“Leave it off, you dolt.” Braith kicks him again. “I told you she wasn’t like that, didn’t I?”
I don’t have a clue what they’re bickering about, but I’m not going anywhere without my mate.
Jeston rolls his eyes. “You only met her yesterday, how do you know?”
“I have no intention of leaving Kumulus,” I assure him and anyone else within earshot.
“Told you so,” Braith says with a curt nod. “With your mum being so sick, I figured you wouldn’t be going anywhere.”
My mum being sick? What is she—oh, wait. I did tell the guard yesterday that I had a sick mother. Heavens above, how am I to keep all these lies straight? “Yes, she is quite ill. Wasting sickness.”
The two other women, Mari and Del, start nodding.
“The wasting is spreading like wildfire in the burrows as well,” the one with blue eyes says. I’m not sure if she is Mari or Del.
“That’s right,” the woman with freckled cheeks adds. “My aunt says the grave diggers are having to cram four bodies to one hole down there.”
Those poor people. After losing both my parents to the horrendous disease, I know firsthand how devastating it is watching those you love waste away to nothing before your eyes. No one should have to suffer like that.
I manage a few more bites, but my appetite seems to have disappeared. The moment I put down my spoon, Jeston gets up and carries everyone’s dishes to the sink in the corner.
One of the bells attached to the wall lets out a high-pitched jingle, and the man with the mustache from the day before steps into the canteen. Everyone around me seems to rise in unison, the conversations dying as they all start for where the man waits at the bottom of a staircase. I go to follow Mari and Del until Braith catches my arm and tells me unassigned servants are in a separate line.
“Mari and Del work in the kitchens,” she explains as we join the other new hires across the room. “Best job in the whole castle if you ask me. Guess who gets the first pick of the food that comes back from the banquets upstairs?”
Anything has to taste better than what we just ate. “Do we get to choose our assignments?” The kitchens sound lovely, but what I really want is to figure out where Senan spends his days.
Braith’s short hair swings when she shakes her head. “They’ll put you where they need you. Jeston says most new hires start out in the guest chambers.”
“Just guests? Not the family?”
“Oh, no. You have to be here foryearsbefore you’re assigned to the family’s warded tower. If you ever get there.”
Damn. There goes that option.
“See those three with Jeston?” she goes on, tilting her chin toward a trio of beautiful women. “They’re all assigned to the family. They work on rotation.”
Looks like I’ll have to find another way to speak to my mate.
The canteen takes no time at all to clear, leaving only those of us who were hired the day before, along with Jeston and the man with the mustache Braith calls the House Master.
“Attention, new hires,” the House Master’s booming voice echoes around the cavern, “while you have been selected to servein your king’s household, your position here can just as easily be filled by someone else. If I find out that you are causing trouble, depending on the severity of your actions, you will receive a strike. After three strikes, you will be removed and blacklisted against all future employment opportunities with the castle and the Scathian nobility.”
I shift my weight, nerves buzzing in my stomach. Not sure why. It’s not like I plan on being here for long or screwing up.
The House Master goes over the rules, all of them fairly obvious. Keep quiet. If you must speak, speak softly. Remain in your assigned area. Do as you’re told.
“And above all, remember.” The House Master points to the sign above his head.
Be invisible.
I’ve been invisible for the last four years, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
One by one, the House Master gives out assignments for the day, consisting of a list of duties as well as a set of numbers corresponding to a tower, a floor, and the rooms on that floor.
When it’s Braith’s turn, she gives the man a hopeful smile.
“Kitchens. South tower, room 201,” he says.