Grace and Fury (Grace and Fury #1)(13)

The pastry turned to dust in her mouth, and she struggled to swallow it. She needed to find out where they’d taken Serina and what was going to happen to her. Nomi had never heard of a woman being caught reading before; she had no idea what the punishment was. But surely someone knew. Serina might be sent to a work camp, or ordered to a factory. Best case, they might let her continue working in the palace in a punishing, menial job. Then at least Nomi could be near her.

She stood slowly, to avoid another dizzy spell, and headed for the door. “Angeline,” she said. “I’d like to speak to Ines.”

Angeline lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry. I’m to take you to get cleaned up.”

Nomi opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. She couldn’t very well storm down corridors demanding to know what had happened to Serina. It wouldn’t help her sister to draw attention to herself. She’d have to wait for the right moment.

“Fine,” she said.

Angeline led Nomi through several empty sitting areas and along a terrace, eventually entering a large room with a vaulted ceiling made of glass, girded with delicate swirls of metal that glinted in the late-afternoon sunlight. A large pool of gently steaming water was sunk into the slate-tiled floor. In the face of such luxury, all Nomi could think of was the small, stained tub in her home, with its creaky pipes and two minutes of hot water a day. Serina had always bathed first—those two minutes had been hers.

Nomi struggled not to cry.

The two other new Graces sat neck-deep in the water as their handmaidens knelt at the edge of the pool to brush out and wash their long hair. In the corner by the door, one of the Superior’s men stood with his back to the room, giving the illusion of privacy.

After Angeline helped remove her wrinkled dress, Nomi lowered herself into the shallow pool, sighing as the warm water enveloped her. While the handmaiden assembled a dizzying array of soaps and lotions, Nomi dunked her hair under the water.

“Ah, our little recluse,” Cassia, the blond one, said when Nomi surfaced. “Missing meals and training on our first day? You’re not worried the Heir will hear of it?”

“No,” Nomi bit out. What did it matter if the Heir was displeased? She had bigger concerns. “My sister, Serina, was taken away this morning. Have you seen her? Or heard anything?”

Cassia affected a concerned frown, her gentian-blue eyes widening. “There were rumors of an… incident. Someone said she’d been removed from the palazzo.”

Removed.

Had they sent Serina back to Lanos? Nomi imagined her arriving home in disgrace. Their parents would shun her. Her prospects for marriage to a wealthy man would evaporate. She’d probably be contracted to the textile factory. Only Renzo would be there to comfort her, but even he would be powerless to help her.

“Who told you that?” Nomi asked.

Cassia shrugged, sending ripples along the surface of the glowing pool. “One of the Superior’s Graces. Rosario seems to know everyone’s secrets here.”

“Not everyone’s,” Maris muttered. The girl’s black hair was swept back, revealing broad cheekbones, ivory skin, and luminous brown eyes. When she noticed Nomi looking at her, she said, more clearly, “Rosario didn’t know if your sister was ill, or if she’d done something wrong. Is she okay?”

A sharp pain slashed through Nomi’s stomach. She wished she knew. But at least Maris’s concern sounded genuine, unlike Cassia’s. “Serina is not ill,” was all Nomi could say. Angeline silently soaped up her hair, her presence a reminder that, wherever Serina was, she wasn’t coming back. Not soon, anyway.

“What a relief,” Cassia said sweetly. She shook out her silver-blond hair, the droplets stinging Nomi’s face, and climbed from the bathing pool. “But then,” she added, cocking her head as if she’d just thought of it, “that means she did something wrong, doesn’t it?”

Nomi didn’t answer, holding her anger in check with an effort. Cassia smiled quite happily as her handmaiden set her robe across her shoulders.

When the girl had left the room, Nomi bent forward, put her face in her wet hands, and groaned. “Why is she so delighted with all of this?”

“She believes she’ll gain from your scandal,” Maris said. “The Heir will choose a favorite, and Cassia hopes it will be her. She has set her sights on becoming his Head Grace.”

“You mean she wants to give birth to the next Heir?” Nomi shuddered. How could that be someone’s goal? “She may have him, and welcome.”

Maris’s dark eyes flashed, but before she could respond, Nomi caught a glimpse of Ines passing by the doorway.

Nomi hurried out of the pool, splashing Maris in her haste. Angeline scrambled after her with a robe.

“Ines, wait!” Nomi’s voice echoed too loudly.

Ines paused in the hallway, frowning.

“You have to tell me—” Nomi began.

Ines grabbed Nomi’s arm and pulled her down the corridor. Eventually, she stopped in an empty sitting room. The last rays of daylight slanted in through the open windows, which she promptly shut.

“You may not challenge me,” Ines said sternly. “There will be no shouting after me, no questions. Especially where the Superior’s men can see. Do you understand?”

“What happened to my sister?” Nomi demanded, undeterred.