Chapter 13
That afternoon, I made my way to the east wing of the castle, where my mother’s rooms lay. The door to her suite was carved with stags and delicate vines, the deer highlighted with gold leaf.
“Come in,” Mama called when I knocked, her voice light and sweet.
With a fortifying breath, I opened the door and stepped into her parlor. My pinky stub ached as I crossed the threshold, and I absent-mindedly rubbed it as I looked about. I’d never actually set foot in my mother’s rooms, I realized with a pang.
Her lavishly appointed sitting area was easily twice the size of mine, and filled with brocade-upholstered chairs, little tables covered with crystal figurines, and a long settee overflowing with pillows. I had only a moment to notice that the back of the couch was draped with a l
