Page 76 of The Mad King and the False Queen

“A classic.”

“You should get back up there.” Magda referenced the musicians on stage. “Please don’t stop playing on my account.”

Ravi smiled. “The music is brighter when you’re here. You can stay a while longer if you want. It will probably be too loud to sleep anyways. And…” he touched her hair to brush it back behind her ears, and acted like he was going to say something else, but then stopped.

Magda reached up and brushed her hand against his. “We hardly know each other.”

Ravi stepped forward, linking his arms at her waist, pulling her close as if they were on the dance floor once more. “What if I want to know more about you?”

Magda’s heart fluttered, and something fiery and emotional pulled her closer to him. But a stronger voice in her head was saying no.

Suddenly, Odie jumped up on Ravi, knocking them apart, and making the two burst into laughter. After calming down, Magda said, “I have to get some sleep.”

Ravi seemed to understand. “Alright. Tomorrow I’ll be on the streets again, and try to listen for any words of guild leaders that are going to the birthday ball. I’ll be here playing the rest of the week. Just come down tomorrow night, and I’ll tell you what I’ve found out.”

Magda couldn’t help a smile crease across her face at the thought of seeing him again, and her stomach turned with butterflies like it did with a new crush. “I’ll see you soon then.”

With that, she turned to head up the stairs, Odie at her heel. Soon Magda found room ten and used her key to open the door before locking it shut. It was a small space, with a bed and two side tables, as well as a table and chair, but the decorations and portraits on the wall were bright red and yellow, giving the room an aura of luxury.

Odie entered first, sniffing around the room with a wagging tail. Then he circled a few times before jumping up onto the bed.

Magda smiled. Odie always slept right next to her, despite Urszula’s qualms that animals shouldn’t be on the bed. He would always act like he was sleeping on the floor, before hopping into Magda’s bed at the last second. Clearly, with Urszula in Ilusauri, Odie could do whatever he wanted.

Quickly, Magda pulled the chair over to the door, placing it against it, so that no one could enter. Then, she hung up her outdoor clothes over the bed frame, remaining in her undergarments. Finally, she spilled out the contents of her knapsack, counting her remaining money. She still had enough.

Then Magda laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her thoughts ran wild, doubting everything. She knew deep down that she should head back to the Flaustran palace this instant, revealing herself as Princess Magdalena so she could speak to Queen Sanyal. However, she couldn’t reveal her identity just yet. What if the assassins who killed her father and brother had followed her here? She couldn’t announce she was in the city. And she couldn’t let the word spread that Princess Magdalena was in Flaustra, rather than in Ilusauri about to marry King Claude.

Her hands reached across the bed, stroking Odie’s fur. It was then Magda realized how homesick she was. Her father and brother were dead, and she had no idea when she would see her mother again. The loneliness ate away at her, and even though she heard the joyous music from the party downstairs, she couldn’t have felt more isolated. It was as if she was in a different dimension—one that was entirely silent.

For a moment, she considered going back downstairs, talking more with Ravi, just so she wouldn’t be without company. But she knew if she invited him up to her room she would surely do something she regretted, just to feel something—anything. Just to be held by someone.

Magda turned over and buried her face in Odie’s fur, crying herself to sleep to the sound of the violin.

CHAPTER 28

Dagmara

“And you’re certain?” Dagmara asked her guard.

“My answer won’t change no matter how many times you ask, Princess,” Martine replied. “To be on the royal guard I have to memorize all the appointments for security reasons. Mael Revel, Lyam Desco, and Samuel Arsenault don’t exist.”

Dagmara’s brow furrowed, remembering the three men her brother had told her were on the border register. Which meant they were false aliases—but they had papers signed by the king himself. That had to be evidence that the king sent the assassins, right? She only had to confirm those three were assassins. Hopefully, Teos would find out more about them soon.

“Is there anyone with authority to grant citizenship or falsify papers?”

“Lionel Floquet, the governor of Sailonne, also manages border regulations, but none of our papers are falsified,” Martine insisted.

Lionel…Dagmara would have to find out who that man was. If she could confirm that he had not created the aliases, then all leads pointed to King Claude.

“Why do you ask? Who are those men?” Martine interrupted Dagmara’s thoughts.

“What do you know about the town Nouchenne?” Dagmara countered, avoiding Martine’s questions.

Martine’s head jerked back, her composure faltering for a brief moment. “Nouchenne was my hometown.”

That’s not what Dagmara was expecting. Her tactic shifted as she attempted to play into Martine’s emotions. “How long did you live there?”

“Until I joined the guard at fourteen.”

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