Page 68 of The Royal Throne
“My dog,” Sabine whispered, worrying about Harta’s safety.
“I already sent Harper to your room to take care of the dog and a few other things. She’s the one who came and got me. But right now, I need to take care of you.” She went over to the side table and pulled out a box. “I’m going to put something on your neck to help with the swelling. It’ll take the edge off the pain as well. You’ll still be sore, but you’ll be able to talk in a few hours.”
Sabine absently nodded as Regina administered the ointment to her skin. “How do you know this will work?”
“I used to help the previous queen with situations such as this all the time.”
Her words felt heavy, like lead.
This was not a life Sabine would allow herself to live. If things didn’t go her way tomorrow, she would flee the palace. She’d find another way to make sure Rainer didn’t go to war. It was a good thing Evander wasn’t here. If he were, Rainer would be dead and she’d have a diplomatic crisis on her hands.
“Was there really an emergency?” Sabine whispered, wondering about Felix’s timely interruption.
“Cutler came and got him,” Regina revealed. “But I do believe a letter of importance arrived—it just wasn’t an emergency.”
Who knew Cutler would turn out to be someone who helped her? “When Rainer doesn’t find me in the dungeon, he’ll start looking for me.”
Regina capped the ointment and returned it to the box. “Tonight, you’ll be safe here. Tomorrow, we’ll have a plan to get you to the throne room.” She moved to the door.
“Regina,” Sabine said, her voice still raspy. “Thank you.”
“Of course, my queen.”
Mumbling sounds came from the other side of the door, waking Sabine. She peeled her eyelids open, and memories of last night came flooding back. When she swallowed, it hurt, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as last night. She slid out of bed and padded over to the mirror. A gasp escaped her lips. While the swelling had gone down, a bruise the shape of a hand had formed on her neck. Glancing at her arm, it also bore a bruise in the shape of fingers. Anyone who saw her would know someone had attacked her.
She shoved away all thoughts of Erikin being murdered. If she allowed herself to think about him, she wouldn’t make it through the day. A chill spread over her as the image of an angry Rainer grabbed her neck, squeezing, wanting her dead. She could almost feel his fingers on her skin. Shaking, she went over to the door and opened it, needing a distraction.
Lady Regina and Commander Felix were in the sitting room, deep in conversation.
“Queen Sabine,” Regina said as she stood and curtseyed. “I hope you slept well. Harper delivered an outfit for you.” She gestured to a dress draped over the chair. “And I have breakfast on the table for whenever you’re ready to eat.” She sat back down, folding her hands together.
Felix ran a hand over his chin, his focus on something far away.
“Commander, is something the matter?” Sabine asked. She slid her hand onto his shoulder, squeezing.
He sighed. “Oh, child. I am so sorry for last night.” He patted her hand as he looked at her, shaking his head when he caught sight of her bruises. “I’m sorry for the death of your guard and for the way the king treated you.” He stood and faced her.
“Thank you.” She stared at her feet, not wanting to talk about it right now. She needed to prepare for the day, and that required getting her confidence up to be able to face the nobles in the palace.
“There’s something you need to know,” he said, leading her over to the sofa.
Sabine took a seat, instinctively knowing bad news was coming.
“There’s no easy way to say this.”
“Just tell her, Felix,” Regina said.
“Yesterday, a letter arrived. I’d assumed it was to inform the king of another murder. However, I was wrong. It carried news of a prisoner. This man is believed to be the one responsible for killing so many of our soldiers. He arrived here at the palace last night and was placed in the dungeon.”
“That’s good news, isn’t it?” Sabine asked, her body relaxing.
“Yes, it’s good that this man has been caught. However, since he is dangerous and in our dungeon, Princess Lottie was moved back to her room. I was also told Prince Axel is in his room as well, and Prince Anton isn’t in the palace at the moment.”
“Then I assume the king is in his room. How convenient.” She folded her arms, trying to hold herself together. “Will Lottie’s trial even take place today?” Or would the powers that be deem it too risky.
“It will.”
That was all that concerned Sabine at the moment. Taking care of Lottie fulfilled Sabine’s promise to her sister, and it would take care of Rainer by getting him out of the way. She’d be able to stop the war before it even started. Right now, that was all that mattered.
