Does he?
I wouldn’t know.
The little girl whimpers, and I rub her back, trying to soothe her. “What is your name?”
“Lillie,” she says, her voice a fragile whisper—a whisper I will not allow this war to crush.
“Lillie is a beautiful name,” I say softly. “And you’re beautiful.”
Lillie looks up at me with her dirt-streaked face and smiles. My heart melts at her innocence in the face of such turmoil.
As the day carries on, the noise continues, the sounds of destruction and death. I position myself in the corner of the room with Zerah and Lillie. Every time a loud explosion rocks the palace, Lillie jerks awake, and her wide eyes shoot to me. I rub her back and offer her reassuring words, and she falls back to sleep.
Every fiber of my being wants to race from the room, climb the steps to a higher floor, and look out a window, but wisdom cautions me to remain here, safely tucked away.
So, I stay in the corner with Lillie and Zerah and beg Olah for the war to end.
ChapterTwenty-Three
We’re providedmeals by palace guards who refuse to answer our questions. Instead, they bring baskets of food, lower them to the table, and leave.
Even though I understand their reluctance to answer us, I crave knowledge. The craving doesn’t leave me as I spend another day caring for Lillie. She chatters endlessly, as though the noises outside no longer affect her. Maybe she’s grown desensitized to them.
Every day after the guards leave, Zerah marks the walls with a rock to keep count of how long we’ve been here. Fourteen days have passed, fourteen days of war, fear, and cramped quarters.
We’re only provided water every other day to bathe. It’s not nearly enough. I long to bathe in a sea full of herbs.
On the fifteenth day, a guard motions to me. I stand and grab Lillie’s hand, refusing to leave the small child behind.
“Come with me,” he says.
One of the young women moves closer to him. “Have we won?”
He stares at her blankly.
“Please.” Her desperation echoes in her voice. “Have we won?”
“The war continues.” He gestures at me again, and I follow him from the room.
As I trail the guard out of the lower parts of the palace and to the upper floors, my mind whirls with questions. Why am I being summoned?
My stomach coils into tight knots. Maybe everyone knows I am Hakan’s granddaughter, and they will lock me away, or worse. Maybe they will kill me.
I shudder and climb the staircase behind the guard, who keeps a brisk pace.
“Slow down,” I mutter as I tighten my grip on Lillie.
The guard nods and slows enough for me to walk next to him.
Surely, they have not discovered who I really am. Surely, this summoning means nothing. It has to mean nothing.
I’m not ready to die.
Another thought stitches fear deep into my chest. What if this is about Jasce? Maybe he has been hurt, or worse…
My stomach tightens as I push aside those dark thoughts, refusing to believe them.
Finally, we reach a large wooden door that leads to a room full of shadows. A familiar man emerges from the shadows, and my heart thrums in my chest at the sight of him. Instead of armor, Jasce wears a surcoat over pants.
