Lily sat on the edge of her and Liam's bed, her head in her hands as the uneaten food on the table grew cold and stale. She knew she wouldn't be able to stomach it now even if she wanted to. Her shoulder throbbed to the beat of her heart as her fingers tried to massage away the equally painful throbbing in her skull.
"Perhaps I'm coming down with something." She muttered to the empty chambers as she rubbed her hands over her face. She had been feeling ill for some time and, since her argument with Liam, hadn't left their chambers. Nor had he come to find her. It seemed to her that he didn't much care what she thought. Clearly, he wasn't going to be any help to Pierake, or anyone else for that matter.
The door burst open, and she nearly leapt out of her skin. Her hand clutched over her racing heart as silver magic whipped around the room, knocking over dishes and tearing at the walls. It grew still at the sight of a familiar messy-haired boy.
Xan wiped his hands on his pants as he stepped inside, smiling at Lily. "Sophie wanted me to come collect your dishes from dinner," he paused, seeing the leftover food, "which you didn't finish. Or even really touch. Are you feeling okay?"
"Fine. I'm fine."
"Uh-huh." Xan rearranged the dishes on the tray. "You know, normally, both you and Liam eat like the fat king he'll soon be," Lily snorted, but he continued, unfazed, "but tonight, neither of you have eaten much of anything."
"Liam hasn't eaten?"
Xan shook his head, biting at his lip. "No. He was supposed to have dinner with his father after they discussed the situation with Pierake, but he didn't attend. I expected to find him here..."
"But I'm alone." Lily finished with a sigh as she stood, feet bare against the warm wood. She swayed but quickly brushed it off as she made for the screen where several dresses hung, royal colors of blues, purples, silvers, and golds. She felt more like a princess now than she ever had growing up.
Her fingers traced the soft fabric of each dress before choosing the one of simple blue and slipping behind the screen for privacy. She pulled off her tunic, her mother's charred locket glittering like a silver star at her throat though painfully diminished by the ring on her finger which remained undamaged and pure. Somewhere beyond the screen, she could hear the dishes clattering noisily as Xan continued to rearrange them.
"Out with it." She called as her pants joined her tunic on the floor, and she pulled the dress over her head. Once, it had been long enough to sweep the floor, but now the frayed hem barely reached her scarred knees. The thin sleeves slipped down to rest at the spot just below her shoulders where the fresh bruise stood out against the blue fabric.
"What do you think happened in Pierake?" He asked. "There are rumors-"
"Rumors are just rumors." She interrupted, running her fingers through her hair and stepping out from behind the screen. "They don't mean anything. No one knows what's happened."
"But you're going to find out?"
"Eventually."
"I mean," Xan released an irritated breath, "are you going to Pierake?"
"What makes you think I would go?" She asked as she passed him to slip her feet into her dirty boots by the door. They didn't match with her dress, but they were far more comfortable than any of the toe-pinching shoes she had received as gifts in the past year.
"Because I know you," he paused, "and because His Majesty said not to."
"This has nothing to do with Liam!" She opened the door and turned to glare at her cousin. "I don't need his permission to do anything."
YOU ARE READING
The Witch's Retribution
Fantasy((Book two of the Knight's Deception Trilogy)) Nothing burns quite as bright as the fires of revenge... It's been a year since Lily married her prince, six since she killed her brother to protect him, and everything has settled into a warm routine t...
