13. CHAPTER 13
Aveline
Istarted by stripping the bed and allowing Voirel to show me to the laundry room. She showed me the special scent Sorin preferred—notes of citrus and bergamot with undertones of sandalwood. I could only imagine how much this particular scent cost, but I had to admit it was rather intoxicating.
He was quite the high maintenance prince, exuding control over every little thing when it came to his private chambers. He preferred the luxurious velvet curtains pulled back a certain way, his tunics folded just right. Voirel explained that he was simply particular.
Sorin’s sister was much chattier than I had anticipated. I was surprised he would leave me alone with her, to be honest. I didn’t think I would be able to easily manipulate information out of her, but I wasn’t so sure that was the case the longer we spoke.
“How is it that I’ve never heard of the crown prince having a sister?” I asked.
I was on my hands and knees before the fireplace with a scrub brush, cleaning the soot from the onyx marble tile.
It was evident by how dirty and dull they were that it had been a long time since anyone had tended to this specific task.
I was surprised the prince would allow it with how ‘particular’ he was.
“Nobody would have,” she considered from the chaise. Her small, delicate hand was buried in Quinnick’s fur as he sat on her chest. “I am not a royal.”
“Not a royal?” I asked, brushing back an ebony lock of hair that had fallen into my eyes.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see her shake her head. “My father was another Vireth fae of no important lineage. Sorin and I shared a mother.”
“Ah, I see,” I replied. “And he took you under his wing?”
She nodded once more. “We are quite fond of each other. In fact, I am fond of all the princes. Sorin and I are blood bound. I’m not sure that King Mavros enjoys my constant presence at court, but Emrys and Valerian are like brothers to me, too.
There is nowhere else I would rather be. They are all I have.”
I never had a sibling of my own. It was difficult for me to imagine. I had grown up with only my mother for company. That is, until I met Enora at an early age.
“What does Prince Sorin do in his free time?” I asked, returning the scrub brush to the bucket to gather more fresh, soapy water.
“Free time?” She laughed, tossing her golden strawberry hair over the back of the settee.
“Prince Sorin has no free time. He trains with the army, and with Ren.” Who was Ren?
Was he a member of the king’s army? “He sits in on the war council with my father. He puts Emrys in his place. He is constantly busy with one thing or another.”
I assumed he would be, just as Kallias was. Sorin would rarely be in his chambers. I would need to monitor his comings and goings to formulate a plan. There was also the fact that I had yet to lay eyes on this ancient relic dagger Queen Dyata had tasked me with finding.
A long beat of silence fell before Voirel spoke again. “Is it true you are the prince of Myros’s courtesan?”
I choked on my own spit, sputtering. “Where did you hear that word?”
Prince Sorin had said Voirel had the mind of a child, and such talk was certainly not appropriate for her ears.
Voirel shrugged. “It’s all anyone at court can talk about. They say you are either Kallias’s courtesan or Kallias’s whore. Though to be honest, I don’t know what either word means…”
My mouth fell open. “I’m not sure that explanation should be coming from me, but no…that is not the right word for what I am to Prince Kallias.”
“Oh, come on! No one ever explains anything to me!” she complained. “I want to be able to speak like the grown-ups. But I can’t if I never learn.”
I clenched my teeth together, cringing. “My lady, I’m sorry. It is not my place. What I can tell you, is that Prince Kallias and I are important to one another.”
She nodded, thoughtful.
“Since everyone at court is speaking about it, does that mean that Prince Sorin knows of my relation to Myros’s prince?” I asked, scrubbing vigorously at one particularly stubborn stain.
“Of course!” Voirel replied excitedly. “Everyone knows who you are. Sorin is no exception. Why do you think you are currently on your hands and knees cleaning my brother’s bedchamber?”
A hum of assent escaped me. I didn’t dignify that with a response.
My least elegant dress had been sufficiently tarnished with only one day of cleaning. Soot stains were embedded in the delicately braided hem. I would need to use some of my allowance to gather more appropriate working attire. Perhaps that would draw less attention, too.
I hardly wanted to be the source of the most recent gossip at court, but I appeared to be just that.
I needed to slip in and out unnoticed, and it would be difficult to do so with everyone talking about me.
I needed to let things die down, for the attention on me to waver and shift to some other scandal.
I finished scrubbing the stain and sat back on my heels with a huff, wiping the sweat from my brow. The tiles had been restored to their ebony sheen and sparkled anew. I raised to stand, the bucket of dirty water in tow.
“What should I do next?” I asked Voirel, opening the double doors that lead out to the veranda to dump the bucket of dirty water over the balcony.
As I spilled the water over the edge, I could hear a faint knock on the main chamber’s door.
Voirel rose from the chaise to answer it, Quinnick complaining with a grumble as he was displaced.
“Ah! Right on time. He should be back shortly, if you’d like to wait on the bed.” I could hear Voirel’s muffled voice as I placed the bucket back in the storage closet and returned to the main chamber.
I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting, I had only been joking when I asked Sorin earlier if he had been expecting someone.
A beautiful woman with olive skin sat on the edge of the freshly made bed, her long russet hair falling in front of her face.
She wore a low-cut gown made of sleek, clinging silk.
It hung on every shapely curve as it fell right above her ankle.
Her feet were bare.
Had he genuinely sent for an escort? When she pushed her hair over her shoulder to expose the column of her throat, I realized with startling clarity exactly who she was.
A feeder.
He hadn’t sent for a courtesan…he had sent for a meal. My stomach flipped at the thought of the human before me beneath him, his teeth sinking into the flesh at her neck. I did my best to reel in my expression and compose myself.
“I know what you’re thinking…” she spoke, her gaze falling on me.
“I’m sorry?” It was all I could muster.
She narrowed her eyes on me as silence descended between us. I moved toward the door she had left ajar. I was finished with my tasks for the night now that his appointment had arrived.
“You are human, too.” It was a statement, not a question.
I nodded.
“I enjoy my job. I take pride in it. I came from nothing. But now…it is my blood that sings through the prince’s veins. Providing the royal Vireth with energy and sustenance…it is an honor.”
“I…I understand,” I stuttered, moving toward Voirel who was waiting for me beyond the open doorway.
I didn’t truly, but I also didn’t want to offend her.
Being a blood feeder usually came with the offering of…
other body parts as well. I cast my gaze back once more toward the feeder.
She was sprawled against the fresh sheets, hiking her dress up around her waist. I quickly turned from the room, shutting the doors behind me with more enthusiasm than I intended.
I turned to Voirel, Quinnick held loftily in her arms. Her expression was not scandalized as I had expected it to be. She simply shrugged.
“It’s a part of life as Vireth. We eat human food too, but we need blood to survive. I’ll walk you back to your rooms in the dormitory wing, Lady Aveline.”
“I’m not a lady—” I started, but Voirel was already walking off down the corridor.
She navigated to my room on the other side of the castle seamlessly, as if it weren’t the first time she had to do so. Maybe she watched over the previous housemaids, too.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, a genuine smile across her lips, her cheeks flushed pink.
She set Quinnick down and he reluctantly returned to my side. Quinnick thought himself to be a royal, too. He expected to be treated as such, and was enjoying the luxuries of the prince’s private chambers all too much. He and Voirel were sure to be quick friends.
“See you tomorrow, Voirel. It was lovely meeting you,” I replied.
“You as well, Aveline. I’ll meet you bright and early. Sorin usually takes his breakfast at six.”
I groaned. I enjoyed sleeping in. Loved it, in fact. I could kiss that goodbye.
I shut the door between us and Quinnick begrudgingly joined me atop the hard cot, a spring jabbing into my back. He huffed loudly as if to make a point, and I eyed him with a look that told him he better get used to it.
I was exhausted from cleaning the prince’s chambers. Whoever the maidservant was before me hadn’t done a thorough job. That, or it had been a long time since she had been…dealt with.
I changed into fresh clothes to sleep in. As I was about to blow out the flickering flame in the single lantern atop the nightstand, a knock sounded at the door.
“Gods…this better not be the queen again,” I muttered, dragging my feet as I crossed the small space and reached for the handle.
It took me a moment to recognize the familiar face that greeted me behind the door in my exhausted state. I hadn’t seen her since before the indenture market, and so much had transpired since then.
“Enora!” I threw myself into her arms and she cradled me against her, that familiar velvet laugh of hers soft in my ear. “I have never missed anyone so much,” I told her as I pulled her into the room.
“I was hoping you would tell me your accommodations were better than my own, but I see I am sorely mistaken. At least we have individual quarters.” She huffed, falling onto the bed and crinkling her face when that same spring victimized her, too. “Yikes.”
“Tell me about it.”
I threw myself down onto the slender cot beside her. Quinnick narrowed his eyes, letting us know that the three of us atop this cot was entirely too many for his liking.
“I have to admit, I love my new position. Queen Dyata got lucky securing it for me. I learned so much about the kingdom in merely one day, so much that was never mentioned in any history books in Myros. Gothryn is nothing like I expected.”
That had been my impression so far, too. I smiled, knowing she would love working in the library. It was the perfect position for her. “I’m glad one of us likes their position.”
“Where did you end up?” she asked. “I tried to check in on you after the indenture market closed, but the historian I am shadowing, Noor, strictly forbade me from leaving the library. She did, however, show me to your quarters after our day was done.”
“You will never believe it…” I told her with an exasperated sigh. “Belly of the beast, indeed.”
“No!” she gasped, clapping her hand against my leg.
I tried my best not to wince. Enora always forgot that I was human, and such an action could truly hurt. I nodded.
“I am the handmaid to Crown Prince Sorin Blackwater, the black dragon of Gothryn.”
“Aveline, this is great news!” She beamed.
“Is it?” I asked, falling back against the pillow.
“Yes!” she insisted. “You have access to his personal quarters!” Her voice lowered, unsure if we could be heard beneath the closed door. “That should make this a breeze. Nobody will ever know it was you!”
I shook my head. “He has his sister, Voirel, watching over me. I’m not alone. Not to mention she said I am currently the hottest topic of gossip at court...”
“He has a sister? Now that is certainly not in the history books.”
“She is not a royal. They share a mother, but not a father,” I replied.
“Makes sense.” Enora nodded before turning to lay down and face me. “I would love to tell you all about my day in the library, but that isn’t why I came.”
“It isn’t?” I asked, the exhaustion clear in my voice.
She shook her head. “There is a gathering at a tavern in Ravenwood tonight…” Her voice trailed off as she registered my expression, but she pressed on.
“I wasn’t suggesting we go to the party.
I was suggesting we use the party as a pretense to leave the castle and visit the market in Ravenwood to procure… wares. If you catch my drift.”
Poisons.
“How will we escape the castle without anyone noticing?” I asked, pressing a pillow to my chest and allowing my eyes to close.
“That’s the thing…we aren’t prisoners here, Aveline. We are indentures. We are here to work, but we aren’t under lock and key. We are free to come and go as we please, as long as it does not interfere with our work.”
“We—what?” That was not how things worked in Myros. Not at all.
Humans were servants and were certainly not allowed to come and go as they pleased. We were always told that things were even harsher here in Gothryn—that we were lucky to be in Myros where humans weren’t treated so poorly.
Enora nodded. “I know. It goes against everything we were taught. But humans are simply a part of the working class. Yes, I will admit, they do not hold a higher social ranking than they do in Myros. But you are free to leave the castle as long as you return.”
I imagined it might have something to do with the fact that the princes were dragon shifters and had wings, and therefore their eyes were everywhere.
All I wanted was to fall into this uncomfortable bed and fall asleep, but I knew Enora was right.
We needed a good alibi to leave the castle, and this was as good as any.
I only had a few more days of my own tincture left.
I needed ingredients not only for the prince, but for myself.
I rose from the bed with a huffed protest and Enora clapped her hands together. “I am so excited to explore!”
“And you don’t think it suspicious we are supposed to be attending a gathering in Ravenwood, but are traversing the streets and shops instead?”
Enora shrugged. “We are merely fresh off a vessel from a neighboring kingdom and don’t know our way around yet.”
“All right,” I agreed reluctantly, turning toward the trunk at the end of the bed. I had packed light, and the only things I owned were dresses. That didn’t seem appropriate for a covert mission such as this. “One question—” I turned to Enora with mischief in my gaze.
“What’s that?” she asked, scratching Quinnick’s belly so that his leg thumped against the wall, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
I grinned at her. “What ever will I wear?”