Page 204 of A Queen's Game
Keyain pulled her out the door, and Marietta let him, jogging with the pace. She could feel it, the nervousness under his anger, the way the atmosphere in the Noble’s Section seemed to change. A cluster of feelings crowded her chest—heat, stirring wind, crackling burn, heaviness, unease. She ran faster, ahead of Keyain, causing him to pick up his pace.
Keyain threw open the door of Elyse’s suite to find Gyrsh sitting on her couch. Keyain barreled towards him, fists clenched and a snarl on his face. “Find Elyse,” he demanded to her. “You’re breaching the agreement, Gyrsh.”
“I merely had a chat with Elyse after my contacts I’ve been working with for months had an incident with her,” he drawled, inspecting under his nails.
Marietta hoped Keyain punched the smirk clean off his face. She wished to watch it happen, but she needed to find Elyse.
She knocked on the bedroom door. “Elyse?” Upon no answer, she entered the room, closing the door as Gyrsh’s grunting sounded. “Elyse?” she called again.
She heard a sniffle from the bathroom and walked to the door. “Elyse, everything okay?”
“I’m fine,” Elyse said, her voice nasally, followed by a sniffle. “Don’t worry about me, Marietta. I don’t want to be a burden. I’m alright.”
Though a door stood between them, Marietta knew she lied.
“Something happened,” Marietta said, putting her back to the door, sliding down, “and if you don’t want to talk right now, that’s okay. But I’m going to be right here if you need anything, alright?” She slid her hand under the door. “I’ll sit here for as long as you need it.”
Elyse didn’t answer. Marietta could imagine her pain, the humiliation. Gods knew she had felt it herself.
“You don’t have to respond, but I’m going to tell you a story I think you’ll want to hear,” Marietta said, leaning her head back, staring at the ceiling. “Sometimes we do things we’re not proud of—that hurt our hearts and cause our minds to linger.” She paused, fidgeting with her hands as the memory came back. “The night I met Keyain, I was meeting with his friend, who wanted a position as my bodyguard for when I traveled. I had no idea that the Satiroan Minister of Protection sat across from me—flirted with me.”
Marietta forced herself to take a breath. “His friend was a prick, and I left after he called me a clip. In my anger, I walked down a street I shouldn’t have. Alone in the dark I made myself a target. Someone attacked me and almost dragged me into an alley.”
Her voice trembled at the memory, at the metal biting into her throat. “Out of nowhere, Keyain appeared, punching the man until he no longer moved. He saved me. Took me back to my apartment,” Marietta paused, the swirling emotions in her chest easing. “Gods, I was so scared, so shaken after the attack that I didn’t want to be alone.” She laughed, wiping away a tear as it fell. “At my apartment, he offered to take the position of my guard. Do you know how I reacted?”
Elyse was silent on the other side of the door, so Marietta continued. “I slept with him, quite literally a stranger I just hired to travel with me after I watched him likely kill a man with his hands. It was the most reckless and idiotic thing I’ve ever done. He was a stranger from Syllogi, and I made myself vulnerable to him.”
A thump hit the door, Elyse sliding down its face. The chaos in Marietta’s chest settled as Elyse grabbed her fingers under the door.
With a smile, Marietta continued. “The morning after was uncomfortable. I remember trying to throw him from my apartment, recanting my offer, but he insisted. It wasn’t until a few months later that it happened again and that we finally became a couple.” She squeezed Elyse’s hand. “I was so embarrassed—humiliated—after that first night, but guess what.”
“What?” she whispered through the door.
Marietta sighed in relief. Good, she was responding. “Life went on.”
There was a moment of silence before Elyse let go of her hand, the door unlocking and swinging open. Marietta shifted, so she faced the door. When it opened, she saw Elyse, face red and blotchy from crying, her hair a mess, still in yesterday’s gown. A large red mark marred her neck, the sight jogging something in her memory, but she pushed it back, opting to pull Elyse into an embrace.
Elyse began to cry again, Marietta’s shoulder growing wet. She hushed into her hair, rubbing her back. “I know, Elyse. I know and I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“It hurts so much,” she sobbed.
Marietta’s breath caught, emotion choking her throat and blurring her vision. “I know. I know, Elyse. It’ll all be okay, I promise.” Her pain was so raw. Marietta was the one to push to pursue Brynden for fun, forgetting that this could be the outcome. This was her fault. Marietta pulled her closer as she fought her own tears. She thought she knew what she was doing, thought she knew how to handle the court. Now she made a mess of her and the King. She’d led Elyse to her heart ache. Keyain was right—she didn’t understand court life and now other people were paying the price. The realization made her hate Keyain more.
They sat in silence for a few moments as their tears lessened. “Want to know the worst part about my story?” Marietta said, laughing, though she felt no amusement. She remembered her fight with Keyain the night before, all the anger and hate between them. “I didn’t know Keyain was the Minister of Protection until a few months ago.”
Elyse jerked up, hitting Marietta’s head with her own. “What?”
Marietta rubbed her chin, saying, “I didn’t even know we were married until I arrived.” Elyse furrowed her brows. “Because I’m half-elven, Keyain didn’t need my consent to marry me, so he did it without my knowledge.”
Elyse sucked in a breath, her body trembling. “Can I tell you something,” she whispered with wide eyes, “that you can’t tell anybody else?”
“Of course. Your secrets will always be safe with me.”
“He lied to me too. The entire time—Brynden’s not his actual name. I found out this morning, after we….”
Marietta bit back her surprise. Of all the things she expected Elyse to say, that wasn’t it. “What?”
“His name is Azarys. He lied—”
