Page 43 of A Cage of Crystal
Mareleau scoffed. Shehadasked her uncles, and when she’d inquired how the seven devils she was supposed to get close to the princess when the girl wouldn’t even observe respectful protocol, they’d told her there had been a development. According to Kevan and Ulrich, the princess was in charge of refurbishing some library that Mareleau was forbidden to step foot in. When she’d asked for more of an explanation, they’d refused.
Never before had it been clearer; her purpose at Ridine was less about being her father’s spy and more about being punished.
A knock sounded at the door, and Mareleau’s heart leaped, half with hope, half with dread. While she was eager to busy herself with something—even if thatsomethingwas a princess whom she didn’t exactly get along swimmingly with—the thought of conversing with Aveline set her teeth on edge. She’d humiliated her yesterday, going on about how Mareleau wasn’therqueen, and she didn’t belong tothiskingdom. Mareleau was almost of a mind to take everything back and feel gratitude for her state of boredom, but when Breah opened the door to reveal an unfamiliar face that did not belong to Aveline, Mareleau felt her anger return.
How dare the princess still not visit!Shewas a queen.
Breah closed the door without inviting the caller in and brought an envelope to her. “You have a letter, Majesty.”
Mareleau tore it from the girl’s grasp and rushed to the window. All prior thoughts fled her mind as she flicked open the seal without even looking at it, hoping to see a familiar script—
She pursed her lips. Why she wasn’t used to disappointment by now was a mystery. She should have known better than to expect a letter from Larylis. Not because he hadn’t been writing, but because she’d already received one from him that morning. She rarely went a day without one, and they’d become the singular bright spot in her current state of existence. If she could reread them all day, she’d never suffer from boredom. However, along with joy, her husband’s letters brought sorrow too, simply because they were apart. Her emotions had already grown volatile as of late; everything seemed to bring her to the edge of either tears or rage. Should she spend all day reading her beloved’s words, she might forget how to keep her composure at all.
She scanned the brief letter with a scowl, then tossed it on the windowsill. “Teryn,” she said between her teeth. “Have I not done enough for you as it is?”
The answer rang through her, a clearno.
While she’d kept her word and made no mention of Teryn’s secret travels nor his appearance at the inn to Uncle Ulrich, she knew in her heart that she’d always be in his debt. Nothing could repay him for what he’d done. She didn’t know whether he’d acted out of love for his brother or dislike for Mareleau, but it didn’t matter. He’d been on her side when no one else had been. He’d abdicated his right to the crown so Larylis could be king, erasing every last obstacle that stood between her and the man she loved.
Her heart softened, smoothing the edges of her ire. She glanced back at the discarded letter. Its contents relayed a request for another favor. Since it was a scheme of sorts, Mareleau supposed she could oblige. He was her brother now, and if she couldn’t do her duty as a spy, she could assist her unwanted sibling’s request to get him into the castle without being intercepted by her uncles.
With a soft smile curling her lips, she turned away from the window. She was about to exit the room for the sake of reconnaissance, but the look on her ladies’ faces pulled her up short. Breah’s eyes turned down at the corners while Ann wrung folds of her silk skirt in her hands.
“What?” Mareleau bit out.
Breah and Ann exchanged a look but said nothing.
“Out with it.”
Breah worried her lip before taking a step closer to the queen. “It’s just…I was wondering…is it strange?”
Mareleau’s irritation returned in a flash. “Iswhatstrange?”
“Being married to…to King Larylis instead of Teryn?”
“Why the seven devils would that be strange? Strange would be being wed to Teryn.”
“Because Teryn isn’t king?” Ann said.
“Because Teryn isn’t my husband.”
“But you wanted him to be, didn’t you?” Breah asked. “The two of you were engaged for three years.”
Mareleau barked a laugh. “What gave you the impression I’dwantedto be engaged to him? Banish it from your minds.”
Ann shifted from foot to foot and let out an awkward laugh. “I did find it strange that you were always courting another suitor.”
“Courting other suitors went against my will, just as much as being engaged to Teryn did. The only man I’ve ever loved was Larylis.”
Breah’s eyes bulged from their sockets. “Truly?”
Mareleau was perplexed by her ladies’ shock. Hadn’t they known about her friendship with Larylis when he’d lived as a ward to Uncle Ulrich? The budding feelings she’d begun to develop? Then she recalled that she’d only confided in Katra, the lady’s maid she’d trusted most. The one person aside from Larylis that she’d considered a friend. Before Katra had betrayed her, of course.
No wonder her maids knew nothing of her true feelings. She’d kept them well hidden. Now she felt a little self-conscious that she was sharing so much. Being at Ridine truly was messing with her emotions. Either that or—
That’s right!
Her moon cycle was due any day now. Her pregnancy ruse was coming to an end. That explained her irritation, her fraying nerves.