Protect the Prince (Crown of Shards #2)(55)

“Heinrich and Dahlia grew up together at court. He was the crown prince, and she worked in the kitchen, but they still fell madly in love. But my grandfather was promised to my grandmother Sophina, who came from a wealthy family, and he married her instead of Dahlia,” Gemma said. “But Dahlia still loved my grandfather, so she stayed at the palace as his mistress. My grandmother eventually had my father and Uncle Frederich, while Dahlia had Uncle Lucas.”

“And they were all one big happy family?”

She snorted. “Of course not. Everyone says that my grandmother despised Dahlia and that the feeling was mutual. But my grandmother died when Frederich was young, and Dahlia stepped in and helped raise him and Dominic.”

“But the king never married her,” I murmured.

“Nope. Apparently, he asked her to marry him several times after my grandmother died, but Dahlia always said no. But the two of them seem happy enough, so no one really says anything about her anymore. She’s like a grandmother to me, and even my father treats her like she’s part of our family.”

Curiouser and curiouser. I wondered why Dahlia hadn’t married the king after his first wife had died. After all, that would have greatly improved both her and Lucas’s standing at court.

I opened my mouth to ask Gemma another question when a knock sounded on the main chamber doors.

“My queen? May I come in?” Calandre’s voice drifted inside. “It’s time to get ready for dinner.”

As if I had any choice in the matter since I was the one who’d been locked in here. But I called out to her. “Just a minute!”

I got to my feet, as did Gemma and Grimley. I held out my arms, and Gemma hugged me again. She stepped back, and I leaned forward and patted Grimley’s head. He wagged his tail, and the sudden, strong motion knocked the clay pots off the railing and sent them crashing down to the ground.

Gemma winced. “Don’t worry. I’ll clean those up before the servants find them. And I’ll see you at the dinner.”

She smiled at me again, then climbed up onto Grimley’s back like he was a pony. The gargoyle flapped his stone wings and soared up into the air. Gemma waved at me, and then the two of them dove below the balcony, out of sight.

“My queen?” Calandre knocked again, and the distinctive sound of a key turning in a lock rang out.

I sighed, then left the balcony and headed inside to get ready for dinner.

*

Calandre, Camille, and Cerana spent the next hour fussing over me. I once again refused to wear a gown, but the thread master did make me don a fresh tunic. I also insisted on taking my sword and dagger. Calandre didn’t like it, but she could hardly argue given my earlier fight with Rhea.

Instead, she sighed and reached for some more pins on the vanity table. “Well, let’s at least make sure that your crown doesn’t fall off and drop into the soup bowl.”

She jabbed even more pins into my scalp, making me wince, but I couldn’t argue with her either. I’d already attracted enough attention without doing something as stupid as losing my crown during dinner.

Calandre slid a few more pins into my hair, then pronounced me fit for royal company. She and her sisters left the chambers, and I followed them through the open doors.

Paloma was waiting in the hallway, along with several Bellonan and Andvarian guards. All the guards had their hands on their swords and were eyeing each other with barely restrained hostile intent. Apparently, my defeating Captain Rhea had created even more tension between the two groups. Terrific. Just terrific.

Under the tense, watchful gazes of the Andvarians, Paloma and the Bellonan guards escorted me through the hallways. We passed by the open doors that led into the throne room. The lights had been turned down low in there, but I could still make out the royal crest—that snarling gargoyle face—gleaming in the white and gray diamonds embedded in the top of the jet throne. I just hoped that tonight’s dinner went better than my first meeting with the king had.

Eventually, we wound up in front of another set of double doors that were also standing wide open. I drew in a breath, then let it out and strode forward.

The king’s private dining hall was much smaller and simpler than I expected. Tables lined the walls, while a larger, longer table took up the center of the room. A few bits of silver gleamed in the gargoyle faces carved into the columns, and a diamond chandelier shaped like a large crown hung over the main table, but those were the only embellishments.

More than three dozen people were gathered inside, including Serilda, Cho, Xenia, and Sullivan, and it looked as though I was the last to arrive. Of course. I was the only one who’d been locked in her room all afternoon.

Heinrich was sitting at the head of the center table, and he nodded, acknowledging my presence. I did the same. I started to go over to the king, but Xenia stepped up beside me.

“We should make a lap around the room first,” she murmured. “And try to smooth things over with the nobles. I already suggested it to Sullivan, and he agreed to tell his father. You and Heinrich can talk during dinner.”

I sighed, but I dutifully followed her, smiling and exchanging inane chitchat with the Andvarian nobles. They were all polite enough, but lingering anger and mistrust filled their faces, and they all smelled of vinegary tension and sour-milk reluctance. They didn’t like me any more than the guards did.

Captain Rhea was also here, stationed against the wall behind the king’s chair. Every once in a while, she shot me a nasty look, but she didn’t approach me. That was probably best for both of us. But I wasn’t angry with her. Not anymore. Not since I had realized that Rhea’s father had died during the Seven Spire massacre and that she was in love with the crown prince.