Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Katrina wept when she saw Thalia.
Her old handmaiden held her tight enough that her ribs bleated in protest.
Katrina finally pulled back, tears glistening in her eyes. “They haven’t hurt you, have they?”
Thalia shook her head.
“He hasn’t hurt you?” Katrina pressed.
“No. The prince hasn’t even been around—”
“I meant Cassius.”
Thalia froze, eyes lifting to Katrina’s. Cassius had left only moments before to go to the soldiers barracks. She wasn’t sure what he hoped to accomplish. Perhaps Reina would say something to him, since she seemed inclined to ignore Thalia.
“Cassius—he—I mean, no. Why would you think that?” Thalia sputtered out.
Katrina shook her head, leading Thalia into her bathing chamber. “Because what he did to you was deplorable.”
“Cassius never hurt me.” Thalia’s voice sharpened.
Katrina read her posture and softened slightly. “I didn’t mean physically.”
Katrina should have just stabbed her. She must have seen the shift in Thalia’s face, because she clucked her tongue again. “Get in the bath. And don’t get me started on your hair and nails. Do the Vampyrs not know how to treat royalty there?”
Yet as Thalia soaked beneath the suds, scrubbing the days of travel off her, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she was on the verge of her heart breaking again.
Thalia watched her mother’s preening courtiers whisper behind their jeweled fans and glittering glasses of champagne.
Yet the Queen of Agripa was still nowhere to be found.
Kamith was the only one present, his voice booming out across the ballroom despite the music swelling. Reina stood ever watchful near the door, seeming to ignore Thalia’s stare whenever she looked at her.
“Was it always like this?” Thalia asked as one of the courtiers said something that had the rest of the gaggle howling. She doubted what the courtier said was very clever.
Cassius was a dark presence at her side.
She could smell the scent of whatever soap he’d used in his bath—eucalyptus with mint.
Thalia glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
He’d pulled half of his auburn hair back away from his face.
His doublet was simple, matching his tight-fitting black pants.
“You were usually half drunk by the time this all started,” Cassius said lowly.
Thalia whirled to him. “I was not.”
Cassius smirked, a hint of fangs showing.
His eyes dipped to her own attire as if he couldn’t help himself.
She had to admit, she’d missed Katrina’s attention to detail.
She wore a crimson gown of silk, the same style as the one she’d worn when the Vampyrs had come to Agripa weeks ago.
It clung to her body, the neckline plunging.
She wore a cuff of gold around her bicep, her throat bare, yet her hair hung in waves down her back, one side swept out of the way by a gilded comb.
Cassius finally dragged his gaze to hers, eyes heated. “That or we’d found something else to occupy our attention.”
Yes. When she’d tug him down a servants’ entrance only so she could feel the heat of his body against hers. When she craved nothing but his strength—his warmth.
But that was a different time.
The conversation with Katrina rang low in her mind. She straightened, stepping away. “I’ll be back.”
She felt Cassius’s stare pinned to her bare back as she wove through the courtiers, ignoring their laughter and the sparkling wine that spilled onto the floor.
Kamith was conversing with a wizened council member whose name she’d forgotten. “Where is the queen?” she asked.
Their conversation halted, and Kamith turned to her, surprise on his handsome face. “Princess, you are looking well—”
“Where is she?” Thalia interrupted.
Kamith straightened, nodding to the adviser, who took that as his invitation to leave. “The queen is indisposed at the moment. But I know she sends her sincerest apologies for missing you.”
Thalia didn’t believe him. Not for a moment.
Kamith offered a tight smile, inclining his head. “Excuse me, Princess.”
She watched him disappear into the crowd. She felt Cassius’s stare across the throne room, but she ignored it, aiming for Reina.
“Where is my mother?” she asked.
Reina slid her gaze to Thalia. “Gone.”
“Reina,” Thalia practically hissed. She stepped closer, ignoring the glinting of her armor. “I don’t—I don’t know why you won’t talk to me, why you’re so cold. But please. Please just tell me where she’s gone. You owe me that much.”
Reina’s eyes sharpened into a glittering coin. Thalia thought she’d refuse her until she spoke so softly that Thalia had to lean into her. “The chapel.”
Thalia made a face. The chapel? What on earth would her mother be doing there?
Thalia turned away, glancing at Cassius. He’d been approached by Kamith, the adviser quickly drawing him into a conversation.
With Cassius distracted, he didn’t notice as she slipped from the throne room in search of the missing queen.