Treacherous Witch

22. Portrait of a Queen

"I truly believe that even the wickedest of girls can be saved, if only they have the correct spiritual guidance and the willingness to commit. This task I set for myself in the court at Jairah. It would prove to be the greatest test of my faith."
Bishop Eugene Thorne's Notes on a Mission in Maskamere

A strange thing happened later that week. Valerie visited the temple every so often, not to go down to the underground chamber where the seal remained in place, but to sit and reflect in a place that was built for her people. The pillars were carved into likenesses of the silvertrees, their branches spreading up into the ceiling. At the front of the temple, the stained-glass window depicted the goldentree with the figure of Maska standing before it. Maskamery temples always faced east, towards the sun, so that in the morning sunlight would stream through the window and light up the goldentree in all its splendour.

Valerie entered the temple on one such morning to find Lady Flavia crying on one of the pews. She hurried over at once.

"Flavia?"

Flavia looked up, wiping her eyes. "Valerie? I'm sorry, I..."

"What's wrong?"

She sat down next to Flavia and offered a comforting hand on the other lady's arm. Flavia blinked, sniffing.

"I just needed a moment... I... Lord Thorne found this in my things."

She opened the palm of her hand, revealing a silver necklace with a tiny tree dangling from it. Valerie's eyes widened.

"This is yours?"

Flavia nodded. "I should have thrown it away, but... It was my grandmother's."

"What happened?"

"He called me a heretic. A liar. A whore." Flavia rolled her eyes. "He said I was using him for his wealth, and then he told me to get out."

"I'm sorry."

Flavia shook her head. "If I go back to him and grovel, if I promise to repent... He might forgive me."

"Do you want to?"

If Flavia thought she had a chance to get back in Lord Thorne's good graces, then why was she here, in the very place he would most disapprove of?

Flavia was silent for a moment. Then she looked up at Valerie, her eyes wet. "Do you ever... do you ever feel tired of pretending? Of playing their game?"

"All the time," she said instantly. "I know exactly how you feel."

"I thought I was fine with it. I didn't care... We all have to get by, you know. I have a sick mother to take care of... The Drakonians put food on the table."

"What about the rest of your family? Do you have anyone else who can help?"

Flavia shook her head. "I'm a Viper. They wiped most of us out."

A Viper! No wonder she looked like one of the royals. Like the Stewards, the Vipers had long-standing ties with the royal family.

Valerie sucked in a breath. "I know Quintus Viper."

Flavia started. "Quintus? He's alive?"

"I saw him in Enyr."

"Enyr?"

Turning traitor, she thought, like you, but it seemed cruel to say that. Those closest to the royal family had perished in the greatest numbers. Flavia likely had no other options, and Quintus had acted in the way he thought best for his country, even if she disagreed with him.