Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 35

The next time Cole saw Bastian, it was in his room a few hours later. He came out from his bedchamber, rubbing his hand through his hair, leaving it in a disarray. He glanced at the group of maids waiting for him, and flopped down into a soft chair by his fireplace in the main room.

"Do you not desire breakfast this morning, your highness?" one of the girls asked.

Bastian waved his hand around in the air, a vague signal that everyone guessed to be a confirmation of what was asked. They packed the breakfast back onto its tray, and a few of the girls headed back to the kitchen with them. The other girls, including Cole settled in to wait until the prince decided to do something.

Cole watched him closely, trying to see if he would reveal in some tiny way that he had seen her last night using magic and breaking into his dungeons. But if he looked at her at all, it was with the same disinterest that he gave to everyone else. He was back to being King Thijs' spoiled son, and Cole felt strange seeing it happen so casually before her eyes. How he was so good at hiding what she had seen in him that time he was beaten and again last night, she had no idea.

Bastian spent the morning draped on his chair, reading and playing a solitary game of cards. He eventually moved into his hobby room and chose a few pieces of hunting kit to clean and repair. The girls stood quietly against the wall, and Cole wondered if she had actually found something worse than mining Sparkstone. The boredom was almost unbearable. She almost wanted to kill him right then and there in order to end it. But then she felt bad about even thinking about killing him.

Which concerned her even deeper.

She had to kill the prince if she wanted her mother and her life. Tanwyn would never let her back out of their promise, and with the palace and the king as powerful as they were, she knew she wasn't going to be able to sneak her mother out of the dungeons and into a new life without him.

Bastian gently set a leather arm brace on his chair as he sat on the floor like a child with a new toy. His supplies scattered around him, and he worked diligently to get his kit into working order. Cole watched him, and as she did, she forced herself to push the sympathy and concern she felt for him out of her mind. He was King Thijs' son, and that meant his hands were bloody just like his father's. He was part of the corruption and rot, and if killing him meant that she could weaken Thijs, then she would do it. Bastian was nothing more than a rotten seed from a poisonous tree.

Cole resigned herself to staring at the wall for the rest of the day, but then a knock sounded on the door to the prince's rooms. Everyone looked up, including Bastian, and the confusion and curiosity on their faces let Cole know this was not a common occurrence.

"Someone answer the door," Bastian said, before turning his attention back to his polishing. If Cole hadn't known what she did about him, she might not have seen the tension in his jaw and the sweat forming on his hairline. She also might not have noticed the soft release of breath when he saw that the person coming into his bedchambers was only Mistress.

"Good morning, your highness," the woman said, curtseying with all the pomp of an official court meeting.

"What brings you to my rooms?" Bastian asked, grinning and climbing to his feet. "I don't often get visited by the household staff. You must be here to scold me about my little doves," he said, nodding his chin at the girls. Cole wanted to throw up at the word, but a few of the girls actually giggled and hid their eyes as flushes crossed their cheeks.

"What would I have to scold your highness about? We are here to serve you, and scolding does not fall under that duty," Mistress said.

"Well, then to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It is not you I'm searching for, your highness," Mistress said. And then her eyes landed heavily on Cole. "I've come for one of the girls."

Cole swallowed hard, writhing under the sudden stares of everyone in the room. Bastian's was the most intense. She read suspicion in his eyes, and it didn't fade as he changed his focus to Mistress.

"I wouldn't deny you one of your charges. She's all yours," Bastian said, and despite his cheerful tone, Cole heard the undercurrent of cold.

He watched her as she crossed over to Mistress and as they both walked to the door and gave their last curtseys before leaving. Even in the hallway, Cole was too nervous to say anything for fear that Bastian might jump out from his doorway in an attempt to catch them in the act. Act of what, Cole wasn't sure. Mistress didn't say a word about why she had pulled Cole so very publicly from the prince's rooms, and they walked down the servant's staircase and out of the palace in complete silence.