“All the women will be there… noble ladies, duchesses, ministers’ wives, the queen.
“They will expect you as well.”
I make a face.
“Exactly.”
I drag the blanket over my head. “Why would I march willingly into a room full of women who hate me? That’s not bravery. That’s stupidity.”
“Milady…”
“I’m not going, Nina,” I groan, sinking deeper into the sheets. “I don’t care what the Royal House Ladies’ Tea Day is about. They can drink their tea without me.”
Nina opens her mouth like she’s about to argue again…
But then she pauses.
Her shoulders rise as she inhales sharply.
“The queen specifically instructed that you must join them.”
Everything inside me stops.
The queen.
Not a messenger.
Not a suggestion.
A royal command.
My chest tightens painfully because I finally understand—
