Page 78 of A Tale of Treachery

“It’s Aiden, isn’t it? I’m so sorry. I promise that I won’t be in the way for long. I never meant to get in the way of your future marriage. I didn’t know about you… though I should have suspected. It’s all my fault.” Regret pulled me under. I’d known what I was doing by allowing my fantasies of Aiden to run wild. I had known that he couldn’t marry outside of his class but thought nothing of it.

“I shouldn’t have expected more from an arranged marriage,” Gabriella cut in, throwing her hands in the air before leaning back in the chair. “But it’s not just that. It’s this kingdom. I hate it. The way people are persecuted for having different beliefs and how women are treated. I thought my kingdom was bad, but nothing compares to Cambriel.”

I chuckled a little, charmed by her outburst.

“Cambriel could use a little improvement, but it’s not beyond saving. I’m sure having you as queen one day will help matters improve.”

She offered me a sly smile and sipped her tea. “Maybe.”

“What’s New Hazel like?”

“Brighter. Warmer. Better. We welcome all religions. All beliefs. People are free to choose who they want to be. We don’t have public executions, like the ones I’ve heard of here, and nobody cowers in fear of my mother or father like they do with your king.”

Gabriella had been here for a mere two days, and yet she’d seen beneath the gilded surface of Cambriel and into the darkest parts that had taken me years to notice. She was smart, and I couldn’t help the friendly smile that spread across my face. I liked her.

“I don’t think Cambriel could possibly have a better future queen.”

She returned my smile and took a sip of her tea, her thoughts seemingly heading in another direction when her brow tapered downward. “Do you love him?”

“No,” I answered immediately. “Not like that. I got confused and misjudged the love that I have for him as a friend, mistaking it for something more. Even that is questionable now.”

Gabriella raised a dark brow. “I wasn’t talking about the prince. I was referring to the assassin I saw storming out of the palace last night.”

“Oh—I—uhh…” I replied, unsure how to answer the question.

Did I love Ryken?

I felt something deep for him but was wary of mistaking any sort of feeling for love ever again. Only time would tell the answer to that question.

I opened my mouth to respond but was cut off when the door to my quarters opened with a sudden bang and Aiden stormed in. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the two of us having tea together, skeptically taking in his mistress and future wife enjoying each other’s company.

Outside of the window, the sky was darkening. He’d come to collect me for our night together. He expected me in his quarters at nightfall, but considering the strip of daylight that remained, he’d grown impatient. I warily glanced in Gabriella’s direction, wondering if he would dare make his demands in front of her.

“It’s good that you both are here. It will cut my list in half,” he said, his eyes not meeting either of ours. “I have to leave on a collection. I’ll be gone for a few days, maybe more. You both know what is expected of you until I return.” His eyes locked with mine in warning. “Stay out of trouble.”

He exited as swiftly as he had entered, leaving the two of us gaping at him.

Gabriella huffed. “Ridiculous.You both know what is expected of you. I have half a mind to throw his expectations out of the window.”

“Let’s do it,” I replied, rebellion pushing me out of my chair and into a fit of pacing.

Aiden was going on another collection. Any hope that I had for him slowly trickled away to nothing. I didn’t know who he was anymore.

But there was something I needed to do. I needed to find Ryken and explain myself. And I knew exactly where he would be.

“What?” Gabriella looked at me in shock.

“I said, let’s do it. You want freedom? I can show you freedom, if only for a night.”

Gabriella’s eyes widened with excitement, a spark of mischief lighting her brown irises. “Really? What are we doing? Where are we going?”

“I know a place…how do you feel about the fae? Magical creatures? Fairy wine?”

“I love it! All of it!” she squealed, hopping out of her seat. “I’ve never met anyone magical, and I’ve never had fairy wine, but I’ve heard stories, and it sounds…amazing! How do we do this? You’re constantly watched. Nobody watches me because they expect me to behave, but guards are patrolling the palace grounds, and the wall cages us in.”

“Do you own trousers?” I asked, and she shook her head.

Recalling the lady’s maids tearing apart my wardrobe that morning, I walked over to see what had replaced the stuffy gowns that once lined the racks. My heart stopped at what lay in front of me: rows upon rows of see-through negligees and risqué gowns comprised of lace and silk that were meant to only cover the most private of parts.

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