My Dear Traitor

Episode 6

As I slipped inside unnoticed, I managed to casually proceed through the working spaces, nodding to a few neighbors I knew from outside the walls. Two of them shook their heads at me and smirked once they recognized me, but I knew they wouldn’t call the guards or throw me out themselves.

As I proceeded farther into the palace, I held my head high and my shoulders back. I knew from experience that if you acted like you belonged here and walked around with purpose no one would question you. I managed to integrate myself into a group of ladies walking casually past me down one of the long, narrow halls. I knew just enough about the layout of this place to know that we were heading into the reception hall.

Every bone in my body wanted to scream that trouble was pulling up onto our shores. I felt anxiety building up in my limbs and did my best not to appear antsy. No one here seemed to be truly worried or anxious about the incoming threat. Perhaps they didn’t know, but it was more likely that they were just wearing their proper courtier’s masks.

As the ladies and I entered the hall, my breath was taken away like usual. The opulence was astounding to me and a bit of a culture shock considering my life outside the city walls. The last time I had stood here, my brother and I were pleading with one of the King’s advisors to look into the murders of our parents. Though the years had passed by, the gold and silver still shined just as brightly as I remembered, the floors were still impeccably clean, and the shining, beautiful faces of the courtiers were all exactly the same.

As I took in my surroundings in awe, my eyes landed on the seated royal family. The king- with his long, raven black hair and striking red eyes- looked like a fierce bear stirred from hibernation by a pestering nuisance. It had been years since he had had a reason to don his armor against an enemy, and yet it fit him as if he had never taken it off. His oldest son and heir, Zarick, looked regal and intimidating. He wore a deep grey cloak and had his swords strapped across his back so that I could see their handles on either side of his head. His form was lean and his features were sharp. I hadn’t realized I had been ogling the man he had become since the last time I saw him. Then those fiery eyes landed on me as if he could feel my stare.

Though I had seen him before as a young girl, I still found his gaze to be startling just like his father’s- a trait that I was told by Elwin served both of them well when fighting. That startling gaze raked over my body languidly and landed back on my face. I felt flames erupt in my cheeks and was so sure that I had been caught out as someone who didn’t belong here. All I could hear was the pounding of my blood in my ears, and I truly felt like I might faint.

I shook my head slightly and let out a small, wry chuckle, trying to get myself under control. I could see how those eyes would benefit a man in battle. They were alarming and disarming all at once, especially when that gaze crashed into yours. I managed to inconspicuously take a few more steps back into the shadows and made my way toward the chamber doors.

I chanced a quick glance back to see if Zarick’s hot gaze was tracking me. It was best for me to try to avoid any unnecessary attention, especially the attention of the Prince, and I wanted to be sure his gaze had passed over me.

That was my mistake.