Page 16 of Golden Queen
"So, what happened?" she asked, fairly buzzing with curiosity.
I explained it all while Anetta stared at me with her mouth hanging open in shock.
"Mother's bones, Sera! I'm glad you're okay! But who would have been chasing you?"
"I don't know. They knew who I was, though. I’m sure of that. And the old man was the one calling the shots."
"Did you get a good enough look at him to be sure he wasn't one of the eldermen?" she asked, voicing a thought that had also been running through my mind.
"I'm sure he wasn't one of them, but whether or not they might have hired him, I can’t say."
"I know that many on the council are displeased that your cousin does not sit the throne," Anetta said.
The way the council coveted the idea of crowning Arkadian was no secret, but as one of the most respected courtesans in the city, Anetta had greater knowledge than most. Her powerful clients often used her as an outlet for the grievances they couldn't voice in their daily lives, so she brought me more news about my kingdom than anyone in the court.
"They are the ones most likely to be behind it," I admitted, feeling a jolt of unease at the idea of venomous snakes lurking inside my council chambers.
"At least you can be sure that your uncle was not part of it," Anetta said. "He’s the only one who stands to lose everything if something happens to you."
I gave her a tight-lipped smile. "That’s true enough." Arkadian would be king if I died.
After so many years of abuse and near tyrannical control, Markus might convince himself thatIwill be no threat under the yoke of whatever husband he forces upon me, but he would fear the wrath of King Arkadian Lithaway.
Anetta and I speculated a little more about who might have been responsible for the pursuit, ultimately coming up with very little explanation, aside from the obvious ransom schemes.
"You must be more careful, Sera," she said after a while.
"I am always careful.” I smiled reassuringly. We both knew it was a lie. Even if I had not been born with a greater regard for self-preservation, Arkadian had given me the skills necessary to defend myself.
We lapsed into silence as we waited. I leaned against the wall, but pushed off quickly, feeling my muscles ache with the need to move, to take some action, todosomething.
"I'm sorry the room is so small," Anetta said, startling me from my anxious vigil. "This is all we have. King's Day has us full up. You're lucky we even managed this small space with all the horny lords roaming the city."
I couldn't help but laugh. "It'll do," I told her gratefully. "And I'll compensate you for it all."
Anetta frowned, "I don't require payment for helping my friend."
"I know that," I told her, "But I will anyway."
The doctor stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. He gave me a sympathetic smile and shook his head.
"Will he be okay?" I asked, tension making my neck and jaw ache fiercely again.
The doctor shrugged. "He should be awake by now. I don't know why he still sleeps. You say it was a dagger?"
"A mellitrium dagger," I answered.
He nodded as though he already knew that. "Do you have the knife?" he asked.
I pulled it from my pocket and held it out. I saw it at the same time the doctor did. The dull, graphite-colored blade ended in a clean line where the point had broken off.
"Gastriyak!" the doctor cursed in the old language of the first kings of Windemere. He didn't even bother to take my knife. "That will need to come out."
"I will, of course, compensate you well for your—"
The doctor barked a startled laugh that made me trail off. He shook his head vigorously. "No, no, no, and no. I will not be sticking my fingers inside that man. I don't have the herbs or tonics to put him out, and if he wakes upin the middle...well, he's likely to take my head off before I can explain why I'm poking around his heart."
"Well, what will happen if it's left in there?" I asked incredulously.
