Queensmen

Chapter 66

~The Reward~

With the attention of the ministers no longer fixed on her, Oris was left shivering. The wind had let up long ago but it had left the hall chilly. The dress Oris wore didn't little to retain the warmth bubbling beneath her skin. Being made of silk and lace, it was meant to be beautiful not cosy.

She resisted the urge to hug herself and rub her arms until the flesh there smoothened under the heat of her palms. The cold had given her gooseflesh and she was just minutes away from having her teeth start chattering.

Observant as ever, Andrea stepped closer until their bodies nearly touched and the chill Oris felt was pushed to the back of her mind, but she had little time to dwell on what had happened or thank the thoughtful girl.

"A wish," Hermes said at last. He held his hand under his chin then nodded, as though agreeing with himself. "The Lady Of Inqa can ask for anything and I will do all in my power to grant it."

The effect of his words had on the court was instant: chaos.

A wish wasn't a simple thing, after all. Even Wei Wei seemed to have turned pale after hearing her son's announcement though most of her expression was hidden behind her wide sleeves.

Hermes had managed to turn the situation around with a single sentence and shift his ministers' eyes back to Oris.

She didn't like it, not one bit. It sounded like the beginnings of another excuse to get her killed—and she was beyond understanding how she kept falling into pits like this one when she wanted nothing more than to be invisible.

She had just had a brush with Death, and now here she was, back where she started. The way things were going, the game Fate played with the Ones After was going to get her killed before she could fulfill whatever destiny was intended for her.

She could only imagine what must have been going through the ministers' minds at this very moment. They were the most troubled in the hall after all.

The ones who had daughters, or candidates they supported, in the Selection were probably afraid that she would wish to be Empress. That was most likely what the Empress Dowager feared too.

The ones who supported Wei Wei would fear that she wanted their backer deposed, or worse, killed, since it was now common knowledge that Oris and the Empress Dowager were far from being on good terms.

In fact, it was safe to say that the woman was the only enemy Oris had at the moment, and that put the Empress Dowager in a most perilous situation where a simple wish could be her undoing.

But if they only knew... Oris ignored the whispers from the men around her and stared up at Hermes in an attempt to guess his thoughts.

He didn't seem to care about the tension his words had caused, and he acted as though any eventuality was alright with with him.

He looked at her intently, watching her as she had watched him just a few minutes ago, and she couldn't help but feel that they were the same.

The sameness that linked her to Bren, Eve and Mikeal, somehow linked her to him, and she didn't understand it.

She didn't want to understand it, either.

She curtsied and thanked him, this time without any prompting from Faeradaigh who was too stunned to do so.

"Have you thought of your wish?" Hermes asked when she had finished relaying her gratitude.

My wish... She bowed her head and pretended to think. The truth was, she already knew what she wanted. Only if I could open my mouth and ask for Orse. Only if it was that easy.