Page 224 of A Queen's Game
“What is it?”
Valeriya shook her head. “You have to see it. Come.”
She unlocked the door and led Marietta into the dark hallway. The Queen held Marietta’s hand and gripped the light globe in the other, weaving their way through the underground passages. After traveling for what felt the length of the palace, Valeriya dimmed her light and whispered, “We’re almost there. Just stay quiet.”
Voices carried down the hall, causing Marietta to panic, fearing that the Queen betrayed her. Marietta’s steps faltered as the Queen pulled her ahead.
The voices grew louder the further they walked, but the passageway remained dark. They turned, another long hallway extended in front of them. To one side, there was a jingle of metal and muffled laughs. Valeriya didn’t slow; she stayed her pace and continued.
“Here,” she whispered when they could barely hear the voices. “There are some foot holes in the wall. Feel around for them and crawl up. There should be a small hole where the light comes through. Just look into it.”
Perplexed, Marietta felt her way in the dark with her heart thundering in her chest. Gods, what did the Queen need to show her? Marietta struggled to keep her breaths even as panic set in. She did not know where Valeriya had taken her, no idea why she brought her there.
At the top of the wall, there was a crawlspace where Marietta saw the light Valeriya mentioned. She drew a deep breath and looked through the hole.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust as a dirty and dingy cell came into view below her. The walls were wet stone; the door was solid metal with a grate over a small window. In the corner sat a bucket filled with excrement. A body laid in the other.
Marietta pressed closer to the hole, trying to make out their details. Rail thin, a mop of scraggly dark hair matted their head,with a thick beard on their face. Only humans grew beards that thick. Why was there a human in their dungeons? Were they a prisoner of war, or someone she knew in Olkia?
The breath left Marietta as she realized who the Queen brought her to see. Biting into her hand, she muffled her cry, resisting the scream that built. Less than ten feet from her was Tilan. Alive.
Her husband was alive.
Marietta took in his features, blinking back tears. In the dungeon, his body wasted to nothing and his mass from smithing lost to inactivity. Without a haircut or bath in months, his dark hair was so matted like a stray dog. As he rolled over in his sleep, she saw his face, still handsome, but it pained her to see the neglect, how gaunt his features had become. The sallowness of his complexion. Tears blurred her vision as anger and guilt battled in her stomach. Tilan was in the palace the entire gods damned time.
He was alive.
Her husband was alive.
The chaos returned to her chest as her fury grew. It took all of her effort to tear away from the hole. When she met Valeriya at the bottom, Marietta grabbed her by the collar and pinned her to the wall. “You knew the whole fucking time.”
“Marietta, hush,” Valeriya said, placing her hand on top of her own. “Let’s head back and then we can talk.”
Each step away from Tilan felt like a betrayal. Marietta was so close to him, so close to seeing his face, that smile. The Queen had to drag her along the hallway to get her to move.
She’d come back. Gods, Marietta would return for her husband, and she would tear down the whole gods damned palace with her when she did.
Chapter Eighty-Five
Valeriya
Valeriya rolled her shoulders, enjoying the unloaded weight of no longer hiding Tilan. Marietta’s quiet rage filled the space between them as they navigated back toward the Noble’s Section. Understandable, to say the least, though necessary. Of all the details Valeriya hid from her, this had been the most troublesome. If Marietta had known Tilan lived, she wouldn’t have been able to seduce Keyain. Even now, there was a risk in showing her, knowing that Marietta would want to save her husband. She’d be a fool to not leave with her.
Her plan with Katya was simple—reveal Tilan, grab Mycaub, and meet Katya in a park a few blocks from the palace. From there, Katya knew a way to slip out of the city. After that, she didn’t know; yet, she’d take the uncertainty over Wyltam discovering the truth or bowing to Auryon in Reyila.
Never had she thought it would come to this. In her mind, she could always go home to Reyila if the situation in Satiros worsened. But not anymore.
They stopped near an intersection that would be closer for Marietta to return to her suite if she felt like being a fool.There was nothing but damnation remaining for either of them in Satiros. Valeriya closed her eyes, reaching out to the aithyr, pulling the energy into herself and expelling it into a dome around them.
Valeriya turned to Marietta. “Now we can talk. The barrier will keep our voices muffled as a precaution.”
Marietta’s tear-stained face shined in the glow of the light globe, her features contorted with rage. “How long did you know?”
“Marietta, I’m sorry, but we don’t have time. I need you to decide, and I hope it’s the right choice.” Valeriya sighed, taking a step towards her friend. “Will you leave with me?”
“I’m not pregnant,” Marietta said with a lethal quiet.
“I know. You should still come with me.”
