Page 60 of A Tale of Ice and Ash
“Everyone.” The answer should have been obvious. What royal was ever truly themselves with anyone?
Although no mask compared to the one his mother wore…
“Were you frightened?” she asked.
“Terrified.”
“Eirwen looked scared too.” Marie’s voice was light. “But you both wanted to stay.”
“It… it didn’t seem right to leave when we were capable of fighting.”
Marie looked down. “Thank you for getting us out.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Goodnight.”
She closed the door softly, and he returned to his own room, taking off his clothes and scrubbing the mud from his skin and hair. Niamh came up not long after, with a bottle of wine and three goblets. He frowned as she set them down.
“I think you’ve miscounted.”
She poured him a glass. “A trail of evidence, should anyone look into your story.”
“You think of everything.”
“I do what I can.”
She gathered his discarded garments and slipped out the door. Cole lay on his bed, trying not to shiver, drinking the wine until his hands felt steadier and trying to ignore how the colour matched the bloodstains on the cellar floor.
