Incendiary (Hollow Crown #1)(82)

“Hello, there,” Lady Nuria says to me, batting her impossibly long lashes. She sets her teacup back on the saucer and tilts her head to the side, and that gesture reminds me of an owl curiously observing its prey.

“Lady Renata,” Leo says in a tone of surprise. He gets up from a cushioned bench and stands at attention. “Do you require me?”

“I lost my way to Justice Méndez’s workshop,” I say, a little too loudly for the benefit of the courtiers whispering behind their open fans.

One is Lady Garza, whose memory of the prince I stole on the sky bridge. She averts her eyes and sits at an angle that faces away from me.

“Lady?” a woman whines to Leo. Her dress is an extravagant thing, not at all suited for tea. There are beads and crystals sewn in patterns across the bust, and her gloves are fine lace. She has a short, haughty laugh as she eyes me up and down. “What is she the lady of exactly? Our Lady of Ruins?”

“Forgive me, Lady Borbónel.” Leo swallows hard but keeps his eyes on the ground.

I want to tell him that I was right in insisting he not refer to me with a title. I shouldn’t have come here, but I wanted to get a look at Lady Nuria myself. She, however, is the only one of the courtiers not laughing.

Lady Nuria sets her teacup down. Her slender hands rest on her lap. Her smile cuts precious dimples on her face, and in this moment, I want to hate her.

But the moment passes when her smirk lands on the source of my humiliation. “Tell me, Lady Borbónel, before your father was gifted the title of Duque of Salinas by King Fernando, what was he?”

Lady Borbónel’s already white skin pales. She flips her fan open in a snap. “A merchant.”

“But he was not always a merchant,” Lady Nuria says, that smile betraying the sharp edge of her words. “You may correct me if I’m wrong; however, I do believe he was from my citadela, where my father, the Duque of Tresoros, granted his skilled and trusted Majordomo Borbónel a ship to trade under my family’s name.”

Leo’s eyes flick from Lady Nuria to Lady Borbónel, but I’m fascinated by the other girls. They are equally split in horror and delight at their friend being cut down.

“I do not know what you’re getting at.” Borbónel’s face twists into a sour, puckered look.

“I only find it strange that a change of title bothers you when it comes to this young girl, but not when it is advantageous to you.”

“My father earned his—”

“And who is to say Lady Renata has not earned hers?”

“That is not a lady. That is an unnatural creature that shouldn’t be walking around the palace as if she owns it.”

Everything within me is screaming to turn. To run. To find anywhere but here. But my feet won’t move, as if they’re sinking into the earth of the garden.

“Tell me, Lady Renata,” Lady Nuria says. “Who gave you that seal upon your breast?”

“Justice Méndez,” I say, my voice like the crumble of ash.

“The justice deemed you trustworthy enough to wear his seal,” Lady Nuria repeats. She picks up her teacup once again and sets challenging eyes on Lady Borbónel. “Do you question the word of the justice?”

“No,” the lady says between gritted teeth.

“Please, join me,” Lady Nuria says, patting the velvet cushion beside her.

I start to object, to retreat, but Lady Borbónel sucks in a breath. “If she is to join, I will not sit here.”

“Then you are free to go,” Lady Nuria says with a close-lipped smile. I hate that I’m impressed by her composure. The way everything about her is elegant, even the brown coils escaping from her carefully arranged hair. She holds herself as if she knows how much she’s worth, and yet, this fierce, beautiful girl was going to marry my enemy.

Lady Borbónel stands, knocking her chair to the ground. She stomps away and waits. Her two friends rise from their seats and give Lady Nuria a curt nod before taking their leave.

“My mother was right,” Lady Borbónel says, exaggerating her loudness for the benefit of everyone within earshot. “We should not associate with the prince’s castoffs.”

If Lady Nuria is bothered by this, her expression does not show it. She simply moves her hand from the seat she offered me. I fear I have to stay after all that.

“You did not have to do that on my account,” I say.

The two remaining courtiers are a bit older, perhaps midtwenties. Only one of them is already married, by the two rings on her fingers. The other has a crown of golden hair braided in long plaits. She reminds me of Margo.

“Leo, I believe our guest requires a teacup, if you please.” When she looks up at Leo, I can see her true smile. He gives me a tiny wink as he steps out of the canopy, leaving me alone with the three ladies.

“Lady Nuria, I have missed your smart mouth in court these past few months.” The married woman chuckles—this close I notice the seal of Soria. “The Sun Festival has brought out all the hounds vying for the prince.”

“And here, I believed the Sun Festival was about piety,” Nuria says, flashing me a smirk.

“I thought we celebrated the Father of Worlds destroying the wicked Lady of Shadows?” Lady Soria asks, completely having missed Nuria’s sarcasm.