Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Her home seemed drabber than she remembered, the crenellations worn and chipped like old porcelain.
It felt less welcoming than the castle at Irenbis.
At least there she could count on the comfort of her and Cassius’s room, the deep wallpaper and crimson drapes that bled with color.
At least, despite all that had transpired, the castle in Irenbis felt as though it had some sort of life.
The soldiers standing watch bowed as she hurried into the palace, the steady fall of rain working its way down the back of her cloak.
As soon as Thalia stepped inside, she let out a deep breath.
She wasn’t sure why it surprised her that her mother hadn’t come to greet her.
Reina waited, her armor glinting despite the darkness. Her hand rested on the pommel of her sword, her gaze wary.
She inclined her head at Thalia’s approach. “Princess, we’ve been expecting you.”
“Where’s the queen?” Thalia asked, taking stock of the empty halls, the quiet that bled like a tomb.
Reina’s dark gaze slid to Cassius, then to the sword strapped to his own hip. “She had to attend to something outside the castle, but she’s called for a ball this evening.”
Thalia nodded, and they moved through the halls. The banners of Agripa lining the walls all seemed dusty and stained. Had they always looked like that? Was she just seeing it now with different eyes?
She and Reina didn’t say anything, Cassius merely a shadow behind them as they reached her old room.
“Is Marcus here?” Thalia turned to her before entering her suite.
Reina’s eyes flicked to Cassius. “Yes. Although the queen has kept him busy.”
“Doing what?”
Reina shook her head, her cropped hair hardly moving. “I can’t tell you.”
“Reina—”
Reina straightened, eyes going hard. “Is there anything else I can help you with, Princess?”
Why the hell is she acting like this? Thalia’s annoyance spiked, but she pushed it aside. “Tell Marcus to meet me in the library in an hour.”
Reina stiffly nodded, then walked away, her boots clipping across the cold floor.
Thalia turned to her room, shoving open the door, and tried to keep her anger from making her do something foolish. Like run down the hall and demand that Reina stop acting so weird.
A quick glance around her room showed that at least her mother hadn’t changed anything.
“What do you think the queen is doing?” Thalia asked, sinking to the edge of her bed. She didn’t want to admit that she’d missed her mattress.
Cassius looked around the room, his attention lingering on the stained rug before meeting her gaze. “I don’t know.”
“Was more ore sent to us?”
Cassius leaned against the door. “Yes.”
Thalia pursed her lips. Perhaps that was where her mother had gone—to ensure the shipment of ore was properly distributed. But that didn’t make sense. Her mother had her advisers do that for her.
She cleared her throat. “I’m going to see if I can find Marcus.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
Thalia hesitated. And maybe it was because he seemed like the only one in the palace acting normal that she nodded.
At least there was Marcus. Reina might not have wanted to speak to her, but Marcus would be willing to.
Marcus couldn’t speak to them.
In fact, when they’d gotten to the library, a robed librarian explained that he was not to be disturbed.
Thalia’s brows narrowed as the librarian shuffled away, casting a fearful glance at Cassius before disappearing.
“Marcus wouldn’t not see me,” she said lowly, glancing around the large space. Rain pattered against the high windows. Books stretched far above them for many stories and even down below, the staircase spiraling into darkness.
“Do you think Reina didn’t give him your message?” Cassius asked, taking note of everything.
Thalia didn’t like the thought of Reina not doing something. Especially given their relationship before she left. Reina had always been loyal to her—a friend, even. Could Reina’s sentiments about her have really changed in only a matter of weeks?
Thalia shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Any idea on where we might find him?”
Thalia chewed the inside of her cheek, eyes following the spiraling staircase up toward the very top of the library.
“Yes.”
Two soldiers stood watch outside the master librarian’s quarters.
Thalia frowned as she and Cassius peeked around the corner of the hall from the stairwell.
“He’s never had guards before,” Cassius murmured in her ear.
“I know.” Thalia pulled back into the stairwell.
“Do you want me to take care of them?” Cassius rumbled.
She whirled to him. “I don’t want you to kill them!”
A faint trace of a smile curved his lips. “I wasn’t going to kill them, Princess. Merely knock them out.”
Thalia made a face, looking at the soldiers. They were no doubt under direct orders from the queen to stay put.
“Fine,” Thalia got out.
Cassius smirked, then he sauntered toward the guards.
In all of two seconds they’d crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Thalia blinked at Cassius. He wasn’t even winded.
“Shall we?” he asked, brow raised. He gestured to the door.
Thalia swallowed, trying to ignore the sudden heat flooding into her stomach as she stepped over the soldiers. Now certainly wasn’t the time.
She knocked on Marcus’s door. Nothing.
Thalia frowned, knocking harder. When no answer came, she pushed open the door.
Marcus’s room was in disarray. He’d always been messy, but never like this.
Stacks of books were piled precariously on everything from the floor to the armchairs, even his bed.
Crumpled paper littered the ground like dried rose petals.
Trays of food were spread around, some of the contents old enough to have gone green and moldy.
Flies buzzed over a tray, the smell ripe.
“What the fuck?” Thalia stepped into the room and accidentally kicked over a pile of books.
Marcus looked up from where he was hunched over his desk. His curly hair was frazzled and unkempt, his normally dark skin wan. He blinked. “Thalia?”
“What the fuck is going on, Marcus?” Thalia’s heart began to climb as she moved farther into the room.
Marcus rose, bits of paper falling around him. “What are you doing here?” Then his eyes slid past Thalia’s shoulder, and he froze. “What is he doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Thalia crossed the dirty ground. “Why are you being guarded? Have you even left this room?”
Marcus scrubbed a hand over his stubbled chin, blinking. He glanced around the room as if noticing how badly it was kept. “Your mother—I mean the queen—she’s kept me busy.”
“Doing what?” Thalia demanded.
Marcus slumped back into his chair, his desk rattling with the movement. It caused a bottle of ink to spill all over a stack of unorganized scrolls. Marcus didn’t move to clean it up. “She’s having me research the old trenches of our land.”
Thalia glanced at Cassius. “Why?” No one had used the old trenches in years.
They’d been dug when the war was first started, because the humans of Agripa thought that if they couldn’t go through the forest to get to the Vampyrs, maybe they could go under it.
The plan had failed; the soil too difficult to dig.
Now the trenches were forgotten, collapsed and caved in.
Marcus ran a hand through his messy hair. “I don’t know. She just keeps asking me to get a map of all of them, to see how far we got. With the replenished ore, maybe the soil has become softer—more willing to let us dig.”
“How long have you been doing this?” Thalia asked.
Marcus grabbed a mug on his desk and went to take a drink, then frowned at the contents. He set the mug down. “Shortly after you left.”
“Why the hell is she wanting to know about the forgotten trenches?” Thalia turned to Cassius.
Cassius’s eyes were on Marcus. Thalia could practically see him thinking. “Is there anything else the queen wanted you to research?”
Marcus sighed. “Something about infections? I don’t know. She’s been rather vague with her requests, and every time I bring her something new, she claims it’s not what she’s looking for. Hence all this.” He waved a hand.
Thalia’s stomach clenched as she moved to Marcus’s desk, picking up the spilled ink bottle. “You should rest.” Marcus stared up at her, his eyes bloodshot. “I mean it, Marcus. Rest. I’ll deal with the queen.”
Marcus hesitated, but maybe being pulled him from his research-induced stupor had him realizing just how burnt out he was. “All right.”
Thalia offered a grim smile, and she squeezed his shoulder before she and Cassius navigated out of his room.
As soon as they’d reached the safety of the stairwell, Thalia whirled to Cassius, her thoughts on the infections that Marcus mentioned. “Do you think she knows about the bitten?”
Thalia didn’t know how the queen was so close to guessing what plagued Vaccarium. She’d never sent the half-finished letter to her mother. In fact, it had burned along with the castle of Irenbis.
Cassius’s face darkened. “It seems she may suspect. Which means we must ensure your mother doesn’t realize how close she is to the truth.”