Tess' fingers paused on the buttons of the gown. She exchanged a look with Clara before looking at Eliora through the mirror.
"The King's mother," she answered.
Eliora's breath caught in her throat. She stared at Tess in shock.
The King's mother? Zarek had never spoken of her.
She stared at her reflection, her mouth slightly open. "His mother? I thought she was... I didn't even know she was still alive."
Clara quickly fastened the last clasp of the gown, her expression tense. "Few people do, My Queen. She has lived in seclusion ever since His Majesty took over the throne. She never involves herself in palace politics and she almost never comes out."
That detail made the panic in Eliora's chest grow. If the queen mother had chosen this exact morning, right after a bitter fight and a night of cold silence between her and Zarek, to finally leave her isolation, it couldn't possibly be a coincidence.
