Page 25 of The Forgotten Queen
They passed a row of palm trees as they drove down the path. The transporter rolled to a stop in front of four large white pillars. Sydria smoothed her hair out and tried to calm her haphazard breaths. Her door swung open, and a guard’s hand waited. She hesitated for a moment.
“Well?” Otis said next to her. “Are you getting out?”
A part of Sydria wanted to stay inside that transporter and beg the driver to take her far away from there, but a royal driver would never disobey his king, so she placed her hand in the guard’s, letting him pull her out of the vehicle.
“Thank you.” She straightened and turned toward the castle, expecting to see the king and a line of people. Instead, there was one woman who looked to be in her thirties. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a simple bun highlighting hollow cheekbones. She smiled back at Sydria and even added a slight curtsey.
That was new.
Sydria had never been bowed to before.
She glanced up at the towering walls of Cristole Castle. The limestone sparkled in the sunlight, making it seem like the entire house was built out of tiny crystals. Every piece of the building was white, from the large balconies to the ornate swirls carved into the window trim. Lush green plants with exotic flowers lined the steps up to the front of the castle. The entrance was open where there usually was a door, allowing her to see inside to a white marble foyer. At the other end of the entry was floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
The guard gestured her forward to where the woman stood.
“Where are all the doors?” Sydria asked, still gaping at the elegance of it all.
The woman laughed as she looked behind her at the open entryway. “The weather here makes it so we don’t need doors, but rest assured there are doors and closed-off wings of the castle. Not everything is open.”
“Oh,” Sydria said, her voice barely over a whisper. It was probably a stupid observation. She’d only been there thirty seconds, and already she’d shown how naïve she was.
“You must be Miss Sydria Hasler.”
Sydria stared blankly back at the woman. Nothing about her given name felt familiar. “Yes, I am.”
“My name is Idella, and I’ll be your personal assistant.”
“My personal assistant?” Sydria raised her eyebrows. “For what?”
The woman laughed, looking at Otis and Von like Sydria had said something hilarious. “My dear, for anything you need. Technically, I’m your lady’s maid, but I’ve never liked the termmaid,so I’m not going to use it.”
Sydria nodded, trying to wrap her head around the fact that she had a maid. The entire thing seemed surreal.
Idella glanced at the guard. “Take these men to King McKane’s office.” The man turned, prompting Otis and Von to follow him.
She turned her head, watching as they walked away. She wondered if she’d see them again. Did she even care if she saw them again?
“Come, my dear,” Idella said as she whisked around in the opposite direction. “We have much to do.”
Sydria stumbled to keep up with the woman. “When will I meet King McKane?”
“Right before the wedding.”
Sydria tried not to let her surroundings distract her as she followed after Idella, but everything was so white and fancy. She knew she was in a castle, but did the royal family have to live such a luxurious life? It seemed a little excessive compared to the way she’d been living for the last few months.
“I thought King McKane would greet me when I arrived—you know, since we’re to be married.” She hoped she’d meet the king before the wedding so she could strike a bargain with him.
Idella abruptly stopped and turned over her shoulder, causing Sydria to nearly bump into her. “You’re not marrying King McKane.”
Sydria’s brows lowered. “But I thought—”
A brisk laugh barked out of Idella. “You’re marrying his son, King Marx McKane. King McKane is already married to the queen mother.”
“But you called him king.”
Idella began walking again. “King McKane was the previous king. He’s already served his time, but he keeps the same title. And we also use the title ofkingfor Marx since he’s the current king of Cristole.”
“I see.” Sydria needed to get the name of the groom right—a rather significant oversight. The man wasn’t going to let her out of the marriage if she didn’t call him by the correct name. Or…maybe he would. Perhaps then he’d see how ludicrous this whole arranged marriage was. “Do King McKane and the queen mother live at Cristole Castle?” Maybe she could convince one of them to call off the wedding, soften them to her cause.
