Page 63 of A Queen's Game
No one came to find her until the late afternoon.
“Marietta?” Amryth called tentatively. When there was no reply, she added, “Are you okay? The serving girls said you hadn’t eaten, and the guards last night heard Keyain yelling. I sent for someone to clean the broken glass in the living room.”
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice hoarse from crying.
“Marietta?” The curtain of the bed pulled back. When Marietta didn’t answer, the bed shifted as Amryth sat at the edge. Her voice was soft. “Talk to me. What did Keyain do?”
“Nothing,” Marietta said without lifting her head.
“It helps to talk about the things that are bringing you pain. Just talk to me.”
Marietta sat up, aggravated. “You want the truth? My husband is a fraud.”
“Keyain?”
“No, notthathusband. Tilan, my husband, before Keyain abducted me from my home.” Marietta hugged her knees to her chest.
“Is that so?” Amryth asked, her expression unreadable. “Tell me about your abduction.”
“Soldiers came in the middle of the night while Tilan and I slept, pulling us from our bed. I tried to fight, to get to Tilan.” Marietta’s voice cracked at the memory. “He had fought two people and then I saw the knife come slashing down at him before I went unconscious.”
“You never wanted to be here?” Anger laced the handmaid’s words.
Confused by her tone, Marietta answered, “No, and I still don’t. Keyain and I were together before I met Tilan, but I broke off that relationship. Keyain stalked me when he found out about Tilan.” There was a danger in telling Amryth, but Marietta didn’t care to be cautious. Queen Valeriya already knew, so what was one more?
Amryth stood and paced the room, her lips pursed and brows furrowed. Her hands fidgeted with the ends of her braids. “Can you recall how many attacked you?” Her voice was harsh as she turned her face away from Marietta.
“I don’t remember. Four? Maybe five? What does that have to do with anything?” she asked.
“And you or Tilan killed at least one attacker, right?”
Marietta paused, remembering her dagger plunging into someone, the warmth of their blood on her hand. “Yes,” shewhispered. Knots formed in her uneasy stomach—she had forgotten about that.
Amryth was silent, avoiding Marietta’s confused look. “Have you noticed I’m not like other servants?” she asked, her voice low.
“I’ve noticed.” The curtness of her manor, the muscles, and her relationship with Keyain were unusual.
“I’m one of Keyain’s soldiers in the Elite Guard, not a handmaid. Assigned to not only protect you but to ensure you stay under a watchful eye at all times.”
Marietta felt as if Amryth slapped her.
It made too much sense. “You’re one of Keyain’s soldiers.” Marietta’s voice trailed off.
“In his Elite Guard and my spouse recently passed too.” Tears trailed down Amryth’s face, her gaze finding Marietta. “She died on the mission to extract you from Olkia. I just discovered it was for some pilinos girl who doesn’t want to be here. You weren’t being tortured or held captive. Keyain lied.” Anger rattled her voice.
Marietta stared, quiet and unsure what to say. Amryth was prickly, but overall, she enjoyed her company. The handmaiden—no, soldier—was becoming her friend, she realized as her heart broke again. Everything was a lie.
“My wife died because of you. She died because Keyain hid the truth. Now you’re here saying you didn’t need saving. Deyra died for nothing.” She laughed darkly, her breathing ragged. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
Amryth turned and walked out of the room. The hallway door closed with a resounding thump, leaving Marietta to her thoughts.
Marietta drifted like a ghost through the suite, her mind unaware of the time that passed. Guilt was like lead in her bones, weighing her down.
Keyain should have never brought Marietta to Satiros. There were obvious reasons, like the unimaginable horror of abducting her and murdering Tilan. But also, his actions had negatively affected others. Elyse was to marry him, which explains the elven lady’s odd behavior at tea. And there was Amryth’s wife, who died at Marietta’s blade.
A shiver snaked its way down her spine as she remembered the thick, hot blood coating her hand moments before Tilan’s death and her unconsciousness. Until then, Marietta assumed the person lived. She wasn’t a trained fighter, so taking a life seemed so unrealistic. But she had killed someone. Because of Keyain.
The tears came slower, her swollen eyes somehow having more to offer. Her life wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. Marietta should have been closing her bakery at that time, cleaning up before Tilan came home. Unless it was a late night for him. Unless he was with the Exisotis.
