Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)(47)
The captain hadn’t said a word during our entire march, and she strode into the room without breaking her angry silence. Once again, I had no choice but to follow her.
Like everything else at Glitnir, the chambers were pristine and spectacular. The left side of the room featured gray velvet settees and chairs arranged around a fireplace, while the right side boasted a writing desk, along with other smaller tables and chairs. An enormous four-poster bed covered with a gray duvet and mounds of black pillows dominated the back half of the room, along with an armoire, a nightstand, and a vanity table that was even larger than the one in the queen’s chambers at Seven Spire.
A set of double doors off to the left opened up onto a large stone balcony, while a door off to the right led into a bathroom done in gray and black tile. A gray porcelain tub mounted on silver gargoyle heads took up most of the bathroom, along with a long counter, a sink, and a toilet, all trimmed with silver.
Jewels glittered and gleamed everywhere I looked, from the sapphire knobs on the writing desk drawers to the diamond handles on the armoire to the rubies embedded in the wooden frame that circled the vanity table mirror. The area was even more opulent than the hallways and certainly richer than anything at Seven Spire, including the queen’s chambers. Why, those sapphire knobs alone were easily worth more than the crown on my head.
“Several guards will be posted outside, in case you need anything, Your Majesty.” Rhea spat out the words. “You should rest and prepare for dinner.”
Her meaning was clear—I was not to leave the chambers until Heinrich summoned me.
Rhea didn’t wait for a response before she stormed out of the room. The Andvarian guards followed her, although several of them stayed behind in the hallway outside and eyed the Bellonan guards with clear hostility.
“All things considered, that went pretty well,” I murmured. “At least she didn’t try to take my head off with her sword again.”
“Oh, yes,” Xenia drawled. “What amazing diplomatic progress you’ve made.”
A knock sounded on one of the open doors, and Calandre bustled inside, along with her sisters and several servants carrying my luggage. Under Calandre’s watchful eyes, the servants quickly unpacked my things. I told the thread master about Heinrich’s dinner invitation, and she promised to return to help me get ready. Calandre left the chambers, with her sisters and the servants trailing behind her. Two Bellonan guards stepped forward and pulled the doors shut behind them.
Now that we were alone, Serilda, Cho, Xenia, and Paloma relaxed in chairs in front of the fireplace, but I started pacing from one side of the room to the other and back again, staring at the closed doors every time I passed them.
“Will Calandre and the rest of the servants and guards be safe out there?” I asked in a worried voice.
“Safe enough,” Serilda said. “Our people will be given their own rooms next to the other servants and guards. There might be some skirmishes between our people and the Andvarians, but Heinrich will honor his offer of hospitality. Rhea will follow his orders, and she’ll tell her people to do the same. Heinrich won’t harm you or anyone in the Bellonan entourage while we’re at Glitnir.”
“But that doesn’t mean someone else won’t take matters into their own hands,” Cho pointed out. “Everyone is still quite angry about Frederich’s murder. I’ll tell the servants and guards to be careful, and we will all do the same.”
Serilda, Paloma, and Xenia nodded.
“I thought that when I killed Vasilia that I had killed her cruelty too. But that’s not the case. She’s still fucking me over, even from beyond the grave.” I sighed and looked at Xenia. “What can I do to convince Heinrich that I had nothing to do with the massacre?”
Xenia shrugged. “I don’t think you can. At least, not until you show him what happened. Even then, he still might not believe you. All you can do is see how Heinrich acts at dinner. Then maybe you can tell whether he’ll agree to a new treaty.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
She shrugged again. “Then we will pack up, return to Bellona, and think of another way to deal with the Mortans.”
Not what I wanted to hear, but telling hard truths was Xenia’s job as my advisor. Still, I kept pacing in frustration.
“Well, I’m concerned about something else,” Serilda said. “I’ve spent a lot of time at Glitnir over the years, and I’ve never seen Heinrich like this before.”
Cho nodded, agreeing with her. “Me neither.”
“Like what?” I asked.
Serilda tapped her fingers on her chair arm. “I don’t know, exactly. Heinrich isn’t the same as I remember. He almost looks . . . ill.” Her eyebrows drew together, and her blue gaze grew dark and distant, as if she was trying to use her magic to sort through all the possibilities that might explain her unease.
“His son was murdered, along with his ambassador and his countrymen,” Paloma pointed out. “We’re all a harsh reminder of that, especially Evie. That’s enough to make anyone ill.”
“Yes, it is,” Xenia murmured. “Yes, it is.”
Her low, strained voice made it sound like she was speaking from personal experience, as did the scent of ashy heartbreak that wafted off her. But how could that be? As far as I knew, Xenia didn’t have any children. Then again, I hadn’t realized she was a spy either, much less a cousin to the Ungerian queen. I wondered if I would ever get to see the real Xenia, whomever she might be.