Page 36 of Embrace the Serpent

The ringing in my ears drowned everything out.

Galen was grinning.

The Serpent King was squeezing my hand like his life depended on it.

“I am,” I said, so softly that no one heard me. And then, louder, “I am an Imperial Ward.”

Everyone was looking at me. Galen’s face was turning red.

I twisted my mother’s ring around my finger, and despite the crack, it still gave me a whisper of strength. “I bear the brand. By the laws of the Empire, it would be illegal for him to shelter me.”

The full brunt of Lady Incarnadine’s attention was on me. “Is that so?”

She didn’t believe me.

“You killed my mother before my eyes, my lady. And then you brought me here.” My hands were sweating, my face was sweating. She might kill me right here. I didn’t know if I cared.

I had the crowd’s attention. A staccato murmur rose from them, a pitying one, a believing one.

Incarnadine’s eyes narrowed. “I would speak to your bride. Alone. If you would be so kind.”

“My lady,” Galen began, “I must insist—”

She raised a quelling hand. Her gaze was fixed on the Serpent King.

The Serpent King inclined his head to her. He then drew me close, a pretend embrace, and murmured in my ear, “Keep your wits. My people will be with you.”

He let me go. I willed my feet to move, counting my steps because I couldn’t bear to look up at Incarnadine. One... Two ...

“Allow me, my lady.” Mirandel’s voice. Her eyes were narrowed, fixed on me. Incarnadine bent her head and whispered something into Mirandel’s ear.

Mirandel nodded and crossed to me. Her hand wrapped around my arm, and I kept pace with her so she wouldn’t get the satisfaction of dragging me out of the pavilion and through the gardens.

She was seething, gnashing her teeth, and for a second, I saw in her face the girl I once knew. It didn’t calm me. She had been dangerous even then.

The Rose Palace loomed over us. In the light of day, it was all pink and emerald hallways, gilded and curved ceilings, delicate furniture inlaid with bone. An atmosphere of immaculate design. And a seductively sweet aroma hung on the air, a strangely personal scent, like someone confident and beautiful had swept by and left a cloud of fragrance behind.

Mirandel brought me to the baths. Steam hung like a cloud, andthe large arched rooms were reduced to only the vaguest shapes. The moisture in the air hugged my skin and dampened my clothes.

She barked orders into the steam, and a pair of girls with their hair wrapped in cloth began filling a copper tub.

As the sound of pouring water echoed on the tile, Mirandel rounded on me with a furious whisper. “I can’t believe you. I try to help you, and you betray me like this?”

I matched her tone. “Help me? When have you ever helped me?”

“I was getting you away from that boor. I saw how scared you looked—whatwashe doing to you?”

I stared at her. Laughter burst out of me, and I couldn’t stop it, not till tears were running down my face. “Mirandel. I was fine. I was safe. And you ruined it.”

She reared back like I’d slapped her and turned her face away. One of the girls was pouring oil into the copper tub. “No, not that one,” Mirandel said. “Let’s find something... expensive. That one, the red bottle.”

She trailed her hand through the water. “You ruined my life, too. Everyone knows I failed to get the Serpent King. What kind of life will I lead now?” She flicked a droplet from her finger. “I thought you’d died, you know. I was so jealous of you, and then after... I thought they’d killed you, because of me. I’d been carrying this guilt for so long. But it turns out there was no need. You didn’t need my help with anything. I ruined your life. And I guess I was right to be jealous, then. You got the prize.”

I bit down on the inside of my cheek. I wanted to shake her. Why did she of all people have to see through my mother’s ring? She hadeverything she ever wanted, and yet had the gall to pity herself, to be jealous of me? And to call the Serpent King aprize, as if we were in some kind of competition, as if this was all a game.

I couldn’t look at her. On the floor, something caught my eye, a bit of shine against the deep green tile. A small silver serpent. One of the huntsmen in disguise? My face warmed, imagining dark amused eyes.

“Come here,” Mirandel said, gesturing at the tub. “It’s ready.”

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