Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)(48)

She shook her head, as if she was pushing away the memories, as well as whatever pain they brought along with them. “Anyway, we need to be out and about in the palace, gathering information, not sitting here.” Xenia got to her feet. “I’ll report back when I know more, Evie.”

Serilda also surged to her feet and shot Xenia a pointed look. “As will I.”

Xenia and Serilda had some long, complicated history that I didn’t understand, but everything was always a competition between them. Sometimes, I felt like a tiny gladiator figurine trapped in an arena diorama, relegated to standing around and watching while the two of them played a perpetual tug-of-war with me.

Xenia and Serilda both promised to report back when they’d learned more, then left. Cho went with them to make sure that Calandre and the other servants were being treated well.

Paloma also headed toward the open doors. I started to follow her into the hallway, but she held out her hand, stopping me.

“I’m going to check on the guards,” she said. “You need to stay here.”

“What? Why?”

“Because Captain Rhea tried to kill you less than an hour ago, and she told you to stay put until dinner—or else,” Paloma said in her annoying, matter-of-fact tone. “You might have beaten Rhea, but it’s better not to tempt fate by giving her another crack at you. Don’t worry. I’ll help Cho make sure that everyone is taken care of, and I’ll tell our people not to start any stupid fights with the Andvarians.”

I threw up my hands in frustration. “But I’m the bloody queen! That’s my job. Not yours.”

Paloma shrugged. “And it’s my job as your personal guard to keep you safe. And you will be much safer staying in here than you will be roaming the hallways where an angry guard could shove his sword into your back or one of the nobles could cut your throat. I’ll come get you when it’s time for dinner. Until then, try to relax, Evie. You’ve already fought for your life once today. Isn’t that enough?”

Before I could protest, she stepped outside and signaled the guards to shut the doors behind her. Not only that, but as soon as the doors swung shut, I heard a loud, telltale click.

“Oh, no, you didn’t!”

I rattled one of the rings, but the doors had been locked from the outside, confirming my suspicion.

I stared at the closed doors in disbelief. My friends had actually locked me in my room like I was an unruly child they didn’t have the patience to deal with. Frustration surged through me, although I resisted the urge to scream and beat my fists against the stone. That would have been pointless. Besides, I didn’t know who might be standing on the other side of the door, and I didn’t want them to hear my petulant fit.

Sighing, I plodded over to the vanity table and sat down. Calandre had once again done an excellent job securing my crown to my head, and it took me a few minutes to remove all the tiny pins from my hair, set them aside, and pluck the band off my head.

I rubbed my thumb over the crown-of-shards crest in the center of the silver, wondering how things had gone so wrong so quickly. The midnight-blue shards glittered at me like seven tiny, narrow eyes, silently accusing me of being the reason for all these problems. I sighed, knowing it was the truth.

Once again, I was tempted to hurl the crown onto the floor and then stomp on it for good measure. But that would have been as childish and pointless as pounding on the locked doors, so I set it down on the table instead.

I didn’t have anything to do until Calandre and her sisters returned to help me get ready for dinner, so I prowled around, studying the furniture and checking to make sure that Rhea—or someone else—hadn’t left me any nasty surprises.

A decanter of poisoned wine sitting with the other bottles on a table along the wall. A trip wire strung along the bathroom floor that would send a crossbow bolt flying out of the shadows. A coral viper tucked in my bed, waiting for me to slip under the sheets so it could strike. I checked for all those things and a dozen others, but I didn’t find any poisons, trip wires, or traps.

I also searched for hidden compartments in the furniture and secret passageways in the walls, hoping that I could slip out of my chambers undetected, but I didn’t find so much as the smallest cubbyhole in the writing desk or a hidden closet in the bathroom. Of course these chambers wouldn’t have a secret passageway. Heinrich would want his guests—especially the royal ones—to stay put and not roam around unsupervised.

My search had taken all of thirty minutes, and there were still hours to go before dinner. Frustrated and desperate, I went over to the glass doors that led to the balcony, wondering if I could get out of my chambers that way. I expected them to be locked from the outside, but the knobs twisted easily. I drew back the doors and strode outside.

The doors opened up onto a large stone balcony that curved outward like a crown. Sadly, there were no steps, and I didn’t see a way to actually get off the balcony, unless I wanted to strip the sheets off my bed and make a crude rope with them. Even then, I was on the third floor, and I doubted I had enough sheets to reach the ground. So I was stuck here.

The balcony might not have any steps, but it did feature two cushioned lounge chairs arranged around a table that boasted a frosted pitcher of blackberry lemonade and several glasses. Bite-size kiwi cakes, strawberry tarts, and chocolate mousse cups were laid out on a silver tray, while another one held grapes, crackers, and cheeses.