Page 257 of The Crown's Awakening
“Your father did more than we can ever repay,” I say. “And thank you for getting word to Colsar. I don’t know if we would be here without you.”
He nods once, something moving through his face that he does not try to contain.
"Edrin," I say. "Where is Maridale?"
The composure returns, carefully. "Gone, Majesty. After you fled, the king became..." He pauses, choosing his words carefully. "Angry. Several servants were punished. Some went missing. He believed them responsible for not alerting him to what had happened with your brother, or for failing to protect you directly." He looks down briefly. "Maridale was afraid she would be next. She left before he could decide."
The pang arrives before I can stop it. "Do you know where she went?"
"No, Majesty."
I hold that for a moment. Then, "Torsin and Emva?"
"They were in the southern valley when you disappeared. Maridale sent word that you had left." He shakes his head. "They never returned."
I look at Colsar. He looks back at me.
"And Brinette?" I ask.
Edrin's frown arrives slowly. "I am not certain, Majesty. She was here often, after you left. The king summoned her regularly." He pauses. "He had her examine the dress choices for your dinners. When you were gone he still wished to...prepare for your return."
The particular quality of that sentence takes a moment to fully arrive.
“For my return,” I repeat.
Colsar's sucks in a breath, his fists clenched.
"Yes, Majesty." He clears his throat, glancing at Colsar nervously. "And then one day she was summoned and simply did not come. He sent for her twice more. She was never found."
Something passes between Colsar and me without needing words.
Edrin hesitates. Then, lower, as though the walls might carry it, "There is more you should know, Majesty. While you were gone..." He glances toward the floor, as though there is something beneath us. "Strange sounds began coming from below the palace. At night mostly. And the servants who upset the king..." He stops.
"Say it," I say quietly.
"There are rumors," he says carefully, "that those who displease him do not simply disappear. That they become something else." His jaw works once. "Creatures of the night. Something you hear before you see. Most of us have learned not to be in the lower corridors after dark."
The silence that follows has a particular quality.
"Thank you, Edrin," I say. "For telling me. For all of it."
He bows again, still too quickly, and leaves.
Colsar moves to the window. He does not speak. The set of his shoulders tells me everything he is not saying.
I am here, but you do not need me. I will let you handle this.
I call for Wyn. She appears within moments, her attention already set before I have spoken.
"I need someone who can investigate quietly," I say. “Four names. Maridale, my former lady's maid. Torsin and Emva, who are supposedly in the southern valley." I pause. "And Brinette."
"Of whom shall I begin?" Wyn asks.
"The southern valley first," I say. "I need to confirm my friends are safe." I look at her steadily. "As for Brinette..." My chest pulls in a way I do not entirely manage. "She was likely spending time with Matron Oramin while I was gone. I hope she did not meet the same fate. But I need someone to confirm it. Quietly."
Wyn nods and leaves.
I stand there for a moment after she goes and I let myself feel it, the particular pull of people who were kind to me in a place that was not kind, scattered now, unaccounted for.
