Page 24 of Kingdom of Spirits
“Want me to come?” Fara asked. “I can apply that salve to her left wing again if you think we should.” She set her spoon downand wiped her mouth on one of the linen napkins folded at each place setting.
“No, I’d rather go on my own.”
Fara smiled and went back to her oatmeal. “Don’t get lost.”
“I haven’t yet.”
“Those stables are wild. You could walk around in the passageways for ten years without finding an end.”
“You’d probably get roasted before a decade passed,” Tahlia said, trying for a lighter tone.
“Most likely.” Fara snickered. But she snagged Tahlia’s sleeve before she could leave. “Seriously though, watch out for…” She glanced around them. “For that one person.”
She meant Ophelia. “I will.”
This wasn’t a ridiculous warning like many of Fara’s cautionary comments. If Marius decided to tell Ophelia that Tahlia had seen her, even if he intended no harm, Ophelia would go after Tahlia. Who would everyone believe was at fault if she and Ophelia ended up in a fight? Their new commander, that was who. They’d have no choice.
No one—save Marius—would risk their bonded dragon for Tahlia. She was too new. She didn’t even blame them. No, she had to find proof that Ophelia was involved in her father’s death.
Had she killed him? Did Tahlia really think that of the female?
She chewed the inside of her cheek as she slipped from the great hall into the foyer, heading for Ophelia’s chambers. She didn’t like fibbing to Fara, but she didn’t want her worrying.
Stars sparkled across the stained glass of the windows and reflected off the crystals embedded in the stone walls. She crossed the foyer and started up the side stairs.
Had Ophelia killed Gaius? Maybe. Who else had access to him? The other knights and Remus. But this was Ophelia. EvilOphelia. Yeah, she was the best bet. Before she could repeat that thought to anyone, she had to find proof.
She hid in the darkness at the edge of the corridor that split off toward the bedchambers, the kitchens, and the various meeting halls. Riders and staff passed by, most of them solemn and quiet due to Commander Gaius’s death. Once the area was empty of people, Tahlia slipped down the hallway that led to Ophelia’s rooms.
The sconces’ yellow light drew Tahlia around a tight corner, up another set of stairs, and past a new tapestry showing the wedding of Queen Revna and King Lysanael. The Unseelie King had been stitched into the scene even though everyone knew the two males hadn’t made peace until well after the pictured event. Unseelie monsters’ eyes glittered with gold thread, and the Unseelie King’s skin was shown to be a deep gray with a scattering of dragon scales here and there. Tahlia shivered and kept on. Riding dragons was glorious, but being a dragon shifter? That would be madness.
Ophelia’s door, another oaken beast of a thing, was carved with swirls of clouds and stars. Tahlia leaned against the wood to listen. If she was found, what would she say? Perhaps something about condolences. Yes, that would work well enough.
Footsteps sounded down the corridor, and Tahlia’s heart shot into her throat. She lunged for the opposite side of the hallway and concealed herself behind a row of hooks and hanging cloaks. Ophelia approached, her mouth bunched and her brow furrowed. She removed a key from her belt and unlocked her door.
Once Ophelia disappeared, Tahlia moved to follow.
Thankfully, Ophelia hadn’t locked the door from the inside and the oaken entrance swung open with a creak. Tahlia froze, waiting, hoping she hadn’t been heard. The smell of the apartments was odd. Smoke, but not regular candle smoke. Thisscent was harsher. Hiding under that, a sickly odor hung in the air. Illness? Rot? Mold?
A bang and a shuffle indicated that Ophelia had gone farther in and was moving something large and heavy across the floor.
Tahlia dared to lean around the corner of the entryway. Ophelia’s back was to her. She was kneeling and dragging a rectangular carpet into what seemed to be a random spot in the middle of the living area.
Ophelia paused in her redecorating mission and started to peer over her shoulder. Tahlia ducked back and held her breath.
“Lue, is that you?”
Lue was Ophelia’s squire.
Sweat rolled down the back of Tahlia’s neck.
The sound of Ophelia’s boots and the splash of water from farther away let Tahlia relax. She peeked around the entryway wall again and saw Ophelia at a wash basin near a round window. She was cleaning her hands. Tahlia caught a flash of the back of Ophelia’s left hand. A slash of gray-black charring showed.
If Ophelia was expecting Lue soon, Tahlia needed to go. She turned to leave, cracking the door open a bit more. Keeping every movement slow and sure, Tahlia made her way into the corridor, then she scurried back the way she’d come.
The sconce near the corridor’s tight turn had flickered out. Tahlia ran straight into something.
“I knew it, you little beast,” Fara whispered. “Let’s get out of here while we’re still breathing.”