Chapter 2

"Thank you for saving my life, Your Majesty," I said, kneeling obediently with my head lowered, avoiding his gaze.

Felix said nothing. He allowed me to remain there, my wounded knees pressed into the stone until pain dulled into humiliation.

Once, he had not even permitted me the half-bow expected of court ladies. Now he let me kneel, injured and trembling.

Tears fell despite my effort, striking the floor one by one.

"When you have healed, you will serve before me." His tone was sharp, displeased.

With that, he turned and left.

Ophelia rushed in and helped me up. "Miss, His Majesty is… always like this. Do not take it to heart."

Always like this, indeed. Once, he had never raised his voice at me.

Perhaps I was no longer beautiful enough. Surely he did not treat Arabella so.

Then again, we shared the same face.

The thought only deepened the ache.

Seeing I was down, Ophelia helped me to the bed and gently tended to my reopened wound, soothing me softly. "Helena, His Majesty has named you to attend him directly. You will be senior maid of the Empyrean Court. No more heavy labor. No one will dare punish you lightly."

I thought about it and realized she was right. At least I would not kneel beneath the sun again. That alone lifted my spirits.

"But I've never served His Majesty before. Ophelia, can you show me what to do?" I asked, a little nervous.

She paused, studying me. Something in my tone unsettled her. My features were ordinary now, yet my eyes, bright with unshed tears, made refusal difficult.

"His Majesty dislikes closeness. You need only prepare soup and present it at the proper hours. And never presume to guess his thoughts," Ophelia said softly.

For three days, I remained in the side chamber to recover. Senior maids each had their own rooms. Ophelia brought my meals herself. Still servant fare, but far better than before.

My knees healed quickly. By the second day, the pain had nearly vanished.

"Oh dear, Helena, are you still sleeping?"

"His Majesty asked after you personally. Up, quickly."

Lord Chamberlain Henry Alastair looked so anxious, it was like his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

Ever since that day, Felix's mood had been getting worse and worse, and everyone in the Empyrean Court was walking on eggshells.

Even the tiniest mistake meant getting beaten with a cane.

Even Henry, who had served Felix since boyhood, had been reprimanded repeatedly and beaten twice.

He walked with a limp now.

That morning, when Felix rose and saw him enter, he said coldly, "You again?"

Henry remembered how Felix had been glancing at the doorway these past few days, and he knew Felix was waiting for Helena, the girl he'd handpicked.

When he asked Ophelia, he learned that Helena, bold beyond reason, had recovered and chosen to linger.

Thus he came himself.

By the time I reluctantly finished dressing and brought soup to the Hall of Long Pines, Felix had just returned from council.

I set the bowl gently at his side and turned to withdraw.

Without lifting his head, he spoke. "Take another step, and see what follows."

I froze, too scared to move a muscle.

"Grind the ink for me," Felix said, not even looking up.

"Yes, Your Majesty," I answered. That much I knew well. He had always favored setting me to such tasks.

The great royal chamber fell into silence, broken only by the soft rasp of quill against vellum. The quiet made drowsiness creep over me again.

Of late, no matter how soundly I slept, I woke each morning weak, as if my strength had been leeched away in the night.

Before even half an hour passed, my wrist ached fiercely. Seeing that the King paid me no mind, I set the mortar aside and rolled my sore hand.

My eyes drifted, unbidden, to a plate of honeyed pastries.

They were my favorite. I tried to resist, truly I did, but the scent rose and wrapped itself around my senses. The moment my fingers reached out, Felix looked up.

His lips curved, thin and sharp. "I have never known a maid so sluggish and so fond of food."

"I know I was wrong, Your Majesty. Please punish me." I dropped to my knees at once.

He pinched the bridge of his brow, as if suppressing a sigh. "Get up. You will grind ink again this afternoon. Take that greasy sweet and eat it."

I was taken aback by his indulgence. Affairs of the realm must have gone well today.

Delighted, I carried the pastries away, already planning to share them with Ophelia.

That evening, when Felix was about to take a bath, I finished setting out everything he needed and was just about to leave.

But Henry called out to me, "Helena, His Majesty is summoning you to help him change."

I was exhausted after a long day, and the old attitude Felix had spoiled me with started to show. "Ophelia said His Majesty doesn't let maids help him change," I protested.

Henry gave me a smile that made my skin crawl. "That's for other people. Helena, you'd better get in there."

I entered, heavy-footed.