Chapter 42

In a dim room, a lean man bent over in quiet laughter. “It won’t be long now.” The room was in one of the villas at Faris’s royal palace. The villa had been given to his mother, a favorite wife of the king’s, and after her death had become the residence of her son, Prince Roderick. Rumors had spread that the struggle for power had drained the prince of his mental and physical capacity, and no one came to see him anymore. No one except them. “That fool Theophilis doesn’t seem to realize he’s being deceived, and pesky Alexandra will be burned alive before she sees the sun again. I hear that Ulysses is growing weak. Let’s beat a healthy sense of fear into the boy so he doesn’t resist when we bring him back to Faris. Just don’t give him scars anyone will see. He is our darling future king, after all.” Roderick curled up his lips and tilted the glass of blood-red liquid in his hand. “Speaking of which, I read the report from Adelbide. A low-ranking noble girl has been sniffing around, has she?” “We have taken appropriate measures.” The man who answered was in the prime of life. He had insinuated himself with Theophilis, earning a reputation as an outstanding aide. However, he had a tattoo of the sun behind his left ear—he was a liaison with Daeg Gallus. The truth was, Roderick didn’t know much about that frightening organization. His mother was the one who had arranged the contract with them. The enormous fee was to be paid after Adelbide had safely become a territory of Faris. Everything he had now, he had received from his mother, Anna. She had been of low rank, but she had used her beautiful face and body to protect Roderick. The hawkish chancellor was among her gifts. He pretended to support Theophilis, but in truth he was Roderick’s man. He had been one of his mother’s lovers. “Very well. I’m sure you chose someone skilled for the job.” The man gave a slow nod. “Only the best. He is a man who can pick and choose between a hundred faces.” Why was this happening? The girl stared up at her ceiling. Today, a new doctor was supposed to come. Her maid, Marissa, had said he was a famous doctor skilled in treating illnesses of the mind. She wondered how much money her father had spent this time. Was it because he feared a scandal or because he doted on his youngest child? She supposed it didn’t matter. How stupid, she thought with a twisted smile. The maid showed the doctor, or whoever he was, into the room. He was a hunchbacked old man. The girl glanced at him without getting up from her bed. He said his name was James. He told the other maids in the room to step back. He said if they didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to gain the girl’s confidence. Maybe because he looked like a weak old man, they obeyed his order meekly. Of course, they stayed in the room, where they could rush to her aid if need be, but moved far enough away so they couldn’t hear the conversation. “What a relief,” Dr. James said with an amiable smile. “Your mind is just fine. It is simply locked tight for safekeeping. Isn’t that so?” She said nothing, just as she had said nothing to the many doctors who had come before. If she sat there long enough, looking like a hollow doll, they all eventually gave up and left. But this old man was different. “Wouldn’t you like to get revenge?” Suddenly the doctor’s tone changed. Instead of a hoarse old man, he sounded young. She turned her eyes slowly toward him. He nodded knowingly. “Yes, revenge. Revenge on the girl who made you like this—Constance Grail.” Constance Grail. The instant she heard that name, her entire body grew hot, as if the blood in her veins were boiling. Before she knew it, she’d sat up and was staring at the old man like she wanted to leap at him. “What do you mean?” “Calm down. I’m on your side, Pamela Francis.” The man smiled. She noticed that he had a very unusual feature—two black dots in his eye.