Page 28 of The Dragon Queen

Talon gave me a quick look over. “Ready?”

I nodded.

“Follow the path to the left. The maids never use the main entrance. They use the servants’ entrance I put on your map.”

“Got it.”

He continued to look at me. “You look good in that.”

I tried to suppress my smile. “I’m about to sneak into the castle to spy on your uncle, and you want to do this right now?”

A full smirk moved over his lips. “Baby, I always want to do that.” He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the mouth. “Stay in contact with me. I want to know you’re okay.”

“I will.”

He listened at the door again before we both stepped into the hallway.

He moved to the storage door then nodded down the hallway to the left.

I gave him a final look but didn’t say goodbye. That was a word I never wanted to say to him.

After a long stare, he gave me a slight nod before he stepped into the storage room and closed the door.

I stood in the hallway alone, suddenly aware of the fact that I was on my own in this journey, that the success of this mission lay on my shoulders and my shoulders alone. I looked down the hallway that was carved into the rock, the ceiling high above me with jagged edges. I stared down that hallway for a long time before I finally took my first step…and then my next.

Chapter 5

Calista

There were a lot of maids in the castle, so when Talon said no one would question me, he was right. Whenever the maids were, I joined, keeping my head down and falling in line like I knew what I was doing. I expected the other maids to question me, ask for my name, complain about the unfulfilling work, but hardly anyone ever spoke a word. There was no small talk, no friendships or bonds between the girls.

They all seemed…scared.

I was young when my father was king, but I remembered the way we interacted with the servants. We greeted each other politely, had brief conversations, and treated them as people. There was always a distinct separation between our statuses, but that didn’t stop us from having a positive environment.

But the atmosphere here was just like it was in town—strained.

Inferno’s voice came into my mind.TALON WANTS AN UPDATE.

I’m fine.I stood at the mantel and dusted off the surface of the glass clock. The castle was clean, but the maids cleanedeverything anyway. I’d been there for three days and learned that the maids cleaned different parts of the castle depending on the day of the week. The only thing we did daily without exception was the meals, which were served at the same time every day.

Place settings for four were put on the grand dining table for every meal, so I assumed King Barron dined with his wife and two sons, but I never actually saw them. King Barron had a butler, and that was the only person that came close to him. The rest of us weren’t worthy enough to even look upon the king. We served the food and cleared the dishes only when they were out of the room.

I’d never known some pompous arrogance.

I slept in the maids’ quarters with the other girls. There were several extra beds, so I was able to join the crew without question. The butler in charge seemed to speak only to the head maid, so I never interacted with him.

It shouldn’t have been this easy to infiltrate the castle, but who in their right mind would want to be in this line of work for no pay and no acknowledgment? As far as I could tell, all the maids did was work and sleep. They had no outside families. No outside lives.

But we were well-fed, eating all the leftover meals in the maids’ quarters, everything that was good enough for the king of the Southern Isles. Since all the people in the city were starving, being paid in food was a luxury.

HE SAID HE WANTS A BETTER UPDATE THAN THAT.

Talon remained in the secret passage near the waterfall, subsisting on the food we packed and the water from the pool.It must have been a boring and lonely experience for him, especially after he knew that I’d been accepted into the crew without question.

I still haven’t seen Barron. The servants are kept away from him, and I wonder if that’s for his own protection.

MUST BE EXHAUSTING KNOWING EVERYONE WANTS YOU DEAD.