Chapter 55 #2
I place the bedroll on the shelf and follow Captain Gregori out of the carved townhome.
Even though a shroud of night surrounds us, I can feel the eyes of the assembled guards.
The air is thick with silence. I can’t tell if it’s curiosity, disdain, or respect, so I quickly move from the house’s stoop into the waiting carriage.
My tailbone slams down on the plush bench seat.
The leather smells delicious, making distant memories of a luxurious past life try to resurface.
Rett sits across from me and props an ankle over his knee before saying, “We’ll travel the rest of the night and all of tomorrow down the length of the Sandstone Shelf until we hit the coast. When we reach the sea, we’ll be there. ”
I sigh, picking at the dirt under my broken nails. “Like I told you, I should’ve paid more attention to my geography lessons.”
“We have many maps for you to study in our castle’s library, and since you’ve mentioned you wanted one, I’ll arrange a tutor for you right away.
A future empress should be well-versed regarding our lands.
” My head pounds at his words, but he keeps speaking.
“Don’t worry. Others will forgive your ignorance for a while. ”
“How… understanding…”
He doesn’t catch my sardonic undertones because he replies, “Oh, yes, our people value academic achievement above all else, but they are also empathetic toward the less fortunate.”
My stomach squirms. I’ve always been insecure about the gaps in my knowledge from my courtesan upbringing.
We, of course, had penmanship and grammar for our correspondence lessons and studied literature by the greatest authors of our times, but Madame Phyrne had always insisted that music and dancing were of the utmost importance because entertaining the High Lords came first in our line of duty, not things like geography or history or arithmetic.
While we had more of an education than the commonfolk, we still were neglected.
She said if I had questions about something I didn’t understand, that it could become a conversational spark.
After all, Keepers loved to appear intelligent when they explained things to us.
Now I hate it.
Now I wish I’d read something more useful than just novels and poetry. Those sorts of books may have kept my spirit alive when I was trapped as a courtesan, but they did little to prepare me for war.
My eyes snap to meet Rett’s gaze. He stares at me in the dim light. A slow smirk spreads across his lips.
“What?” I ask, not actually wanting to know.
“I’m picturing how beautiful you’ll look with my orcling in your arms.”
I give him a false smile and turn toward the window, staring out at the countryside speeding by. We ride in silence for most of the journey, sleeping on and off. Fatigue from our harrowing journey and the heat of the enclosed cab lull us to sleep whether we want to or not.
Eventually, after nearly two days, we make it into the City of Delamere right as the sun rises over the glittering coast. I look out of the window as the Sandstone Shelf meets the coast, turning into a red-bricked wall wrapping around the perimeter of the sprawling metropolis.
Tall watchtowers reach into the sky with spired roofs as beastfolk stand at their vantage points, their red armor glinting.
Behind the castle in the distance, the ocean roars as mightily as any army.
Salt scents the air, and gulls sing a melancholy tune as we finish the final dregs of our journey.
“Home,” Rett mutters, joining me in looking out the window at his kingdom. “Delamere, the one and only capital of the Empire of the Beast Realm.”
Iron gates open to allow our carriage in, and we drive over more crimson-bricked roads.
Behind the velvet curtain, I continue to watch as the townspeople wake up with the dawn.
Orc mothers chase goats for morning milk, gargoyle servants empty chamber pots, and a multitude of workers head out with their knapsacks.
Running through the streets, children say goodbye to a parent or complete a task set upon them by an elder.
The way the beastfolk live here with purpose gives me butterflies in my stomach.
I’ve never had a true family, so something about watching these families makes me uncomfortable.
The carved sandstone homes have crawling vines and drooping blooms of ivory, magenta, and green that spread over rock walls and tiled roofs, hanging like a canopy from one side of the road to the other, creating flower tunnels in the narrow streets.
The carriage wheels run over the many fallen buds littering the ground.
With a jolt, I recognize the sage-green ones as the Mellonia Rett juiced for our meal in the forest.
“Don’t be too impressed.” He catches me studying them and chuckles. “They can be a real nuisance when their nectar gets all over your boots. We have a team of street cleaners to ensure the roads don’t become too atrocious, and believe me, it still happens.”
We travel into the city until we reach another set of iron gates, which open with a broad, swinging motion over the gravel drive.
Delamere Castle comes into view as a spectacular, rounded palace, also made of red sandstone.
Intricate carvings and swirls are engraved on the protruding corners and jutting spires of the towers and arches.
Vibrant hibiscus drapes over the battlement walls while the plush lawns and overgrown gardens extend from the gravel courtyard.
Never before have I seen such a paradise.
The carriage slows to a crawl.
“I’ve got the door.” Rett flips the latch and hops out before the wheels come to a complete stop. He waves off the gryphon footman, who tries to help. “Thank you, Jaff.”
Rett holds the carriage door open as I step down into the castle’s shadow. Servants in matching black uniforms wait outside the entrance to greet us formally.
The twenty-foot arched double doors of the castle slowly open outward, revealing a regal-looking human woman in a delicate gown of palest gold.
Her burgundy hair is coiffed up, with tendrils cascading in gentle curls and waves circling her face and neck.
A few silver hairs glimmer under a modest gold tiara.
Her demeanor is poised and youthful, but fine lines appear on her pale skin around her amber eyes and pouty mouth.
“Son,” she croons, “you’ve arrived!” The empress pulls the prince into a hug and looks up into his dirt-smudged face, giving it a little pat. “You look absolutely horrible. I’ve half a mind to extend your house arrest until you’ve received proper rest—”
“Mother.” Rett steps away, interrupting, “I would like you to meet the Queen of Alexandria.” He moves from her to wrap an arm around my shoulders possessively. “Tabitha, this is Empress Erah Delamere of the Beast Realm.”
Quick as lightning, her emotions change from adoring matriarch to calculating monarch as she appraises me from top to bottom.
I respectfully curtsy to her, dipping my head. “Rett told me many great things about you. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Her eyes sparkle with cold satisfaction, but she smiles nonetheless. “Well—forgive me if I’m a little surprised. My son was supposed to deliver my daughter to the Citadel and return. Instead, he brings you home.”
“Mother—”
“Nonstop headlines in all the royal papers throughout every realm about your whirlwind ascension, your unusual parentage, and then your untimely death. Excuse me, but I’ve got whiplash now that you’re standing alive on my doorstep.”
Rett’s face turns thunderous, his cheeks flushing. “Do not speak to my betrothed in such a manner!”
I can’t believe he’s thrown those words out so casually. Heat crawls up my neck as I remember the mud crusted on my body. I’m a far cry from anything that looks marriageable.
“Betrothed?” Control flashes in a single blink of her thick eyelashes as she elbows him out of the way and squeezes between us.
With her arm firmly looped around my shoulders, she marches me up the steps.
“Never mind my surprise, dear. I’m more irritated with my son than you, and in any case, no queen shall ever be turned out onto the street while I rule this realm. ” Her words are as decadent as nectar.