Free Web NovelChapter 484: Chapter 484
Elka sent for the head maid, Olena, just after dawn.
Elka had not slept. She had lain in the dark with her eyes open, turning her newest plan over and over in her mind until she was certain there were no holes in it she had not already accounted for. By the time the first grey light crept under the curtains, she had made her decision and there was nothing left to do but act on it.
Olena arrived as quickly as she always did. She stepped into the bedchamber and the door closed behind her with a soft click. For a moment the two women simply looked at each other— Elka seated at the edge of the bed, still in her night clothes, and Olena standing near the door with her hands folded and her head dipped in a bow.
"Your highness," Olena greeted.
All night Elka thought about who to approach, whether anyone in this palace could actually be trusted and she kept coming back to Olena.
The morning after her wedding to Hairan, when Elka had stood in the bathing chambers with her body bare and her wounds exposed, Olena had not said a word about what she saw to anyone. She had only tended to Elka’s skin with careful hands. Olena had respected her enough to keep what she saw to herself.
Even when sitting here now with the words ready in her mouth, Elka still hesitated.
She took a deep breath. "Can I trust you, Olena?"
Olena lifted her head. "Yes, your highness. My loyalty is yours."
She said it without pause, and there was nothing but honesty in her voice. Elka nodded slowly. She was not entirely sure or convinced yet but she did not have the luxury of waiting any longer. She had to take action.
So she told her everything. She told Olena about Azul’s blackmail, about the threat that had been hanging over her since before the king had even drawn his last breath. She told her how Azul wanted her to become his mistress in exchange for his silence and that he intended to send her back to her father if she refused.
Olena had seen what her father’s hands were capable of. She had seen it on Elka’s body that very morning, had smoothed ointment over the evidence of it without being asked to look away or pretend she hadn’t noticed.
Finally, Elka told her about the letter that Azul had been holding over her but she intentionally omitted some information and kept the details about the letter vague.
By the time Elka finished, Olena had gone perfectly still and her face was aghast. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"I need you to keep this between us and I need one more thing from you. I need you to retrieve that letter. It would be somewhere in Azul’s chambers, or in a room in the other wing where he and I last spoke. The letter was in a drawer there." Elka said. "I will reward you generously for your assistance." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
The letter had to be in either of those two places. As head maid, Olena carried keys to nearly every door in the palace, and Elka knew that if anyone could move through those rooms without drawing attention, it was her.
Olena was quiet as she contemplated the request. Elka could see the reluctance working across her face as the woman no doubt calculated the risk of such a task and what might happen if she got caught.
Then Olena said, "All right."
"I want it done today," Elka told her. "During the funeral. The palace will be occupied and no one will be watching. If there was ever a time to do it, it’s now."
Olena nodded once. Elka thanked her and dismissed her, and as she sat alone in the quiet room, she listened to the sound of her own breathing until she was able to calm her frayed nerves.
The funeral was held in the great hall and then continued in the palace courtyard, where the court gathered in dark clothes and mournful looks under a pale sky. Elka stood among the royals and kept her posture straight and her expression somber. She made sure she looked the part of a grieving daughter in law even though she and the king were no more than strangers living together.
She was also aware of Azul. He stood with his family, only a few paces away from her and his gaze had been on her for the better part of an hour.
She did not look at him directly but she could always feel when his eyes were on her. His attention was like a red hot brand, searing her skin. It was like he no longer cared who saw or even what they would think if they noticed how brazenly he was watching her.
She focused instead on subtly scanning the crowd for Olena. When the letter was found, the woman was meant to signal Elka.
The ceremony was long but the wait and anticipation made it feel like it had gone on forever.
Court officials took their turns at the front of the gathering to say kind words about the late king that seemed to all blur together in her mind after a while and soon it was hard for her to tell who said what and when. Elka pretended to listen while her mind was with Olena on the other side of the palace.
She spotted Olena near the outer edge of the courtyard sometime later, half-hidden behind one of the columns.
But Olena’s expression already said everything. There was a dejected look on her face, a sight that Elka recognized as the look of someone delivering bad news. Then Olena shook her head once.
Elka felt her heart drop. She forced herself to look away and when she did, she fought to keep her face neutral.
She did not allow herself to react beyond the slight tightening in her chest.
The letter was not there. Azul had moved it, or he had only locked the letter in that drawer momentarily to deceive her of its true location, either way the result was the same.
The plan she spent the night constructing had failed and she was once again back to where she had started, with barely any time on her side.
Which left her with the only other path forward.
She let her gaze drift, and it landed on Azul. He was still watching her. When their eyes met he did not look away, and there was a self-indulgent smirk playing on his lips. Just enough to make his smugness at her situation apparent. He had always been one step ahead of her and had no doubt suspected that she would try to steal the letter.
Elka held his gaze for a while longer before looking away, her thoughts churning.
A half-formed idea came to her right then but it was risky. Riskier than any plan she had ever carried out before but she wasn’t in a position to be picky.
She saw an opportunity to act during the late afternoon and she took it quickly. She moved through the gathering at a measured pace and positioned herself at the entrance to one of the narrower corridors that branched off from the main hall.
Azul came there too, just like Elka knew he would. She had not signaled him to follow but she had known he would notice her leave, and he did.
"I have an answer for you," Elka said once he caught up to her.
Azul tilted his head slightly, waiting.
"But I can’t tell you here, or even today." she said. "The palace is teeming with guests and one of them might overhear us." She kept her voice lowered. "I will meet you tomorrow evening at your private residence outside the city but on one condition."
Interest flickered in his eyes, curious to hear what she had in mind.
"I’ll give you what you want and agree to all your terms," Elka continued. "But in return, you have to bring the letter. The original, along with any other copies you made of it. You hand it to me, and I will be whatever you want me to be. That is the arrangement."
"You’re in no position to set conditions," he said and he did so in a way that suggested he thought her stupid for not understanding that.
"I’m setting one," she replied. "That is all. One condition, and then you get everything you asked for."
"Alright then." He agreed. "Be there tomorrow evening and don’t make me wait."
Elka nodded once and spun on her heels. She kept her head up and didn’t look back at him as she returned back to the courtyard. She could read him enough to understand that his certainty in his own advantage would eventually cause him to lower his guard around her. He thought that because he had the clear upper hand, it meant he would win this battle.
For now she allowed him to think that.
When the funeral concluded, one of the head priests in attendance stepped forward. Once he had gathered everyone’s attention, he recited a prayer for the king, as was customary, before Zeriel’s body was carried to the royal cemetery for burial.
