it too.
The alpha in question stepped back from the door, allowing Violet entrance. Much to my relief, no one else followed her. I had a passing thought, wondering where the rest of the maids were, but I was glad not to see Aster or Hazel this morning. I’d seen entirely too much of them yesterday.
I started to push the coverlet off and realized I was still completely naked and covered in stale sweat and dried slick. A shower was needed immediately.
Violet saw my hesitation and marched to my bedside, grabbed the edge of the blanket and yanked it from the bed, leaving me bare in the middle of the mattress. Her eyes looked toward the ceiling as if begging for patience from the Stars.
“I see the two of you have been busy.” The irritated and yet somehow amused look on her face belied the pleasantly modulated tone. “Your Majesty, might I suggest a shower? Alexi, don’t you have duties to get to?”
Lex frowned, looking chastised but disinclined to be bossed around by the household help. Ignoring my blustering maid, he walked over and laid a blistering kiss on my lips, despite my wretched morning breath. “Valyx is in the hall if you need anything. I’ll be back later.”
With that, he left me alone with Violet, her hands planted on her hips and disapproving eyes boring into me. “Shower. Now.” She shooed me out of bed and into the bathroom.
I hated rinsing Lex’s sunshine and oak scent from me, but I was a mess, and pheromones were surely thick on my skin. I doused myself liberally with the scent-negating soap and washed the evidence of last night from my body. Before heading back out into the room, I cleaned my teeth thoroughly, grateful to have the sour taste out of my mouth.
There was no reason to be bashful. Violet had seen all there was to see. So, I didn’t bother covering up when I walked back into the bedchamber.
The industrious maid was hovering over a pair of dresses laid out on the bed, scrubbing at them furiously with a clothing brush, not bothering to glance in my direction. Dust billowed up from the fabric with every swipe, but the rich green fabric of both garments seemed otherwise clean to me. What did I know about fancy gowns?
“Here, let me help you.” I held out a hand, offering to take the brush from her.
“Absolutely not. Pick which one you like better.”
They looked very much the same to me. Any preference would have been a guess at best, so I picked the dress that she’d finished fussing over. Maybe I could save her some time.
“Good choice.” She spared me a glance while she continued to work. “Are you just going to stand there naked? Go put your underthings on.” She tutted and shooed me away.
I’d grown so used to being stuffed into my clothes by a legion of maids that I hadn’t been thinking. Was I turning into a spoiled brat? That was an uncomfortable idea. I hurried into the closet, grabbing what I thought they made me wear under those stuffy dresses.
When I came out in a long undershirt and tall stockings slouched down around my ankles, Violet did her best to hide her snicker.
“I couldn’t find the things that go at the top of the socks!” Imagining how ridiculous I must look, I made a valiant attempt to swallow down the laughter bubbling in my chest.
“It’s fine. Go sit down.” Violet’s eyes crinkled at the corners like they did when she was amused.
She reminded me of Lyrah when she smiled like that. My heart gave an unpleasant thud, thinking about my friend. I missed Lyrah, but she’d be here soon. I had faith in the upcoming rescue mission.
When Violet returned from rummaging around in the closet, she had a set of green and gold ribbons in her hands. She knelt at my side and pushed my long under-gown up my legs. I shifted, trying to help from my seated position.
“You are no end of trouble, and I’m mad at you.” She made no effort to hide the mirth in her eyes.
“What? What did I do?” I had a few ideas, but wondered what she had in mind specifically.
“What did you do?” she asked, as if shocked by my question.
“Well, there are a lot of things to choose from right now, so I figured I’d see which ones you were particularly upset about.”
She hmphed in a way that looked suspiciously like a laugh before tightening the garter around the stocking she’d wrestled into place. “You. You got caught! You weren’t supposed to get caught. Axion took my security code away. Now I have to knock on every door or request access from Fenix. EVERY DOOR!” she sputtered before bursting into giggles.
That was not what I’d expected her to say. I could see why she might be upset about that, but not what she found so funny. “Why are you laughing, then?” I asked, worried she was having some sort of episode.
She collected herself and took a breath as she continued fixing my other garter in place. “Stars, the look on your face.” She snorted. “I am annoyed that they deactivated my access, but I’m not really surprised. My code was laid out for you on a silver platter. I knew you’d take it, but to sneak into the military sector was genius. What did you do? And what happened to Hazel and Aster? Did you fire them?“ She motioned for me to get up so she could adjust my chemise.
As she tugged the cotton slip into place, I waved at the dust cloud floating in the air, threatening my face. “I didn’t fire anyone, but I am glad they’re not here.”
“Oh, really?” Her brows rose. “Why is that?”
In a hushed tone, I detailed my exploits from the evening before. We laughed together at the funny parts, but then grew quiet when I described what happened when I opened Ghost’s door. I was hurt and angry, but when I got to the maids’ reaction to my arrival, a snicker broke free, because let’s be honest, Hazel and Aster’s bare butts were pretty hilarious. When I thought about what it could mean, my heart sank and Violet grew quiet and stoic.
“That explains why Hazel is scrubbing pots and Aster is in the laundry. The other assistants have been sent back to their normal duties. I appreciated the help, but they mostly just got in the way,” Violet said as she hung up the dresses she’d been cleaning earlier, sending dust swirling into the air again.
Now I knew why she’d been brushing the fabric so diligently. Dirt was everywhere. They must have been a lot worse before she started. My nose wrinkled as I tried my best not to sneeze. “Where did these clothes come from?” I wondered out loud, not expecting Violet to know.
Her face fell, and she turned a somber eye to mine. “Did they not tell you? They were your mother’s.”
That sobered me, and I sat back down on the edge of my mattress. “Oh.”
“Your mother’s things were brought out of storage when you arrived. Not much was saved from the capital before it burned, but anything that was is here.” Violet nudged the door to the closet open.
I was not prepared for that. I’d been through the clothes before, but with the new context, the entrance looked more like a portal to another world filled with sadness and pain. The last remnants of an entire life, contained in a small dusty room packed to the rafters with forgotten items. Presented with this information, I wanted to sort through it more carefully, but with the current turmoil, I was afraid of what I might find. Or what I might remember. It had waited this long. It could wait a little longer.
The decision was taken from me, because just then the door banged open, and in glided Edeth like a deep space frigate under full sail. Trailing close behind was a harried looking woman almost entirely hidden by a mounded pile of fabric in her arms. The only thing visible was the top of her head, where her gray-streaked dark hair escaped a haphazard bun in wild clumps.
“Indra, set that on the bed,” Edeth said as she barged past Violet into the closet, returning with a small footstool. “Saphyra, up up up.” She motioned to the tufted ottoman.
I cast a surprised look at my maid, who was just as wide eyed as I must have been. Not wanting to upset the woman, I stepped onto the pedestal on wobbly feet. Violet rushed to my side and grabbed my hand to steady me and keep me from falling on my face in my haste to comply.
“It’s time for your gown fitting, darling. Hold still while Indra gets your measurements. Have you eaten this morning?”
“Uh, no. Not yet. I wasn’t expecting… Ouch!” I winced as the woman I assumed was a dressmaker snagged my hair as she circled me like a swarm of angry hornets. With no regard for my comfort or modesty, she wrapped a long, string-like thing around different parts of my body. She was moving so quickly, I barely caught her checking the readings and making entries into a data pad as she scurried about.
“Not expecting what, dear?” Edeth didn’t wait for an answer and continued talking. “Well, nevermind that. Violet, Go fetch Saphyra breakfast.”
“Yes, ma’am.” My maid gave me an apologetic look before dipping a curtsy and hurrying out of the room.
Everything was happening so fast that my head was spinning by the time the door closed behind my retreating friend. I had no idea what to say, but that was probably for the best because Edeth was happy to carry the conversation on her own.
“Finding good help is such a bother.” She tsked before turning her attention to me. “Saphyra, I’m glad to have you here. Your face brings back fond memories of your mother. You look so much like her. She was a close friend of mine, you know? Seeing you makes me miss her.” She gave my hand an affectionate squeeze. “Most people had given up on ever getting you back. Not me. I knew you’d make it back to us. So many lives lost when you were taken, such a tragedy.” She released my hand and lowered herself into the chair Lex sat in the night before. The thought of my alpha had me squeezing my thighs together with longing.
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember you. I remember very little from that period in my life.”
“Don’t worry yourself over it. We have all the time in the world to reacquaint ourselves. Having been alongside your mother for many years, I’d be happy to share my insight. There is much to be done, but I have faith that you’re your mother’s daughter.”
While Edeth was chatting, the seamstress brought over the bundle of gold embroidered green fabric she’d been buried under when she’d arrived. She shook it out in front of me and it resolved into an ornate dress. “Please, Your Majesty. I need you to put this on.” She held out the ornate gown, and I made an attempt to shimmy into it as she dropped it over my head.
The forest green cloth blinded me as it got stuck around my shoulders. I could feel the woman tugging at it, trying to get it down over my breasts, but it wasn’t moving. Unfortunately, all the yanking had tipped me off balance and, blind as I was, my equilibrium vanished. I listed to one side, and Indra tugged me back the other way. But she overcompensated, and I went tumbling from the footstool. With a crash and a sickening rip, I landed on my ass. I heard the door fly open and Shadow’s unmistakable growl. Strong hands caught me under the arms and lifted me upright onto my feet.
“What the fuck?” The anger in his voice was clear as he righted my now torn dress.
The velvet and brocade monstrosity settled over my head and my disheveled face popped through with a sputter.
“Valyx, under no circumstance are you to be in this room. Get out!” Edeth’s words shook as if she was scandalized within an inch of her life.
The alpha in question ignored her outrage and turned his attention to me. “Are you all right, little omega?” His tone was deceptively soft, but full of a vibrating sort of anger.
His fists were clenched at his sides, as if holding himself in check. It seemed like a bit of an overreaction for an innocent tumble, so I figured it would be best to diffuse the situation before it turned into something worse. “I’m fine, just a little clumsy this morning.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he let it go and marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Edeth scoffed as she approached me. “Unmated alphas are completely unreasonable. It’s long past time he settled down with a nice beta and had some children.” She inspected the tear that ran down the side of the dress, oblivious to my shocked expression.
Maybe she didn’t know about my mate situation. Or the Lex situation, for that matter. Until I understood everyone’s place here, I thought it best to shrug it off. For now. She’d been friends with my mother, so I wanted to give her a chance, but we weren’t getting off on the best foot.
Ignorant of my internal thoughts, Edeth’s attention was firmly on the seamstress. “You’ll need to let this out… significantly.” After delivering her curt instructions, she turned back to me, even though she seemed to look right through me. “Esme was much smaller than you are. This was her coronation dress. It’s a lovely gown, if a little out of date, but it should do nicely once mended.”
It was a lovely gown, but more voluminous than I was used to, and nowhere near as stylish as the sleek, rose-colored silk garment that Edeth wore. It reminded me a little of what the Imperatrix and her entourage had worn on the Hive the day I’d met her in the shuttle bay. That must be the current fashion now.
Considering the citizens in the lower levels were underfed and wearing threadbare clothes, I had no problem wearing my mother’s hand-me-downs. Maybe the savings would afford more food for them.
Indra wrapped up her measuring tools and wrestled me out of the torn gown just in time for Violet to arrive with breakfast. I caught Shadow holding the door for my maid, clearly using it as an excuse to check on me. I smiled at him and he grumped before shutting himself out.
I didn’t realize how hungry I was until the siren song of salty meat beckoned me from the platter of steaming food Violet was laying on the table. Edeth had gone back to her discussion with Indra, so I edged my way to the dining area. Before I’d made it to my chair, Edeth noticed my destination, and moved to cut me off. She plucked that delicious-looking plate of greasy meat right out from under my nose. Leaving only the fruit and eggs mixed with bitter greens in her wake.
“You won’t be needing that. Not until after the coronation, at least.” She gave me a sweet smile. “I’m sure you understand, dear. It’s going to be hard enough getting you in that gown as it is. Indra is done, so we’ll leave you to your day. You should join us for dinner soon. Alexi can handle the arrangements.” Her wide grin was somehow sharp, but I chose to overlook it for now. She was trying to make me comfortable and include me in their family life. For that, I could only be grateful.
When she was finally gone, I exhaled and slumped into my chair. Even without the meat, the food here was still better than the Hive. Usually.