Page 10 of The Queen of Ash and Magic

“Eyrx,” a woman scolds from the door. “You’re going to break her neck. Stop shaking her like that.”

“She’s a witch, Julianna. She did this to…”

“Stop,” she says softer. “What is your name, witch?”

“Lysa,” I say as I sniff back tears and step away from Eyrx.

“Everyone is a bit on edge. You’ll have to excuse his anger,” she says.

“Are you his wife?” I ask.

“I am,” she says. “I am also the king’s sister.”

“It’s… am I supposed to bow? I am so sorry. I don’t know what I’m doing,” I say as I tear up again.

“It’s alright,” she says. “My name is Julianna. Just call me Juli.”

“Uh… Okay,” I say.

“What do you know about the spell?” she asks.

“Nothing. I swear. I wasn’t there,” I say. “I was preparing a meal for their celebration. I just know that my parents came and got my brother and said they were starting the spell. I figured they were up to something because they never gather like that for a spell. Petra told me when I was moved rooms that they broke the treaty.”

“Okay. How about this… Let’s get you settled, and we can talk more later,” she says.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” I say, bowing my head to her.

“What the fu…”

“She isn’t going to tell you shit if you treat her like garbage,” Julianna scolds him. “Be nice or I will take over.”

“Fine,” he huffs. “She called me Ham Hock, Juli.”

“I’m going to cut your ham hock off if I catch you shaking her like that again,” she warns. “Lysa, Eyrx will be up shortly with food. Go take a bath.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say. When they leave the room, I turn and walk to the bathroom. I don’t want to piss her off. She’s nice to me. Eyrx seems to be under a lot of stress, so I need to be careful of how I push him.

The bathroom is large and clean. This place is so much nicer than where I’m from. I turn the water on, find a bottle of what looks like soap, and pour it in. I strip off all my clothes and get into the hot water. The soap smells amazing and it soothes me. I start bywashing my body and hair before eventually laying back and trying to relax for a second. I wasn’t permitted to relax, but how could I not?

I gasp and start to get out when I open my eyes and see Eyrx at the door. “I-I’m sorry. I was just…”

“No, relax,” he says, shaking his head.

“This bath is just so nice,” I say. “I know I wasn’t permitted to relax but…”

“Stop,” he says. “Turn. Let me see your back.”

“Uh… Okay,” I say. I turn in the bath to face away but he is silent for a while. “Juli, come in here.”

“What?” she asks.

“Look at her back,” he says.

“Lysa, can you step out, please,” Julianna says as she walks over to me.

“Y-Yeah,” I say.

Fuck. I’m going to get beaten. I knew I shouldn’t have relaxed. I should have just done what I was told to do. Maybe they won’t hit me as hard as my mom? I drop my head and get out. When Julianna touches my back, I flinch. “Who did this to you?” she asks. I don’tanswer because I don’t know if I should tell the truth or not. “Lysa, who did this?”

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