Page 3 of The Court of Secrets
“Stop,” I whispered, feeling guilty as I did. I moved my gaze over his shoulder, and Adius shot me a look, warning in his stare. I nodded at him, then looked back at Cedric. “Not here.” I pulled my hand away from his, and my heart sank. “Later.”
“I get it,” he said, his expression unreadable.
Shouting diverted my attention to the main doors. I whipped my head around as Adius jumped out of the carriage, heading toward the doors. It took a moment for me to realize what was happening. A young woman, barely eighteen, a daughter of a nobleman I knew, screamed. One of the soldiers had whispered something to her. His helmet rested in his hands, and he wore a solemn expression. The anguish lacing her features told me her husband wasn’t coming home.
Adius barked at a guard standing near us. “Take the young lady to the prayer room.” He pointed at the grieving widow. The bodies of the nobles who’d been brought back were carried to the main entrance. “Take them to the preparation rooms,” Adius demanded. “You four.” He pointed at four armored men. “Stay with Her Majesty. Accompany her to her chambers.”
Peering around us, he scanned the area. Some of Edgar’s men, or worse, Berovia’s, could still be lingering, awaiting revenge. Not only that, but the cries and screams, of those whose loved ones wouldn’t be returning, would soon be heard. I knew that feeling all too well and wanted to comfort them, but I knew they’d be angry first. And sometimes when people were hurting, they did things they’d later regret. Their loved ones had died for my throne, and I shouldn’t be there, not while the wounds of war were so fresh.
Cedric grimaced as more cries sounded. He grabbed my wrist, his voice rushed. “You don’t want to be here when this breaks down. We need to get inside.”
I nodded, and a lump formed in my throat as I stepped forward. The head housekeeper, Ada, hurried down the three stone steps, her sharp eyes landing on me. Her gray hair was pulled into a tight knot at the back of her head, and her thick eyebrows were pointed downward. “With me.” She rushed to grab my arm. “Majesty,” she said hastily.
Everything set into motion before I could catch my breath. Servants bowed, lords and ladies craned their necks to get a last look at me as I swept into the castle. I attempted to grasp Cedric’s hand for comfort but was pulled away from him, as if he were a poison.
CHAPTER TWO
The night slipped into early morning, and I let out a sigh of relief. The people’s anger had sizzled. The initial shock was always the worst, bringing out a rage nothing could quench. It was how I felt with my brother, André, when I learned of his death. I had felt like I was going to die, grappling for comfort and bargaining with the ancestors for it not to be true even with the evidence thrust before me. My mother still had the broken pieces of his staff. I don’t think a soul had come close to me for the day after. My shouting and screaming could be heard through the hallways, or so I was told sometime later by Morgana.
Magaelor had gone through too much. The soldiers had returned, but many without their comrades. I blinked back tears as I looked out the window, my breath fogging the glass. A couple danced under the last of the stars as they faded into an indigo sky. He wore scars on his face from the battle. His armor had been removed, but the red marks from it could still be seen. I relished watching families and couples reunite, a small light among the darkness of the grieving that had taken ahold of the court.
I’d bathed and was forced into a boxy-gray gown. The corset was pulled so tight, I could barely breathe. Tomorrow, I’d wear one of the dresses I’d acquired from Lepidus, the dark fae court. They were still being unpacked.
I gazed out as the sun rose, the gardens and gates illuminated from their shadows, and smiled. A new dawn for Magaelor. It had come at terrible losses, but together, I knew we could make it through. Once payment was made to those who’d fought—I noted in my mind to ask the lords to extend extra payments to the widows and children of our war heroes—we could rebuild. I wondered about holding a memorial to honor our fallen. It would be better if we held one sooner rather than later. They must be remembered, and I would ensure the soldiers’ names would forever be engraved into stone.
A knock on the door made me jump, even thought I was expecting it. Ada walked in, then curtseyed. Her faded-blue eyes crinkled at the corners. “Good morning, Your Majesty.”
The head housekeeper looked the same as the last time I’d seen her. Even her dress was the same; one in a rotation, I imagined. She’d looked after us as children, and while strict, she at times had brought a sense of comfort to me and my brother. Today, however, her presence only set to aggravate me. I inhaled sharply.
“Ada. Perhaps you can explain why I am being given excuse after excuse by my maids as to Cedric’s whereabouts?”
“Firstly, let me express how pleased we are to have you back at court and as our queen. Edgar was a traitor.” She bent down and fussed with the frills on the skirt of my gown, then brought her fingers up to straighten the temporary crown on my head. “You were meant to rule this kingdom after your father and brother, as is the line of succession. For him not to immediately step down upon learning of you being alive was deplorable.”
“Thanks.” At least she was on my side. I wondered how many were. “So, about Cedric.”
“Of course, none of it would have happened if the king of Berovia hadn’t kidnapped you. You, the heir to the throne. That kingdom,” she spat, “may they burn in the fires they wield.”
I exhaled slowly, then ran my fingers down my face, pulling the skin under my eyes downward. “Berovia aside,” I said, moving away from the lie I had spread about my time in Berovia. “Where is Cedric? He is my guest.”
Ada was thirty years my senior but acted as if she were much older. Her stiff upper lip and unamused expression bore a striking resemblance to my mother, who was still stuck on Inferis, where she would hopefully stay for the remainder of her miserable life. “He is a light fae.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, leaning in as if to exchange gossip. “A Berovian.”
“He is?” I asked, feigning shock. “Well, thank you for letting me know. They’re not all the same, you know.”
She clicked her tongue, then remarked about how dirty my dresser was and how the maids would be fired for it.
“Ada,” I snapped. “Cedric. Where is he?”
She shook her head, continuing as if she hadn’t heard me. “We will go to war with Berovia for what they did. Lunas will not stand idly while heretics disrespect our kingdom. They will pay for what they did to you.”
Those were dangerous words. Did others feel the same? Would they want to fight, even with our numbers so low?
Ada had always loved to lecture me when I was a little girl, but I was a woman now. A queen. Her queen. “The man who kidnapped me is dead,” I said deadpan. “King Xenos has fallen.”
The corner of her lip twitched. “His son is still alive.”
I swallowed thickly. “Ada. I wish to see Cedric. No, I demand to see him,” I said, not wanting to hear the prejudice I knew that danced on her thin lips. “I won’t ask again.”
“It would look…” She tangled her fingers together, gazing up at my silver chandelier with diamonds. “Most improper. Bringing him here alone was enough to raise eyebrows and, worse, rumors. But to be seen with him? To bealonewith him? You have a public image to maintain.”
