“I thought you might like to have a wash before we arrive, my lady.” She glances at my face and I wonder if I look as awful as I feel.
The girl can’t be much younger than me. Perhaps sixteen or seventeen. Her skin is smooth and milky, her eyes a beautiful shade of violet. Her lips are pale rose and full, boasting tiny laugh lines at the corners. Her smile is sweet and genuine.
She holds out the towels to me expectantly. I rise slowly but make no move to approach. “Who are you?”
“My name is Alesta. I’ve been chosen to have the honor of serving you, my lady.” Her voice is high and pleasant, like the trilling of a songbird.
She stares at me with underserved awe. I shift uncomfortably. “There is no honor in serving a prisoner.”
Her brow furrows with confusion. “I do not understand. Commander Drakon never said—”
“Of course he didn’t.” I sigh, sinking down onto the edge of the bed. I rub my temples, wishing the droning hum would cease. “He wants people to think I came willingly.”
“You didn’t?” she whispers.
When I look up, I’m surprised to see moisture in her eyes. What is with these people?
I bite back a cutting remark. “When will I be presented to the king?”
“Oh.” A flush rises along her cheeks. “That will be within the hour.”
“An hour?” I gasp. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Nearly three days, my lady. The commander ordered that you be left alone, so I have been waiting for you to wake.”
“Three days,” I whisper, closing my eyes as I press my hands against my stomach. Bastien.
I open my eyes and rise swiftly. “A friend came with me onto the ship. A boy. Dark hair. About a foot taller than me. Did you see him?”
She hesitates, shifting her gaze. I quickly close the gap between us and force myself to touch her hand. “Please. He means a lot to me.”
Alesta scrunches up her mouth, debating. “I’m not supposed to say…”
I take a calming breath, forcing myself to stop and think instead of just react. I’m in Drakon’s territory now. His ship. His rules. But that doesn’t mean I can’t bend them.
“Why do you call me my lady?” I ask.
Her eyes widen. “Because you are to be my queen.”
“And does that mean you must serve me? Do as I ask?”
She nods her head enthusiastically, eager to serve. I smile. “Good. Then I require to know the whereabouts of my friend.”
“I…” Alesta pales and lowers her head. “He is down by the engine room. No one is allowed in apart from the commander. I know nothing else.”
“Have you seen him?” I press.
Tiny ringlets of mahogany bounce about her face as she shakes her head. “No, but I have heard… screams.”
My hand slips away from her as I clench my fingers into fists at my sides. Alesta raises her gaze to meet mine, and I realize she is a couple inches shorter than me, petite and beautiful. “Thank you, Alesta,” I manage to say before turning my back on her.
“The commander spent little time with him, though,” she says in a rush, almost as if she needs to please me. “He had to see to preparations for your arrival.”
“Is my friend hurt?”
She hesitates. “Not as bad as he could’ve been.”
I can feel my anger swirling with maddening speed. I twist my wrist, clenching my fingers. The sound of crumpling metal beside me startles Alesta. Her tiny hands cling to my arm as she steps away from the demolished closet door. “How did you—”
“It doesn’t matter. What will happen to him when we arrive?” I glance back at her over my shoulder.
“He’ll be taken before the king. His fate will be decided then.”
I don’t like the way that sounds. No doubt Drakon will plead for Bastien to be turned over to him. And I… Will I even remember who Bastien is to claim him for myself?
“I need clothes.” I turn to look at her and see fright mingled with awe. It makes me sick. “Alesta. Focus.”
Her hands tremble as she holds out the towel. “You need to wash first.”
“I don’t have time—” But this time she is the one who cuts me off. I’m not sure where the commanding voice comes from in such a small body, but she manages to make me pause. “I am here to assist you in preparations to be presented to the king. If I do not, I will lose my head.”
I blink. “Literally?”
She nods solemnly. “The king does not like disappointment.”
I blow out a weighted sigh, shaking my head. My heart yearns to go to Bastien, to free him from the chains Drakon has bound him in, but I can’t just leave this girl to the king’s mercy either. She is my people, one of the people I gave Bastien up for in the first place.