Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)(42)

What was surprising was that Dominic stepped down from the dais, drew Rhea aside, and started talking to her. At first, I thought that he was speaking to her as any prince would to a captain about to go into battle—until he gently touched her arm.

Princes definitely didn’t do that to their captains, and his lemony worry tickled my nose. Dominic was far more concerned about her than he should have been.

Rhea winced, as though his touch pained her, but she still leaned into it and stared up at the crown prince as if he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. I drew in another breath, and the soft, sweet aroma of her rosy love drifted over to me.

The captain of the royal guards in love with the crown prince? Now that was interesting.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed their little tête-à-tête. Heinrich watched them a moment, then started speaking to Dahlia, who stepped up beside him.

Gemma drifted over to the corner of the dais that was the closest to me. She chewed on her lip and gave me a worried look, then gestured at Alvis, who went over to her. The two of them started whispering to each other.

Calandre and the rest of the Bellonan servants and guards remained upstairs, but Serilda, Cho, Xenia, and Paloma came down from the balcony and gathered around me. Sullivan also left the balcony.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Xenia stabbed her cane against the floor in obvious displeasure. “Picking a fight with the Andvarians is not the best way to start this trip.”

“Especially with the captain of the royal guard.” Paloma eyed the other woman. “Rhea looks like she knows how to fight.”

“That’s because she does know how to fight,” Cho said. “Something that Serilda spent a fair amount of time teaching her how to do.”

My head snapped around to her. “You taught Rhea? Like you taught me?”

“Not exactly.” Serilda shifted on her feet. “Rhea was already an excellent fighter. I just helped her improve her techniques the last time the Black Swan troupe toured through Glanzen.”

“So you made her even deadlier than she already was. Terrific,” I muttered. “Just terrific.”

Rhea looked over and gave me a smug smile, as if she knew exactly what Serilda was telling me.

Cho laid his hand on my shoulder. “You’re just as good as she is. You can beat her.”

“Don’t worry, Evie,” Paloma chimed in, dropping her hand to her mace. “If she kills you, then I will be more than happy to avenge you. We might not be at the Black Swan anymore, but we’ll always be gladiators.”

Somehow, I held back a groan. My dying would be bad enough, but Paloma trying to kill Rhea afterward would only make things that much worse. I opened my mouth to tell my friend that under no circumstances was she to try to avenge me, but Paloma gave me a hot glare, as did the ogre on her neck, and I bit back my words.

I glanced around, expecting Sullivan to walk over to us, to me, but I didn’t see him. Xenia realized that I was searching for him and discreetly pointed her finger to the right. I looked in that direction.

Sullivan was on the throne room floor, heading toward the dais, as though he was going to talk to his father. But someone stepped in front of him—the beautiful, auburn-haired woman I’d noticed earlier.

The woman smiled at Sullivan, and I could see the interest in her face as easily as I could the massive gargoyles carved into the columns. Sullivan gave her a curt nod in return. My heart clenched tight.

“Who’s that talking to Sully?” I asked.

Cho cleared his throat before answering. “That’s Helene Blume. She’s from an old, prestigious noble family. Lots of money, lots of land, lots of power and influence at court.”

Xenia studied the other woman, as did the ogre on her neck, and both of their faces scrunched up in thought, as if they were trying to remember something. Then Xenia’s face relaxed, as did the one of her inner ogre. “Helene Blume. Oh, yes. Prince Frederich’s fiancée.”

I blinked in surprise. “What?”

“She was Prince Frederich’s fiancée. The two of them were supposed to have been married . . . well, now. Sometime in the early autumn.” Xenia paused. “At least until Heinrich broke off their engagement and offered Frederich up to Cordelia and Vasilia instead.”

“How awful for her,” I said.

Xenia shrugged. “You know how these things work. A match is only a match until someone better comes along.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Helene,” Cho chimed in. “She always seems to land on her feet.”

Serilda jabbed her elbow into his side, like he’d said something he shouldn’t have.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

The two of them exchanged a glance. Then Cho gave me a bright smile, although the dragon on his neck grimaced.

“Oh, nothing really. Just that she’s a noble with a lot of money, power, and opportunities.” He hesitated. “If you really want to know more about Helene, then you should talk to Lucas. After all, he’s . . . familiar with everyone here. Right, Serilda?”

Cho’s words made perfect sense, but Serilda glowered at him as if he’d once again said something he shouldn’t have. The two of them obviously weren’t revealing everything they knew about Helene. What was so special about the other woman?

“Helene doesn’t matter right now,” Serilda said. “You need to focus on beating Rhea.”