Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
“And I looked up,” he whispered to me, “and all I saw was all that blue.”
I nodded quickly because yes, it had been the same for me. The queen with her flashing sapphire eyes, not as dark as Sabira’s, full of playfulness and wonder.
“I stood there frozen, staring into the face of the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She was pristine, and I was filthy, caked in dirt and grime, my hair matted, my clothes hanging off my thin frame. I was barefoot, and like always, shivering. Isabella smiled slowly and gathered me to her, and it was like being embraced by an angel,” he choked out. “I’d been utterly overwhelmed, and when guards came close, thinking I’d gone to the queen without permission, a whispered word from her kept them back. Everyone yelled there. Everyone. But not her. Her voice never rose, stayed gentle and lilting, like a chime on the breeze.”
It was what she sounded like to me as well, and for a child, between her face and her voice, I was certain she’d seemed otherworldly.
“She smelled incredible. Like no scent that had ever filled my nostrils before. Later, I learned it was roses and lavender. That day, I thought she was a goddess because, as disgusting as I knew I was, as I’d been told often, she clutched me to her and claimed me as her own. I was the child of her courtier, so she had every right to me.”
“And so that was it. You belonged to her.”
“That’s right.”
“What about the other children?”
“Oh no,” he said quickly. “I was the only one who had no shoes and slept on straw on the floor. All the others had their place with their parents or brothers or sisters. I was the only son of the ruler who was cast in with those who served.”
“So you were treated extra badly.”
“Yes. Ødger and Balon never missed a day to beat me.”
“Jesus.”
“Don’t get me wrong—to be one of those who serve in Ophir is horrible, but I was the only one without shoes.”
I nodded.
“Leda’s mind was gone by the time Isabella arrived,” Sabira continued. “Though even at a glance, she knew Isabella’s face and cried out her name.”
“She was happy to see her?”
“Overwhelmed, my dear. She was utterly overwhelmed.”
“Were you there?”
“I was. I put my arm around Leda and walked her from Decimus’s room as Isabella carried Zev.”
“Who named Zev?”
“Isabella did. He didn’t have a name before she arrived. They called him boy.”
My heart felt like it was in a vise, squeezed so tight. I was so sad for him.
“Isabella said he was a survivor, her wolf, and now that he had a pack, he would grow strong.” Sabira smiled at me. “And he did.”
“How did Isabella take Leda from Decimus?”
“Leda was her courtier, there was no arguing that fact. Isabella had every right to take her as well as her issue.”
“Meaning Zev.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to Leda?”
“Back at the palace, Isabella did all she could, but Leda was far too damaged. She haunted Isabella’s wing for many years until one night she added hemlock to the blood she drank with a sprinkling of datura. Isabella found her in the morning.”
“I hope she didn’t suffer,” I said softly.
“No,” Sabira assured me. “It was quick.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“We were all so very sorry,” Sabira murmured. “But she had some time at the end with Isabella where she was safe again, so that was good.”
“How did Isabella find her?”
“Alruna, Decimus’s first courtesan, sent Isabella a message to come collect her whore of a courtier from Ophir. She, of course, thought Isabella had sent Leda to Decimus because she was jealous of her and wanted to keep her away from Messina.”
“I bet Alruna was happy to have Leda gone.”
“I can’t say. All I know is that days after Leda passed, Alruna was dead as well.”
“How?”
“Same way as Leda: hemlock and datura.”
I stared at Sabira. “What happened?”
“Who’s to say,” she replied with a slight grin, glancing at Zev.
I turned to him.
He grunted. “It wasn’t me. As I said, I’ve never been back. And besides, what reason would I have to avenge a woman who so despised me?”
“Who else could have slipped into Ophir?” Sabira asked him. “Decimus has made it known you are welcome in his home, in his service, at any time.”
“Again, I have never been back, Countess.”
She nodded. “Then the truth is one I have always suspected.”
“What is that?” I asked.
“Gideon had her assassinated.”
“For what purpose?” Zev sounded so innocent when he asked the question.
Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. I never knew Gideon to be sentimental in any way, and as far as I know, he was celibate his entire life, so it couldn’t have been for the love of Leda. But there must be a reason he had Alruna murdered.”
There was. He did it for Zev. Because Leda was his mother. But when I glanced at Zev, his flat stare met mine. The secret of Zev and Gideon’s love was known to only a few, and that, it seemed, did not extend to the queen’s sister.