Page 16 of Beyond Those Gilded Walls

“And why must we be veiled during the parties?” It wasn’t a smooth transition, but I was counting on her work distracting her enough to keep from noticing.

“If they cannot see our faces, they do not have to treat us as human, now do they?” Her words were a whisper. Still, she worked and did not look up at me.

“There was a man last night,” I started, trying to get the words right to get the information I needed without raising any suspicion. “He wore a mask like a skull. Do you know who he is?”

“He is the prince’s right hand.” Her eyes snapped up to mine, searching my face intently. Her shoulders seemed to relax as she found whatever it was she was looking for. “I will warn you now, as I have warned the others. Do not forget the people who are here, are here for a reason. And that reason is that they matter enough to the prince to offer them safe harbor in these walls. They do not care about you, Odyssa, and they never will. None of them. You cannot forget that for a moment.”

“You don’t need to worry. That will never leave my mind. I know why I am here, and why they are here. I was merely curious.”

“You know what they say about curiosity.” She paused a beat, her lip quirking up. “Maybe that’s how your Soulshade cat died.”

Despite my best efforts, a smile made its way onto my face as well. Zaharya had a way about her—it put me at ease despite all my defenses. I needed to be wary of it, to keep her at arm’s length. I did not need her death on my heart, did not need her memory to carve another pit in my soul.

“There are rumors that no one here has ever caught ill. Are they true?”

Glass fell heavily into the waste bin and the laughter that had lit up her eyes was gone, replaced by an altogether blank stare I knew far too well. She’d donned her mask, and I’d pushed too far. “Mind your words, Odyssa. The walls have ears, and they hunger for our secrets.”

We completed the rest of our tasks in silence, cleaning and resetting the kitchens for the next ball. As we worked, I watched them, studying how they interacted with each other. Talyssa was skittish, flinching whenever someone made too loud a noise or accidentally brushed against her. Elena and Maricara worked seamlessly, even without speaking, and were obviously close. Zaharya was more challenging to understand though, which made me even more determined to puzzle her out.

“How did you all come to work here?” I did not truly want to know. The last thing I needed here was to make connections, to pave the way for grief to tear me to shreds when I inevitably lost one or all of them. But knowledge was power, and I needed all the advantage I could get to stay alive in this tomb. “Did you volunteer?”

Maricara slammed down the tray she’d been polishing. “Why would anyonevolunteerto come to this prison? We were taken from our families, sent here and forced to work for a prince who cares more about the silver spoon in his hand than our lives.”

I blinked at her. Perhaps I had found an unexpected ally in the fight against the Coward Prince.

“Didyouvolunteer?”

“Yes, I did.”

She made a harsh sound at the back of her throat, like she was gargling with rocks. Her cheeks reddened and her chest rose and fell more prominently. “It will not make him notice you, you know?”

“Who? The cow—the prince? I could hardly care if he does or not.” Truthfully, I also hardly cared to stand here explaining myself and my reasons either, but isolating myself from the only people I’d likely be interacting with during my stay here was far from wise. I kept my body loose and remained pressed against the wall rather than tensing up and invading her space like my bones screamed at me to do. My voice was even, a rarity when my anger began to crack through the walls. “I care that my mother died, and my younger brothers would have starved. There are no jobs in Jura that would pay enough to support us all. Except this one.Thatis why I volunteered.”

“I hope you said goodbye to them before you left.” A wave of blonde hair twisted in the air as she turned and left the room.

She was fortunate she’d left the room when she did, or I likely would have said something I’d regret later. At least that was one less person I had to worry about forming a friendship with.

“We were all conscripted,” Talyssa added, her voice plucking softly through the tension in the room and pulling my attention to her. Her frown etched lines into her skin. “Maricara had to leave behind her daughter when she was brought here.”

Bile soured in my throat.

“We all left something behind,” Zaharya said. “Some of us more than others.”

The others nodded their agreement.

“Now, shall we finish up here and get some rest? I think we’ve certainly earned it.”

Our work was finished quickly, and though it was not silent, it was clear we were all treading carefully. Maricara had still not returned by the time we were finished. No one else seemed concerned by it, but I was. Had I been less tired, I might have inquired after her, might have tried to track down where she had gone. But I hardly had the energy to keep my body upright. Investigating the prickly blonde would have to wait until this evening.

Zaharya showed me to my room, and I tried to map the turns in my head, to sear the image of my new door and bedroom into my mind, but truthfully, I could not say what any of it looked like. My eyelids were heavy and my vision bleary from lack of sleep and the utter exhaustion seeping into my bones, and as soon as she closed the door behind her, I collapsed into the plush bedding that blanketed the bed.

I did not even bother locking the door. I was asleep before I drew my next breath.

ChapterNine

Rivers of blood carved through towering cliffs of obsidian, cutting a path into the land. Shadows danced over the jagged rocks, turning the darkness into a veritable void. Pealing laughter clashed with agonized screams and sent me to my knees, making me clamp my hands over my ears as the noises grew louder.

The screams gained prominence, ringing through my ears and vibrating through my very bones. Icy wind whipped through the valley between the cliffs and then I was in front of the river, blood lapping at my knees and soaking into my dress.

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