Page 152 of A Queen's Game
Despite the love she had for him, a part of her knew she should leave him. His attitude, his actions were unfair to her; yet, he always apologized, always reeled her back in. The back and forth was nauseating. One minute, Marietta was ready to grab her bags and leave. The next, she was hugging him as she cried from his apology. The funny thing about love was that it didn’t need to make sense. Marietta had little reason to stay with Keyain, but every time she stepped away, he would pull her back by the strings attached to her heart.
However, the longer their relationship continued, the more her love altered. In the beginning, they spent their nights with friends as they drank and danced and lived their lives. Now, most nights were spent in their room at an inn. Marietta was happy to have the alone time with him, but her friends had tried to intervene, saying that she wasn’t acting like herself when he was around. Part of her thought that was her lifestyle changing, that part of her wanted to settle down. A deeper part of herself knew she changed for Keyain, for what he wanted.
It was tiring to love someone like Keyain. The constant push and pull of emotions, the constant fights and rage. With his new effort to move her to Satiros, she could only feel dread about the idea. Not only would she have less freedom, but not having months of a break from Keyain’s anger would be too much. He was too much.
Marietta couldn’t predict the future, but she knew one thing that was for sure to happen—she would eventually leave Keyain. The only question was when.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Valeriya
Valeriya bit her nail as she paced back and forth in her bedroom. The longer she held onto the papers with Marietta’s findings, the more the war slipped in favor of her husband. She couldn’t prove that the mage who followed her was from Wyltam, but she wasn’t going to discount it either. How would he know to have her followed? How did he even have mages? It would be the first she had heard of the Satiroan crown having mages.
Unless it wasn’t Wyltam.
Maybe she was crazy, or maybe Wyltam was just paranoid about Valeriya’s activity at court. She liked to scheme, and Wyltam realized that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked her to look into Marietta, but following Valeriya was new—something she didn’t like.
Valeriya sighed, leaving her suite for the lavish halls of that forsaken palace. In seven years, she still hadn’t grown comfortable in it, as if she were in someone else’s home. Reyila’s castle stood atop the mountains with only the sky and wind. Nestled into the rolling hills and city of Satiros, Valeriya felt likea sitting duck. Whoever built the Satiroan palace was a fool, for it wouldn’t hold up long in a fight.
As she stepped out of the Royal’s Wing, she felt the hairs on her neck stand. How often did the mage follow her? For how long? Perhaps they knew of her plan. Perhaps they were onto Valeriya.
No, she sounded crazy. If Wyltam suspected her of something nefarious, he wouldn’t have hesitated to throw her in the dungeons for treason. The fact that she still walked freely and wore her crown was proof enough that he was unaware of her handing off information.
The intense summer sun burned as she wound her way through the garden. Valeriya sighed as the warm breeze blew past, offering relief from the afternoon heat. The bruise on her chest had faded enough that Valeriya covered it with makeup and wore appropriate dresses for the temperature. The sooner it disappeared, the fewer questions Wyltam would ask.
Outside the palace section that held the Minister’s Chambers, Valeriya stood admiring the wisteria. If the mage still followed her, they would be talented without a doubt. To hold invisibility for that long was an impressive feat.
The doors to the building opened as Keyain came striding out in conversation to one of his captains, a blonde female with an impressive scowl. Valeriya smiled. Keyain was so predictable. He didn’t see her as he walked down the steps. “Oh, Keyain! What are the chances of seeing you here?” she said in a honeyed voice, eyes wide and innocent as the minister walked into the courtyard.
Keyain stopped mid-sentence, turning to her. “Ah, Queen Valeriya,” he said with a bow, “I would say the chances are high considering I work in this building.” Annoyance tinged his tone that made his captain flash an anxious expression. Suchinsolence towards her, and in front of his own subordinate, too. Oh, she loved being under his skin.
“Of course, Keyain.” Valeriya slashed a smile at him. “Care to join me for a walk?”
As he ran his hand through his hair, it was clear he didn’t want to, but he wouldn’t turn her down. Keyain sighed. “Of course, my Queen.” He turned to his captain. “I’ll find you in a bit to finish this conversation. Go grab lunch in the meantime.”
The captain entered the building as Keyain offered his arm to Valeriya. “You’re quite busy these days, Keyain. I’m happy you found the time for a silly walk with me.” She smirked as Keyain’s annoyance rolled off him.
“I am quite busy, Queen Valeriya. Satiros is in a war that takes up most of my time.”
“What of your poor wife? Marietta has been here, what, four months now? Are you making time for her as well?” she asked, knowing which wounds to poke. With the war on top of his regular duties, Valeriya was aware he had little free time.
Keyain ground his jaw. “Marietta is doing well. We’re happy.”
“But you spend so much time away from her, so she must get lonely. I’ll make more of a point to invite her for tea.”
They followed the path over a bridge coated in thick, green vines with black and white flowers. Below the creek flowed by, the occasional frog croaked.
“Marietta is fine.” Keyain’s voice strained to remain polite. “I’m sure you didn’t want to pull me away from my duties to talk of just my wife.”
“Just your wife?” Valeriya playfully batted his chest, earning a scowl. “Marietta is your love! She has shared so in conversations with me. To think a noble in this day and age married for love!” She smirked, watching Keyain bristle. He almost made it too easy.
They approached the creek with its water gurgling down a shallow cliff face, crashing into the stream. The noise covered their voices as she spoke. “What I’m actually concerned about is the palace’s safety,” she said with her voice low. If she were being followed by a mage, then the surrounding noise would mask her words.
Keyain glanced at Valeriya, then back at the path ahead of them. “I assure you that the guards are keeping a close watch on the palace, my Queen.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that your guards are capable,” she said, patting his arm. “However, what if someone broke in through magical means?”
“There are systems in place to prevent that,” Keyain answered, his tone uninterested.
