Of Whispers and Daggers ✓ [TLRQ #2]

Chapter 11.1 - Aster

Nobody else comes to the baths this early. Most of the men in the castle aren't even awake this early. Instead, my only company is the gauzy fabric hanging from bare branches and flowing in the gentle breeze. In the warmer seasons, thick foliage screens the princes' and high noblemen's bathing pool. Now, though, there are enough flowing cloths to block any passing courtier's view of my naked form as I slip off my clothes and slide into the pool.

The warm water is a nice respite from the bite of the approaching winter, and it laps at my skin as I wash. Reyan ridiculed me for thinking helpful Amarris's warning that the Kadranians were following something else. I can't shake the feeling that even when we drive the savages from our land, there's a larger problem, something darker, lurking underneath. If I were to mention that to him, though, he would tell me I just let her get in my head.

Do you believe the old stories?

The Lady Jacqueline—merciful to Astraeus, betrayed by him, then victorious over him. Xíeme helped her lock him away. To live, Astraeus had to focus all his energy on healing from Snare's Gift, the potion they poisoned him with, and stay imprisoned. To escape, he would have had to let the poison kill him. And that was centuries and centuries ago, nearly as long as Morineaux has been a country. No one can live that long. Not even Stellries.

I allow myself to sink beneath the surface of the gently flowing pool, the warm water comforting against the chaos of the rest of the world. The weak current embraces my face, and for a minute, I pretend today is going to be just like any from before I left. I know it's unfounded, but I can't help but feel as if leaving started all of this. As if had I just stayed here, nothing would have changed.

My lungs starting to make themselves known, I come up, gasping softly, and push my hair back from my brow. I reach over my shoulder to work the water over the lines of puckered scar tissue on my back. I wonder if Agraund's mind stayed in the Meadow after his body died or if it went to Antium with all the other lost souls. There's something quiet and sad about the idea of him there alone, but if all the stories about Antium are true, then I hope he's alone and peaceful.

I finish washing and step up onto the cobblestone, drying myself with the towel I brought. Reyan can mock the old stories as much as he likes, but I know there's more to them than pretty words. Uncertainty chills me, and I grab up my clothes.

They're following something. Something dark. Something powerful.

There's something I'm missing. I wonder how much damage it'll cause if I don't figure it out until it's too late.

As I start to dress, a young woman's voice calls through the trees. "Prince Aster?"

"Just a moment," I call back. It must be a page. A Lady wouldn't walk around looking for me. I finish pulling on my clothes, wondering who could be needing me this early, and wind down the path through the trees. About halfway through, a thin metal fence reminds people not to wander beyond it, and I push through the gate.