A Queen of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 4)

“Hadriel, sire,” Calia helped. “Hadriel the butler.”

“He’s the advisor now,” Dessia said softly.

“Oh yes, that’s right.” Calia laughed. “He’s the queen’s advisor now. In addition to the former queen, of course.”

Starvos’s eyes sparkled. “Former Queen Arleth, yes. Yes, I remember her. Lovely woman. I always had a great time chatting with her. Anyway, Had…”

“Hadriel and Leala, the lady’s maid,” Calia supplied patiently. “They were both key players in getting us all communicating so Finley could get us out of the dungeon.”

The king waved it all away. “Yes, yes. Fine. Nyfain, I hope you don’t mind, but we’d like to extend the invitation to the servants Calia mentioned. The ones who were integral to her escape. Then there are the other prisoners from the dungeons…” He let his sentence linger.

“I’ll make sure one and all are at your disposal,” I replied, stepping around Finley so that I could bow. “I waited until recently to hear all of their stories. I wanted to have the information fresh in my mind. It is not easy to hear. Not even for a man who was trapped in hell for sixteen years while his kingdom died around him. You might want to take it in doses. And you’ll want to do it in privacy.”

His eyes were clear as they took my measure. He’d know what I meant. If he planned to do anything with the information, he’d want to guard it. Every court as old as his had leaks. When one was found and plugged, another invariably popped open. If he planned to take on the demons, he’d want to safeguard every scrap of information.

He stood, and after a moment, so did the queen. She followed him off the dais with a stiff back and jaw, her eyes tight. Calia turned back to us with a smile.

“I’ll take you to your rooms.”

Finley was quiet as we walked, taking in the various paintings and décor, her hand held tightly in mine. Once in our room, we found Leala and Urien putting away our things and Hadriel yelling into the room from the balcony. After Calia said her goodbyes and promised she’d see us tomorrow, she closed the door behind us.

“You okay?” I asked Finley, running my fingertips down the middle of her back, grazing her warm skin.

She stared off at nothing for a moment, drawing Leala’s attention. “You knew,” she said, leaning against me.

“About Calia?”

She nodded.

“Yes. I had a feeling she was intentionally being obvious about her position to tip us off.”

“Obvious to whom?” Finley shot me a scowl. “I had no idea.” She braced her hands on her hips and turned to Leala. “Did you know Calia was a spy?”

Leala’s expression was guarded. “I heard a rumor, but I didn’t realize you were in the dark.”

“What— Oh, Finley, you’re back.” Hadriel’s eyes narrowed. “Uh-oh, what did I miss? What happened?”

“Finley just learned that Calia is a spy,” Leala murmured.

“Did everyone know?” Finley asked in a surge of anger. “Was I the only idiot?”

“Goddess goose me, no.” Hadriel put up his hands and walked forward before giving me a wary look and halting.

I took that as my cue to cross the room and check out the various amenities. This kingdom had always loved their luxuries, and after going so long without such small comforts, I could do with all they had to offer.

“The staff had no idea, trust me.” He patted her shoulder and then led her to the dressing table, where Leala stepped in behind her and started undoing her hair. “They should’ve known, too, because they’ve been in other courts before. They’re clearly rusty. She visited Cecil and learned a great deal, mostly about stuff that probably made her blush, but didn’t give him much in return. That’s a real tip-off. Cecil is a master at knifing information out of people. He says these absurd things with only a kernel of truth in them just to get a rise out of you. He likes to tell all sorts of stories about me in particular, and I swear—”

“Get to the point, Hadriel,” Leala admonished.

“Right, right. Yes, sorry. Anyway, I clued in and told Leala, and she clued in, but not many other people knew.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” Finley asked.

“Because of me,” I said. “You needed to learn this lesson, sweetheart. As we continue to socialize with other courts, you’re going to meet people you like and want to be friends with. You need to remember, though, that you have a duty and, more importantly, they have a duty. You can be friends with Calia, but if you do, you’ll need to remember that anything you say will work its way back to this kingdom. There are no secrets between you two. None. Not unless you hold one of her secrets to assure her silence. Royalty deals in secrets and lies, always. You need to be very slow to trust, and even then, always keep your eyes open.”