Chapter 12
The next time I woke up, I felt even better and more energetic than I had in over a fortnight. Dion was still nowhere to be seen, much to my relief—no, there wasn’t the faintest drop of disappointment pricking my heart. Not at all.
After I’d disentangled myself from the sheets and had dealt with the reproachful squeeze of my still-present shadow friend, I stretched my limbs, making sure to move slowly.
When the pain stayed manageable, I dragged my legs over the edge of the bed, and once my feet were securely planted on the ground, I lifted myself up.
The inky tendril returned to its belt position, assuming a state of alarmed tension, and only when it noticed that my condition was stable did it settle down and purr once more.
After a brief visit to the bathing chamber to relieve myself, I conducted a quick search and found my garments in a massive, ornate wooden wardrobe, which was adorned with intricate carvings. Lingering on the scene—a coronation—I traced my fingers over the cool, dark wood.
How must being surrounded by all this luxury day in and day out feel?
How could royalty not lose their connection to the common people when their standards were so unlike those of their subjects?
Maybe it was no wonder that many laws could be perceived as unreasonable from the perspective of someone like me—and how the nobles couldn’t tell what the issue with them was.
We were living in different worlds—and I wasn’t talking about the one our royalty wanted everyone else to forget.
My musings were interrupted when my heart fondly clenched. In the wardrobe, I not only found my simple travel dresses—clean and smelling like fresh flowers—but also the few historic fae garments I’d recovered and altered in Amalach.
For a moment, I allowed myself to mourn the loss of the purple ceremonial gown I’d worn for the Rite of Binding, which was forever lost in Feroy’s dungeon.
In the end, the finery had only resembled flimsy rags barely covering me, and I was sure the remnants had been thrown out once I’d been rescued.
So I did what I always preferred when dealing with complicated thoughts and quickly sorted them away into their neat little boxes deep in the recesses of my mind.
With a smile, I reached for the turquoise dress I’d fallen in love with the second I’d spotted the masterpiece, back in the abandoned bedroom in the Lost City of Air.
Finally properly dressed—of course, with a vibrating black belt as an addition to my gown—and sufficiently rested, I was human enough again to start a thorough investigation of the space I temporarily inhabited.
The grand sleeping chamber, with its massive four-poster bed, I had examined more than enough during the past few days, but I was drawn to the closed curtains, fabricated from heavily draped red velvet, and with some effort, I was able to open them a fraction.
Nothing could have prepared me for the view in front of me. If I’d harbored any doubt that Dion wasn’t lying to me about where we were staying, the vast, neatly manicured gardens would have dissolved any confusion.
The bedroom was located higher up in the castle, maybe on the second or third floor, and my heartbeat accelerated as I inspected the impressive scenery before me.
A friend of my mother’s, who had been to Ivreiana once to accompany her husband on a business trip, had spent an entire afternoon after her return describing the castle and especially the royal gardens vividly and in painstaking detail.
But seeing an abundance of colorful flowers arranged in artful patterns, bushes cut into shapes of all kinds of animals, and well-dressed nobles promenading on the curated pathways with my own eyes, well, that was something else entirely.
A knock on my door startled me and interrupted my gawking. Quickly, I closed the drapes and spun around just in time as the door opened.
“I’m awa—wha—you?”
“You’re up.”
Before I could embarrass myself with more stuttering, a whirlwind raced to me and pulled me in.
There was a flash of pain shooting through my ribs—and did my inky belt hiss?
—but I was too confused to dwell on those sensations as I hugged the force of nature clinging to me back. “Rewi. How—what are you doing here?”
“Oh Naya, it’s so good to see you up and about.”
Were those tears visible in the corners of her eyes? My throat constricted, and I could sense water welling up in mine as well. Speechless, I stared at my friend, waiting for further explanation while the onyx strand pulsed with agitated alarm, just as I suspected Dion would react if he were here.
“Your prince happened.”
“Of course.” So Rewi had found out about Dion’s status. Had she also discovered he wasn’t human?
“Bryon is around too, by the way. And I’m working for the queen; can you imagine?”
“Working?” Rewi’s answers tightened the confused ball in my stomach further, instead of disentangling the whole mess. “How did that happen?”
She didn’t reply to my very valid questions but released me from her arms and scanned me from top to bottom.
Her gaze lingered on the tendril, which had half unfurled and pointed its tip almost accusingly at my friend.
I patted it, trying to calm the magic down, and miraculously, it withdrew back to decorating my waist.
“I’ll explain. But first, I brought you some food, and you should sit down.”
“Stop mothering me. I’m fine.”
“You’re not. I saw you when your prince carried you in, and I spoke with your friend Ireas when he treated you. There’s no way you improved to fine from the state you were in. So stop being your stubborn self and come.”
Despite my protests, Tempest Rewi grabbed my hand and hauled me through the bedroom door. I didn’t give up my attempts to resist her pull because leaving my sanctuary made me more than uneasy, but my best friend was relentless, as usual.
In the end, my worries had been unfounded since she wasn’t relocating me to a corridor but to a sitting room connected to the sleeping quarters.
Oh.
This wasn’t a simple guest chamber, but a whole suite. Somehow, this revelation amped up my nerves even more.
Although I was still digesting my housing situation, I couldn’t help but examine the newly revealed area.
To no one’s surprise, the living room turned out to be just as splendid as the bedroom.
Expensive furniture stood on heavy carpeting, while beautiful tapestries depicting various Ivreian landmarks decorated the walls.
In one corner of the room, I spotted a small worshiping altar—as if noble guests couldn’t be expected to visit a shrine if they felt the need to honor the Triad.
But Rewi didn’t give me a chance to admire the abundant luxuries around me. Instead, she nudged me to a dinner table—made from rich wood in a color so dark, the material almost seemed black—where a tray overflowing with assorted foods had been placed.
Although I still bristled at how Rewi friendhandled me, I had to admit that the small feast smelled delicious. The scents of fresh bread, cut fruit, rich cheese, and so many other edibles attacked my nose and made my mouth water. “Tell me that’s not all for me.”
“They don’t do small around the castle in general, but especially not since your prince growled at the kitchen staff.”
“No. He didn’t.”
Rewi’s raised eyebrow told me everything I had to know, and the groan I’d suppressed before spilled from my lips at last.
“He totally did. And at the maids. And the royal medics. Now, everyone who appreciates their life is giving your suite a wide berth. One servant went on sick leave after a confrontation with your angry friend. You’ve done a real number on him, if you ask me.”
“But I’m not asking, Rewi. Honestly, talking about Dion and his antics hurts my head, so I’d prefer to skip any future narrative mentioning him. Instead, you have to explain how you ended up in the damn royal castle of Ivreiana, working for Queen Anneria.”
“Can do so, but only if you eat.”
Before I could stop myself, I glowered at my persistent friend, but then sighed and picked up a piece of fruit. My eyes widened when the juicy bite hit my tongue, and its deliciousness was simply out of this world. This was most likely the best fruit I’d ever eaten in my whole life.
Rewi’s gaze burned a hole into me before she nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I’m working in the castle because of some scheme the one you don’t want to speak about cooked up.”
A dramatic sigh pressed out of my lungs, but the next bite into the juicy goodness pacified me enough to keep my calm, although I wasn’t able to escape the princeling for even five minutes. “Fine. If there’s no way around mentioning the filthy liar, I’ll lift the ban.”
Rewi grinned. “He tricked Bryon. The prince used him and his boon as the means to secure an audience with the king, both for himself and his men. Although the joke’s on him, because using the favor wasn’t even necessary.
Did you know King Pritatus and Queen Anneria consider Bryon a friend?
Or—no. Better. The king called him son.”
I blinked. “What? No. How should I have learned of something like that?”
“You can believe me. I already chastised him for omitting the truth. Royal boon, my ass.”
“Seems to me that’s what all men are doing.”
“So you didn’t know? About Dion?”
“What exactly? That he isn’t human? Or that His Royal Highness is the freaking heir to a throne in another world?
Or that he, the precious weapon of his High King, destroyed an entire city, including killing all the inhabitants, without losing a moment of sleep over his deeds?
What’s your guess?” Juice was running over my hand.
In my anger, I’d forgotten to eat; instead, I’d crushed a piece of fruit between my fingers during my rant.
“He did what?”
“Later. Go on first, please.”
“Only if you eat some more.”