Thankfully, she had very little time to contemplate the deaths. It was on the tips of everyone's tongues, but she kept herself cloistered in her room, digging through the final pages of Affiliate Lorne's agricultural work. Procession was only a week away, and she had so much to attend to before then.

Two days before she was going to leave on procession, she had all her bags packed and ready to go. The day before, Cyrene had requested an audience with the Queen and she was impatiently awaiting that appointment.

Cyrene couldn't keep from bouncing up and down on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet. It had been nearly six weeks since she was this nervous for anything, but her Presenting already felt like a lifetime ago.

She dressed quickly and simply in a pale blue dress. Then, she plaited her hair back and knotted it into a bun with a navy-blue satin ribbon. She wanted to look presentable but not over the top.

It was unfortunate she hadn't been able to include Maelia in on her plans. Cyrene wanted to make sure all the pieces were in place before discussing it with anyone. If all went according to design, she would be able to tell her this afternoon.

She grabbed her leatherwork folder from her coffee table and traipsed out of the room with her retinue trailing behind her. Cyrene's steps faltered as they entered the typically hectic atrium to the Queen's quarters. The room was almost completely silent, and the few Affiliates who remained in the vacant chambers were s.p.a.ced far apart. No one even gave Cyrene a second glance.

Regaining her confidence, Cyrene hurried across the deserted room to the DIA's small office. She knocked twice and waited.

A moment later, the door opened, and Cyrene tried not to hiss at the figure standing before her.

"Cyrene," Jardana said with a slow poisonous smile.

"Jardana," she said, curtsying politely. "Is Affiliate Catalin not in today?"

"She is with Her Majesty, and I am acting DIA at the moment." She stretched her neck to its limit and stuck her nose in the air, giving her the appearance of a giraffe. "What can I help you with?"

"I sent word yesterday, requesting an audience with the Queen," Cyrene plainly told her.

Jardana fluffed her blonde hair and retreated into Catalin's office. Cyrene had no choice but to follow, leaving the servants in the common room.

"It's simply not possible," Jardana uttered once she had made herself comfortable at Catalin's desk.

"I sent word yesterday."

"The Queen is not well," Jardana said. Her light-blue eyes were wide with concern. "And she will see no one today."

Cyrene's stomach plummeted to the ground. The Queen had to be well. She had done too much already for her not to be able to speak with the Queen. "What is wrong with her?"

Jardana fixed her now cool eyes upon her. "That is hardly your concern. Her Majesty needs some rest. That is all. You may go." She fluttered her manicured slender fingers at Cyrene.

"Very well." Cyrene was determined to find another way in to see the Queen. Jardana was very likely lying. "I'll see you at the procession."

Jardana's eyes narrowed to slits at the words. Until that moment, Cyrene hadn't been certain that Jardana knew that she would be on the King's ship. Jardana's sneer only made Cyrene smile wider.

But when she turned toward the Queen's doors, her elation at besting Jardana slipped away. She couldn't just barge in on the Queen, especially if Jardana had in fact told the truth.

Something banged loudly against the wooden door in the Queen's study, and Cyrene jumped back a pace in shock. The walls were half a foot thick of solid wood, yet she could hear the Queen shrieking. She was trying to make out the words when the door sprang open in front of her.

Affiliate Catalin scrambled out of the room. Her fiery-red hair was even messier than normal with chunks of it pulled out of her braid, giving her a manic appearance.

"Affiliate Catalin," Cyrene chirped.

"Cyrene," she said, barely looking at her.

"You promised me an audience with the Queen," she said loud enough for her voice to carry into the chamber. She knew it was a bad day to address the Queen, but she couldn't go back now.

"I...what? No. No audiences today." Catalin shook her head.

"You promised an audience, Catalin?" Queen Kaliana shrieked, hurling what looked like a small gla.s.s...o...b..at Catalin's head.

Catalin ducked as the gla.s.s flew through the s.p.a.ce where her head had been and exploded against the far wall.

"I wouldn't, Majesty," she whimpered. She rose infinitesimally from her crouched position.

"Oh, let her in, you cow," Queen Kaliana cried. "Get out! Get out of my sight!"

Catalin hurried to obey orders and murmured softly to Cyrene, "You want her. You can have her. May the Creator be with you."

Creator, give me strength.

Cyrene entered. The Queen's face was paler than normal, and her eyes were rimmed with red, as if she had been crying. Her perfect blonde hair fell loose from her bun, and a few strands framed her face. She looked younger and more vulnerable. However, the set of her ice-blue eyes revealed the Queen was otherwise unchanged.

Cyrene stopped before Queen Kaliana's desk and curtsied. The four servant girls, who had been standing away from the cross fire, followed after Cyrene. The first girl walked forward, and without hesitation, she placed a rather large stack of papers near the front of Queen Kaliana's desk.

"What is this about?" Queen Kaliana asked as the woman turned and went back to stand by the other girls.

The next three girls placed an equally large pile of paperwork on the Queen's desk. When they were finished, the women curtsied deeply for the Queen and whispered their formalities before disappearing behind the wooden door.

"What in the name of the Creator is all of this?" Queen Kaliana glowered openly at Cyrene.

"My report, Your Majesty." Cyrene sauntered forward and placed the stuffed leather folder on top of the wall of paperwork.

"Your report on what?"

"On Affiliate Lorne's life's work regarding foreign crop development. You will find a full detailed list of everything that she studied that could be of use to Byern. Also, in advance, I constructed a plan of implementation for several of the more important foreign agricultural developments."

"You've only been here a couple of weeks," the Queen said.

"Six weeks," Cyrene informed her. "And I've completed everything you requested of me with satisfaction."

"Mmm," Queen Kaliana said noncommittally.

Cyrene took a deep breath. "I would like to request a leave of absence."

Queen Kaliana's mouth was agape, and her blue eyes stared uncomprehendingly. As quickly as the surprise registered, it pa.s.sed, and she once again resumed her regal authority.

"You wish to be granted a leave of absence?" the Queen asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"What exactly do you need this leave for?"

"I need to travel to further the interests of Affiliate Lorne." She kept her voice level and controlled.

"The interests of a dead woman?" the Queen asked incredulously.

"She was unable to travel to the distant lands she researched to study the crops in their natural habitat, and if I am to become an expert on foreign crop development, I need leave to visit these locales," she told the Queen as pa.s.sively as she could muster. Her palms sweated as the lie slipped from her mouth, but she refrained from wiping them against her dress.

"Affiliate Lorne did quite well without ever leaving Byern, did she not?"

"She succeeded beyond measure," Cyrene began.

Queen Kaliana smiled.

Cyrene continued, "For someone who was not afforded the opportunity to fully study the subject she was enthralled with."

"No." Queen Kaliana leaned back into her enormous rosewood chair.

"What?" Cyrene asked, losing all sense of formality.

"You have my answer, Cyrene. You may not have a leave of absence. You will journey on the procession bound for Albion tomorrow, and I will continue with your training and education henceforth." She crossed her hands over her stomach.

"But, Your Majesty, I must leave Byern to study-"

"Cyrene! Have we not discussed your back talking previously? You will do what I say as I am your Queen and your Receiver."

Cyrene's stomach turned as she remembered her Ring of Gardens ceremony when Edric had moved her to Third Cla.s.s based on such a statement.

"Of course, Your Majesty, but may I ask why you will not let me leave?" She knew the Queen begrudged her because of the King's affection, but it could only benefit the Queen to send her away.

Queen Kaliana shakily rose to her feet, pressing her hands on the edge of her desk. Streaks of blonde flew before her eyes as she leaned forward and pursed her lips. "I need no reason," she said cold and steady. "I am your Receiver, your Queen. You do as I say. When I command you to remain in Byern and never leave the city, you curtsy and smile like the good little girl you are. When I demand you study foreign crop development, you study the material until I tell you that you are finished." Queen Kaliana shoved the paperwork off the desk, letting it scatter aimlessly across the open floor around Cyrene's feet. "Do I make myself clear?"

Cyrene's eyes never wavered from the surge of hate radiating from the Queen. She kept her head level and her chin slightly raised, as if she would not succ.u.mb to the Queen's torments. She had been through worse, lost in a nightmare while trapped in the recesses of the castle's underworld. They had thought they would break her, but she had survived and come out stronger than ever.

"Very," Cyrene said.

"You're dismissed." Queen Kaliana collapsed back into her chair. "Send in that vapid woman, Catalin, on your way out."

"Yes, Your Majesty." She gritted her teeth as she curtsied, walked across the paperwork she had slaved over for hours, and left the Queen's quarters.

Cyrene was seething.

The thought of being alone in her room debilitated her, and she made her way toward an open window to gaze out across the garden grounds. She tried to find composure from the Queen's outburst, but none came to her.

Knowing that Maelia typically studied medicinal herbs this time of day, Cyrene skipped down the stairs in search of her friend. It was about time to clue her in on Cyrene's plans.

After striding down a row of twelve-foot bushes, Cyrene came to a stop at the rustic metal gate blocking the entrance to the medicinal gardens. Her hands trembled as she unlatched the gate. She sighed before pulling it open, and she peered inside the garden looking for Maelia.

Her heart stopped when she saw the Prince first. What is he doing here?

She eased back out. The last person she wanted to run into when her temper was high was Prince Kael.

Narrowing her eyes, she looked past him and saw Maelia's pale face staring up at him. Her face was a mask, but then again, it always was. A lump formed in Cyrene's throat at the thought of the Prince trying any of his antics on her friend. Cyrene was a tempest ready to unleash at the drop of a hat, but Maelia was so timid. She obeyed authority like any militaristic Second. Cyrene would throw a fit if he used that to his advantage, and the man used everything to his advantage.

Whatever they were discussing had clearly come to a close, and before Cyrene knew it, Prince Kael was advancing directly toward her at the exit.

Taking the handle in his hand, the Prince wrenched the gate open. "Affiliate," he said with a smile as he angled around her.

"Prince," she murmured, holding back her rage.

He hadn't done anything yet. She could handle this.

"Are you ready for the procession? On the King's ship, no less." A muscle twitched in his jaw.

He was jealous. She would have laughed at him if she wasn't in such a wretched mood.

"I'm so fortunate."

"I'd say my brother is the fortunate one."

"He is the King."

"I was right." He took another step around her.

"About what?" She edged out of his way.

"That I wouldn't be the only one courting you," he responded with a smirk.

Her mind flashed back to her first night in the castle, and she shuddered. She couldn't believe he was even bringing it up again.

"No one is courting me," she responded through gritted teeth. "Least of all your brother."

Prince Kael chuckled. He bridged the distance between them. Cyrene stood stiff, wanting nothing more than to wipe the smirk clear off his face.

"My brother was raised alongside me. He is a courtier through and through." He softly ran his hand across her cheek. "You'll do well to remember that."

Cyrene turned her face away from him. "Good day, Prince Kael."

"It always is when I see you," he said as he strode away.

Cyrene forced herself to take a deep breath before entering the garden.

Maelia quickly turned around and broke into a smile. "Good to see you, Cyrene."

"Did you see the Prince?"

"Yes, he was just in here," Maelia said.

"What did he want?"

"He was discussing the procession with me," she said.

"Why? I've never seen you two speak before."