Page 25 of Ties of Deception

“And the guards have found nobody else in the area of the maze except for Purity?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

I was following the conversation well enough for that to catch my attention. Prince Sebastian had been there just moments before. But he clearly didn’t have anything to do with this. He had come from the opposite direction, and if he had been involved in Serene’s death and knew she was lying dead in the maze, he would have wanted a long time to pass before her body was discovered. The last thing he would have done was take me into the maze for our private conversation. No, he had to be innocent. And it wouldn’t do me any favors if any of the goddesses found out I had been talking to him in private again. I kept quiet.

The empress turned to me again. “Purity, are you ready to speak?”

I nodded.

“Do you know what happened to Serene?”

I shook my head. “I just…I just found her there.”

“What were you doing in the gardens alone?”

“I…was walking before the sun was…too hot. I was trying to steady myself. To be happy.” My words faded to a whisper.

The empress’s expression gave nothing away. “When did you last see Serene alive?”

I swallowed. “When the royal servant took me to my etiquette lesson, I passed her talking to the Aida prince. I’ve never talked to her. I don’t know her.”

The empress drummed her fingers on one arm, appearing thoughtful.

A knock made me jump, and a man dressed in a white apron entered, his forearms glistening as if still wet from being washed in a rush. He bowed to the empress. “Your Majesty. Cause of death was a single wound from a dagger. It entered below her rib cage and was aimed up through her diaphragm and straight into the Grace’s heart. From the angle and the way she fell, I believe it could have been suicide. She didn’t move or seek for help as she bled out; the resulting pool of blood was restricted to a small area. The weapon was her own knife, and there was no signs of a struggle either on her body, or on the ground. There are a few more tests I wish to do, but currently I believe everything points to the Grace taking her own life.”

I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry. I felt sick. I didn’t want to be here in the palace. I wanted to be as far away as possible.

“Suicide…” The empress repeated as if in a stupor. She snapped out of it suddenly. “Nobody can know of this. Absolutely nobody.” She started to pace again. “Bring the Aidis in here.”

A servant left and quiet fell as the empress continued pacing. My thoughts raced. Suicide? Why would a goddess commit suicide when everything was designed to make them happy? Was it murder disguised as suicide? Had Charity bullied her like she bullied me until Serene felt she had no other way out? But surely, she could have just asked to be retired? Was there something about being retired that was worse than death? What was wrong with this place?

Beside me, a vase smashed. The empress whirled around and glared at me. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the servant returning, bringing the Aida prince.

My attention was immediately caught up by the god, who didn’t even glance my way. He seemed calm, though an edge of annoyance at being summoned showed in the way he stood with his arms folded and his head cocked. There was something cold and serious about him that I’d never closely observed before. With him before me like this, it was as if I had imagined the teasing god who had visited me at night. Had it been him at all?

The empress seemed to catch herself as she faced him, gentling her tone into one of respect. “Forgive me for summoning you, but there has been a serious incident in the palace that you may be able to shed some light on.”

He barely nodded, his face still stony and filling the room with tension.

The empress swallowed. “Aidis.” She nodded her head to him. “I am aware that you were talking with Lady Serene yesterday. Did she seem normal? Did she mention anything that was distressing her or…did something happen that could have distressed her? And have you seen her since then?”

The god sighed and looked down at the floor. “She seemed well enough yesterday. Certainly some flowers bloomed. But I don’t know her well enough to say what was lying beneath the surface. When one is forced to show nothing but happiness all the time, who knows what they are repressing?” The words sounded barbed and almost accusatory. “And no, I haven’t seen her since. What has happened?”

The empress hesitated before relaxing her shoulders. “I would ask you to keep this a private matter, but we believe she committed suicide. Are you able to…speak to her in the Unseen Lands?”

The Aida prince showed no reaction or sign of caring. “When Graces die, they are gone. They don’t go to the Unseen Lands as mortals do.”

The empress nodded and pressed her fingers to her lips. “Yes, of course. I forgot.”

The prince helped himself to some wine from a side table. “I will say this, however. Serene wanted me to take her back to the Unseen Lands as my wife. She said she ‘volunteered’ herself.” His eyes fixed back on the empress. “I barely knew her. I doubt anyone would make an offer like that unless they were desperate for a way out. I declined her offer, but I did so gently.”

The empress sighed, looking away and rubbing her forehead. After a moment she straightened. “Thank you for your help. Please keep today’s events secret. I don’t want to encourage speculation. The physician will perform additional examinations to make sure there is nothing untoward going on. And we will announce that Serene has been retired in order to keep the Graces’ minds carefree and so it won’t disrupt the Blessings.”

The empress turned to the woman standing beside me who had stated previously that I was in shock. “What is your assessment of this one? We try hard for our Graces not to experience any kind of trauma. Should she be retired?” She gestured at the smashed vase beside me.

The woman bowed her head. “Events like this affect different people in different ways, Your Majesty. It is possible she will take a very long time to regain control of her emotions. Especially as she is so young.”

The Aida prince shrugged with a scoff. “Seems like you people are overly frightened of a few smashed vases.”

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