Chapter 3
Today, I encountered a dark one, similar to onyx. It was unfamiliar. Might be connected to the surly fellow we discussed previously.
A smile spread across my face, my quill poised in the air as I considered my next words to Eira.
I had already bathed and dressed in my shift.
I knew I should be continuing to get ready, but I wanted to write to my friend before I forgot.
In our previous letters, we had joked about how the Wraith King was likely a surly old codger who liked to complain about everything.
Somehow, it made things easier, imagining him to be old and on the edge of death. Even if, deep down, I knew fae were immortal.
Blue wants to investigate right away. But I’m nervous. What do you think? I don’t want to dabble in anything related to the old codger.
Blue was our nickname for Azure. Already, I could picture Eira writing me back, hastily listing out all manner of ridiculous ideas for what the new stone could do. Once, she’d suggested a gem could grant me the power to squawk like a crow, realistic enough to fool even the smartest of birds.
I snorted at the memory. Eira never ceased to make me laugh.
I had barely finished my letter when Ramia, my maid, burst into my rooms carrying a bundle of crimson fabric. Her graying brown hair was unusually frazzled, and I assumed her haggard state had something to do with my father’s mood.
I straightened, setting down my quill. “Is it bad?”
Ramia pursed her lips, her eyes flashing with a warning. After she laid the red dress on my bed, she said, “It’s certainly not one of his finer days, my lady.”
“Does he—” I broke off with a hard swallow. Ramia had never outright asked me about my cavern exploits, but she was too shrewd not to notice my charcoal-stained skin and clothes.
“As far as I can tell, he only suspects insubordination and youthful recklessness,” Ramia said, her eyes softening just a fraction. “Nothing more.”
I nodded, and she fastened the corset around me. I sucked in a breath as she tightened the strings. The boning tugged against my chest and rib cage, and in her haste, Ramia’s efforts were enough to squeeze the air right out of me.
“No time to do your hair properly,” she muttered before twisting the wet locks into an elegant knot and pinning it in place at the top of my head. When my hair was dry, it was a warm chestnut, but right now it looked almost black, standing out starkly against my pale skin.
After giving me a pair of ruby earrings to match my dress, along with my usual amber necklace, Ramia nodded tersely before stepping to the side to let me exit my chambers. Before I left, I grabbed my diamond dagger and strapped it to my thigh. Ramia pursed her lips in disapproval but said nothing .
I felt more at ease with my dagger on me. And she was accustomed to this.
I made my way to the door, but she gripped my arm tightly, her gray eyes widening.
“Take care with him, my lady,” she murmured. “He’s barking at everyone today.”
I wasn’t sure there was anything I could do that would improve his mood, but I nodded appreciatively just the same.
After leaving my rooms, I hiked up my skirts and ran down the hall, practically flying down the staircase to get to the throne room as soon as possible.
Father was likely already waiting for me, but the faster I could get there, the sooner I could rectify whatever damage my absence had caused.
When I reached the throne room doors, I found my sister, Orla, lingering in the hall. Her dark blonde hair fell in tight ringlets around her heart-shaped face. Her cold blue eyes surveyed me with savage smugness. It always delighted her when I disobeyed Father.
I paused for a moment to catch my breath, intending to ignore her.
“You’ve really done it now, Sybelle,” she said, amusement lacing her voice. “You would think, after so many years, you would learn.”
I glared at her. “Is that really why you’re here? To gloat ?”
“Well, your constant failures are far too amusing for me to pass up the opportunity.” She chuckled.
“Don’t you have something better to do than stand here, taunting me? You’re the future queen of this kingdom. You should probably start acting like it.”
Her smile slipped off her face, and her eyes sharpened. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do, you half-breed scum. You are nothing to me. And once the Wraith King comes for you, I won’t spare you a single thought. I hope his shadows choke the life out of you. ”
Orla turned and stormed off, but not before I shouted after her, “If the shadows take me, they’re coming for you next!”
Her posture stiffened, but she said nothing before leaving the hall.
I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart. The last thing I needed was for Father to reprimand me for panting and sweating, both of which were improper for a lady of my standing.
After a moment, I lifted my chin and strode into the throne room.
My back was straight, my arms stiff at my sides, and my chin lifted, all with perfect poise as I glided toward the center of the room, directly across from where my father sat.
Slowly, I sank into a perfect curtsy, and then rose, waiting for Father to address me.
He was perched on the throne, eyebrows drawn together and mouth puckered in a scowl so fierce that even his dark beard seemed to sag with displeasure. He said nothing at my entrance, and the double doors slammed shut, sealing me inside.
Twenty minutes passed by with me standing there as still as a marble statue, waiting for him to acknowledge my presence. But I was accustomed to this. It was a mark of his fury that he forced me to stand for that long. Once, when he was particularly enraged with me, he made me wait for an hour.
Another five minutes passed, but I refused to break. A bead of sweat trickled down the back of my neck and between my shoulder blades, but still, I did not move. My expression of stoic apathy remained fixed on my face.
After an eternity, Father exhaled deeply and said, “I am very disappointed in you, Sybelle.”
I said nothing. I did not move. His words meant he was ready to speak with me, but it did not mean I was allowed to reply. Not yet.
“I sent for you an hour ago,” he went on.
“You were nowhere to be found. Your tutor had to reschedule your history lessons, and I told him you were more than happy to accommodate his schedule. Now you have not only inconvenienced him, but I have had to rearrange my budget meetings as well. What kind of king am I if I cannot even command my own unruly daughter to do my bidding?”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from lashing out at the implication that I was an ornery toddler who needed a firm hand.
All because I had not been obediently doing needlework in the sitting room, merely waiting to be summoned like a servant.
Of all my grievances, Father was most upset with the fact that I’d had better things to do than wait around for him to give me orders.
“Where were you?” Father demanded.
A question. Now, I could finally respond.
Because of the fae blood running through my veins, I could not directly lie to him. Thankfully, I’d had plenty of practice with this.
“I was in the caves,” I said. “The men have been complaining about tunnels caving in as of late. I was curious about which ones were giving them trouble.”
None of these statements were lies. I had been curious about the cave-ins, but only to determine how many gems I could unearth from them.
Father rubbed his temples with a weary sigh. “And you thought it best to investigate by yourself? Without any supervision?”
I bristled at that. “I am not a child in need of a nanny.”
“Do not talk back to me!” Father barked. “Your foolishness suggests otherwise. What if the tunnel had caved in on you ? No one knew where you were. And all those years of training you to meet the Wraith King would have been wasted.”
I frowned. No regrets over my imaginary death. He was only lamenting the training he’d wasted.
Slowly, Father rose from the throne, his golden robes swishing behind him as he stepped closer to me. His slick brown hair gleamed in the light of the chandelier.
“Do you know how tirelessly I have worked these twenty-five years to ensure our kingdom’s success?
” he asked, his voice soft. “I sullied myself with fae concubines just to produce a child with fae gifts who could one day overpower the Wraith King. I have spent all our gold on the finest tutors and weapons masters. For years, I have only sought the best for you. I have sacrificed everything for you and for what you can do for this kingdom. And this is how you repay me? If you want me to stop treating you like a child, then stop acting like one.”
My hands balled into fists at my sides, and my arms shook with anger.
How dare he? How dare he lecture me on what he had sacrificed for this kingdom?
I had been bred as a weapon to be used against the Wraith King.
From birth, that was all I was: a tool. Nothing more.
I had one singular purpose, and beyond that, I was nobody.
Father didn’t care if I had hopes and dreams. He didn’t care if I suffered.
All he cared about was for me to be perfectly obedient and prove I could perform the assignment I had been born to fulfill: destroy the Shadow Court.
“Father, I only wanted—” I began, but he interrupted me, his voice booming.
“You wanted ?” His eyes burned with fury. “What makes you think that I care at all about what you want ?”
My stomach twisted as if he had shoved a dagger into my gut.