My head gave a slight jerk. Obviously, I knew her name, but I’d never heard anyone speak it. I silently repeated it, preferring it to the Maiden. Immediately, I recognized that was an irrelevant preference.
The Maiden came forward with a cautiousness that hadn’t been present while she was at the Red Pearl. No longer looking in my direction, she sat on the edge of the middle bench, her posture impossibly rigid as she placed her folded hands in her lap. The Lady in Wait situated herself behind the Maiden. Vikter, however, moved to the Maiden’s immediate right, almost as if attempting to put himself between her and me.
“I hope you’re feeling well, Penellaphe?” the Duchess spoke as she returned to the chair beside the desk.
The Maiden nodded.
“I’m relieved to hear that. I was worried that attending the City Council so soon after your attack would be too much,” the Duchess continued, sounding surprisingly genuine.
The Maiden’s response was minimal, a slight incline of her head.
“What happened in the garden is why we’re all here,” Duke Teerman stepped in, and even though it seemed impossible, the Maiden’s posture became even stiffer. “With the death of…” His brow furrowed. “What was his name?” he asked of his wife, whose brows pinched in confusion. “The guard?”
Was he fucking serious?
“Rylan Keal, Your Grace,” Vikter answered flatly.
The Duke snapped his fingers. “Ah, yes. Ryan,” he said.
The Maiden reacted then. I doubted anyone else noticed because no one watched her as intently as I did at the moment. Her hands balled into fists—tight ones that bleached the knuckles of her hands white.
“With Ryan’s death, you are down one guard. Again,” the Duke added, smirking. “Two guards lost in one year. I hope this isn’t becoming a habit.”
Well, he would be disappointed because it likely would be.
“Anyway, with the upcoming Rite, and as you draw closer to your Ascension, Vikter cannot be expected to be the only one keeping a close watch on you,” the Duke said. “We need to replace Ryan.”
A muscle at the curve of her jaw flexed.
“Which, as I am sure you realize now, explains why Commander Jansen and Guard Flynn are here.”
The Maiden gave no sign of even hearing him.
“Guard Flynn will take Ryan’s place, effective immediately,” the Duke announced. “I’m sure this is surprising, as he’s new to our city and quite young for a member of the Royal Guard.”
The corners of my lips twitched.
“There are several Rise Guards in line to be promoted, and bringing on Hawke is no slight to them.” The Duke leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. “But the Commander has assured us that Hawke is better suited to this task.”
“Guard Flynn may be new to the city, but that isn’t a weakness. He’s able to look at possible threats with fresh eyes,” Jansen spoke then, mostly for Vikter’s benefit, I guessed. “Any number of guards would’ve overlooked the potential of a breach occurring in the Queen’s Gardens. Not due to lack of skill—”
I could’ve sworn I heard Duke Teerman murmur, “Debatable.”
“But because there is a false sense of security and complacency that often comes with being within one city for too long,” Jansen continued. “Hawke does not have such familiarity.”
My eyebrow rose at how Jansen addressed me, using my first name. Setting a tone. Smart.
“He also has recent experience with the dangers outside the Rise,” the Duchess added. “Your Ascension is a little less than a year from now, but even if you’re summoned sooner than expected or at the time of your Ascension, having someone with that kind of experience is invaluable. We won’t have to pull from our Huntsmen to ensure that your travel to the capital is as safe as possible,” she said, referencing those whose task it was to escort travelers from city to city. “The Descenters and the Dark One are not the only things to fear out there, as you know.”
She was right.
Yet I didn’t think the Maiden realized who was the true danger in this chamber or in the city and beyond.
“The possibility of you being summoned to the capital unexpectedly played a role in my decision,” Jansen explained. “We plan trips outside the Rise at least six months in advance, and there could be a chance that when and if the Queen requests your presence in the capital, we’d have to wait for the Huntsmen to return. With Hawke being assigned to you, we would be able, for the most part, to avoid that situation.”
The Maiden’s head moved then to where I stood. The nape of my neck prickled. Her clenched hands relaxed, the fingers straightening. I inclined my head, watching the pace of her breath quicken.
“As a member of the Maiden’s personal Royal Guard, it is likely that a situation may occur where you will see her unveiled.” The Duchess spoke, but her tone gave me pause. Her voice was always soft, but there was sympathy there now. “It can be distracting, seeing someone’s face for the first time, especially a Chosen, and that could interfere with your ability to protect her. That is why the gods allow this breach.”
My attention flew back to the Maiden, and my damn heart gave an unsteady skip. Holy shit, I was going to see her with no veil and without a mask.
“Commander Jansen, if you will please step outside,” the Duke asked.
Jansen nodded, quickly obeying the request. The eager look in the Duke’s eyes was now in his smile, and it struck me what he’d said the day before. How confident he’d been when he said that he wasn’t concerned about me having any sort of interest in the Maiden.
“You are about to bear witness to what only a select few have seen,” the Duke said, his gaze on her. “An unveiled Maiden.”
The Maiden’s hands trembled in her lap.
“Penellaphe, please reveal yourself,” the Duke requested, and his fucking smile had warning bells ringing.
Something was off.
She didn’t move for several seconds. No one did. My gaze flew to her companion. Tawny had closed her eyes, and when they reopened, I saw a faint sheen to them. I glanced at Vikter. He looked stoic as he stared down at her.
The Maiden still hadn’t moved.
“Penellaphe,” the Duke warned, and my hands fisted. “We do not have all day.”
“Give her a moment, Dorian.” The Duchess twisted to him. “You know why she hesitates. We have time.”
What in the actual fuck was going on here?
The lower half of her face turned pink, but that slightly pointed chin of hers lifted, jutting out stoically. She rose at the same time Tawny did. Her companion reached for the chains and clasps, but the Maiden got to them first.
My skin started to chill as I watched her yank the chains apart, her movements quick and jerky. The material loosened, then slipped. Tawny caught it, easing the veil off.
Then the entire right side of her face was revealed to me.
It was oval-shaped, cheekbones high and defined, the one eyebrow bold and naturally arched. There was that red hair I’d glimpsed at the Red Pearl, wrapped in some sort of complicated braided knot that looked like it took way too fucking long to create. With the veil gone and in the well-lit chamber, the strands gleamed with a deep, red-wine hue. Her profile was strong.