Vetta was more than happy when the maids gave her the news about the release of those women. She was standing in the shadows of the hallways that led to the dungeon, and that’s where she stood when Danika and the king passed. She was there when the crying women were released. Now that the chapter was closed, Vetta took a deep breath and stared at the route Danika and the king followed.
The plan would have gone perfectly, but Danika and her useless maid, Sally, had to ruin everything. Now the people were on Danika’s side!
So what if she ate from the silver bowls? And so? It was all in the past and this was the present!
Vetta admitted to herself that she ate more than most people from the silver bowl in Mombana. She had always been competitive and so damn hungry; she never hesitated to grab onto a silver bowl whenever food was brought in. But that was all in the past! And it didn’t matter if Danika gave them food! It did nothing to erase the pain and punishments her father gave to them! Food had nothing on the whippings! The forced sex!
Vetta turned and began striding away. It didn’t matter if her plan hadn’t gone the way it was expected. Vetta would find another way to deal with Danika. This time around, she’d find the best way because she wanted to deal with Karandy, too, while she was at it. They would regret messing with her—
A hand suddenly grabbed hold of hers from behind. Vetta startled and turned around. Remeta was holding onto her hand, staring ahead, and began speaking in a robotic way.
“You get away with it this time around, but what about next time? Don’t. When it comes to your head, ignore it. Don’t.” She finally looked Vetta in the eyes. “Don’t do it. You’ll hurt the queen. You’ll hurt the Prince. You’ll hurt his father. And you will get hurt. You get away this time around, and you get hurt the next. Your nemesis is coming in the form of a person.”
Then she let go of Vetta’s hand suddenly and walked away.
.
.
CHAPTER 28
INDECISION AND UNCERTAINTYP
rincess Kamara received word from her father’s kingdom that she should stay in Salem for some time because there was a problem in Navia. Her father detected a spy in his cabinet, and until the spy flushed out, it wasn’t safe for her to come back.
It made Kamara angry and sad at the same time. She missed home. Most importantly, she missed Callan. Once she returned, she would find a way to make seeing Callan possible. It had been so many months; it was like an ache in her flesh.
She had been very lucky for the past two weeks; the king hadn’t summoned her to perform her duties for him. He hadn’t summoned her to warm his bed. But she wasn’t sure how long her luck would last. The thought made her restless and wary.
Kamara and Henna were coming back from an evening walk when Kamara collided with someone.
“Don’t you look!?” Vetta sputtered angrily when someone collided with her. She looked up to see it was Princess Kamara.
Henna had her hand to her mouth because she hadn’t seen the accident in time to stop her princess and the mistress from colliding into each other. Vetta, herself, had been deep in thought of the things Remeta had said to her. She hadn’t understood any of it, and frankly, it wasn’t bothering her that much. It was unfortunate that Remeta’s madness only continued to worsen. It was really a pity. But Vetta had wondered what the insane girl meant by ‘the prince’ and ‘the queen’ and not hurting them. It had Vetta confused because she knew Remeta referred to Danika as a queen, and Princess Kamara was the king’s future queen. So, what had she meant?
Those thoughts were running through Vetta’s mind when she collided into the princess.
Princess Kamara stepped back from Vetta and looked at her like she was seeing a bug. Her hand itched to slap the mistress again, but the only thing keeping her was the polite warning the king gave her about beating his mistress.
“You ran into me.” Kamara glared at her, emphasizing through gritted teeth.
Vetta really hated the princess, but she knew her place, too. Her cheeks hadn’t forgotten the slaps. “I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to run into you.” The apology left a sore taste in her mouth, but she had no choice.
Princess Kamara remembered the way the mistress had beaten Princess Danika weeks ago for colliding with her. A villainous mistress, that one was. Just like Mistress Donna, her father’s main mistress.
Princess Kamara stepped closer to Vetta, suddenly feeling that anger she felt for her father’s mistress—the same bitch that advised her father to marry her off because she fell in love with a peasant.
Kamara’s hand snatched out and she grabbed hold of Vetta’s hair.
“Ouch! Let me go!” Vetta shrieked at the unexpected reaction.
Princess Kamara’s hand only tightened in her black mane. “You beat a former princess because you collided with her a few weeks ago, and now, here you are—a mere mistress—colliding with me, a princess! Your future queen!”
“I already apologized, didn’t I?” Vetta snapped, not used to answering to anyone but the king.
Kamara yanked hard on her hair, pulling a few strands with her. She hissed, “You watch that tone with me, Mistress, or I will have you whipped for such insolence.”
“I am sorry, Princess.” Vetta gritted out again.
Kamara held on for a few more seconds before she let go of her hair and stepped back. She squared her shoulders and walked past the mistress. “Keep out of my way!”
Vetta glared at her back until she disappeared from the hallway. Her scalp burned from such treatment, and anger was boiling her blood.
That wicked bitch!