Page 5 of A Queen's Game
“Marietta!” Tilan cried, followed by sounds of struggling.
Marietta screamed as hands grabbed her ankles, ripping her from the bed. With wild flails, she swung the dagger at the attacker, and the blade plunged into flesh; the warmth of blood covered her hand. The body slumped and fell to the floor.
“Tilan!” she cried, reaching for him in the dark.
A body crashed, tearing down the curtain over their bedroom window. Silver light outlined Tilan as he fought two bodies, hisfists sure and finding their mark. “Marietta, run! Go! Get out of here!” he yelled, grunting as he wrestled his attackers.
She lunged at them, dagger in hand, as someone gripped her hair and snapped her back. Strong arms restrained her, pulling her towards the doorway.
“Tilan!” she shrieked, desperate to help him. “Tilan!”
Moonlight caught the silvered length of a knife held before her husband’s throat. Marietta shrieked again, thrashing against her attacker, who pinned her arms behind her back. A cloth soaked in a sweet-smelling liquid covered her mouth as she screamed, watching the dagger slice towards Tilan. His eyes locked onto Marietta’s, wide and staring.
Then her world faded to black.
Chapter Three
Marietta, Two Years Later
Marietta
Marietta noticed the swaying first, her body lolling from one side to another with random bumps jostling her. The clanking of metal sounded nearby with ambient chatter and the occasional laugh. When she opened her eyes, light filtering through a small carriage window blinded her, and pain shot through her head. Her skin was clammy and her chest tightened as she gasped for breath.
With a sluggish mind, Marietta leaned over, glimpsing outside to see rolling hills with brown grass sprouting green. Bodies marched in verdant fabric and metal armor in the early morning sun, traveling in the opposite direction of the carriage. What were they doing? Green, what city wore green?
Gods, she couldn’t remember—not with the pain slicing through her temples and burning at her side, pulling her focus from the view. A cloying floral scent perfumed the carriage, not aiding in her pain. Marietta shifted on the padded seat, binds tying her hands behind her back. Why would her hands be bound?
Marietta stared at the floor, bobbing along with the carriage’s movement as she pieced together the world around her. Their bedroom was dark besides the light from the window. There was the glint of a knife, the fear in Tilan’s face, and then nothing. Panic gripped her already dry throat as tears blotted her vision.
Someone had held Marietta back, prevented her from getting to Tilan, and now she was in their custody, traveling to gods knew where. She should run, put up a fight to be free, but her limbs were made of lead, her chest hollow. A different pain bloomed in her heart, consuming her thoughts, her body, and her soul. Tilan was gone. Dead. She didn’t know how long it had been since she woke next to Tilan, and she couldn’t bring herself to care. It was as if a part of her was missing. Too painful to acknowledge.
Time slipped by, the sun rising and falling, causing light to dance through the curtain of the carriage window. At some point, the clanking of armor gave way to the soft whistle of wind over the barren hills. But none of it mattered. Not while Marietta imagined the silvered streak of a dagger, Tilan’s face, and the slash that ended him.
The carriage door swung open when the sun was just above the horizon, the long shafts of golden light spilling onto grassy hills beyond the bald elven man who stuck in his head. He swore as he took in Marietta. “Get the medic. She’s awake.”
“How long?” asked a voice from outside.
“How would I know?” The bald man stepped back.
“Well, I thought the dose would last until we stopped.” A moment later, a burly elven woman stepped into the carriage. Marietta didn’t spare her a glance and didn’t respond when she took her chin and tilted back her head. Fight. Push back. Get to freedom. But she couldn’t. Grief suffocated her very breath from the missing part of herself. Instead, she tasted the sweet liquid spill across her tongue and down her throat. The edges of hervision grew black and fuzzy until nothing took over once more with a blissful release.
Bits of awareness came, fleeting and few, shifting like sand in the wind. For a moment, there’d be brief recognition of the world. The next, life was amorphous. Bright, glaring sun. Its warmth on her skin. Her body floating over veined floors. Someone’s chilled touch lifting her limbs. Her body naked. The throbbing ache of her head, the searing pain of her side. Rough, calloused hands holding her face.
The grogginess lifted before Marietta opened her eyes, her body aching and her head throbbing. Pain sliced deep into her side as she tried to roll over, eliciting a gasp. Her vision was blurry and slow to come, the room around her white and small. At her waist was a thick bandage, the material stiff as her hands ran across it. Underneath her was a narrow bed, and across the room sat a cushioned chair.
With slow, careful movements, Marietta pushed herself up, her head spinning as she hung her legs over the bed’s side. The drop to the ground wasn’t far, but the pressure on her legs proved too much. Marietta’s legs collapsed with her weight.
The cold marble tile leaked through her thin shift dress. The pain in her side burned. Just get to the door—get to freedom.
Marietta dragged herself towards the only exit, hissing at the pain, her head spinning with it. Breaths became forced, and she paused to rest her forehead against the stone. Tilan’s frightened stare flashed in her mind, robbing her of effort. Gone. He was gone.
The tap of feet on tile came from the hall, ending with the creaking of the door as it swung open. “Goodness, my lady!” a feminine voice called. A moment later, the nurse lifted Marietta back onto the bed. The large elven woman tucked the sheets around her, smoothing back her hair. “Please don’t get up; your muscles are too weak, my lady.”
“Where am I?” Marietta’s eyes stared into the hallway beyond.
“You’re safe now, my lady. Please, rest. I’ll let your husband know you’ve awoken.” She turned to leave the room.
“Wait,” Marietta said, her voice only a quiet rasp, “my husband?”
