Incendiary (Hollow Crown) by Zoraida Córdova

Author:Zoraida Córdova [Córdova, Zoraida]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473677593
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2020-04-27T18:30:00+00:00

When I get back to my room, my thighs ache and my breath is short from ascending the five flights of the tower. Sula returns for me and walks with downcast eyes and folded hands the entire time. I find myself missing Leo’s ramblings. His presence offers something like the peace Dez instilled in me. Thinking of him makes my entire body feel heavy as a ton of lead. I want to let that weight drag me down into the earth. It’s even worse when I remember that Dez will never have a burial. He will never be anything other than gone.

I press on the wound in my hand and the dark thoughts release me. I remind myself that Leo is not my friend and he is nothing like Dez. Leo is loyal to the crown first. As Sula lights the lamps of my dark room, I sit and massage my hand.

Restlessness digs beneath my skin and makes me scratch. Where could Castian have gone with the weapon? I play out different scenarios in my head. Asking Méndez directly would reveal what he knows through his reaction, but it would give me away completely. With every lamp that ignites, I think of the one clear connection I have to the prince: the courtiers. But how to get close to them?

“What are you doing?” I ask Sula.

“It’s laundry day, ma’am,” Sula says.

The girl is stripping my bedsheets. Do they think I’m that dirty, or is this customary? That part I can’t remember from my time here. It’s either in the Gray or I wasn’t paying attention to the maids who took care of me. No one notices the maids, despite their backbreaking work. I bet Castian has never looked twice at his staff. They will know more about the prince than anyone, even his father and the court.

Sula massages her shoulder for a moment. I sympathize with her pain. “Majordoma Frederica asked me to bring these down earlier, but I was sent to clear out the southwest guest rooms.”

I try to cut off her rambling, but there’s no gentle way for me to do it. She’s afraid of me waving my hands. I shouldn’t blame her.

“I’ll do it.”

She sucks in a breath, like I’ve punched her. “Oh, no, ma’am. I can’t. I mustn’t let you do that.”

“Why? I am not a highborn lady. I am just like you.”

“You’re not.” Her scared face goes mean. Of course the worst thing I could tell her was that we are one and the same. Blood and sinew and bone. Magics or no.

If I keep biting my tongue, I’ll snap the tip off completely. “What I meant is, I don’t need you fussing over me and changing my sheets. Get out. I can do it myself.”

She doesn’t move. “Y-you’re not allowed to walk the palace alone.”

Justice Méndez doesn’t want me to reveal myself. Until I see the guards assigned to protect me, I am on my own.

“I won’t be alone. I’ll be with you.”

With a start, Sula relents and lets me help her strip the bed and pillows.

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