Chapter 19 Shower?
SOMA
With that, Lilith pulls the door open before I can respond and disappears through it, leaving me alone in the silence of the room. I sit there for a while, frozen on the soft but firm mattress. The cover is smooth, and the pillowcase seems to be made of expensive silk. No wonder the royals look fresh with glowing skin. They are truly pampered.
Minutes pass or maybe more. The silence thickens, and so does my curiosity and impatience. I rise slowly, glancing around as I brush my palms down the front of the borrowed dress.
The room is luxurious but impersonal. Aside from the chair, there’s a vanity. The windows are draped in velvet, blocking out the sunlight. It doesn’t feel like a prison, but it doesn’t feel like freedom either.
Crossing the room, I pause at the door. My hand hovers near the handle. I don’t twist it, but press my ear to the wood.
At first, faint voices filter in. But as I lean in, they grow clearer. One sharp and impatient. One low and smooth. One shrill with disbelief. I know those three voices.
Aunt Helen. Maeve. Sheila.
They’re talking about me. I press my ear tighter against the door, the wood cool beneath my skin. The voices beyond sharpen into focus.
“You must conduct the ritual again,” Aunt Helen says.
“Are you ordering me?” Lilith demands.
“Of course not, Priestess. I wouldn’t dare.” Silence drags, and when Aunt Helen’s voice comes again, it’s too low. “But please, you must help us. For his sake.”
Who? Brynne?
“The girls trained for this,” Aunt Helen adds.
“So did the other ten contestants,” Lilith says flatly. My lips pull into a thin line. I don’t know whether to trust her yet, but I don’t fully dislike her. “The moon’s peak moment has passed. There’s no way to redo the ritual at this time. I’m sorry I can’t help you, Helen.”
“The Moon Goddess couldn’t possibly have chosen that dirty thing,” Maeve says. “She must have tampered with the ceremony.”
“Soma doesn’t belong here,” Sheila snaps. “She’s nothing. An accident on our family tree, not even worth—”
“One more word from either of you, and I’ll have your tongues,” Lilith mutters. She’s not loud or angry, but her voice is commanding in its finality. They gasp, and I wish I could see their faces. “That thing? Do you mean your Luna-to-be? The soon-to-be crown princess?”
“Mom,” both girls chorus.
“Whatever grievances you harbor against her from the past will have to end. Starting now, you will do well to watch your tone when you speak about her,” Lilith continues, like they didn’t speak. “The Moon Goddess chose Soma, and so, you will respect her station.”
The silence after Lilith’s words is so thick it presses through the door. Aunt Helen speaks up next, but this time, her voice sounds smaller than I have ever heard it.
“But surely, Priestess, there’s been a mistake. She’s shown no potential. She was never meant for more than chores and errands. I—” Her voice breaks a little. It’s my first time hearing her sound this defeated. “I’ve raised her since she was a child, and not once did she stand out.”
“I understand this is difficult to accept,” Lilith says, more gently now. “But the will of the Goddess isn’t always what we expect or understand. Sometimes she sees in people what we’ve failed to notice for years.”
A warmth I don’t recognize stirs in my chest, sitting heavy and strange. My heart races. I blink, realizing my throat is tight and my eyes are wet with tears again.
The voices slowly fade to soft murmurs I can’t hear, and footsteps retreat down the hall. I rush back to the bed and lie back down when the knob turns. The door creaks open a moment later, and Lilith steps in, calm as ever, followed by two palace maids in uniforms.
As soon as they see me, they curtsy. To me.
Still in shock, I sit straight. Their eyes are respectful, their heads bowed, and their movements practiced. One of them carries a tray laden with food. Steamed bread, seasoned chicken, fruit, and a glass of chilled water. The other tray holds a folded set of pale clothes.
My stomach growls loudly, betraying me. I drop my gaze, cheeks burning. But nobody calls me out on it.
It’s strange.
Aunt Helen would have chucked the nearest object at my head, and her daughters would have laughed.
Lilith turns to the maids. “That will be all.”
Once the door shuts behind them, she drags the meal tray they left on the bed closer to me. My mouth waters, and I try not to stare too long while waiting for her to give me the command to eat.
“Eat,” she says, her voice gentler than when she spoke to my aunt and cousins. “Then you can shower and change.”
“Shower?” I whisper.
“Yes. There’s a bathroom there.” She gestures toward a corner of the room I hadn’t noticed before. A velvet curtain conceals what must be a door. “Tomorrow, we’ll go collect your things so you can move into the palace properly.”
Move in? She’s really serious about me being the Luna. My hand trembles as I reach for the glass of water. Because of my nerves, I tip it too far, and water sloshes across the tray and onto my lap.
“Sorry,” I mutter, scrambling to pat it down. “I-I’m so, so sorry. It was an accident.”
Lilith smiles, amusement softening her features. “Don’t worry. When you begin your princess lessons, there will be fewer accidents like this.”
What’s going on? I look up. “Princess lessons?”
She laughs. “You’re going to be crown princess after all.”
My jaw drops. I sit there, dripping water, food forgotten, and unsure whether to laugh or cry. For the first time in my life, I feel like I might matter. That I can be someone beyond the girl destined to clean up after her cousins.