The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen, #2)(51)

“We don’t have to stay if it will affect your time with your friends.”

Meredith waved that away. “It was their decision to put their personal feelings above the needs of our people. I would like you to stay.”

I eyed her askance, searching for hidden agendas, but she appeared genuine.

“It is human nature to avoid what makes us uncomfortable.” Meredith took a pair of slightly worn dancing slippers and placed them in a nearby crate, though what use those would be in the Flags, I wasn’t sure.

“And Chey?” I asked. “What about her?”

Meredith pressed her mouth into a line, thoughtful. “Her absence isn’t surprising, and not entirely without justification. You gave her hope that her friend was alive. You attempted to deceive her, along with the rest of palace society. But she wasn’t honorable, either. She should have confronted you directly, rather than allow the deception to continue. She shouldn’t have tried to humiliate you.”

I’d probably have done the same thing in Chey’s place.

“The others likely followed her lead. That’s something she and I and the others will have to work on later. For now, we have boxes to fill.”

King Terrell had been correct: Meredith was exactly what this kingdom needed.

Heart heavy with guilt, I worked with her for three hours, taking only a short break for lunch.

Carl and Connor held an eating race, both trying to impress Meredith by how quickly they could shovel food down their throats without chewing. Theresa tried to hide a vaguely sick, embarrassed look, and Kevin made fun of the younger boys in a way designed to make Meredith laugh. Of course, she didn’t.

“Where will your wedding be held?” Theresa asked as we finished with the last of the day’s work. “Since the cathedral is”—she glanced at me—“gone.”

I pushed away the memory of last night: Tobiah’s hands on my back, his mouth on mine. . . .

That couldn’t happen again.

“The palace has a lovely chapel.” Meredith didn’t miss a beat as she pulled a lid onto a full crate. “We’ll use that. I prefer a smaller, more intimate wedding anyway. My parents are paying for much of the ceremony, feast, and ball, but with the kingdom in such a state, I don’t think an extravagant wedding would be appropriate.”

“Oh, of course not.” Theresa shot me a look asking how that wasn’t extravagant.

The clock chimed thirteen, and Meredith turned to me. “His Majesty’s first audience is going to start soon. I thought we should be there to offer a pair of friendly faces.”

“Good idea.” I turned to Theresa and the boys. “Lessons or audience? It’s your choice.”

“Lessons.” Kevin had the gleam of infatuation in his eyes. “Audience will be boring. Just a lot of problems and people talking.”

Grudgingly, Carl and Connor agreed, and I sent the three of them back to their apartments with a guard.

“I hope you don’t mind me coming with you,” Theresa said. “Their company gets exhausting sometimes.”

“Saints, I’m sure.” Meredith hooked her arm with Theresa’s. “I’ve never seen sweeter, more hardworking boys, but they do require constant supervision, don’t they?”

We walked to the throne room, Theresa and Meredith chatting the whole way.

The chamber was already full when we arrived, but there was space at the front reserved for Meredith and me. We squeezed Theresa in between us. Several of Meredith’s friends—Chey, Margot, and the others who frequented the solar for needlework—cast frowns our way, but if Meredith noticed them, she didn’t comment.

Theresa gazed at the dragon art filling the room, awestruck as if she hadn’t spent last evening here, too. “Imagine the redecorating if another House were to take the throne one day.”

“It’s said if another House took the throne, the kingdom would fall apart.” Meredith smiled indulgently. “But that’s just a story House of the Dragon made up centuries ago. The Gearys were Dragon, too, you know.”

“King Tobiah is Dragon, but what’s this ‘heir to four Houses’ I keep hearing?” Theresa frowned at a dragon sculpture. “Doesn’t that count as another House taking the throne?”

“Oh no.” Meredith leaned close and lowered her voice. “It’s another wishful tale, but it is true that King Tobiah’s parents are from two different Houses, and his grandparents cover the other two. Hence the four Houses.”

“That sounds like everyone making themselves feel better by assigning significance to nothing special.”

“Some people appease their fears by idolizing their king.” Meredith nodded thoughtfully. “But that’s what people do sometimes, and there is a little specialness in being a direct descendant of four Houses. It’s unusual.”

The general hum of voices lowered as Tobiah emerged from a group of men he’d been talking with. He took his throne, and his mother took the smaller one next to him. Both were formally dressed; Tobiah wore a gleaming crown.

His eyes scanned the audience, settling on Meredith and me. The prince mask returned. King mask, now.

One of the attendants called the audience to order. “Presenting His Majesty King Tobiah Pierce, House of the Dragon, and Sovereign of the Indigo Kingdom.”