After we exchanged pleasantries at breakfast, she invited me to her chambers for tea with several other lords and ladies.

“Aren’t you lovely!” one of the women commented, inviting me to sit next to her on an overstuffed brocade couch. “I passed Varenia once, on my way here from Kuven. We didn’t get close enough to see any people, though. Our loss, clearly.”

I blushed, and Lady Hyacinth exchanged a knowing smile with her friends. “I told you she was darling. Much better than that awful Lady Melina.”

“Let’s not even talk about her,” a lord said with an exaggerated shudder. “That woman frightens me.”

I spoke only when spoken to, trying to glean any useful information I could, but Hyacinth was much more interested in talking about court politics than anything outside the castle. Several of the other ladies were busy knitting. It was so cold in the mountain that when the women weren’t at meals displaying their fine gowns, they bundled themselves in knitted cowls and shawls, warming their hands in gloves. Knitting these garments, I discovered quickly, was about as fun as repairing fishing nets.

When Ceren returned the following day, I decided that I would somehow find a way to broach the subject of leaving New Castle. Even if I didn’t make it to the market this month, I couldn’t spend the rest of my life drinking tea with Lady Hyacinth and her friends, knitting fingerless gloves. I’d go mad in a matter of weeks.

Before dinner, I asked Ebb to dress me in something she thought Ceren would like. She eyed me strangely, but didn’t question my request. She chose a heavy plum-colored satin sleeveless gown with an attached cape that drifted behind me like the wings of a manta ray when I walked. The bodice was fitted, but not low cut, and it didn’t leave me feeling vulnerable like some of the gauzier gowns in my wardrobe.

Ceren came to my chambers and offered to escort me to dinner. I noticed that his cheeks had just a hint of pink in them, as though the time away from the mountain had done him some good.

“You’re looking well this evening,” he said as we walked to the dining hall arm in arm.

I smiled. “I was just thinking the same about you.”

But he did not return the smile, and I got the sense that the compliment displeased him somehow. Perhaps he didn’t trust it.

By the time we reached the lull between dinner and dessert that night, Ceren had consumed several cups of strong Ilarean wine, more than I’d ever seen him drink before. I’d learned to avoid wine since the night I’d danced with Talin by asking the servants to fill my glass with water before they brought it to the table.

“Your Highness,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, though my hands trembled in my lap. “I was wondering if I might be permitted to go to one of the villages. I saw so little on my journey here, and I imagine there is far more to Ilara than New Castle.”

He swirled his wine in his glass, pretending to be very interested in the contents, but I knew there was more going on behind his granite eyes. Everything was a calculation for him, a tallying of sums and differences.

“No,” he said finally. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

I was disappointed but not surprised. “Oh. Can I ask why not?”

He tilted his head back and drained his cup. “The villages aren’t the best representation of Ilarean culture. Perhaps one day I’ll take you to one of the estates, but everything worth seeing is already here in New Castle.”

I bit my lip to hide my scowl. If I couldn’t go to a village a few miles from the castle, how was I ever going to get to the market? It would take days to get there, and the trip would undoubtedly require an escort. It seemed impossible now. I imagined Sami searching for me, risking his life just by being there. I couldn’t even warn him that I wouldn’t make it.

My anger flared hot and bright. I remembered the way I’d envied the other chosen girls’ freedom, but now I saw the truth: they were far more trapped in Ilara than I’d ever been in Varenia. I had prayed for the wrong thing that night at the governor’s house, and now it was too late.

I wanted to remind Ceren that the former queen had been allowed to visit the villages, according to Ebb, but mentioning Queen Talia was a risk. If the king was here, he might persuade Ceren on my behalf, but he was “resting” again tonight. He seemed to spend the majority of his time resting, which made me wonder how he was able to do any kind of ruling.

“There may be an opportunity for you to leave the castle soon, however,” Ceren continued. “If everything goes well with my experiments. I’ll know more after tonight.”

My pulse quickened, though I kept my expression neutral. “What’s happening tonight?”

He pushed his chair back with a screech. “Nothing to concern you, my dear. Enjoy the rest of your meal.”

If Ceren believed he was close to success with his device, it concerned me more than anyone else in New Castle. I finished eating and left the hall, determined to find out what he was up to.

I was nearly back to my chambers when someone called my name. I turned to see Lady Hyacinth trailing after me.

“There you are,” she said, as though we’d bumped into each other by accident. “I was hoping you’d like to join us again.” She clasped her hands in front of her to display her fingerless gloves and glanced pointedly at my bare hands.

“I’m afraid I’m quite tired this evening,” I lied. Spending time with the nobles only served to show how out of place I was here, and I had more important things to worry about than knitwear.

Hyacinth steepled the points of her long fingernails together. Ebb said it was a sign of rank; the longer your nails were, the less manual labor you did. I kept mine neat and short, as I always had. You never knew when you would need to use your hands.

“What a shame,” she said. “We do so want to get to know you better.”

It had only taken one afternoon with them to discover that the majority of “teatime” was spent gossiping, and when it came to me, they had very little to work with so far. I planned to keep it that way. “Next time,” I told her with a forced smile, hurrying down the hall before she could protest.

Lady Melina had told me to see the device for myself, and that was exactly what I planned to do. I asked Ebb to help me bathe and dress for bed early, claiming exhaustion.

“It’s the mountain,” she said as she brushed out my hair. “People come here healthy, and within weeks they’re sick and run-down. That’s why the king is in such a dreadful state.”

So Lady Melina wasn’t the only one who thought the mountain was causing the king’s illness. Ceren wasn’t sick like his father, but he was lean and lanky compared to Talin. Many of the other people at court also appeared weak and tired, even early in the day. “Then why do the nobles come here?”