Chapter 9

Senka

Iwoke to a gentle knock at the door the next morning. Light shone through the heavy velvet drapes that parted to form an open balcony. Birds were chirping in the distance, and the room was comfortably warm, unlike my closet of a room back at The Smoke.

Before I could get out of bed, Valera was there, cracking it open and murmuring to whoever was on the other side. I couldn"t see who it was, but they simply handed her a piece of paper and left.

Slipping on my nightgown that hung beside the bed, I made my way to Valera, who was reading the note. Her lips twisted into a smile as her eyes flickered up at me.

"Well, good afternoon, my lady," she drawled with an exaggerated curtsey. "It"s nice of you to grace us with your glowing presence."

"You"re hilarious this morning," I said with a snort, ripping the paper from her hands. "And don"t ever call me a fucking lady again unless we"re outside of this room." I feigned a shiver of revulsion, and she just laughed.

The note was a summons to report to a tea parlor for a face-to-face, one-on-one meeting with Prince Baz. It was written in such a way that I could tell an identical one had been sent to each of the contestants, with a different meeting time written in the corner.

"You need to get yourself ready before you"re late meeting the prince," Valera said, heading to the wardrobe in the corner of the room.

She pulled out a simple black day dress and a matching pair of slippers and laid them out on the bed.

I arched a brow at my friend. "You know you"re not really my lady"s maid, right? I think I can dress myself just fine."

She gave me a sideways look. "You were the one who asked me to play the part. The least you can do is let me do that. If I don"t keep myself busy, I"m going to die of boredom."

I fingered the soft material of the dress. "You always did have better fashion sense than me."

She huffed a laugh, tipping her nose in the air. "If it were up to you, you"d wear your hood and mask to your meeting. Honestly, Senka, I don"t know what you"d do without me here."

I smirked. "I knew you"d see it my way eventually. All of that paranoia yesterday was for nothing."

Narrowing her eyes, she shooed me into the bathing chamber just off the main room. "Go wash yourself, or his royal highness might just smell you before he sees you."

I gasped, feigning offense as I let her push me out of the room. "How dare you offend your lady! I"ll have you whipped for that!"

"A whipping would be a mercy compared to the havoc you"re about to wreak on my life during this damn pageant," she muttered.

With a dramatic flourish, she slammed the door shut to the bathing chambers, her laughter echoing through the room.

After finishing my bath, I stepped out onto the plush carpet of my dressing room. Valera was waiting for me, holding a tray with various pots and brushes.

"Time to work some magic of my own," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she rubbed her palms together.

I sat down on the ornate stool hesitantly as she began skillfully applying cosmetics to my skin, eyes, and lips, enhancing my features without making it seem obvious. I"d worn it all before with my many disguises, especially on longer missions that required a stealthy con, but I hated the stuff. My eyes felt heavy, painted with black kohl, and my lips tasted like salve.

Once satisfied with her work, Valera started styling my hair into an elegant updo adorned with intricate braids that instantly removed the heat that had beads of sweat dripping down the nape of my neck.

Nerves made my stomach twist and turn, and the feeling wasn"t familiar. My missions were usually on my terms, and I very rarely had to thrust myself into the center of attention in order to complete them. This was different. This was the prince. If he discovered who I really was, I"d be hanged for my crimes, or worse, I might get both Wolfe and Valera hung too.

The thought made my mouth turn bitter as I fought to keep the sudden worry out of my eyes. I didn"t want Valera to worry about anything. She was already nervous about being here in the first place. I had to maintain the illusion that I had everything together. And I did. I just needed to get through my first full day as Lady Senka, and everything else would follow.

As she worked, I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. The girl staring back at me bore little resemblance to the street urchin I once was. With Valera"s help, I had transformed into a lady fit for a prince"s attention. But beneath this facade, there was a monster.

A sudden knock on the door startled us both. Valera"s eyes widened in alarm, and I shot her a reassuring look before getting up from the stool and smoothing down my gown. My heart raced as I approached the door, each step echoing loudly in the tense silence of the chamber.

With a deep breath, I opened the door to reveal a servant standing in the hallway. "His Highness, Prince Baz, requests Lady Senka"s presence in his private parlor immediately," the servant announced with a bow before stepping aside to let me pass.

I exchanged a quick glance with Valera, who gave me an encouraging nod. I stepped into the corridor and found Wolfe already waiting for me with his hands clasped behind his back like any proper lady"s guard. Since we had an audience, I didn"t bother smirking at him like I wanted to. I just smiled sweetly at the servant.

The palace was quiet today. Many of the contestant's family members had already left, leaving empty halls with the occasional fluttering maid scurrying in and out of bedrooms and offices. My footsteps echoed off of the vaulted ceilings purposefully. I"d never made so much damn noise in my life.

After quite a trek, we reached a room in the north tower. A double mahogany door opened up into a spacious parlor, its walls covered in bookshelves. There was a writing desk on the far side of the room and a sitting area next to a hearth, blazing warmly and casting the room in a comfortable glow. It smelled like paper, ink, and embers.

I turned when the sound of doors slamming closed echoed behind me. The servant had locked me in the room, and Wolfe was nowhere to be seen. I frowned once at the door before turning around to find the silhouette of a familiar man standing in front of the flames.

His black hair was even darker than my own, and his orange-hued eyes flickered with every lick of fire as he pinned them on me. We stared at each other in silence for a moment, only heartbeats passing between us.

"Lady Senka," his voice rang through the room. Deep and gravelly. He stood so still that I could barely tell he was breathing.

I curtseyed, still feeling incredibly awkward doing so, and had to fight the urge to either scowl or laugh at the absurdity. Someone like me had no business breathing the same air as Prince Baz.

"Your highness." I met his eyes, keeping my posture straight and my voice steady and unwavering. This was the rogue prince, and nothing less than perfection would win his favor.

"Why don"t we forget the pleasantries and get right down to what I need to know from you." he said curtly. I"d expected this. He took a single step away from the fire, the shadows falling from his face. "You and I have met before. I"d never forget those eyes that burn silver."

As he approached me with calculated steps, I could sense the tension crackling in the air between us. The prince was known for his unpredictability, his quick temper matched only by his cunning intellect. I knew I had to tread carefully if I wanted to survive this interrogation.

I nodded, pretending to look slightly embarrassed. "I was hoping you"d forget after all these years, highness."

Stopping only a few paces away, he ran his eyes over me slowly. "Call me Baz when we"re in private, Senka. That"s an order, not a suggestion."

I could see a glint of something unfamiliar in his eyes—was it amusement? Or perhaps something more dangerous. I swallowed hard, trying to maintain my composure even as his proximity set my nerves alight.

"As you wish…Baz," I replied, careful to keep my voice light and unsuspecting. "Should we sit?" I gestured to the two chairs that faced one another with a small tea table between them.

His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer before he turned away, walking back towards the crackling flames. I followed him with my eyes, watching the play of light and shadow across his features.

When he turned back around, he'd wiped that peculiar expression off of his face and replaced it with one of cold detachment as he gestured for me to sit. He took his place opposite me, the silence so heavy that it weighed on my shoulders.

"You probably want answers," I said, breaking the tension. Or trying to.

From everything I'd observed of the prince, he wasn't much for nonsense or flowery pleasantries. He was rough, brutal, and cynical. He"d see right through me if I wasn't careful.

He finally broke the tense silence. "What were you doing on that ship with grown men chasing after you?" Memories of our last encounter flooded back to him, I could see it replaying in his gaze. "I thought you were a boy at first glance, but now I see I was mistaken. Your eyes are unmistakable." He glared at me, daring me to lie. His gaze traveled up and down my body yet again, searching for any signs of deceit.

There was a fine line between lying and omitting truths. When I was young, the underlord taught me what was probably the most valuable lesson I'd ever learned: the best way to tell a convincing lie was to stay as close to the truth as you could.

I looked away, peering down at the fire. "It was a long time ago. My father failed to settle up on his gambling debts, and when they came to collect, they decided he would pay with his life."

It wasn't a lie. My father, Lord of the Ashwater, had a gambling problem. He was a good man but terrible at managing finances. Baz was frowning, rubbing his chin as he listened.

"The men he owed were headhunters from the Rordan Strait."

Baz cursed under his breath, his jaw clenching slightly. The Rordan Strait was impassable unless you were there to trade or gamble. Once you passed through, you would reach a village where slaves were sold in auctions.

Most of them were prisoners of the empire or undesirables who owed too much money to pay off in a single lifetime. They were sent to Rordan to work off their debts, but most of them died in servitude.

"They decided that rather than killing him, they'd take his children instead and sell us off for the exact amount my father owed."

I remembered crouching beneath the floorboards of our estate, where there was a wine cellar in the kitchen beneath a rug. I could hear the footsteps of the men sent to intimidate my father. They'd ransacked our home, kicking out our staff and sending them running for their lives.

"The boy that was with you. He was your brother?" Baz asked, neither kind nor unkind. It was hard to get a read on this man.

I nodded. "His name was Beau."

Was.

That word rang out in my head like it always did. I never spoke of my brother. Of the day he slipped through my fingers. The day I failed to protect him when he needed me the most.

"What happened after I let you escape?" he asked.

So many things happened in so little time. It was a blur, really. A blur of sounds, screams, and the sight of Beau's dark eyes, wide and full of tears before I'd lost consciousness.

Baz must have seen the answer in my eyes, because he didn't ask me again. I could feel him staring at me as I stared into the fire, memories of that day haunting me even after all these years. Even after all I'd done.

"He was my twin. My equal and my best friend. He didn't deserve what happened to him. It should have been me."

We were silent for a few minutes. Baz was a man of few words, which was more than fine with me. Some people chose to fill every stretch of silence with babble. I avoided those people. Unless it was Valera. I could listen to her scientific babble all day long and be entertained.

"And your mother?" Baz asked finally.

"They're both alive, obviously, hence why I'm here and not lording over the Ashwater myself." My words were clipped. My parents were alive, but I hadn't bothered returning home. I had no intention of ever seeing them again.

I wasn't going to tell the prince that. As far as he needed to know, I was the daughter of an unimportant lord and lady from the islands who were bad at managing money.

"I never had the chance to thank you," I said, my voice softening by force. He just blinked at me. "You gave us a chance to escape that day. If it weren"t for your kindness, I might not even be here to win your affections."

He arched a dark brow. "Is that what you're doing here, Lady Senka? Are you trying to win my affections?"

"Why else would I have come all this way?"

Baz"s lips quirked into a small smile. "Perhaps you came for the grandeur of the palace, or the allure of courtly life," he suggested, his tone oddly teasing.

I resisted the urge to look away, to shield myself from his penetrating observation. Instead, I held his stare and let a genuine smile tug at the corner of my lips. "Or maybe I came for you." I let my eyes roam his body lazily.

He huffed a small laugh, still rubbing at the stubble on his chin. "You're going to make this pageant very interesting, I think."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"We'll find out, I suppose. Personally, I'm looking forward to it."

Before I could respond, the heavy doors to the parlor swung open, revealing a member of the Tonne, clad in black armor, who bowed deeply before speaking. "My apologies for the interruption. There is urgent news."

Baz"s expression shifted in an instant, all traces of amusement vanishing as he straightened in his seat. "What news?"

The man hesitated, his eyes flickering at me for a moment, before continuing. He cleared his throat, as if nervous. "They say Red Sam has been spotted in Saltburn. They're asking for aid. You're needed in the small council right away."

There was a pause and a heavy silence. My stomach clenched, and my mouth dried up.

Red Sam.

It was the last thing I'd expected to come out of the man's mouth. Red Sam was a weapon of war. A blood sickness created by an unruly god-blood who could manifest an incurable illness from nothing.

But that'd been over three hundred years ago.

A steely glint entered Baz"s eyes as he rose from his seat, every inch the warrior prince of.

He turned to me briefly, his mind already elsewhere. "It seems our conversation will have to wait a little longer, Lady Senka."