“What do you want from me?” I asked, defeated.
“I want to be a lady-in-waiting to Princess Sabine.”
The request was not entirely shocking. I had suspected as much. What intrigued me, however, was the axis of intrigue surrounding Sabine. With each passing day, it became apparent that in Sabine lay the key. The only problem that remained: what was it I was meant to discover if not my past?
“Why?” I could not help but ask as I turned to face Duchess Magdale once more.
“She is one of the most influential women here at court.”
I laughed. Sabine was as powerless as me if not more. “I think you are mistaken. She carries no sway in court. Besides, she’s set to go to Neaux come the spring.”
Duchess Magdale laughed derisively once more. “Perhaps you should talk to her about that.”
Days after my dinner at the Magdale home, I had yet to make a decision about Earvin and approaching Sabine with Duchess Magdale’s request. No matter how I pressed the duchess, she refused to elaborate. The rest of our evening was spent in tense silence. The only consolation was when Layton and the duke joined us for our meal.
I tried to ignore the duchess’s taunts and pretend I did not hear the implication that Sabine was keeping things from me, possibly important information. She was my friend and one of the few people I trusted. I regularly took to pacing about Sabine’s salon whilst Sabine, Odell and Vian worked on their needlework. After three days of this, Sabine scolded me.
“Maea, you must sit. Watching you pace is vexing.”
I stared wide eyed at her, unaware of my disruptive behavior. “I’m sorry, my lady, I just cannot seem to sit still.”
Sabine searched my gaze for a moment before turning to Odell and Vian. “Ladies, you are excused from your duties for today. They each set aside their work, bowed to Sabine, and hurried out of the room.
She turned back to me with a compassionate expression. “Maea, what is wrong? You’ve been in ill spirits for days now.”
I shook my head. “No. Nothing of the sort. I just—” I hesitated, though I feared Duchess Magdale’s retribution, I feared more losing Sabine’s trust.
She placed her hand over mine. “Tell me. There need not be secrets between us.”
I inhaled deeply, taking strength from her. “The longer I am at court, the more it becomes apparent that you are the key which unlocks the answers.”
She furrowed her brow. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
With another calming breath, I related to her Jon’s proposal, the Duchess’s threat and Layton’s confession.
Sabine was quiet for some time. She stared at her embroidery upon her lap. A verdant vine clinging to a white trellis created the border of the fine muslin she worked on. I let her thoughts settle. However, before I had a chance to question her further, a sharp knock at the door grabbed both of our attentions.
“Who could that be?” I wondered aloud.
“Maea, will you get that?” Sabine requested, and I rose to obey.
Outside, Beau, Sabine’s guard, stood beside a Neaux man I had yet to meet.
“Is the princess within?” the Neaux man asked. The age lines around his mouth were set deep and strained.
“She is,” I said.
“Who is it, Maea?” Sabine called.
“Princess Sabine, it’s me, Lord Amelle, from the embassy.” He and Beau pushed their way past me. The Neaux ambassador gave Sabine a deep bow as she rose from her chair. “I would speak with you on an urgent matter, Your Majesty.”
Sabine’s gaze flickered towards Beau, and they shared a silent message. “Come with me into my chamber, and we shall talk. The three disappeared through a side door and left me standing by the entry, my mouth agape.
I closed the door, and then I took a seat in one of her salon couches.
From behind the door Sabine shouted, “No, it cannot be!”
I jumped up, not sure what my intentions were.
“Your Highness!” Lord Amelle shouted.
There were more murmurs behind the door. I sank back into my chair, intent on waiting for Sabine to exit, though planning to burst in if they did not emerge soon. A servant came with lunch. Seeing her mistress absent, she laid a platter beside me and went towards Sabine’s private chambers. I rose to stop her, but too late, the door opened, and voices flooded out.
“Do you understand the meaning of this? Everything may come to ruin! This was not how it was to happen.” Sabine’s voice was full of unconstrained emotion, which I had never heard from her before.
There was a pause as the servant entered. I sat back down as to not be perceived as spying, which was not my intent. Sabine dismissed the servant, and she reentered the salon before leaving.
Only she did not close the door entirely. I stared at it and heard the muffled voices coming from within. I rose with every intention of closing the door to allow Sabine her privacy. As I approached, I heard more of their conversation.
Sabine let out a sound like a strangled sob. “She’s dead, and I’m to blame…” I strained to listen to her voice muffled by cloth. I peered through the crack. Beau held Sabine in his arms, letting her cry into his chest, while the ambassador seemed to be ignoring the pair of them. I had little time to muse on this turn of events as the entry door opposite me swung open and several royal guards poured into the receiving room.
“We are here on His Majesty King Dallin’s orders. Please fetch your mistress.”
My body was incapable of moving; my brain, devoid of thought. Luckily, Sabine and the others heard the commotion and burst into the receiving room.
A guard with a shield emblem pinned to his breast, I assumed he was the captain, unrolled a scroll with a dangling red seal and read from it. “Sabine D’aux third princess of Neaux, you and your household are hereby arrested as conspirators in the murder of Sarelle Raleban, princess of Danhad.”
Chapter Seventeen
Chaos surrounded me, pushing the air from my lungs. Guards swarmed Sabine’s chamber. One seized me by the wrists and pinned my hands behind my back. I cast about for help. Two guards relieved Beau of his arms and subdued him. One of them forced him to the ground, where he held him with a knee to his back. A fifth guard grasped Sabine by the shoulders. She raised her chin and regarded them all magnanimously. I envied her calm.
All parties under control, they led us to the door, to imprisonment or execution at least; that is what I suspected. This is a mistake, I thought. There is no way Sabine had anything to do with Sarelle’s death. My guard halted, and I nearly ran into him. I looked up, and a figure in the doorway prevented our exit.
“Unhand these ladies.” Johai’s blue eyes were aflame, and I trembled at the sound of his ire. Never before had gratitude and repulsion been more at odds within me.
“Stand down, your grace. The king has ordered these people arrested,” one of the guards commanded.
“On what grounds?” Johai challenged, arms folded across his chest, and his feet squared.
I wondered why they did not simply push past him. Johai, a man of average build, held no challenge to the girth and force of five palace guards.
However, the guards held, eyes fixed on their captain, who raked his gaze up and down Johai.
“I am not required to answer to you. Stand down, or I will be forced to use extreme measures.” His hand clutched at the sword at his belt.
“I have orders that say otherwise.” Johai extracted a folded piece of parchment from his breast pocket and handed it over to the captain.
The captain snatched the document from his outstretched grasp and furrowed his brows as he read. As he did, I tried, unsuccessfully, to keep my gaze from wandering over to Johai. I drank in his countenance whilst peering at him from the corner of my eye. He kept a studied gaze on the captain. My heart thudded despite my wishes for it not to. Why was he here, now of all times? Despite my wish to not want to see him, I could not fault his good timing.
The captain cursed and
shoved the missive back into Johai’s hands. He turned to Sabine. “Which one of your ladies is Maea of House Diranel?”
“That is I, my lord.” I framed my address to mollify him and also feared what Johai’s letter entailed. What if they wanted vengeance for my betrayal?
“You are free to go.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. The question “why” dangled from the tip of my tongue. The guards harried Sabine, the ambassador and Beau out before I had the chance to ask. I only managed a fleeting grasp of
Sabine’s hand before she slid by me. They exited, and their booted feet echoed in the corridor. Guilt gnawed at me like a canker. Why had I been spared? What had Sabine done to deserve this?
I turned my indignation on the only person left, Johai. “Why did you stop them? I should be with her. She needs me.”
“You cannot help her any longer. It is out of our hands.” He turned as if to walk away, and I followed him.
I snatched at him by the wrist. “It is not too late. Someone who had enough power to override the king’s orders had to write that missive to pardon me. Why save me and not her?”
He heaved a sigh, and his shoulders were taut enough that the blades touched. “You are too important to sacrifice.”
I tightened my grip upon his wrist, ignoring the urge to do otherwise. “What does any of this have to do with me, Johai? I have no more patience for these games you play.”
He turned to face me, and he searched my eyes. “I thought with the spell broken—” He paused as I glowered at him. “You do not remember, do you?”
“I remember enough to know that I loved you once until you betrayed me.” I spat the words. I thought once they were out in the open I would feel better. I did not.
He recoiled from my touch as if struck. “I know.”
The weight of the emotion in those two words was enough to dampen the flame of my anger.
I stepped back, off balanced by his statement. Why can you not deny it or be cruel to me? I thought. It would be much easier to hate you.
Johai placed the parchment in my hand. His fingertips brushed the inside of my wrist as he did so. “If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask someone else.”
I closed my hand around the missive, crinkling it in my firm grip. He strode out of the room. I stayed there, staring beyond the wide open door, my eyes unfocused from unshed tears. Eventually, I read the missive. Inside was a simple message:
Maea of House Diranel, lady-in-waiting to Her Highness Princess Sabine, is under my protection.
It was signed and sealed with an emblem of the tree of Danhad intertwined with the flower of House Florett, the royal seal of the Queen’s household. I was under her protection.
I thought I had escaped their plotting, but I knew then that I had never been out of their reach. I wanted to give up; the scope of Damara’s plotting seemed beyond comprehension. Had their intention been to eliminate Sabine? What obstacle could she pose to placing Layton on the throne, I wondered. But if I were correct, then Sabine’s life may very well hang in the balance. I needed to reach my few allies—namely Adair.
Whatever Damara’s plot, I would thwart it. My first task lay in garnering supporters. Damara had great influence at court, a fact I was all too aware of as I tossed the queen’s pardon to the floor. I went to my room, where I wrote a hasty letter to Layton, agreeing to his offer to use Earvin as my guard. Now more than ever I was certain I was in need of protection. An insider in Damara’s household would also be of use to me if I played my cards right.
After giving instructions to a dazed servant to deliver my letter in secret to Layton, I headed to the barracks in search of Earvin.
The palace was abuzz with news of Sabine’s imprisonment, and more than a few individuals stopped me to question me. I avoided their questions with little regard for manners. Time was of the essence, and if I had let Damara go before, I was paying for my mercy now.
I rapped on the wooden door to the barracks’ office. As I awaited an answer, I thought about Sarelle’s death. Who could have wanted her dead and why? My first thought was to suspect Damara, but she was in the queen’s pocket. It seemed unlikely the queen would willingly plot the murder of her own daughter. Why did they protect me? What could I possibly do for them? A guard in a linen shirt and breeches answered. His brows furrowed in confusion upon seeing me. Belatedly, I realized the audacity of a woman of my status to come here. The deed was done, however, and I squared my shoulders and looked the guard in the eye.
“Can I help you, my lady?”
“Yes.” My voice wobbled. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I am looking for Earvin in the service of House Florett.”
He scratched his head. “I don’t recall any guards by that name. Are you sure you have the name right?”
My stomach sank. What if he had left court? Did Damara suspect his loyalty to me and send him away? “I am certain; he has been my personal guard since arriving in Keisan,” I insisted, hoping beyond hope I was not too late. “Has he recently departed? It is of the utmost importance that I contact him.”
“My lady, I oversee all the housing for the guards here, and there’s never been a man by that name housed here.”
The man stared at me with narrowed eyes as if he were questioning my sanity. Perhaps he does not stay in the barracks, I thought, but where else could I look? I glanced over my shoulder as if expecting him to appear at my command. Then, striding around the corner in conversation with another guard, Hilliard came into view.
Our eyes met, and his brows shot up in surprise. He turned and spoke to the man he was with before striding in my direction. He approached the pair of us and said, “Lady Maea, what are you doing here?”
In a split decision, I took a risk and confided in him. “Hilliard, I must speak with you in private.” I attempted to convey the seriousness of the matter with a firm look and a tilt of my head away from the barracks guard, who rubbed his chin, looking puzzled.
“I shall help Lady Diranel,” Hilliard said in dismissal to the guard.
The guard saluted him and strode away. I wondered how a former strategist turned head guard held sway here, but more pressing matters required my attention so I gave it no more than a passing thought.
“What is it, lass? Has something happened?” He grabbed my shoulders and squeezed as if to comfort me.
I fought the tears that pricked my eyes. How I wished I could fall into Hilliard’s embrace. Time, however, was not on my side.
“Sabine has been arrested, and I am in need of Earvin’s service. I fear I am no longer safe.” I avoided Hilliard’s gaze, fearing he would see through my deception. I needed them to believe me ignorant of their plot. Hilliard was still Damara’s man, which meant I could not trust him.
He dropped his hand to his side, and he searched my face, his eyes narrowed. I continued to avoid meeting his eyes, and I feared he would see through my avoidance. “I’ll see it done,” he said finally.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Hilliard.”
“Anything for you, lass.” He smiled, revealing his gap-toothed grin.
Guilt stabbed me in the gut afresh as I attempted to smile back. I am a liar, I thought.
I headed next to the royal apartments. Adair’s help was crucial to my plans to free Sabine and stop Damara. I arrived at Adair’s apartment out of breath. I panted my request to his servant, who gave me a chilly decline, informing me that his master was not around and he was unsure when he would be returning.
Defeated and exhausted, I headed back to my rooms. On my way, I passed a hallway that ended at a verdant courtyard. I thought to take a rest and collect my thoughts. If I was being honest with myself, I did not like the prospect of facing an empty chamber after the day’s events. At the center of the garden, a white marble fountain burbled. A few benches faced the dancing water, and it was here that I took my rest.
The statue in the center captured the image of the Goddess carrying a jug of water, which she po
ured into the fountain basin. It depicted the story of the birth of the seas. When the Goddess created the earth, she gathered the sky in a clay jug and poured it down upon the land. It washed across the land, birthing the seas, or so the legend goes.
“The demon hides behind the face of an innocent, but I shall not be deceived!” a woman shrieked.
I sat up straighter and craned my head in the direction of the voice.
“Your Highness, calm yourself!” a man shouted.
“I shall strike mine enemy before their wicked tongue soothes me into my own death.” The woman continued, apparently ignoring the man.
A child’s scream pierced through the chaos, and I jumped to my feet to investigate. A wrought-iron gate separated the garden from another inner garden. Tall hedges lined the gate, and from behind them, the voices continued to ring out.
“I have brought from my womb the death of all things!” the woman wailed.
“Mommy!” a child cried.
I shook the gates, helpless to assist. Two guards jogged into the inner courtyard, their boots ringing on the flagstone. A woman, her dark hair wild and unkempt, rocked back and forth, muttering incoherently under her breath. A child stood not far from her, small hands balled into fists on the front of her gown. Her ebony curls were pulled back today, and her blue eyes red from crying. Princess Edalene sniffled as the woman, who I assumed to be her mother, continued to rage.
“The child of two crowns will be our undoing. You must slay the dragon before it learns to breathe fire!”
The guards each grabbed one arm of the woman, who slipped from their grasp and turned to scratch at their faces. They avoided her attack by ducking, but it gave her the opportunity to lunge for Edalene.
[fan] diviners trilogy - complete series Page 18
