Page 222 of A Queen's Game
“We need as few people as possible to move quickly,” Coryn added. “Plus, she would only draw more attention to you escaping.”
Deania spoke up from the other side of the room, her voice breathy. “Checked with one source. Queen Valeriya is working with the Exisotis. She has someone meeting with them on her behalf. They last received information from her a month and a half ago.”
Coryn sighed, rubbing his temples. “At least that was true for the Queen. What information is on those documents?”
She thought back to the documents, the transcriptions of their meetings. “Proof that there’s a spy in the Exisotis and an interview of some sort, though that document was coded.”
Coryn swore. “So, information is important. When are you supposed to hand that off?”
“Tonight,” Marietta said. “I’m meeting with the Queen tonight, so if I go back, even just for the evening, I can hand over that information. And if I don’t, then it was all for nothing.”
The three gave her confused looks.
“What was all for nothing?” Deania asked.
“Making Keyain think I loved him, so he’d let down his guard.”
“That’s why you had slept with him,” hissed Amryth. “You’ve been working at that for months. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you’re his soldier,” Marietta said, frowning. “I trust you, but I couldn’t put you in that position.”
Amryth shook her head. “I wish you did. If I had known, then we could’ve had an emergency plan in place.”
“Do you want to help the Exisotis?” Marietta asked. “Even if they’re against the city-state you’re bound to protect?”
Amryth lifted her chin. “I swore an oath to protect the citizens of Satiros, and right now, the biggest threat is the head of state. They uphold the laws that suppress innocent people, but ignore the law when it best suits them. Something needs to change, and I refuse to do nothing.”
Deania reached for Amryth’s hand, her eyes shining in the glow of the light.
“Then let me help them,” Marietta said, looking them all in the eye. “If I can get those papers into the Exisotis’s hands, then they can narrow down the spy based on who was in what meeting.”
“Okay,” Coryn sighed. “Marietta will return to the palace and act as if she’s going along with Keyain’s plan. Tonight, meet with the Queen. Amryth, you set a meeting point with her and remove her from the palace and back to the temple.
Amryth nodded her head as the plan came together.
“When you return, Marietta, we’ll perform the ritual, claiming you as an Iros to Therypon and officially place you in protective custody of the temple,” Coryn said. “Keyain won’t be able to march in here without starting a civil war in Satiros. It’ll buy us time to get you out of the city-state.”
Marietta nodded, her gut twisting. She’d have one more night in the palace. Gods, she wouldn’t be able to see Elyse before she left, but she could come back for her. Marietta was out of options; she was no longer safe.
Chapter Eighty-Four
Marietta
Before returning to the private prayer chamber, Amryth gave Marietta a quick explanation of the tunnels that ran underneath the palace, Marietta explaining that one led to her suite. After meeting the Queen, Marietta would take the tunnels towards the Guards Garrison and find Amryth.
Marietta thought of all the ways the plan could fail, yet there was no other way. She’d convince Keyain to drink that evening, so he wouldn’t wake as she crept out of the room. When she finished with the Queen, she’d meet with Amryth, who had servant’s clothes in which she could change. It could work. Their plan could work. Tomorrow she could be going home.
Nervousness fought in her gut and not just for the escape. The meeting would be her first time seeing the Queen since the incident with Elyse, not forgetting Valeriya’s warning. Marietta decided it would be best not to tell the Queen that she was leaving. There needed to be no excuses, no further reasons to stay in Satiros.
When Keyain returned for dinner that evening, Marietta had a glass of whiskey waiting for him. Each time he had finished his drink, she refilled it. Despite the past week’s fallout, he seemed in high spirits, almost proud of himself. Sitting across fromMarietta at the dining table, Keyain asked, “Do you hope for a boy or a girl?”
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Marietta said with a forced smile. If she had been pregnant, then the gender wouldn’t make a difference, not to her.
“I’m still hoping for a girl,” he said, his smile softening. “Though if she’s anything like you, I’m in for a rough time.”
“If there were two of me, life would be much more interesting.”
“I’d have a lot more headaches.”
