Page 9 of The Shadows Between Us
“Lady Stathos?” he asks.
“I am she.”
He sticks an arm into the carriage and presents me with a black envelope. When I take it, he doesn’t leave. He waits patiently for me to open it.
Forgive me, Lady Stathos, but I’ve changed my mind. I do not wish for you to leave just yet. You’re far too interesting for that. Will you come join my court? Consider this an invitation, not a demand. My man will await your reading of this note in the event of your acquiescence.
—KM
I wonder at the signature. Could those be the king’s real initials? I suppose I shouldn’t have expected him to signSK.Shadow Kingisn’t his name, after all.
Elation rushes through me as I realize what this means.
“What is it?” Father asks.
“The king asks for me to stay at court.”
“Then why are we still sitting in this carriage?”
I turn toward the servant. “I will accept His Majesty’s invitation.”
“Very good, my lady.” He opens the carriage door for me but shuts it before Father can descend the steps. “I’m afraid the invitation extends only to the lady, my lord. You’re free to return home.”
And before my father can utter a word of protest, the servant leads me back toward the palace.
WE DON’T GO THROUGHthe main doors. Instead, I’m taken through a side entrance, something that appears to be used only by the servants.
Indeed, curious laundresses and kitchen workers stare at me as I’m taken down long corridors with black carpeting. Past sconces in the shape of thorny vines. Through doorways lined with vases painted with stallions and eagles.
Is the king trying to hide me? Or perhaps simply not make a spectacle of my more permanent arrival?
Eventually, the servant deposits me in front of a door. He reaches for a key within his coat and lets us in.
The room is grander than anything I’ve ever stayed in, with thick light-blocking drapes, wooden furniture detailed with exquisite roses, and cushions of the softest down, but it is nothing compared to what a queen’s rooms would look like, I’m sure.
A maid is waiting in the room, likely having just finished turning down the bed.
“The king has already sent for your things, my lady. They should be here first thing tomorrow,” the man who led me here says.
“But I’ve only just agreed, and you haven’t yet told him I accepted.”
The servant holds himself a little higher. “The king was hopeful you would accept.”
Hopeful? More like presumptuous. Arrogant.
“I see.”
I have a lot of work ahead of me.
CHAPTER
4
The next morning, breakfast is delivered to my room, along with my possessions. I spend the morning ordering servants about. The wardrobes are filled with all the dresses I’ve designed. A vanity has my powders, perfumes, and jewelry placed upon it.
I’m not especially fond of reading, but I did bring several books with me to the palace. Most are works on philosophy, mathematics, agriculture, and other topics of importance. They exist to hide the only three books of interest. To the outward eye, they appear harmless: three tomes full of plants and herbs used for medicinal purposes. But in each one, there are several chapters on poisons and antidotes, highly useful for me because I will have to kill the Shadow King once I’ve secured his hand in marriage.
Hektor’s death was messy, disgusting, so very difficult to hide and clean up. I’m reluctant to stab anyone ever again. Poison is a much cleaner way to kill, and it will prove much easier. Not to mention, it’s nigh impossible to root out the poisoner.
