What is Hidden (17 page)

She all but skipped away, calling back at me, “You’d better get started, little miss. I’d hate for there to be anything left in the morning. Some breakfast dishes might slip into your queue.” She cackled and I turned to stare dejectedly at the sinks.

Normally, all the servers took a task in cleaning the dishes. Five would wash, five dry, and five more to put the dishes away.

Tonight, it would just be me.

And I didn’t have a choice. If I disobeyed, I could be kicked out at best or submitted to the stocks for a day at worst. In the stocks, my mask would be stripped and my Mark would be discovered.

I sighed and dejectedly stared at the pile that had already started to form. The kitchen hands had heard Vera’s declaration and happily abandoned their posts to make room for me. I wanted to finish as soon as possible, so I tied my sleeves back and, with one more sigh, got to work.

* * *

Well after nightfall when I was completely alone in the kitchens, I’d made a small dent in the massive pile, but I still had over half of the dishes to wash and all of them to put away. My theory was to let them dry themselves, which
seemed to be working out well enough, but putting them away by lamplight was going to be a chore and a half.

Meanwhile, I was so worried about Aiden worrying about me, I was nearly dropping things. It was just about the time for him to show up at my door, and I listened anxiously for any sound of a ruckus or something.

“Hey there.”

I jumped out of my skin and
did
drop the plate I was washing, thankfully back into the soapy water where it landed with a wet splash.

“Aiden! How did you know where I was?”

He gave me a look. “I always know where you are. It’s my gift, remember?”

“And that’s not creepy.” I was so relieved to see him that I didn’t have my filter engaged.

He laughed. “I’m not following you everywhere, if that’s what you’re implying. I am simply aware of you. And I keep my ears open. News travels fast in the palace.”

I lobbed a wet dish towel at him, which he caught easily. “If you’re going to be here, you’re going to work, mister.”

He looked vaguely mystified. “Me? Wash dishes?”

“Is there a problem?”

“I’ve . . . um . . . this is ridiculous,” he mumbled. “But I’ve never washed dishes before.”

I dropped the plate I was scrubbing into the sink and turned to stare at him. “Are you kidding me?”

He stared down at his feet. “We’ve—my family—always had someone else to do them. And it was never something I really wanted to try.”

Well, this was something new. He’d always been ridiculously curious around me, wanting to know as much as he
could about as much as he could. And I’d already known his family was well off—if his position on the King’s Council didn’t give him away, his nice clothing, having a hired man at his door as a child, and other various clues did. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” he said, clearly embarrassed. Normally I’d milk his embarrassment for all it was worth, but this revelation seemed to be a genuine sore spot.

After a moment of pregnant silence (I couldn’t help but make him squirm a little), I turned back to my dishes. “All right, come over here. I’ll let you off the hook if you talk while I wash.”

“I’m not just going to stand here and watch you work,” he objected, seemingly offended that I’d even suggest it.

“You want me to teach you how to wash dishes?”

“It can’t be that hard, can it? I mean, you just stick it in the water and get the leftover food off.”

“Easier said than done. Here, you can take my spot and I’ll start putting things away.”

He took my position at the sink and rolled up his sleeves, as if preparing for a fight. I had to giggle at the serious expression on his face as he tackled the dirty dishes.

“So,” I said conversationally, picking up a stack of salad plates to put in the cupboard, “what do your parents do anyway? They’re obviously well off, but I don’t even know them.”

“You’ve seen them around, I’m sure.” He spoke hesitantly, but I couldn’t tell if it was the crusted plate that was baffling him or the subject matter that made him uncomfortable. “They do a little bit of everything.”

“And how are you always here, anyway? Wait, let me
guess.” I watched his shoulders tense up. “You’re not just from a noble family. Are you from a rich old-money noble? Living in the palace? Is that how you manage to get in and out of everywhere and pull all these favors?”

He grimaced. “You caught me. And you make it sound so bad.” I laughed triumphantly.

Old money was a funny thing. It was respected only among the elite and noble circles. Among those that made their own livings, those with old money were looked at as lazy, cheating leeches on society. Most of the old-money folks lived up to that stereotype, but in all fairness, some had actually contributed to society. While Aiden seemed to be the latter, he probably couldn’t say the same about his parents.

“So that’s why you never wanted to tell me about your family,” I mused. He grunted his acknowledgement but didn’t comment any further. “All right, I’ll change the subject. Any news from the outside world?”

He relaxed, but only marginally. “No. Nothing.”

W
e’d finished earlier than I
had expected, thanks to Aiden’s surprising knack for getting the dried-on sauces off plates that I’d struggled with. He followed me back to my room, insisting on the escort.

“You never know who could be lurking in the dark hallways,” he cautioned.

I just rolled my eyes at him.

When we reached my room, he surprised me when he followed me inside. “You up for more training tonight?” he asked.

“Are you kidding me? I can barely feel my arms,” I complained.

“That was actually probably pretty good for you, you know,” he commented. “It’ll build up arm strength. Make your punches actually do something.”

Grinning cheekily, he dodged my halfhearted attempt at slugging him. “You watch out. Don’t forget who won that first day.”

“‘Won’ is a very subjective term with you, I’ve found.”

I rolled my eyes at him, and he made a face right back.

“You never know,” he said. “There was another Chameleon attack last night—you might find yourself in trouble again someday and then you’d be thanking me.”

I tensed. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t already heard—either through the gossip in the kitchens or through my runners. “I thought you said there wasn’t any news! Tell me what happened!”

“I didn’t think it was something you’d want to talk about somewhere we could be interrupted at any moment,” he said, and I had to admit he was right. He could have at least mentioned the news, though. “It happened not far from your place, actually. They think they caught him, though.”

“What?”

He fixed an even gaze on me and explained. “They found a man with the Chameleon’s Mark. He was unconscious when a neighbor found him behind the house. He’s in Naked Square now. I don’t know what the final punishment will be. I don’t think it’s been decided.”

“I want to go see him,” I said, clenching my fists.

He hesitated, then asked, “Why? Why would you want to see him again?”

I met his gaze. “You said they think they caught him. I saw his face. I want to make sure.”

He watched me for a long moment before sighing. “I thought you didn’t want anything more to do with him.”

“I want to be sure. It’ll make me feel better,” I added, flexing my hands and looking away. I could go to the Square without him, but I wanted him to come with me. I couldn’t put my finger on why—the Chameleon would be stripped and bound, incapable of physically hurting me.

Perhaps that was what I was afraid of. The nightmares still hadn’t stopped. I didn’t mention them to anyone, hoping that if I ignored them they would go away.

He must have seen something in my eyes, because he placed a hand on my arm. “Evie,” he said with a frown.

I remained silent.

“Evie, what aren’t you telling me?”

I didn’t want him to think I was weak. Instead, I looked up at him pleadingly. “I want to make sure it is him . . . and if it’s not, I want you to help me find him.”

“No. Out of the question.”

“Please, Aiden!” I begged. “I know you’re angry at him too! And you couldn’t have expected me to just wait around here in hiding until someone happened to catch him.”

“I hoped.”

“Are you kidding? When have I ever been the type of person to just wait around for something to fall into my lap?”

“Never,” he said in admission.

“And would you really have me any different?”

“No,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I want you to go hunting for trouble. Have I ever been one to not worry about you? Do you want me to worry even more now?”

“Of course not,” I scoffed. “But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life worrying he’ll come after me again.”

His expression softened, and I reddened, clamping my jaw shut. I hadn’t meant to say that. I felt vulnerable and exposed. His hold on my arm tightened as he roughly pulled me into a tight hug, tucking me under his chin. I stiffened, then relaxed as his hold showed no sign of pushing me away anytime soon.

“Evie,” he said softly, his breath warm as it brushed over me. “I will always protect you. You know that, right?”

“I know,” I mumbled softly, my fingers tracing the embroidery on his shirt.

“And you know you can tell me anything, right?”

My Mark burned against my cheek. I didn’t want to tell him. I don’t know why—it was probably irrational—but I couldn’t reveal that part of me to him. It felt too . . . intimate.

Instead, I gently pulled back and said, “I know of a way that you could help me.”

“Name it.”

“Assuming the man they caught is the wrong one . . . find the real one for me?”

He released me and looked at me in horror. “And what do you plan to do with him once I find him, assuming I can find him at all?”

“I don’t know yet,” I confessed. “But I know you can find him. You found me when everyone else thought I was dead.”

“That was pure dumb luck. Well, part dumb luck, part wishful thinking.”

“Regardless, you found me. I know you can find him.”

“I have nothing to go on.”

“You have me. I’m the only one who’s met him and survived. And you know the Mark he bears.”

“Yeah, but I can’t exactly use that to find him. It’ll be covered up.”

“I didn’t say I knew how you would find him. If I knew that already, I’d just find him myself,” I said, growing frustrated.

“It’s not that I don’t want to help you,” he pleaded. “It’s just that I don’t want to let you down. Also, I’m afraid of what you’ll do if I do find him. I’m not going to provide you with a way to get hurt. Besides, why are you so convinced he hasn’t already been caught?”

“It seems too convenient, too easy. Do they have any proof aside from the Mark on his face?”

“He was caught at the scene of the crime,” he said. “Other than that, I don’t know. But isn’t that enough?”

“Not for me,” I scowled. We stared each other for a long, tense moment, before he finally surrendered.

“Okay.” He sighed. “I’m only agreeing to do this because I know you’ll go off and do it by yourself if I don’t, and probably hurt yourself more.”

I rolled my eyes at his insinuations but didn’t deny them.

“I do have conditions, though,” he began. “You have to keep me up to date on everything. I don’t want to hear things through the grapevine. If we’re going to do this, I need to know everything. Is there anything else you need to tell me—anything at all—before we go further?”

My stomach in knots, I said, “There’s nothing more.”

* * *

On Mondays, we got a bit of a reprieve from kitchen duties. Since Saturday and Sunday meals were such a grand affair—to impress visiting dignitaries—Monday meals were simple. Staff was cut in half, and the servers rotated which Monday they got off.

Most servers took the day off to laze about in bed or go into town to visit relatives and just generally spend
some time out of the palace. Normally, I would want to spend more time working on my mask for Milo, or I might have tried to get some extra time in with Joch, but he was nowhere to be found, and I didn’t trust myself to work alone without burning down the room yet.

Instead, I was spending my day off with Aiden as we headed to the Naked Square. He seemed tense, an odd shift from his usual pleasantness.

“Is everything okay?” I asked him when we’d been walking for a whole five minutes without him saying anything.

He glanced at me. “I hate that I’m taking you to see this rat. I should be doing everything I can to keep you as far away from him as possible.”

“Don’t think about it like that,” I protested. “You’re taking me so I can ease my mind. If it’s him, you won’t have to worry about me anymore.”

He snorted. “That’ll be the day,” he muttered under his breath.

I looked at him with curiosity but didn’t push it, and I let him stew as we walked the rest of the way.

The Square was always bustling with activity, but it seemed especially crowded today. “I can’t see,” I complained as we pushed our way through the crowd. Aiden grabbed my wrist so he wouldn’t lose me and weaved through the throng, eventually coming to a stop right in front of the platform where the criminals were held in stocks.