Page 7 of A Sea So Cruel
“Have you noticed the change in the tides today?” Asta shouted from the washroom to Linnea, who was preparing her bed.
“Hmm?” Linnea grunted in response, clearly distracted.
Asta stalked from the washroom in her nightgown, tapping the door frame as she exited and sat at her vanity. “The tides. They came up farther than I’ve ever seen. Nearly covered the terrace steps during the party. Peculiar, is it not?”
“Mmm,” Linnea responded.
Asta was ready to sass the woman for not paying attention, but then Linnea came up behind Asta in the mirror, the lady-in-waiting’s gray eyes surrounded by rings of purple. The sight made Asta crack her knuckles again, this time having to do both hands until she could stop. She hated seeing Linnea look so exhausted, so frail. But she had looked that way since she arrivedin Orntali years ago, after enduring abuse from her mother, Asta’s aunt. She wanted to wring that woman’s neck and dump her body deep in the forest for the beasts to consume.
Asta noticed Linnea rubbing the white bracelet of a scar on her wrist. “Have you eaten today?”Is it bad today?That’s what that question meant between the two of them.
Linnea nodded. “Two meals. I’m just tired.”
“Stay with me?”
Linnea nodded again, the corners of her eyes glistening with moisture.
Asta loved having her closest cousin as her lady-in-waiting. Her father had brought Linnea to Orntali a few years ago when he discovered how his late wife’s sister had been treating her only child. The sole reason Asta hadn’t marched straight to her aunt’s manor to murder the woman was because Linnea begged her to let it go. Asta’s only vengeful satisfaction was her father cutting off the royal funds to her aunt, leaving the woman completely broke. No one had spoken to her in years, and no one planned to ever again.
“Go lay down, I’ll be there when I’m done.” Asta waved her hand toward her massive bed, the deep purple comforter calling to her as drowsiness took over.
Asta picked up her mother’s comb and began dragging it through her hair.
One, two, three…
She counted each stroke, the tension in her shoulders relaxing more and more with each pass.
“What do you need for tomorrow night?” Linnea asked, her head gently nestling into the plush pillows beneath her. She yawned loudly and her eyes closed. Dyri jumped up onto the bed and settled close to Linnea’s petite figure. The big oaf took up half the bed.
Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one…
Asta paused her counting. “I haven’t been able to bring bread in a while. Think we could get our hands on some by sundown?”
The counting continued.
Linnea’s voice was soft, and Asta rotated on her vanity stool to see that her cousin was almost asleep. “Of course. I’ll go and see Mikkel in the kitchens tomorrow. Just the normal supplies other than that?”
Before Asta could answer, Linnea’s breathing changed and Asta knew she had fallen asleep.
Asta finished combing her hair.
Twenty-seven, twenty-eight. Done.
Chapter 4
Asta patted the pleats of her maroon dress to smooth them as Linnea stood behind her, tying a ribbon to the end of her braid.
“Must we go? There are horses to ride, books to read, and so many other more enjoyable things to do!” Asta pleaded. Dyri nudged Asta’s knee with his wet nose. “See? Dyri doesn’t want me to go. He needs someone to play with.”
Linnea gave a small laugh. “It is only breakfast, cousin. Eat quickly, then excuse yourself. You just have to make an appearance.” She made her way to the suite doors, her lightauburn hair swishing behind her. “Plus, I’m starving, and Mikkel told me yesterday that there would be bacon.”
Fine. Asta would attend the stupid breakfast. But only for the bacon.
The pair of women made their way to the dining hall in the west wing, which was reserved for smaller, more intimate meals. It was typically where Asta, Maren, their father, and their closest courtiers ate breakfast and lunch.
Asta preferred the small dining hall rather than the grand one in the heart of the castle. This room was warm, the sunshine pouring in through the massive windows. They were propped open all summer long, so the scent of salt water and pine drifted through the air.
Passing through the doorway, Asta tapped the threshold. Kaid was in her usual seat and Halsten was in Linnea’s. Disgruntled, Asta took up a seat opposite him, next to Svanhild.
