I wonder fleetingly where Galizia and Riggs are. Hopefully getting some much-needed rest, though I doubt even a trauma would slow them down much.
The unfamiliar guards nod deeply as I walk past, struggling to keep my face composed. Inside, I’m wincing in pain. My body is somehow even sorer today than it was yesterday, which keeps my pace at the approximate speed of a snail. I make my way slowly through corridor after corridor, leaning on bannisters for support, stopping whenever I need a break.
I’m certain the two guards trailing after me would be happy to help. Luckily, they’re also smart enough to know I’d never accept the offer.
When I finally reach the main floor, I follow the sound of raised voices from the Great Hall to the small sitting room off the library, where Simms often spends his days. The door is open a crack, allowing conversation to flow out into the corridor like an echo chamber. Reaching for the knob, I freeze just outside when I hear my name. It’s probably impolite to eavesdrop, but I can’t help myself.
“…to tell Emilia,” a familiar voice is saying. Chloe. “This isn’t right.”
“Are you sure she’s strong enough?” Lady Morrell asks, sounding nervous. “She’s been through so much already…”
“And I suppose you think we can just hide this from her?” Chloe snorts.
“Not hide.Delay,” Simms jumps in. “For her own good.”
“She is a fragile girl — I’ve seen it firsthand.” Bane. “Too emotional for her own good. Some might even call it unstable. She won’t be able to handle this.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Chloe volleys at him. “I don’t even know why you’re in this room. You have nothing to do with this.”
“I’m the Commander of the Royal Guard,” he spits back. “I’d say I have plenty to do with this, little girl. Though whyyou’rehere, I have no earthly idea.”
My heart is pounding.
What are they talking about?
What are they hiding from me?
The room goes quiet. I keep waiting to hear other voices chime in — Linus, Octavia — but they never come.
“If her composure is hanging by a thread, one more weight might snap it entirely,” Lady Morrell says finally.
Bane sounds smug. “I’m happy to pick up the slack, in the meantime. I consider it no less than my patriotic duty.”
“I’m sure you do,” Chloe practically hisses.
“Please, fighting amongst ourselves will not make this any easier,” Lady Morrell says, sounding worried. “I tend to agree with Gerald and Ramsey — she needs time to come to terms with this.”
“She doesn’t need time, she needs thetruth!”
“We hear you quite clearly, Miss Thorne. There’s no need to yell.” Simms sighs. “We are simply asking for another day or two, until we can control the situation…”
Controlwhatsituation?
What scenario could possibly have all of them in the same room, conspiring against me?
“I won’t lie to her again. I refuse.” Chloe’s voice is resolute. “I already did it once, back at Fort Sutton, when she asked about him.”
Him?
I try to remember what I said to her when I woke after the truck attack, but it’s all a blur thanks to the heavy dosage of painkillers. My heart squeezes painfully, hearing Chloe admit she’s lied to me about something. I have to clench my hands into fists to keep from shoving my way into the room and demanding answers. The sad reality is, eavesdropping may well be the only way I’ll ever get the full truth from these people I’d begun to see as my friends.
As my family.
“You’re suspiciously silent over there,” Chloe snaps at someone, shattering the strained atmosphere. “What do you think about all of this? Huh? Are you honestly on board with this plan to hide the truth from her?”
There’s a long pause. Then, I feel my heart splinter as a familiar voice rasps out something that changes the course of my life.
“Hiding the fact that Linus had a stroke when he heard about the truck attack won’t undo it. There is nothing you can say that will make this better for her. Her father is dead.The king is dead.So, whether or not she knows it yet… Emilia Lancaster is now your reigning queen. Quite frankly, Bane, I don’t give a fuck about your patriotic duty; this decision is out of your pay grade.” Carter pauses, his voice lethally soft. “You answer to your Queen. Not the other way around.”