Page 4 of The Queen's Shadow
The queen had been young when she’d ascended the throne eighteen years prior—hardly twenty-seven, not much older than Cassandra was now. She was the only legitimate child of the prior king, and she had never married, though there had been more than one ambitious courtier who would have jumped at the chance.
“Now,” the queen said, casting a look at Tomas who stood at attention not far behind Cassandra. “Thank you for doing your duty, captain, and keeping my shadow safe.”
Cassandra did her best to keep her fists from clenching. Here, in the throne room, even with just Tomas and a few of the queen’s other advisors watching, was not the place to break decorum.
“I expect a full, written report by morning,” the queen continued, addressing Tomas. “You are dismissed.”
“Your Highness,” Tomas said with a quick bow. He gave Cassandra a nod—of pity or solidarity, she wasn’t sure—then turned and left the hall.
Silence fell over the grand space, and Cassandra’s eyes wandered up to the ornately carved marble that arched above the queen. When used for holding court or greeting foreign dignitaries, the room came alive with movement and color and life—but now, in the emptiness, it felt a bit too much like a tomb.
Cassandra did her best to keep a neutral smile as the queen rose. Her advisors, dressed in the heavy ceremonial garb of the court, rose as well. Cassandra felt suddenly small beneath their gazes.
“You must be tired,” the queen said at last. “Retire to your chamber for the night. I will speak with you in the morning.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Cassandra’s chest tightened, and she did her best to keep her frustration from showing. The queen hadn’t even offered her a chance to defend herself before Tomas. Before the advisors.
Her mind flashed suddenly to a silver fox mask and the sting of a knife at her back. For a moment, her heartbeat quickened. She could not think about him now. She was already embarrassed enough.
Cassandra swept another grand curtsy and turned to go.
“Shadow?” the queen said.
Cassandra paused, her eyes focused on the open door of paneled cedar at the end of the hall.
“I have never known you to act without thought. Do not do something so rash again. For my sake.”
Cassandra gave a quick nod of deference and left the hall.
***
The queen was lounging on an ornate divan by the window when Cassandra entered the royal suite. The older woman turned as Cassandra pushed the tall bookshelf closed with a click and batted a cobweb from above her eye. The narrow corridor into the royal suite had been built as a means of escape many, many years ago. There were few who knew of its existence—but the queen’s shadow, as the face of the royal intelligence network, was one of them.
“You know, when I cast you in the role of shadow, it was supposed to be a purely ceremonial position,” the queen said as Cassandra dropped into a tall chair with elegantly embroidered cushions.
Cassandra raised a brow at the queen. “You can hardly have expected me to keep it ceremonial, Your Highness. Besides, Andre clearly didn’t intend for it to be.”
The queen sighed, but Cassandra detected a hint of amusement in it. “I do appreciate your efforts for my sake, Cassandra. But what you tried with Ilin Serra—what I said in the throne room was true. It was reckless.”
Cassandra’s nostril's flared at the mention of his name. “It wasn’t reckless, Elena. I swear. Nothing is ever straightforward with him. It’s like an elaborate dance. A game. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?” The queen arched an elegant brow. “It seems to me that if you refused to play at all, you might come out ahead.”
“I play by my rules, not his,” Cassandra said tightly. "You shouldn’t worry so much. I know what I’m doing.”
“You’re my sister, Cassandra.” The queen leaned forward earnestly. “My only sister. It’s my duty to worry.”
“Half-sister,” Cassandra muttered.
“That doesn’t make a difference!” the queen snapped. “Certainly not to Medira and certainly not to me.”
“Medira doesn’t know who I am,” Cassandra returned, the old anger flaring in her chest. “The court here doesn’t even know who I am.” Because her father—and Elena’s—had never claimed her publicly. There was almost a twenty-year age gap between them. It would have been a scandal. And there were always those who might try to use her to depose her sister, though being queen of Rendra was the last thing in the world Cassandra wanted.
The queen nodded. “And I have gone to great pains to keep it that way, for your own safety. And to protect your position as shadow. Which was something you wanted, by the way. So, when you do something like this...” She trailed off.
Cassandra knew she was right. It was imperative that no one knew of her true relationship to the queen. She would lose her freedom in an instant. And Cassandra didn’t think she could stand to live cooped up in the palace the way the queen did.