Page 26 of Threaded

“Did someone say bacon?”

* * *

Hunger finally sated after what Mariah perhaps considered to be the best breakfast of her life, she and Ciana dressed for the day, finally utilizing Mariah’s new outrageous bathroom. Ciana was a few inches shorter than Mariah, but was able to find a gown within the deep depths of the closet to fit her more petite frame. Mariah, on the other hand, dug through a few of the drawers until she found what she was looking for: another pair of soft, wool leggings and a decadent red cashmere sweater that hung loosely off her shoulder, baring a swath of her golden tan skin.

From the vanity, Mariah found a drawer stocked with several hairbrushes. She tossed one across the room to Ciana, who immediately began working through her tangled curls. Picking up a second, she turned back to the mirror and set to work on her own appearance. She ran the brush through her straight, dark hair until it was smooth, and then began sectioning portions off into a braid that ran down her back. Pulling a few tendrils free to frame her face, she tied the braid off with a strap of elastic, which she then wrapped in a single chain of gold she’d found in the vanity drawers. The contrast of the gold was stark against her near black braid, the added weight to her hair forcing her to hold her head high. She stared back at her reflection in the mirror, and didn’t think for a second that she looked like a queen apparent.

She looked like herself. And she loved it.

Mariah and Ciana emerged from the bedroom to find Ryenne sitting, patient and elegant, at the dining table. Beside her sat Kalen, his broad frame folded into the chair, relaxed as he spoke softly to his queen. Behind them both, however, standing just in the foyer entrance as rigid as a pillar, was High Priestess Ksee, garbed in those same pale gold robes she’d worn yesterday, her expression pinched and tight. The queen and the high priestess whipped their gazes to Mariah at the same time, just as she emerged from her bedroom.

“You look beautiful—”

“What in the Goddess’s name are you wearing—?”

Ryenne and Ksee spoke at the same time, the differences in both their tone and their very words clashing in the air like swords. Ksee’s eyes widened slightly and darted to the queen, who’d tensed nearly imperceptibly in her chair. Kalen only huffed a breath as he watched his queen’s gaze frost over slightly. Ryenne broke her stare from Mariah, speaking over her shoulder at Ksee.

“I shall remind you, High Priestess, that while your place at court is vital, Mariah is now your queen apparent. As such, she may wear as she pleases, as has been the way since Xara’s reign.”

Mariah watched as Ksee stuttered over herself, attempting to regain her composure, her eyes nearly bulging out of her face. “Of course, Your Majesty, I understand. But she wearstrousers. Like a man. Never has a queen strode through these halls in such attire.”

That statement caught Mariah’s tongue before she could hold it. “Never? Truly, no other queen has ever worn pants …ever? And tell me, High Priestess, what would you have me wear instead? A ballgown? As I understand it, today will be spent learning and training, not holding court. So, please, tell me why I can’t be comfortable in a place I’m supposed to now call my home?”

The room was utterly silent, Kalen’s chair creaking as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Ryenne simply watched Mariah with a look of cool curiosity.Shit. Think before you speak, Mariah. A lot may have changed yesterday, but she’s the high priestess, and you’re still … just you.

But even as she thought that, it didn’t quite feel right. For the first time today, that deep, dark place within her stirred, flashes of metallic light suddenly coiling through her veins, a sudden and instant reminder that she might never bejust heragain.

Fighting back her unease, Mariah turned her gaze to the queen and was shocked to find that Ryenne’s face had broken out into a very un-queen-like grin. Beside her, Kalen appeared to be doing everything in his power to keep from bursting out laughing. Mariah heaved a breath before looking back to the priestess, who continued to stand in the foyer entrance, floundered and flustered. “You—”

“Again,” Ryenne said, interrupting Ksee again. “Mariah is Queen Apparent of Onita. She may wear what she pleases. I will hear no more about it in my presence, Ksee.”

The high priestess’s mouth snapped closed, her golden eyes glowing like wrathful embers, and Mariah wondered briefly if fire was her gift, the magic that had called her into the position she now enjoyed. Without another word, Ksee turned on her heel and strode down the foyer, the doors to Mariah’s suites banging closed loudly behind her. A feeling of momentary triumph washed over Mariah, chased quickly by a wave of apprehension. She was by no means making a strong first impression upon a woman who was supposed to be one of the closest advisors to the Queen, the closest bridge to their Goddess.

A part of her couldn’t help but wonder whether her words to the priestess would eventually come back to haunt her.

CHAPTER12

Ksee, as it turned out, hadn’t truly left them and waited in the hallway when they emerged, quiet and stewing. The priestess had been able to quell the fiery anger that flared in her gaze before she’d left Mariah’s suites, now appearing content to maintain an air of cold indifference as she, Ryenne, Kalen, Ciana, and Mariah embarked on a formal tour of the palace.

In all honesty, Mariah couldn’t be bothered to care much about how the priestess felt towards her. Not now, as she walked awestruck through the palace hallways.

It was truly more beautiful within than it appeared from the streets of Verith.

Ryenne led them all through stunning, gilded halls filled with archways which opened to either the Attlehons above or the city below. Everything about the palace was massive in scale, and the way portions of it were constructed into the foothills of the mountains themselves gave every room a cavernous feel. Ryenne led the group through aureate receiving rooms, an incredible domed library, and no fewer than five courtyard gardens, each one teeming with more life than the last. Their path eventually led them back to the main palace entrance, back through those massive, gold-plated doors, and down those grand, daunting steps. With a tinge of curiosity, Mariah realized that Ryenne was leading them to the stables. As they neared the buildings, as the sounds and smells of horses brushed over her senses, the queen glanced back over her shoulder at Mariah, a soft smile on her lips.

Mariah met Ryenne’s gaze with a look of confusion and an inquisitive smile of her own. Her eyes then drifted past the queen, landing on two horses in the large saddling area of the stables: one pitch black and massive, the other a gleaming golden buckskin. Beside them stood a tall, lean, middle-aged man with graying blonde hair, engaged in a rather animated conversation with a youthful looking stable hand.

Wex Salis.Her father.With her buckskin gelding, Kodie.

A laughing sob escaped Mariah’s lips as she broke into a sprint, breezing past Ryenne and Ksee. Wex turned from his conversation with the stable hand just in time to catch her as she crashed into him, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist as he gripped her shoulders. Once in his arms, Mariah let out a shuddering breath, breathing in his familiar scent as he squeezed her gently and chuckled, his breath warm on the top of her head. He released her slightly, looking down at her with warmth in his gold-hazel eyes.

“I should’ve known they would have a hard time making you wear a dress on your first day.”

Mariah let out another sob-laugh as she met her father’s gaze. “I like to think the Goddess knew what she was getting into when she picked me.”

Wex grinned down at her, a grin which quickly faltered, a shadow of sadness fleeting over his eyes. “Your mother … she knew. Somehow, she knew something would happen on this trip. That was why she pushed you so hard to go.”

A heavy wave washed over Mariah as she processed his words. The wave carried with it hurt, a sour twinge of anger. Her mother …knew? Mariah’s mind was blank as she stared up into her father’s weather-worn face, the pieces of her trust shuddering apart as the implication of her mother’s betrayal.

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