Page 56 of Untamed

Monserrat

“Ai-yi-yi! Why does she have to drag it on like this?” Laude blurted.

I pursed my lips. “I haven’t the slightest clue.”

“Are they going to kill us?” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Poor, Cosme.”

Though Laude’s speculation seemed far-fetched, I would be remiss to not take the message with a degree of seriousness. “Be on your guard. I suspect more foul play.”

“Let’s burn the note for safe measure.” Laude lit the tip of her pointer finger into a single flame.

I slipped the note over Laude’s fire, igniting the parchment. The paper flickered with deep orange as flames consumed it. Smoke snaked between Laude and me until a knock on the door startled us.

Laude stomped the charred paper remains, putting out the fire.

“It must be your trunk.” I crossed toward the door, coughing and waving away the fumes.

At the twist of the knob, two male servants carried Laude’s garish trunk into the quarter without so much as a whisper. What more could Monserrat have to tell me?

When Laude and I were alone again, I flipped the lid to her chest. “It’s time to turn you into the rose of the evening.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Laude clasped and unclasped her hands.

“Do what?”

“Pretend I’m highborn. I know my place. So does everyone else in the palace, and I rather like being left alone to chat with Jaime while you and your brother do all the negotiating.”

Grabbing a turquoise dress that complimented her hair and eyes so well, I dropped it into her arms. “Are you not a Dotado?”

“I am, but …”

“But nothing. We’re going to find out what Monserrat has to say. You’re going to walk beside me with your head held high, no matter what the king and queen of Aracibel think of you. To me, you are family, and they will respect you as such.”

“A member of a royal family who can only light a flame?” Her eyebrows crashed together as if to emphasize the absurdity of her question.

“You’ll train with Uncle Uly too.” I lifted my chin. “Don’t give me that look. You’re doing me a favor. I’m not making much progress, and he needs a more willing pupil to take some of the pressure off me.”

“Your father won’t be pleased.”

“Leave Papá to me.”

“Princess—I mean Beatriz—you know that not all of us have extraordinary abilities. I am content to light lamps.”

Grabbing Laude’s shoulders, I met her gaze with heat pulsing at my temples. How did she not know how important she was to me and my family? “A small flame is all it takes to make a vast difference in this world. You know that?”

Laude wiped her cheek. “If you say so.”

Chapter 24

Laude

From the vantage pointof the balcony, I watched choppy waves crashing to the rocky shores and splashing angrily upward, as if trying to reach for me and pull me under. My heart was like the dark churning water, all because I was a liar.

Beatriz had changed. She defended me in front of others. She made sure we wouldn’t be apart. But the dagger at my calf could have been a shackle, reminding me that I was a terrible friend. The vials in my pockets pressed against my leg, poisoning any chance of the smile on my face being real.

I had a job to do, even if I didn’t like it. What was the queen thinking, training me and sending me off on this sort of mission? I wasn’t a killer.Car-rye! I could barely handle the tension between Cosme and Beatriz during our travels. Queen Cottia had made it clear that she and I would always be in danger as long asher old boss lived. But when it came down to facing the whyzer, I wasn’t sure I could act.

Bowing my head, I said a silent prayer:Ancient One, please, give me a way out of this crazy mission. You could strike down the evil man on your own. Don’t you say in your Tome that vengeance is yours?

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