54

My maidservants and I made it back to my room thankfully undisturbed. Once Amity had locked the door behind me, she took the shawl and sighed. “We were so worried last night, milady,” she said. “We heard what happened at the ball.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ll explain.”

“You needn’t explain,” Rue said, “we’re just glad you’re all right.”

That only made me feel worse. “Thank you,” I said quietly. “Would you mind if I took a bath?”

“Of course not,” Amity said. “Rue, would you fetch Lady Reyna some breakfast?”

“Certainly.” Rue opened the door, then shifted back into her wolf form to traverse the halls.

Amity ran the bath, and I shed the servant’s dress and climbed in gratefully. The heat immediately soothed my sore muscles. I hurried to wash off the dirt and sweat that had accumulated from the running. There was even dirt under my toenails. Once the worst of it was off, and I was soaking, Amity poured clean hot water over my hair and began to carefully work her fingers through the tangles.

“Are you sure you’re all right, milady?” she asked. “I don’t mean to pry, but the girls in the kitchen said you looked a bit frightened when you left the ball yesterday.”

“That’s a polite way of putting it,” I murmured. Frightened was an understatement. I’d felt crazed when I’d barreled out of the private room—I couldn’t imagine how I looked, wild-eyed and snapping my jaws as I frantically searched for the exit.

Ugh. I’d have to face the council again. The thought made my stomach turn.

But word had traveled fast around the servants. If gossip moved like that…maybe they knew something.

“Can you keep a secret?” I asked.

“It’s a major part of the job,” Amity said. “Of course.”

“Something strange happened last night,” I said. “I think someone drugged me.”

Her hands stilled briefly, and then continued working. “Why do you think so?” she asked.

Rue stepped into the bathroom. “Milady, would you like a coffee while you soak?”

“Oh, yes, please,” I said. I took the warm mug gratefully from her hands and took a sip as Amity’s skilled fingers continued to work through my hair. Rue, sensing something in the conversation, lingered.

“I only had a single glass of wine,” I continued, “but it made me sick. Dizzy. And it loosened my tongue far too much. But it was brought to me, specifically, a single glass.” Amity and Rue exchanged a glance.

“What is it?” I asked. “Do you two have an idea of who might do this? It had to be—it had to be something. It couldn’t be just the wine. I don’t drink much, but this wasn’t just drunkenness. It was something else.”

Amity rinsed the shampoo from my hair. Rue sighed.

“Please,” I said. “I just—I’m just afraid.”

“I don’t know for sure,” Rue said, “but I heard people talking. About Ulfric trying to do something like this.”

“Ulfric?” I asked.

“A cousin of Rona’s,” Amity said.

“But it doesn’t make sense, does it, Amity?” Rue asked. “That method.” Amity nodded. “I thought the same thing.” “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Wolves of Nightfall are a proud pack,” Rue said. “To try to get revenge in this method…it doesn’t suit a Nightfall wolf.”

Amity nodded in agreement. “Rona’s family were proud of her winning the lottery,” she said. “If

Ulfric was working alone, he would’ve challenged you.”

“Challenged me?” I asked, blinking back my surprise. “A lady?”

Rue nodded. “You proved yourself a worthy competitor. If he really wanted revenge, and to better his family’s standing, he would’ve challenged you formally.” “Plus,” Amity said, “where would he have gotten drugs?” “You two have thought about this a lot,” I said.

“We heard rumors only,” Rue said. “And there’s not much else to do in the kitchens when you’re washing dishes.”

“Drugs are expensive,” Amity said. “Rona’s family can’t afford something like that. The ones that work in the manor provide for their entire family.”

“Ulfric works in the manor?” I asked. Was he the one who had given me the wine? I wished I could remember the face of the servant who had brought me the glass. I’d been so anxious, so wrapped up in my own thoughts, and he’d just been another passing worker in a long string of them.

How many people had I ignored in that way? I pressed my lips together. “I think so,” Rue said. “I haven’t seen him recently.” “Where would he have gotten the drugs?” I asked.

“That I don’t know,” Rue said. “I wish there was more I could do, milady.”

Strangely, I wasn’t even angry at Ulfric. I understood where he’d come from. If his family was as poor as Rue said they were—maybe Rona was their first real chance at a better life. And now she was dead, and I was the high-class lady about to take the role they had hoped for her. I sighed and sank lower in the bath. It was cruel, honestly, to even hold the lottery at all, considering it was all for show. To give a family like that a taste of possibility and then yank it out from underneath them.

I finished bathing and climbed out of the tub, then dressed quickly in one of the plush robes provided. It was much better than the heavy, scratchy cloak—but part of me missed the scent of it. I pushed that thought down.

“Rue, can you do me a favor?” I asked.

“Certainly,” Rue said.

I rummaged around in my trunk and pulled out some of the coins I’d brought with me. Everything so far had been covered by Nightfall—I hadn’t spent a cent. But how much money was a life worth? Impossible to say.