Chapter 3
Felix stood there in a dark court tunic embroidered with heraldic beasts, the cut emphasizing his broad shoulders and narrow waist.
He looked every inch the warrior-king. He was fierce in certain matters, undeniably so, but it was a fierceness I had once loved.
I crouched in front of him, slowly unfastening his belt.
It had been long since we stood so close. Heat crept into my cheeks, my movements slowing, my fingers brushing his skin as though by accident.
Just as I reached the buttons at his chest, Felix suddenly grabbed my wrist.
A fire seemed to flicker in his eyes. With his other hand, he gripped my face and pulled me up against him.
I was forced to stand on my tiptoes.
"Are you tempting me?" His mouth was set firm, though one corner betrayed him.
"No," I blurted out without thinking.
This time, Felix didn't say a word. He just pressed his lips to mine.
At once, a frantic voice rose from beyond the doors. "Your Majesty! Lady Arabella has collapsed. She begs for your presence!"
Felix released me as if burned. His face turned to ice.
"Go back and rest," he said.
With that, he strode out, his steps unusually quick.
I just stared after him, numb, my eyes burning with unshed tears. Quietly, I slipped back to the servants' quarters.
I buried myself in my blanket and cried silently, tears soaking the fabric.
So he truly loved that creature who wore my face.
I should never have hoped. Even if he recognized me, even if he knew I was not the Helena he once knew, accusing his beloved consort would earn me nothing but a swift death.
Near dawn, exhaustion dragged me into sleep. When I woke, my face felt cool, strangely soothed.
By morning, my eyes were pale and smooth, not swollen at all.
From that day forward, Felix never touched me again.
Yet he insisted I remain in his presence daily. If I stepped out even briefly, his displeasure was immediate.
One day, Felix caught me nodding off right in front of him.
"Do you lack sleep so badly?" His tone revealed nothing.
I could only answer honestly. "The summer nights are stifling, Your Majesty. Insects swarm, and rest is hard to come by."
My neck was dotted with itchy red marks, and my whole body wouldn't stop itching.
In the King's chambers, ice from the cellars cooled the air, and no insects dared linger. No wonder my eyes betrayed me.
His expression softened. He gestured toward a row of bookshelves. "Copy these volumes. When you are finished, you may sleep in the side chambers and attend me only after court."
My heart leapt with joy. "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I'll copy every word with care," I promised.
From then on, he reviewed petitions while I copied texts at a low table nearby.
He scarcely touched the fruit or wine, all of which found their way to me.
Though he spoke of waiting until the copying was done, Henry arranged my move that very night.
"His Majesty even granted you ice," he said with a knowing smile. "Your fortune is only beginning." Since my arrival, the King had not once lashed out in anger.
Even when the favored consort fainted and injured herself, no servants were punished. The household breathed easier.
Henry hadn't gotten smacked around in over ten days.
His bootlicking grin made my skin crawl. After a quick thank you, I hurried him out the door.
But my comfortable days barely lasted two days before Arabella came storming in.
"Your Ladyship, I humbly greet you—" I managed to say, but before I could finish, she slapped me hard, twice in quick succession.
The sound of her palm landing on my cheeks echoed before I could even get the words out.
Dazed, I heard her scream in my own former voice, "Beat this shameless wretch to death!"
Her attendants seized my hair and dragged me outside. The whipping bench was brought forth.
"Mercy! Your Majesty, save me!" I had seen servants beaten until blood pooled beneath them. Terror shook me apart.
Arabella just snorted with icy contempt at my desperate cries.
Her drop-dead gorgeous face was twisted with jealousy and hate. She looked less like a fairy and more like something straight out of a nightmare.
"You really think Felix will save you, you filthy wretch? Dream on!" She kicked me hard in the gut with her thick-soled shoe. I felt something tear inside, and blood gushed from my mouth.
She kept stomping on me while I lay there, helpless.
"His Majesty is here!" someone called out.
I believed, for one foolish heartbeat, that he would save me.
I never saw his face. Only his voice, cold and distant. "Helena has angered the Lady Arabella. Twenty lashes. Then send her to the Astral Ascension Tower to serve."
The Astral Ascension Tower, built just to pamper his beloved Lady Arabella.
Why had I returned at all? Death would have been kinder. At least then I could have believed that I was still the one he loved.
When they bound me to the bench, I was already sobbing too hard to breathe.
Before the first blow fell, darkness claimed me.
Hearing was the last thing to go. I heard Felix say, "Continue."
When I woke, I lay on a soft bed, far kinder than the boards of the servants' quarters.
It seemed to be the side chamber, though I scarcely noticed.
His words echoed endlessly. Tears soaked the pillow, chilling my face.