“Malina, I wasn’t expecting you this morning,” King Midas says, turning to greet his wife with a tight smile.
Polly quickly backs away from the table with wine pitcher in hand, eyes immediately downcast. It’s almost comforting to know that the queen freaks out the other saddles too.
The queen looks around the room, her lip and nose curling up slightly. “I can see that,” she says breezily, her shoulders back and her neck poised, appearing royal as ever as the other advisors bow in her presence. She looks like a beautiful peacock with her emerald gown and sapphire jewelry dripping off her ears and neck. A display of power and poise, meant to draw the eye and intimidate.
She flicks her eyes to Polly, eyeing the woman’s revealing dress before moving her gaze back to her husband. “Really? During strategizing, Tyndall? How uncouth,” she says in high and mighty reproach.
Poor Polly’s freckled cheeks go red with embarrassment as she dips her head further, letting her blonde hair hide her face. Midas is always careful to keep his wife separated from his saddles. It’s clear that today, she’s ruined those careful lines he’s drawn.
The group of advisors look between the married couple, no one daring to say a word. Even Fulke keeps his mouth closed.
King Midas’s lips curl up in a fake display of casual amusement, but a flash of irritation crosses his eyes that I don’t miss. There’s no love lost between these two.
They’ve been married for nearly ten years. He resents her because she’s never been able to give him an heir, and she resents him because the crown should’ve passed onto her by birth. But because Malina wasn’t born with power, she wasn’t able to rule on her own—according to the law of Orea. She was forced to take a husband with power or would’ve had to step aside entirely, letting someone else sit on the throne.
At least by marrying Midas, she’s still queen, even if her husband is the true ruler.
Highbell Kingdom is split when it comes to these two. Some remain loyal to her. After all, Highbell was ruled by her family for generations. Her father passed away just after Midas married her, so in a lot of ways, Midas is still considered the outsider.
The people sympathize with her. They still remember the pretty princess who had the rug pulled out from under her. They pitied her when no power manifested. Now, they also pity her for having a barren womb.
The others in Highbell, particularly the nobles, are loyal to Midas. They’d kiss his feet if they could, since he’s brought them so much wealth. After all, Highbell was nearly broke before Midas came. He swooped in to save the desolate Sixth Kingdom with a marriage proposal. He enamored them all, boasting his power of endless riches. Of course, with an offer like that, Malina’s father agreed to the arrangement. But I wonder if Malina regrets it.
I watch as the two of them have something like a silent standoff. The tension between them is heavy, but there’s always tension. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the two of them do more than tolerate each other.
I hold myself still, my ribbons crinkling against my back. Side by side, the two of them always look like a beautiful couple. I hate that. Where Midas has natural charisma, Malina is poised. Perfect. Her skin is so pale that I can see lines of blue from her veins at her hands and neck and temples, but she makes her severe paleness look elegant. She even manages to pull off her sleek white hair. I’m told she was born with it. White hair is a Colier family trait.
My eyes flick back and forth between them, my stomach turning in knots the way it always does when she’s around. Since Midas brought me to Highbell, she’s been very vocal of her hatred for me. In the beginning, I didn’t blame her for it.
Finally, Midas tips his head, like he’s deigning to give her this win.
“You heard the queen,” he says to Polly, flicking a hand at the saddle. “Your presence is uncouth. You are dismissed.”
Polly doesn’t have to be told twice. She turns and hurries out of the room as fast as her bare feet can take her, not even stopping to leave the wine pitcher behind.
Now that Malina has gotten rid of Polly, her gaze moves to me. The glare she bestows on me is cold enough to rival our winters. And that’s saying something, because we once had a blizzard that lasted twenty-seven days.
“You shouldn’t leave your shiny toy out during the war meetings, husband,” Queen Malina says with a scathing look.
I purse my lips, forcing myself to stay quiet.
She turns back to her husband, ignoring the rest of the men in the room. “May I speak with you?”
His gaze glints with irritation, but it’s clear she isn’t going to leave without talking to him. “Excuse me,” Midas says to the others before turning to walk out of the room with the queen on his heels.
King Fulke claps him on the back as he walks by. “Females, eh, Midas?” he says with a condescending chuckle.
The queen’s hands fist into the skirt of her dress, but she says nothing as they leave to speak in the hall.
Well, now’s my chance. No way am I going to hang around here and give Fulke a chance to mess with me. On silent steps, I turn and hurry out of the room, slipping through the archway and rushing down the dark hall.
“Where’d she go?”
Fulke’s annoyed words just make me go faster. I’m an idiot, though, because in my hurry to get the hell out of there, I went for the closest archway, which means I’m heading toward the atrium instead of my personal rooms. Oh, well. I can hide out there until Midas is back or Fulke is gone.
Reaching the atrium, I breathe a small sigh of relief as I walk through the archway, greeted by the bars of my confinement in the large, dim space.
With a quick glance up, I see that the dome ceiling is completely covered in snow today, just as I knew it would be, making everything seem more claustrophobic. Every single window is weighed down with frigid gray light that does nothing to lessen the tangles in my stomach. I was hoping for just a glimpse of the sky, but I’m out of luck.
Bright side? At least the bed that Midas used last night has long since been removed. One less thing to sour my mood.
I trail my fingers along the gilded ivy vines lying against the glass walls, my slippered feet padding across gleaming floors. All around are plants and statues of solid gold on display. It’s a mass of weighty wealth all in one spot.
Gold is everywhere throughout the entire palace, but for some reason, it seems obscene in this room. Maybe it’s all the blocked windows, making it feel vulnerable to the desolate outdoors. Or maybe it’s just that not even the plants were left untouched. Midas might look around and see riches, but I look around and see a graveyard.
I head to the other end of my cage, aiming for the pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. With the ceilings being as high as they are, and the room itself being so massive, it’s freezing in here. Even with the two huge fireplaces taking up either end of the room, it’s not enough to leak out much warmth.
I kick a couple of the pillows to get them where I want them and then sit down, grabbing one of the blankets to pull across my lap. I might as well—
The door at the front of the room suddenly swings open, making me jolt in place.
“And you thought it was so important that you had to interrupt my meeting, Malina?”
I freeze for a half second, realizing that the king and queen came in here to talk.
“Your meeting?” Malina snaps. “Tyndall, how could you launch an attack against Fourth Kingdom without telling me?”
Divine shit.
If they catch me… I shudder, and it has nothing to do with the cold. I need to get out of here now.
