The Bound (Ascension #2)(48)

Maelia!

“Affiliate Maelia,” Jesalyn said with a keen smile. “How nice of you to join us. How does my devious brother fare?”

“He has gone into the city, Your Majesty,” Maelia said meekly.

“Again?” she grumbled. “It’s as if he didn’t come all this way to see me!” Everyone shifted uncomfortably. “He’s so obsessed with finding this Affiliate for Edric. You’d think they were both sleeping with her.”

“Oh, Jesalyn, you are so bad,” a lady seated to her right said.

“What? As if the Byern court is any more pious than our own,” she countered with arched eyebrows. “Dremylon men are notorious.”

Cyrene stiffened at the comment, and Avoca nudged her to remind her to remain calm.

The lady on Jesalyn’s left giggled into her white feather fan and whispered something under her breath.

“Speak up, Salissa,” Jesalyn commanded.

“Sorry. I only said that perhaps it isn’t just the Dremylon men.”

“Salissa! I’m scandalized.” Jesalyn put her hands over her heart, but she was smiling, despite the supposed insult. “Anyway, Affiliate Maelia, please welcome our new guests. They are from the Western banks near Albion. A generous gift from my husband.”

Maelia turned to face them and struggled to keep her face blank.

Finally…finally, they were back together.

It had been so long since Cyrene had seen her friend, and all she wanted to do was run to her and give her a hug. The separation had been more difficult than she had even realized now that she was looking at Maelia. She had left Rhea behind and acquired Avoca along the way, but Maelia really knew what Cyrene had gone through as an Affiliate. They were bonded in their own way because of that.

“Affiliate,” Cyrene said, dropping a curtsy to Maelia that Avoca mirrored.

“Welcome to Court,” Maelia said demurely.

“All three of you, find a seat,” Jesalyn commanded. “We will outfit our guests better for the next time you are in my presence. But, first, I would like Emari to finish her story about Lord Wimberely.”

All the ladies broke out into giggles while Cyrene, Avoca, and Maelia quickly sequestered themselves at the back of the room.





Hours later, Jesalyn finally decided to break to get dressed for dinner, and the girls were free of her for a short time. Maelia lowered her eyes to the ground and then walked out behind the Queen.

Cyrene and Avoca waited for everyone else to leave before they stood and left the Queen’s chambers. The hall was mostly deserted when they emerged, but they kept their heads together and mimicked the indulgent way the other ladies-in-waiting conversed. They followed Maelia back to her room.

Maelia firmly closed the door and then threw her arms around Cyrene. Her cheeks were wet when she pulled back. “I never thought I’d see you again,” she gasped.

“Of course you’d see me again,” Cyrene said. “I could never leave you behind.”

“What happened in the woods and then Strat?” She wiped the tears from her face. “You were there, and then you were gone. The Royal Guard captured Ahlvie and me. Then, they wouldn’t tell me what happened to him.”

“He’s with us,” Cyrene told her. “We got him out, but you were meeting with Kael at the time. There was no way for us to get to you without everyone getting captured.”

Maelia nodded. “I understand. In combat, you always sacrifice one for the sake of many.”

Avoca visibly brightened. “Finally, someone who understands.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t think we were introduced.”

“Oh. Right,” Cyrene said. “This is Avoca. She helped me escape the attack by the Indres and brought me to safety. She and her friend have been with us since Strat.”

Maelia frowned at that news. It had taken her a long time to trust Ahlvie. She had never adjusted to the addition of Orden, and she would surely doubt him even more after finding out what he had hidden from them.

“I’m not sure about bringing on new people, but did you say Indres?” Maelia asked with wide eyes.

“Yes. Turns out myth is coming to be reality,” Cyrene told her.

Maelia shook her head. “This is a lot to take in. Indres and then other people saving you…us.”

“Avoca is a friend,” Cyrene confidently told her. “She knows our mission and has agreed to help.”

“I know that I do not trust easily, but do you not find it convenient that she showed up to help and then brought you to safety?” Maelia asked.

Avoca crossed her arms. “My people live separate from Aurum. We reacted to the threat and got your friend out as fast as we could. We had a military force. I am a soldier. That was my charge, and I completed it. But I will fight for Cyrene, no matter what. Do not insult my honor.”

Maelia stared at her for a moment and then nodded. “I, too, come from a military family. I understand the conviction.” She turned back to Cyrene and looked once more like the lost girl who had helped Cyrene on her first day as an Affiliate. “So, what is the plan?”

“The plan is the same. Get to Eleysia. We have a bit of planning to do beforehand, but we want to make our getaway at the ball.”

“Prince Kael is in the castle. He’s been desperate, looking for you. If he finds out that you’re here, he’ll tear the castle apart, stone by stone, to get to you.”