by Kiera Cass
He gestured to the wall to my left, which was covered in shelves of yet more jewels. Ropes of sapphires and laces of diamonds were laid out before me. We didn’t need windows in this room—the little light we had was enough to make them sparkle blindingly.
“These are the queen’s jewels. Every year, the kings of Coroa and Isolte meet to renew our peace. King Quinten will be coming for his annual visit at the end of the week, and I want you to look like royalty.”
Part of me wanted to faint. Part of me wished my parents were here to see this. But every last piece of me wanted to wear that necklace set with rose-tinted jewels and diamonds.
I walked closer to it, afraid to so much as even point at any of these gorgeous pieces. “Are you quite sure? I know how precious they are.”
“There’s no one I’d trust with them more. And, genuinely, since that night in the ballroom, I’ve been imagining you with something as pretty as these along your neck.” He gestured across the wall of jewels, as if offering them all to me.
Satisfied, I pressed my lips together and lifted my fingers to touch the smooth, cold stones, hovering somewhere between pink and red. “This one.”
“Perfect.”
The thrill of knowing I was going to wear something distinctly made with a queen in mind ran over me, and I turned around, throwing my arms around Jameson. “You are too good to me.”
“Are you happy?”
“Almost too happy,” I answered, holding on to him tightly and realizing something. “Your Majesty. We’ve never been all alone before.”
He smiled. “Well, you are a rather virtuous lady. I’m surprised I managed to get you to slip away with me now.”
“You’re very clever.”
And because we were so close, and alone, and swept up in our own world, when he bent down to kiss me, I leaned into it. To finally be kissed was a wondrous thing, and to be kissed by a king was even more thrilling. Jameson drew me close, holding my chin and pulling away when he deemed the kiss long enough.
Something in his eyes shifted, as if he’d settled upon a decision. His tone became very serious.
“You must brace yourself, Hollis. Many changes are coming for us.”
I swallowed. “For us both, Majesty?”
He nodded. “Over the next few weeks, I intend to make all of Coroa aware of just how much I adore you. That will mean many things. Some will beg for your favor; others will curse your name. But none of that matters, Hollis. I want you for my bride.”
It took all the strength I had to even whisper a reply. “And I would be honored . . . but I worry I’m not worthy.”
He shook his head, carefully tucking a loose curl behind my ear. “I think many who marry into royalty feel that way, but you needn’t worry. Just think of my great-grandmother Albrade. They say that she was as pale as an Isolten when she took her vows,” he joked, “but look at the legend she became.”
I tried to smile, but it was hard to imagine myself doing anything so brave as winning a war.
“I am no soldier,” I replied meekly.
“And I don’t want you to be. All I ask is for you to be everything you already are. That, my sweet Hollis, is what I love you for.”
Love you for, love you for, love you for . . .
The words echoed in my heart, and I wished I had a way to save them in a bottle. He was kind enough to give me another moment to steady myself before going on.
“I’ve grown up without any siblings. My parents both died far too soon. Above anything, you have given me the company in this life that I have longed for. That is all I ask for from you. Anything else anyone wants is superfluous. If you think you can be happy being my partner in this world, then all will be well.”
He spoke so sincerely, with such feeling, that my eyes welled once more. His affection was overwhelming, and as I looked into his eyes, only inches away from mine, I trusted that I could do any task that might be demanded of me so long as I was beside him.
It was such a strange sensation, so very new. In that instant, I knew this must be love. It was more than the weak knees, but the unflinching resolve he inspired in me . . . all of this was unique to Jameson.
I nodded. It was all I could do. But, for him, it was enough.
“I ask that you keep this a secret for now. The lords are still trying to convince me to marry the princess from Bannir for the sake of the border, but I cannot stomach the thought. I need some time to convince them that you and I can make Coroa secure on our own.”
I nodded again. “I shall do the same.”
He looked as if he might kiss me again, but then thought better of it. “I must take you back before anyone has room to question your honor. Come, sweet Hollis, into the madness we go.”
As the doors opened to the Great Room, I blushed as everyone’s focus turned to us. My heart fluttered mercilessly, and I wondered if they could see it.
They were looking upon their queen.
Seven
OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, Delia Grace hounded me relentlessly. I sometimes hummed as if I hadn’t heard a single thing she was saying, or occupied myself with another task entirely, smiling the entire time. Today I was bent over some embroidery on a new dress, but, as focused as I tried to be, Delia Grace could only be ignored for so long.
“Why won’t you at least tell me what you saw?”
I giggled. “It’s nothing more than a collection of rooms. It just so happens that Jameson lives in these ones.”
“What in the world took you so long?”
I pulled carefully at my gold thread, trying to keep the design clean. “We were gone for all of five minutes.”
“Fifteen!”
I looked over my shoulder at her in shock. “Surely not.”
“I was out there, waiting with the rest of court. I assure you, we were all keeping time.”
I shook my head, smiling. “You’ll know about everything soon enough.”
“Did he marry you?”
I nearly pricked my finger. “Do you think so little of me? King or no king, getting married without a witness is as bad as eloping. Do you honestly think Jameson would tarnish my reputation in such a way?”
She at least had the decency to look apologetic. “No. Sorry, Hollis. But then why won’t you tell me the truth?”
“Can I not enjoy a little surprise every once in a while? Or a secret? Goodness knows they’re impossible to keep at court.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, if that’s not true, then nothing is.” Sighing, she walked over, placing her hands on my shoulders. “If something important happens, you will tell me, yes?”
“Trust me, I wish I could tell you everything.” I pulled at my stitches again. The dress looked rather nice, and it was a welcome change to have something else to occupy my thoughts.
“Just tell me this: Are things going as I suspected they would?”
I pressed my lips together, looking up at her from under my lashes. Her responding smile was enough.
“Very well, then,” she said. “You’re going to need ladies.”
I set the dress down. “No. I don’t want to build a circle of false friends. Most of the girls at court have been staring daggers at me since the night of the ball; I don’t want them near me all the time.”
“You need people to attend you.”
“No,” I replied. “A queen needs people to attend her. I have no such title . . . at the present.”
“Hollis.”
“And if I attempt to amass a household, the lords will talk. It seems they’re still hesitant, and I don’t wish to do anything that might bring hardship upon Jameson.”
She sighed. “Fine, then. If you were going to ask one more person at court to see to your needs, who would it be? And, in the name of Estus, don’t you dare say that pig-nosed Anna Sophia.”
I sighed. “Can I think about it?”
“Yes, but not for long. This is no game, Hollis.”
I remembered when, not even a few weeks ago, I had
thought of it all as just that. But Delia Grace was right; these were the paths of our lives being forged right before us. It was nothing to play with.
“Where do you think I’d find more thread?”
Delia Grace stood up. “The royal seamstress ought to have loads. I can go find her.”
“No, no,” I said. “Let me. I’m sure you have lots and lots of plotting to do for my life,” I added with a wink.
I left through the side door from my room in my family’s apartments, which let out into the middle of the castle, a bustling intersection of activity. I took a second to gaze around. Even though I had spent a significant amount of time at Keresken Castle, I still always found myself in awe of my surroundings.
The wide hallways were grand and ornately decorated; the stonework was even and beautiful; and throughout there were spectacular arches that formed canopies above every space wide enough for them. They often reminded me of upside-down bridges, their spindles coming down as if they wished to touch the tips of our expectant fingers. Magnificent spiral staircases looped through the three upper floors of the castle, and we’d been told the collections of sculptures and paintings housed here surpassed any of those that foreign ambassadors had seen anywhere else on the continent.
My family’s apartments were located on the inner edge of the East Wing, which was a respectable location. Those of great importance lived in the very small North Wing, which was closest to the Great Room, and therefore closest to the king. There were also empty apartments in the North Wing that were reserved for nobles and dignitaries. It was where King Quinten would stay when he came to visit.
Families with long Coroan bloodlines were next, living on the near sides of the East and West Wings, and then those with shorter lines but valuable ties and land on the outer edges. Then less important families, and if you got beyond a certain juncture in the hallways, well, it was clear most people didn’t care if you were present or not. High floors meant you could stay but weren’t necessarily expected to be seen, and the servants made their homes in the floors below the main level.
Beyond the back of the palace, along the high crest of the hill the castle claimed as its own, there were outbuildings, larders, and other spaces where the masses of people who kept the palace operating did the majority of their work. I hoped that was where I might find the seamstress.
“Oh!” I gasped as I rounded a corner a little too quickly.
The two young men I’d almost crashed into looked at me and then dropped into a deep bow. Their hair alone made them unmistakable; these were the boys from Isolte. They wore very loose shirts, the kind men in Coroa wore under their doublet, and they both carried leather bags with tools sticking out of them.
“Oh, please, there’s no need for that,” I insisted, urging them to stand.
The boy with the blinding blue eyes lifted his head. “Perhaps there is, Lady Brite.”
I smiled. “I see you’ve learned my name. But it is my mother who goes by Lady Brite. I am simply Hollis.”
He rose, eyes never breaking contact. “Hollis,” he said. We stood there for a moment, my name hanging between us, and, once again, I found myself having a difficult time looking away. “I’m Silas,” he finally added. “And this is my brother Sullivan.”
The brother merely tipped his head. Silas placed a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you go ahead and take those supplies to the outbuilding? I’ll follow along in just a moment.”
Wordlessly, Sullivan stumbled down into another bow before exiting quickly.
“Sorry about that,” Silas said, turning back to me. “Sullivan is very shy if he doesn’t know you. Actually, he’s shy even if he does.”
I giggled. “Well, you’ll have to apologize for me. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Since when do you have to apologize for anything, my lady? They say you are to be queen.”
My eyes widened.
“Is it not true? I didn’t mean to presume. It’s just, everyone says so when you pass.”
I looked down. “These people . . . do they sound happy when they say it?”
He nodded. “Plenty of them. If they happen to be around about our age, let’s just say the tone is a bit more envious than awed.”
I sighed. “Understood. Well, there is no ring on my finger, so no one can really say one way or the other.”
“Then if this all comes about, I hope that you two will be very happy. Isolte has a queen, but it is universally acknowledged that she lacks a level of strength and generosity one should expect from a leader. Your people will be fortunate to have you.”
I looked at my feet, feeling a blush coming on, and noticed the tools in his hands again.
“Forgive me, but why is it you’re still working now that you’re here? You’ve left Isolte—which, by the way, may be one of the smartest things a person could do—so why not start over and be a gentleman like your father? It would certainly be cleaner.”
He laughed. “I’m proud of what I can do. I’m best with swords and armor, but if Sullivan doesn’t mind working with me, I can make jewelry, too.” He shrugged, still looking quite pleased with himself. “After presenting that sword to your king, I—”
“Ah, but he is your king now, too,” I commented.
The boy—Silas—nodded. “Forgive me. We’re all still adjusting, and I’m a bit suspicious of kings at the present.”
He took a pause before returning to our conversation. “Since presenting our sword to the king, we’ve received several requests for more, and I think my mother even managed to talk someone into commissioning a necklace.”
I put my hands on my hips, staring at him, impressed. “And here I didn’t take Isoltens to be artists.” He smiled and shrugged. “That’s a rather handy skill. How did you learn it if you were a courtier yourself?”
“Our manor was close enough to the castle that we could come and go with ease, so most of our time was spent at home.” A whimsical smile crept across his face. “My father’s greatest regret is not developing a practical skill in his youth, so when I expressed an interest in metalwork, he made it possible for me to learn. The first sword I made was for my cousin Etan?” He said it like I might have some idea who he was talking about. “He needed a good battle sword for a tournament. The handle shook too much for him to trust it, and a huge chip came out on his very first swing, but he used it for that whole tournament just the same.” He said all this with an expression that told me he was picturing the whole scene. “It’s been three years, and I’m proud of what I can do, but I’m always trying to improve. We all are. Even my sister does metalwork, though she does mostly finer things, the finishing touches on the jewelry Sullivan and I make.” He held up his hands. “Our fingers are too big.”
I studied his hands, noting they were dry and there was soot along the beds of his nails. He might have been raised a noble, but his hands were anything but gentlemanly. Something about that made them strikingly beautiful to me. I tucked mine behind my back, sighing in admiration when I answered. “That’s amazing.”
He shrugged. “Not so impressive in Isolte. The arts aren’t quite as important there.”
I raised my eyebrows, allowing that. “Is it as cold as everyone says?”
“If you’re speaking of the winds, yes, they can be brutal sometimes. And if you’re speaking of the general public . . .” He raised his eyebrows. “I find that being around some people in Isolte can make the temperature drop even further.” He chuckled at his own joke. “Don’t you know what it’s like? Haven’t you ever been yourself?”
The surprise in his voice was fair. If a Coroan was going to visit anywhere, Isolte was the easiest place to go . . . though perhaps not the most welcoming.
“No. My father is always working, and if he travels, he prefers to go alone or with Mother. I’ve asked to go to Eradore—I heard the beaches there are breathtaking—but it’s never happened.” I didn’t want to say that I’d stopped asking ages ago, when it became clear they wouldn
’t have minded my company so much if I’d had the common sense to be born a boy, or at least have come after I had a brother. But that didn’t happen, and I didn’t know where the blame for that belonged, but they decided it was mine.
I had Delia Grace anyway; she was better than a long ride in a stuffy carriage, regardless of the destination. That’s what I told myself.
He hoisted the bag back up onto his shoulder. “Well, I’m sure His Majesty will take you anywhere your heart desires. It sounds as if he’d do anything for a lady he rescued from a freezing river.” He made a teasing face.
“That happened before you even got here! And it wasn’t frozen! And I was defending myself from an onslaught of berries. If anything, I didn’t do enough.”
“I’d have liked to have seen that,” he commented playfully. “The ladies back in Isolte don’t even bend to touch their hands to the water, much less risk slipping in.”
“Probably for the best. That river claimed a very dear pair of shoes.”
He laughed, kicking at the stone floor idly. “Well, I suppose I should find Sullivan. The staff was kind enough to find a space for us to work, and it’ll be nice to feel . . . useful.”
“I know what you mean. Which reminds me, have you seen a seamstress’s or dresser’s room back this way? I’m looking for thread.”
“Yes,” he answered enthusiastically. “Take the next stairway to the second floor. There isn’t a door on the room, so you should be able to see it.”
“Ah. Well, thank you very much, Silas.”
He nodded his head. “Anytime, Lady Hollis.”
He hurried on his way, and I walked back to the stairwell, thinking that it was much darker back here than I was used to. As I climbed the stairs, I thought upon the countless visits of kings and dignitaries, of emissaries and representatives that had happened since my family made Keresken Castle our primary residence. I’d seen people from all over the continent. And yet, speaking in the hallway with Silas Eastoffe marked the first time I’d ever spoken to a foreigner.
