Three Empty Chairs
741 Words
Chapter 3 — Three Empty Chairs
The room fell silent. The only sound was the soft crackle of the fire.
I slowly put the piece of bread back onto the silver plate, leaving dirty gray marks on the crust.
"If they are all dead," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, "why did you let me eat?"
The man didn't move. He stood as still as the stone walls around us.
"Because you were starving," he said. "If I wanted to poison you, I wouldn't waste good chicken."
He stepped back and rested one hand on the hilt of his sword. The movement looked relaxed, but I had a feeling he could draw the blade before I even saw him move.
"My name is Cassian," he said. "I am the Captain of the Bloodguard. From today, I am your shadow until you die or I do."
I stood slowly and wiped the grease from my hands onto my trousers. I hated how easily he blocked the firelight and how much taller he was.
"I don't need a shadow," I said. "I need my knife back, and I need to go home."
"The Lower Ward is no longer your home," Cassian replied. "The girl who lived in the salt-fish alley stopped existing the moment she stepped into that carriage. You are Arianna of House Lowen now, whether you accept it or not."
The name hit me like a punch.
Arianna.
It was the name my mother whispered before she died. After that, nobody ever called me that again. I had been Ari since I was eight. Nobody in the Lower Ward knew my full name.
"My mother was a laundry maid," I said through clenched teeth. "She died from lung-rot."
"Your mother was the daughter of the King's second brother," Cassian said. His eyes never left mine. "She escaped the palace twenty years ago during the Great Purge. She changed her name, but she couldn't change your blood. Right now, your blood is the only thing that matters."
He walked past me, his boots making little sound on the thick rug. When he reached the bed, he pulled back the dark green curtains with one hand.
"The King died three months ago," he said. "He left no direct heir. The crown passes through the royal bloodline."
He looked at me.
"First came Prince Julien. He died after a sudden illness. Then Lord Thomas died in a carriage accident. Lady Clara was next. She fell from the North Tower."
I stared at him.
"They were murdered."
"They were removed," Cassian said. "Now you are the last person left with a claim to the throne."
The firelight caught the sharp lines of his face as he turned toward me.
"Duke Varn controls the Regency Council now. He planned to leave you in the Lower Ward until he found a quiet way to get rid of you."
His voice stayed calm.
"I found you first."
I let out a short laugh that held no humor.
"So you brought me here to save me?"
"To protect you," he said. "And to keep you alive. A living heir is useful. A dead one is not."
He looked toward the door.
"Get some sleep. Tomorrow you will stand before the Court. Every person in that room will be looking for a reason to have you executed before the coronation."
He opened the door.
"Don't give them one."
He walked out without waiting for my answer.
A second later, the lock turned from the outside.
I was alone.
I stood where I was for a long time, listening to the fire as my heart pounded against my ribs.
Then I walked to the bed.
The velvet curtains were softer than anything I had ever touched, but the bed looked more like a coffin than a place to sleep.
I climbed onto the mattress, leaving muddy marks across the silk sheets.
I didn't care.
I wasn't about to sleep like I belonged here.
I reached for the feather pillow, planning to throw it onto the floor so I could sleep with my back against the wall.
As I lifted it, something white caught my eye.
A folded piece of parchment lay hidden underneath.
I grabbed it and unfolded it with shaking hands.
Only one sentence was written across the page in dark ink that smelled faintly of iron.
The fourth chair is already waiting for you in the crypt.
- Writer
