Kingdom of Scourge and Shadow (The Sightstone Series #1)

Chapter Five: Alina

"The Saroviyan court is like all other courts: full of scandal and liars."

-Count Rodionov, in a letter to his sister, on the occasion of his first visit to Kirovburg

***

"Wait, wait. Let me get this straight," Elektra drawled. "Countess Ostin wanted you to remove a skin tag from under her breast? Saints, that makes my job look positively idyllic."

They were sprawled on the floor of the wine cellar, Elektra lounging against a wine rack while Nikolai lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Alina was seated more demurely, her legs tucked neatly beneath her. She wasn't very good at letting herself relax like they did, although the bottle of very expensive, Caedish wine that they passed between them was helping. Slowly.

In the half-light, Nikolai's light brown hair shone like burnished gold, and his dark eyes were lively and alert, despite the effects of the wine, which had lent a bright flush to his cheeks. Despite his rumpled clothes, gangly limbs and the faint laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, Alina thought he was unfairly handsome, and Elektra, sitting next to him, offset him perfectly.

Her bronze skin glowed warm in the candlelight, and her dark eyes sparkled with mirth as Alina recounted the worst of her stories of treating the women of the court. Strands of her dark hair were escaping their pins, but otherwise there wasn't a single flaw in her appearance. Normally, Alina would have felt insignificant next to her, but, to her dismay, she found herself unable to dislike her.

Alina had to giggle. "And then she expected me to Alter her sagging tits for free, while I was down there, she said."

"Ugh," Elektra said with a dramatic shudder. "I'd have slapped her if she tried that with me. What an entitled cow!"

"I wanted to," Alina admitted conspiratorially. "But the queen gets angry when I even tell off any of her friends."

"Wow," Elektra said, shaking her head in disbelief. "She sounds like a peach to work for."

"Oh, you have no idea," Alina found herself saying, to her surprise. She'd never confessed anything like this to anyone, even Nikolai, and he knew more about her struggles than anyone. "She's convinced I'm sleeping with her husband."

"Charming," Elektra drawled. "And you're not, are you, no matter what the gossips say?"

"Euch, no," Alina said with an exaggerated shudder. "I'm his Healer. I've seen him everywhere. It kind of takes away the allure. I mean, I've Altered warts on his ass. No, I'm definitely not interested. Although..."

"What?" Nikolai asked, glancing over at her, while Elektra leaned forward intently.

"Well," Alina said, lowering her voice. "He's definitely interested. It's why he's kept me on as his healer, I think. He just leers at me, you know, and he won't take a hint."

Elektra grimaced. "Men," she said bitterly. "Every single one at this court seems to view us mages as his personal playthings. And, when we dare to say no, they take it as a slight and try to get us in trouble. It's sick; it's like we don't belong to ourselves."

Before Alina could agree, voices came from right outside the door, and they stiffened, listening intently as the voices rose and fell.

"...king's back, and Lord Zima's come with him," a man said, and Alina stiffened. "They wanted me to fetch a couple of their pet mages, but I can't find them anywhere."

"Oh?" a second speaker, also a man, asked. "Who're you looking for?"

"That storm bitch, Chernov, and the king's healer," the first speaker answered. "The pretty one. His Majesty wants her. No points for guessing why."