Page 54 of Kingdom of Flames & Flowers
Me … someday queen. It was ridiculous. Obscene. And perhaps … an opportunity. If I was queen one day, I could help my people in the mud quarter. I could make us all equal. I would end the fighting for bread, the starving, the fear in the streets that made all of us enemies instead of concentrating onwhywe were all so poor to begin with, and where to shift the blame for that.
The king’s sad face invaded my happy vision, and I brushed it away. I would succeed where he failed. He hadn’t done it right. I would.
The clear water was soon brown and black, but I didn’t care. It was the most luxurious thing I’d ever experienced. My heart ached as I imagined my mother getting a hot bath. Her joints had been bothering her lately, and I bet the small bags of herbs and flowers that the primas had added to my water would help her.
I just wanted to help everyone.
And I’d start by going to the mines. I didn’t know how it would confirm or deny my suspicions, but I had to try. It was a piece of this ever growing puzzle.
When I got out of the bath, new clothes were strewn on my bed. To my relief, no gaudy dresses were in sight. Instead, a simple linen tunic with black pants waited for me, along with a belt and practical boots.
Praise the gods.
As I dressed, the smell of chicken caught my nose, and I drifted out to my common area like a moth drawn to the flame. The door to the suite clicked closed just as I rounded the corner, so I’d barely missed whoever had brought my meal.
My jaw dropped. A sumptuous feast of chicken and lamb awaited me, along with a colorful rice dish with powerful seasonings if the smell was anything to go by. Green vegetables were mixed in, but I ignored them in favor of the meat.
I never got meat. Not until here.
I groaned with appreciation at the first bite and didn’t hold back as I devoured the chicken and lamb in short order. The rice was next, and I downed the wine and the other carafe of a tart juice I’d never had before. I supposed I hadn’t technically eaten since before the queen’s little talent show a few days ago.
I wasn’t a stranger to hunger.
A knock on the door startled me, but it was only Zariah. Or at least I thought it was.
“Have you eaten? Have you bathed? I want to ensure they have properly cared for you before we set out.”
Definitely Zariah. His nose was a little black and blue, but otherwise still in perfect shape. Shame. Perhaps I’d have to constantly leave marks on one of them to definitively tell them apart.
I didn’t pause from chewing my last bite of rice, stretching my hands out to show everything I’d eaten. After swallowing, I picked up a hunk of buttered bread and held it out to him. “Want some?”
“Sure.”
He took the bread and tore a hunk off with his teeth, clearly relishing the fluffy, soft texture just as much as I had. “Fresh from the bakery. It’s always best fresh.”
I wouldn’t know, so I kept quiet. Bread was bread, wasn’t it?
“Is Zion still outside, then?” I asked, unsure how it all worked.
Zariah smirked. “We’re going to sneak by him. He’s pissed off from earlier and having trouble reigning himself in. He’ll likely stay far to the south, away from us. That will give us an opening to fly out to the old mines and back with him not being the wiser.”
Two major things seemed off with that.
“I thought you both couldn’t be dragons,” I argued, sure that I’d heard one of them say something about that.
Zariah scowled. “It’s something Mother has always insisted on, but I tried it earlier in secret and nothing happened. She must not have ever specifically ordered usnotto. She claims it has something to do with the curse and magick, but I know it’s bullshit. She just wants to know one heir is safe and sound inside her castle. Can’t have us fighting each other and dying. That’d be embarrassing to announce to court.”
The bitterness in his voice was telling.
“Alright,” I allowed. “But you’re acting like this should be a secret. Are we not allowed in the mines?”
His smile was too easy this time. “You’re our princess. You’re allowed to do what you want.”
“Except tell Zion what we’re doing,” I guessed, proved correct when Zarish flushed red. “I thought you didn’t like Zion,” he argued. “I thought you hated him.”
My eyes narrowed. “I find it hard to trust either of you lately with how little information you have given me and how willingly you will obey your mother. Are we going or not?”
I tucked another piece of bread in my pocket, then thought better of it and shoved it into my mouth.
