Several loud knock-knock-knocks startled me awake the next morning. I sat bolt upright in bed, my mind spinning in a dozen different directions before latching onto one disturbing thought.
Leonidas knew who I really was, and he had sent a guard to capture me just like he had all those years ago in the woods.
My heart galloped up into my throat. I grabbed the dagger hidden underneath my pillow and scrambled out of bed, ready to fight—
One of the doors opened, and Anaka stuck her head inside the chambers. “Sorry to disturb you, my lady, but Princess Delmira asked me to fetch you for breakfast.”
I shoved my arm behind my back so she wouldn’t see the dagger in my hand. “Of course. Silly me, for oversleeping. Let me get dressed.”
Anaka bobbed her head, drew back, and shut the door.
Fifteen minutes later, I stepped out of the chambers wearing a pair of black leggings and one of the light purple tunics from the armoire. My dagger was hidden in the side of my right boot, while the tearstone arrow was nestled in my left one. I didn’t dare leave them behind, lest one of Milo’s spies decide to search my chambers. Besides, they were the only weapons I had.
Anaka set off down the hallway. Instead of heading toward Delmira’s chambers, she led me to a different part of the palace.
“Where are we going? I thought the breakfast was in Princess Delmira’s chambers.”
Anaka shot me a nervous glance. “The breakfast has been moved to Queen Maeven’s dining hall.”
Worry bubbled up in my stomach, but I followed the girl until she finally stopped in front of some open doors. Anaka gestured for me to go inside, then scurried away. I envied her escape, but I swallowed my dread, lifted my chin, and strode forward.
The doors led into a modest-size dining hall with a single rectangular table in the center of the room. The only other furnishing was a large midnight-purple banner bearing the Morricone royal crest done in silver thread that covered most of one wall.
“Ah, Lady Armina, do come in,” Maeven called out.
The queen was seated at the head of the table, with Delmira and Corvina to her right, and Reiko to her left. I took the empty chair next to Reiko, which was as far away from Maeven as I could get. One more chair perched at the table, next to Corvina.
Maeven glanced at the younger woman. “Are you sure Emperia won’t be joining us?”
Corvina smiled at the queen, but there was a sharp edge to her expression. “My mother is feeling a bit under the weather. The excitement of last night’s dinner wore her out.”
Her words sounded innocent enough, but anger rippled off her, and an image of Emperia kissing Milo flickered through my mind. Despite what she’d told Wexel last night, Corvina didn’t like her mother fucking her fiancé. Couldn’t blame her for that.
Maeven’s lips puckered, as if she didn’t believe Corvina’s lie, but she clapped her hands together. The loud sound made me flinch. “Let us eat.”
Servants streamed into the dining hall, setting bowls of fresh fruit, cheeses, bacon, eggs, and potatoes on the table, along with platters piled high with blackberry pancakes like the ones I’d eaten in Leonidas’s library yesterday morning. I filled my plate and concentrated on my food, which was delicious, and washed everything down with a mug of warm, spiced orange cider.
While we ate, Delmira kept up a steady stream of chatter, peppering both Reiko and me with questions about our supposed hometowns, businesses, and more. Corvina chimed in when appropriate, although her comments were more insulting than kind. Maeven remained largely silent, only addressing her daughter from time to time.
The longer the breakfast dragged on, the tenser I became. Soon, I was grinding my teeth at every soft scrape of a knife and ting-ting of a fork on a plate. What was the point of this meal? Because I seriously doubted Maeven had summoned us here simply to have breakfast.
Beside me, Reiko laughed and talked with Delmira, but below the table, out of sight of the others, she tapped her right index finger on her thigh in a quick, nervous rhythm. Her morph mark had migrated back to her right hand, and the dragon’s black eyes had narrowed to slits. The Ryusaman spy was as worried as I was. It was one thing to be an anonymous noble skulking about court, but it was quite another to dine with a queen, especially this queen.
Eventually, the food was cleared away, and the purple cloth was removed from the table and replaced with a fresh one. I eyed Reiko, who shrugged back at me. She didn’t know what was going on either. Delmira and Corvina also looked puzzled.
Maeven clapped her hands again, and more servants streamed into the hall, pushing two metal carts, which they rolled up to the table next to Reiko and me.
“You ladies both purport to be metalstone masters and jewelers of some renown,” Maeven said in a light, pleasant tone, although her smug expression filled me with even more wariness. “I thought it would be entertaining to see what you two can do.”
She waved her hand, and the servants removed the purple cloths covering the carts, revealing a stunning array of gemstones. Sapphires, diamonds, rubies, amethysts, emeralds, and more glimmered on purple velvet trays, along with gold and silver settings. A second, lower shelf held tweezers, polishing cloths, magnifying glasses, and other tools.
Reiko smiled at Maeven. “Of course, Your Majesty. Is there something in particular you would like?”
The queen gestured at Delmira. “This was my daughter’s idea, so make something for her. I insist.”
That last part was most definitely an order. Reiko’s smile faltered, but she reached for the closest tray of gemstones. I did the same with my own cart.
For the next hour, Reiko and I worked side by side, while Maeven, Delmira, and Corvina chatted and sipped their cider. While I fiddled with the jewels, I listened carefully to the conversation. When the talk turned to the upcoming wedding, I raised my head and looked at Corvina.
“You must be so excited for your wedding to Prince Milo. Have you set a date yet?” It seemed like an innocent question, but I was hoping that she would slip up and reveal something about her mother’s involvement with Milo or her own dalliance with Wexel.
“Well, of course I am absolutely mad about Milo, so I would love to get married immediately, but my mother insists on a lengthy engagement.” Corvina pouted, as though the wait truly did annoy her. “Mother says we won’t have time to plan a proper wedding otherwise. So Milo and I are planning to get married next fall.”
Nothing noteworthy there. A lengthy engagement was typical for a royal couple, if only to have enough time to plan the wedding, just as Corvina had said.
“What about you, Lady Armina?” Maeven murmured, staring at me over the top of her mug. “Is there someone special in your life?”
“I’m afraid not, Your Majesty. I haven’t been as lucky as Corvina yet.” I smiled sweetly at the queen, who rolled her eyes at my cloying tone.
“What about Leo?” Delmira asked. “He escorted you back to your chambers after dinner last night. Did the two of you have a chance to talk?”
Despite how kind she was, I could have happily stabbed Delmira through the heart with the tweezers in my hand. The very last thing I needed was for Maeven to think I had designs on her son.
I shrugged off Delmira’s pointed attempt to play matchmaker yet again. “He was a proper gentleman. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Oh, yes. Leonidas is very fond of taking in wounded things,” Maeven murmured.
My fingers curled around my tweezers. Delmira wasn’t the only one here I wanted to stab, but I dropped my head and focused on my work again.
“These jewels are all exquisite, Your Majesty,” Reiko said, changing the subject. “Some of the finest I have ever seen.”
Maeven waved her hand again. “Oh, those are just some baubles I’ve collected over the years.”
“Baubles? Why, I imagine that even Gemma Ripley would be envious of them,” Corvina said.
A cold finger of dread slid down my spine at the sound of my re
al name, and my fingers tightened around the tweezers yet again. Could you actually murder people with tweezers? Probably not, but I was almost willing to try, just to get Corvina to bloody shut up.
“Oh, I doubt my baubles would impress Princess Gemma,” Maeven drawled. “What is that dreadful nickname she has?”
“Glitzma,” Reiko chirped in an entirely too cheerful voice. “Everyone calls her that because of how spoiled and pampered she is.”
Below the table, out of sight of the others, I discreetly lashed out and kicked her ankle. Reiko’s eyes widened in pain, but she smirked back at me as though nothing was wrong.
“Spoiled is right. Why, I heard that Princess Glitzma drapes herself in jewels, even when she’s just lounging around in bed,” Corvina said, a jealous note creeping into her voice.
“Well, I envy Princess Gemma,” Delmira chimed in. “It must be so wonderful to be surrounded by so much beauty all the time, and to not have to worry about anything other than picking out pretty gowns and dancing with suitors at balls.”
Delmira bit her lip and glanced over at her mother, as if she’d revealed too much about herself, but Maeven ignored her daughter and stared at me.
Another cold finger of dread slid down my spine, and my heart started hammering. Had all this talk of Glitzma jogged the queen’s mind? Did she remember the scared girl from the Seven Spire massacre? Did she realize that we were one and the same?
“What do you think of the Andvarian princess, Lady Armina?” Maeven asked.
I fisted my fingers around the tweezers to keep my hands from trembling and gave her a casual shrug. “I don’t think much about her at all. She is in Andvari, and we are here in Morta. Why should I waste my time wondering about some pampered princess that I’ll never meet? I have much more important things to focus on.”
Like making sure I left this room alive.
Corvina shot me a sour look, upset that I was ruining her making fun of me, but I ignored her and stared at the queen. Maeven regarded me over the rim of her mug again, her eyes dark and unreadable. A third cold finger of unease slid down my spine.
“Mmm.” Maeven made a noncommittal sound. “I suppose that Lady Armina is right. Who cares about some spoiled Andvarian princess? Especially when we have the much more interesting task of seeing what you two ladies have created. Ready to show off your designs?”
Beside me, Reiko tensed. She might be able to talk about jewelry, but she wasn’t very good at making it. She had chosen a simple round gold brooch setting and had arranged several purple amethysts in it, along with green emerald leaves, to create a flower pattern. The design was nice enough, but the execution was messy, and she hadn’t properly secured the jewels with the tongs. As soon as she picked up the brooch, all the jewels would fall out of the setting, and Reiko would be revealed as incompetent at best and a fraud at worst.
After that, well, I didn’t know what would happen. At the very least, Reiko would probably be expelled from the palace. At the very worst, Maeven could order her thrown into the dungeon—or executed.
Reiko had helped rescue me from the Blauberg mine, so I didn’t want to see her get hurt. I also selfishly couldn’t take a chance that she wouldn’t crack under pressure and reveal my true identity to save herself. So how could I help her?
A servant carrying a tray full of mugs approached the table. I dropped my hand to my side, made a circular motion with my index finger, and sent out a small burst of magic. The servant’s dress caught on the edge of the jewelry cart sitting next to me, and she jerked to a stop, the mugs sliding off her tray, tumbling to the floor, and spilling cider everywhere.
Startled by the commotion, Maeven, Delmira, and Corvina all looked at the servant. While they were distracted, I quickly and discreetly waved my hand over Reiko’s work tray, concentrating my power on the brooch. In an instant, her design smoothed out, forming a much neater and prettier flower, and the gold prongs curled inward and wrapped tightly around the jewels, firmly anchoring them in place.
Reiko gave me a sharp look, clearly wondering what I was doing.
The servant stammered out a frantic apology and scrambled to clean up the mess. Maeven, Delmira, and Corvina looked at Reiko and me again, and I leaned away from the dragon morph, picked up a cloth, and calmly polished my own design.
“As I was saying, ready to show off your work?” Maeven repeated.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Reiko replied.
She picked up her tray and set it in the middle of the table, so that Maeven, Delmira, and Corvina could all see it.
Delmira clapped her hands together in delight. “It’s so pretty! I love the way you curled the emerald leaves around the amethyst petals.”
Corvina’s lips twisted into a sneer. She wasn’t a fan of the design, but hers wasn’t the opinion that mattered most.
Maeven leaned forward and examined the glittering brooch. Several seconds ticked by in silence. Beside me, Reiko sucked in a breath and straightened up, awaiting the queen’s verdict.
“Very nice,” Maeven murmured.
Reiko let out a soft, relieved sigh. The dragon on her hand exhaled as well, and black smoke drifted out of its mouth and skated across Reiko’s skin before fading away.
Delmira picked up the brooch and pinned it to her dress. Then she looked at me, as did Maeven and Corvina. I slid my own tray to the center of the table.
Delmira gasped. “Oh! How stunning!”
I had chosen a silver ring setting, and I too had done a floral design—three liladorn vines. I had used pieces of jet to form the vines and thorns, then added a few tiny amethyst shards to represent the lilac blossoms. I’d also done a wavy pattern, as though the three vines were snaking up the wearer’s finger.
Corvina leaned forward, far more interested in my design than she had been in Reiko’s, although she soon sniffed her displeasure and sat back. “I suppose that will do, although liladorn wouldn’t have been my choice. Horrible weed.”
Once again, we all looked at Maeven, waiting for her to pass the final judgment. The queen studied the ring for several seconds.
“How lovely—and unusual. Most Mortan jewelers concentrate on strixes, feathers, and the like, but you took a completely different approach. Well done, Lady Armina.”
Her eyes gleamed, and she actually smiled at me, as if something about my design greatly pleased her, although I couldn’t imagine what it might be.
Delmira slid the ring onto her finger. “And it fits perfectly. I love it! Thank you! Thank you both so much!”
She jumped up out of her seat. Reiko and I both stood, and Delmira came around the table and hugged us both. She truly was thrilled with our designs.
Maeven also stood, as did Corvina, and the servants stopped what they were doing, awaiting their queen’s commands.
“Thank you for a most entertaining breakfast, but I’m afraid that duty calls,” Maeven said.
We all curtsied, and the queen swept out of the dining hall.
The second she was gone, Reiko sighed with relief again. Me too. But a small, nagging part of me felt the same way I had last night when Maeven had left the throne room.
That even though the queen was gone, I was in more danger than ever before.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Corvina flounced out of the dining hall without saying another word to Delmira, Reiko, or me. As soon as she left, one of the servants came over and spoke to the princess in a low voice.
Delmira nodded at the servant, then looked at Reiko and me. “Ladies, I must take care of something. Thank you again for the lovely jewelry. I’ll see you both tonight at the ball.”
Reiko and I both bowed our heads to the princess and left the dining hall. It was after ten o’clock now, and servants, nobles, and others were moving through the palace. Reiko and I walked along, smiling and nodding at everyone we passed. Finally, we came to a pair of open doors that led into a library.
Reiko glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to us, then g
rabbed my arm and dragged me inside. No one was sitting at the reading tables or browsing through the bookshelves, but she still pulled me into a dark, deserted corner.
“Why did you use your magic like that?” Reiko hissed, releasing my arm. “That was a foolish risk to take.”
“But?” I challenged.
“But I would have been in trouble otherwise, so thank you.” She muttered the last few words, but the dragon on her hand actually gave me a small, grudging smile.
“You’re welcome.”
Reiko leaned against a bookcase and crossed her arms over her chest. “I must apologize. I underestimated you, Gemma.”
“How so?”
“I didn’t realize you had so much magic—or that you were a mind magier.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I tried to keep my voice calm, but I could hear the strain in my words.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. You used your mind magier magic to fix my brooch. I know that sort of power when I see it.” Reiko gave me a speculative look. “Smart of you and your family to claim that you were only a metalstone master. The Morricones would probably double their efforts against the Ripleys if they realized what you truly are.”
“Maeven already tried to kill me once at Seven Spire,” I snapped back. “And she doesn’t need the excuse of my magic to plot against my family.”
Reiko shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “Either way, you need to be more careful. Maeven might have been distracted by you tripping that servant, but she is no fool. You should leave the palace before she realizes who you really are.”
This time I shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “Perhaps I saved you so that you would owe me a favor and help me leave.”
Reiko eyed me. “No, I don’t think so. You did it simply because you wanted to help me, to save me.” She shook her head. “You must have read too many storybooks as a child. Being a spy is not about saving people. It’s about keeping your own head attached to your shoulders.”
Xenia had expressed similar sentiments to me over the years, and she would have heartily applauded Reiko’s ruthlessness now.
Capture the Crown Page 27
