“No, it’s not,” I agree. I’ve lain in bed thinking about how, and the only thing I’ve figured out is that I don’t know the first thing about governing anyone. “Maybe start small. Start somewhere. But start now.”
“It’s probably best I focus on the more imminent problem at hand.”
“Which is what exactly? Quill’s murder, Adley’s political aspirations, or my mysterious coconspirator?”
“Or what this elemental wants with you.” He heaves his body from the settee, stretching when he stands. “What you learned today and what we’ve discussed, it is not idle chatter. It should not be repeated to anyone. Not Annika, not Corrin. And definitely not Saoirse.”
I roll my eyes, though I suppose I deserve that after my stunt by the nymphaeum.
“I should go and …” His voice drifts as he regards my face again, as he did when he entered.
I can’t tell if he’s still admiring Wendeline’s repairs or if there’s something more, but it makes me blush. I clear my throat. “Be a king?”
He scowls, as if catching himself. “Right.”
I don’t know when I’ll see him again. It may be days. I decide to take my chance. “Dagny asked me to go down to the market with her in the morning to look at some fabrics.”
“The clothiers down by the port?” His eyebrows arch. “Do you have any idea the thieves and other unsavory folk who linger there?”
“Sounds like my kind of people.” There’s more truth to that than he realizes.
“They’ll give you nothing but a lighter purse for your troubles.”
“I have no money, so I’ll be safe.”
“You have an answer for everything.”
I shrug. “It’d be nice to get away from my prison walls for a bit.”
His lips twist with thought. “Should I parade you through town again? Empty a bag of gold in the rookery while we’re at it?”
“Two bags,” I quip, though my brain instantly stirs an image of another ride through Cirilea with Zander pressed against my back, and the flutter in my stomach says I wouldn’t mind it at all.
He offers a wry smile but then pushes, “Why do you really want to go to the market, Romeria?”
He’s too smart or too suspicious, I can’t decide. “If Ianca came in on a ship, someone will have seen her. And maybe if she hears I’m around, she’ll try to make contact. There’s bound to be more information among the commoners than here.”
“So the future queen wants to wander around town, asking if anyone has seen an elemental caster lately.”
“I don’t need to announce who I am, do I?” I found a plain navy gown stuffed into the back of my closet that would suffice.
“Any immortal in the crowd will know it’s you.”
Right. Orange blossoms. “I’ll keep my distance.”
He snorts, amusement flickering across his face. “I can’t wait to hear from Corrin about this.”
“She already knows, and she doesn’t approve.”
“For good reason.” His gaze wanders to one of my mammoth windows. “With all the outsiders flocking to the city for the market fair this week, I do not believe it wise.”
My frustration swells. I foolishly thought I might be getting somewhere with him.
“Until then”—his eyes flip to my bedchamber—“stay out of trouble.”
“Always,” I mutter bitterly, reaching for my graphite pencil. “By the way, why did you take my sketch?”
“So the royal guard could be on the lookout for that woman,” he calls over his shoulder.
Good luck with that. “Tell me if you find her.” I guess that’s my answer to who carried me to bed, though I already suspected. I should be bothered by the idea that Zander was in my room while I was sleeping.
I’m bothered by the fact that I’m not.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I hold my breath as I turn the finial on the bedpost one hundred and eighty degrees.
A click sounds, and one corner of my bed slides out from the wall, stone scraping against stone enthralling even as it raises the hairs on the back of my neck. Outside, the bell tolls marking the midnight hour.
My grin of satisfaction strains my cheeks as I take in the dark and narrow corridor behind it. I had nearly given up. Grabbing a lantern from my side table, its flickering light casting tall shadows around my bedchamber, I gingerly step into the schism.
And yelp at the two familiar faces staring back at me, arms folded over their chests like twin towers of intimidation.
“I believe you owe me ten gold coins,” Zander murmurs.
“Surely it’s the other way around,” Atticus counters. “You didn’t think she would figure it out before the clock struck midnight. I had far more faith in her. Besides, the bed moved before the twelfth gong.”
“Splitting hairs, are we?”
“Shall we call it even, then?”
Zander smirks. “I suppose.”
Atticus cocks his head. “She looks guilty.”
Now that my initial shock has worn off, my annoyance flares. “You two have been hiding in here all night, betting on how long it would take me to open this?”
They share a glance and then answer in unison, “Yes.”
“Well, not all night. We assumed you’d wait until well after Corrin’s last visit. It’s been a tedious hour, though.” Zander is in an oddly good mood. “Where are you off to dressed like that?”
Their gazes drag over my long, silky black nightgown—another favorite from Princess Romeria’s collection.
“Nowhere. Obviously. I was just curious how this worked.” I curl my arms across my chest, the cool air within the corridor chilling. “Doesn’t the king of Islor and the commander of the king’s army have better things to do than lurk in the wall behind my bed?”
“We do, and we’re late. Perhaps you can change into something more appropriate.”
My attention drifts to their outfits. I hadn’t noticed the plain, nondescript black garb, too shocked by their presence. “Appropriate for what?”
Even in the muted lantern light, Zander’s eyes dazzle with a mischievous sparkle. “For getting answers.”
“You’re faster than I gave you credit for,” Zander murmurs, peering around the corner of an unassuming door.
“You mean, when I can see where I’m going? Or when I’m not in one of those ridiculous dresses?” I counter, blowing out the lantern and setting it on the ground inside before emerging behind him. The tunic and breeches I found in my closet are fitted but comfortable, the navy cloak perfect to hide beneath. “And let’s see how fast you are in twenty pounds of chiffon and tulle, and wobbly heels.”
“As long as I can keep my sword.”
Zander led the way through the dark corridors and tunnels with the blind ease of someone who has spent years traversing them. I did my best to commit the turns to memory, but I’m not confident that I wouldn’t end up lost behind the walls of the castle if I attempted navigating through on my own.