Gleam (The Plated Prisoner 3)

“I’m giving him an heir,” she hurls at me, the anger of her words like nails she wants to rake down my face. “What did you ever give him other than a gilded cunt?”

My ribbons squeeze so hard around me that they nearly cut off my air.

What did I give him?

A queen. A kingdom. A crown.

Immeasurable wealth.

Myself.

But this irate woman standing in front of me, she wouldn’t listen to any of that even if I confessed every sordid piece of it. I can see the truth of that in the sheen in her narrowed eyes, emotions clinging and threatening to spill. Her hate for me is all sharp corners and staggering weight, but beneath it, there’s a bleak fear that I know all too well.

“I’ll see myself out.”

Mist’s face twists. “Yeah, get out!” she snarls, attention flicking to Rissa, who rises to her feet. “I don’t want her in here ever again.”

Rissa murmurs something placating, but I’m halfway across the room already. Whatever it is that she said didn’t settle well, because Mist’s tone goes shrill. “I don’t care. I’m carrying the king’s baby and she’s jealous. She’s jealous that I’m his new favorite!”

I tug open the door and stride out, passing the guards without a word. I just walk. Walk and walk and walk, as if the distance I put between Mist and me will dispel the hostility she spewed.

Before I can reach the end of the corridor, Rissa catches up to me, dress swishing against the floor. She says nothing for a moment, but I find myself falling into step with her as she heads back to the saddle wing, the guards trailing after us.

“Mist is... She’s not in the best place right now,” she finally says.

“You don’t have to apologize for her. I’m not angry.”

Rissa glances at me out of the corner of her eye as if she’s not quite sure she believes me. But it’s true.

Mist doesn’t hate me. Not really. She hates the threat I represent. She’s acting like a cornered animal because she thinks that I can take away her comfort, her safety, her relevancy in Midas’s life. How can I be angry when she thinks I’m going to ruin her life?

With a sigh, I try to shrug off everything from that room, glancing at Rissa as she practically glides down the hall. “How can you stand to wear those Fifth Kingdom corsets?” I ask, changing the subject.

She smirks over at me. “I take small breaths.”

I chuckle a little, grateful that she’s helping me leave behind what just happened with Mist. “It makes your boobs look great, though,” I say, and one of the guards behind us coughs.

Rissa nods. “It really does.”

When we reach the door to the saddle wing, we step inside and leave the guards behind in the hall. My anticipation notches up, curiosity burning to know what she has to tell me. We tuck ourselves into the corner of the empty sitting room, checking first to make sure no one is around.

“I didn’t find any blueprints or maps again last night,” I say immediately.

“And your guard?” she asks, because I’ve already filled her in on that—on my need to bring him along.

I shake my head. “I’ve tried sneaking out to look for him, but the lower levels where I suspect he’s being held are always guarded.”

Her lips turn down with disappointment. “So, basically, this is the same news as yesterday. And the day before that.”

A frustrated sigh escapes me. “I’m trying.”

She holds out a hand. “You do have gold for me at least, don’t you?”

Digging into my pocket, I pull out a gilded leaf and pass it over. She inspects it before tucking it away in her cleavage, and then without preamble, she says, “Well, you’ll be pleased to know that your failure to find the maps or secret passages isn’t a problem any longer. I have a different plan.”

I blink at her. “What do you mean?”

“We don’t need a hidden path away from the guards’ eyes. We’re going to walk right out the front doors of the castle.”