Lady Smoke (Ash Princess Trilogy #2)(72)

“Just a moment, my dear,” he says, though there is no cloying sweetness to his voice now. Instead he sounds angry and panicked, like a cornered animal. Distantly, I know that is what makes him dangerous, but I force myself to turn back toward him.

“Yes, Your Highness?” I say.

Instead of responding, the King leans down toward his guards and murmurs something I can’t make out, gesturing toward me before getting to his feet. As he exits the throne room, the guards come toward us. I notice only an instant too late that they draw their weapons.

“Prinz S?ren, by the order of King Etristo you are under arrest for the murder of Archduke Etmond.”

Without thinking about their drawn weapons or the suitors still present, I step between the approaching guards and a shell-shocked S?ren.

“Prinz S?ren was not responsible for the poisoning of the Archduke,” I say, enunciating each word carefully so that the entire throne room can hear me. “If S?ren wanted to kill me, he’s had plenty of opportunities to do so,” I say. “He wouldn’t use something as cowardly as poison, and if he had, I’m sure he’d have succeeded in properly killing me.”

It hardly feels like a solid defense, even to my own ears.

“I’ll go willingly,” S?ren says quietly, his hand coming to rest on my shoulder. “I did nothing wrong and I’m sure King Etristo will see that.”

He moves to step toward the guards, both his hands held up and clearly visible. Before I know what I’m doing, I reach out and grab his hand, forcing him to turn back to face me. It’s only then that I remember that we are not alone and that there are a dozen suitors watching who will read far too much into one simple touch. I pull my hand away quickly and let it fall to my side.

“We’ll get you out,” I tell him quietly. “I did it once, I’ll do it again.”

S?ren’s smile is brittle, but he at least pretends to believe me as the guards clap bejeweled manacles onto his wrists and drag him away.





“HE IS PART OF MY council,” I tell King Etristo, struggling to get the words past my clenched teeth. “When you promised me protection, I was under the impression that that protection applied to my entire party.”

From his place behind his large marble desk, King Etristo barely spares me a glance. He gives a beleaguered sigh and rolls his eyes skyward. It’s hardly respectful, but he doesn’t see me as an equal so much as he sees me as female body who speaks far more than strictly necessary. He wouldn’t even meet with me until after he’d had breakfast, which means S?ren has been stuck in a Sta’Criveran prison for eight hours.

“As I have explained several times already, my dear, I cannot guarantee the safety of those who break Sta’Crivero’s laws. Do you not consider murder against the law in Astrea?”

Warmth seeps through my skin until my hands begin to feel hot. I ball them into fists at my sides, though that does little to smother the heat. The warmth coursing through my veins grows hotter every time he says the words my dear. I force myself to take deep breaths. Nothing like the singed sheets has happened since we left the ship—only the occasional heat in my hands and arms—and I can almost convince myself I imagined the whole thing, but at times like this I know I didn’t. I feel the fire inside me and I know that if it gets out now…I can’t let it.

“Of course we do,” I say, forcing my voice to stay calm and level. I look to Heron, Blaise, and Artemisia standing behind me before turning back to the King. “But such a serious accusation requires proof and you have provided none apart from his bloodline. If that is a good enough reason to imprison someone, I’m surprised your prisons aren’t overflowing.”

King Etristo steeples his fingers atop his desk and the sheaf of papers that I suspect he was only pretending to read to avoid me. “As we speak, Salla Coltania is instructing my apothecaries in how to make another draught of truth serum. I understand the process can take some time,” he says. “If that clears his name, I will release him with my humblest apologies, but one can’t be too careful with your safety, my dear. Especially since, as I understand it, he was spending quite a few nights in your bedroom.”

The implication in his voice makes me blush and I’m glad my Shadows are the only ones who hear him, though I’m sure that bit of gossip has already taken root, no doubt helped along by my own actions in the throne room. I stepped between S?ren and the armed guards, after all.

“Two nights,” I say before gesturing to my three Shadows. “Along with the rest of my advisors. If he’d truly wanted me dead, there would have been no easier time for him to accomplish it than when I was asleep.”

The corners of the King’s mouth pull down into a deep frown, and he finally looks at me. “Well, then Salla Coltania’s potion should clear him of all charges and he will be let go in just a few days,” he says, as if speaking to an irritating child.

I want to scream, but instead I force a smile. “Very well,” I say tightly. “But since Prinz S?ren was my trusted advisor on matters of international affairs, I can’t in good conscience meet with any suitors until he is free to advise me. You understand, of course? I must protect my interests.”

King Etristo looks like he wishes he could strike me, but after a second, a pleasant mask falls into place.

“If you insist, my dear,” he says. “Though I worry your lack of trust will be seen as a slight.”