A furnace towered from floor to ceiling in the corner of the room, its surface covered in beautifully painted tiles. I was glad to have warmth in the winter, but I couldn’t help wondering at the expense of such artistry when a simple wood-burning stove would do. The people of Riaznin were burdened beyond the breaking point from taxation. I hoped the majority of their money didn’t go into prettying up the emperor’s home—my home.
My attendants bustled around me. “Is she truly the eldest Auraseer?” one maidservant whisper to another as they stoked the fire behind the grate of my furnace. Both girls looked to be my age. They were surely used to a sovereign Auraseer outranking them by years, not to mention clout. I lifted my chin and did my best to appear unaffected by the disbelief radiating from them in waves. They couldn’t see my hand behind my back, where I wrapped a loose thread from my sleeve around my finger, making it throb with trapped blood. That sensation kept me tethered when this roomful of intrusive auras threatened to tunnel into my mind, make me lose all my wits, and expose me for the undeserving fool I felt I was.
Two men brought in a copper tub and carried it past the carved door at the rear of the antechamber, which led to, I presumed, my bedchamber. Following the tub came an onslaught of male servants carrying buckets of steaming water. Their eyes strayed to me and some slid down the length of my body. Worse was the way their energy made my skin tingle and my mouth water. I swallowed hard and tore the string from my sleeve as I rushed to wrap my arms around my torso. Heat flamed my cheeks. Was I expected to bathe with everyone here? I was used to doing so with Romska girls and fledgling Auraseers, but not while a host of curious men surrounded me—some boys younger than myself. Who knew what strange customs awaited me and my new status?
I nearly wept with relief when a wiry, black-haired woman clapped her hands and shooed out the men after a little boy hefted in the last bucket. He tripped over his shoes as he scurried out the door and gave me one final look of wonder. The door shut, and I was left with six blessedly female companions. The wiry woman motioned to the others, and they swarmed around me. In moments they had me undressed, naked, save for the black ribbon around my wrist, and shivering under their collective scrutiny.
Too young. Too thin. Too dirty. My imagination supplied their thoughts, and from what I sensed in their auras, I wasn’t too off the mark.
The wiry woman pursed her lips. “I am Lenka, Head Maid of the Sovereign Auraseer. I served Izolda before you.” Her jaw ticked and a pang of sorrow constricted my chest. Perhaps they had been friends. The sensitive moment passed. Lenka’s gaze hardened. I laced my fingers together and strove to appear relaxed with no clothes on.
“You must eat more,” Lenka said sharply, her eyes lingering on my belly.
I blinked. I must eat more? I’d never seen a thinner woman in my life. She was all bones and harsh angles. Even her teeth brought structure to her cheeks in a horselike kind of way. “Yes, about that,” I said, swallowing any tart retorts off my tongue. “I don’t eat meat.”
My maids exchanged blank stares.
“Pardon?” Lenka asked.
I curled one bare foot over the other. “I don’t eat meat, not even fish. So if you could see that my food—”
“We are your personal attendants”—Lenka looked down her nose at me—“not the kitchen staff.”
Her irritation, injured pride, and disregard combined like hot needles jabbing all over my skin. I needed to shake them off and protect myself before I lashed back at her with her own venom. I didn’t wish to make enemies here. I had to think of Dasha and Tola. I had to succeed. Twisting the black ribbon at my wrist, I asked, “Am I to have a bath now?” I looked about the women, but no one held a dressing robe.
Lenka’s nostrils flared. She gave a stiff nod, then clapped. I wasn’t sure if it was a call for me or the other maids to follow, but together we complied.
I gasped as we entered my bedchamber. In a flash, the grandeur of my antechamber was gone. Here everything was a monochrome of browns, from the scuffed floor to the planked wood walls. The space was large and empty, all save the copper tub—a temporary furnishing—and a strange box of a bed in the far right corner.