Protect the Prince (A Crown of Shards Novel)

by Jennifer Estep

  Halvar was Xenia’s nephew, Bjarni was his lifelong friend, and both were powerful ogre morphs. They had helped me take back Seven Spire from Vasilia’s turncoat guards, and I was hoping they would help me protect the prince as well.

  “They’re still at Castle Asmund,” Xenia said. “I sent them there a few weeks ago to check on things.”

  The words slipped off her tongue with ease, and not a flicker of deceit marred her face or that of the ogre on her neck. Xenia was one of the most skilled liars I had ever seen, which was part of what made her such an excellent spy.

  But I could still sense her smoky deception in the air, and I tapped my finger on my nose. “You do realize that I can smell when you’re lying, right?”

  Her lips puckered. She didn’t like getting caught.

  “But even more than that, I know you, Xenia. I’ve been to Castle Asmund, and it runs like a clock, just like Glitnir and Seven Spire do. You didn’t send Halvar and Bjarni there to check on things. You didn’t need to. No, you sent them ahead, to Glanzen, as soon as you realized that I was going through with this trip. So are they staying in the city, or have you managed to sneak them into the palace already?”

  Xenia stared at me a moment longer, then threw back her head and laughed. Her throaty chuckles rang through the chambers, and the ogre on her neck silently chuckled along with her.

  “Well done, Evie,” she murmured. “Very well done. I was wondering if you would notice my little sleight of hand with Halvar and Bjarni.”

  I smiled, baring my teeth. “I’m a fast learner.”

  “Well, you’re right. I did send them ahead, and they’ve already been here at the palace for a week, posing as Ungerian businessmen looking to buy Andvarian goods. Their chambers are right down the hall.”

  “Excellent. Then they’ve already been skulking around and picking up gossip. I want them to do more of that, especially once news of the engagement breaks. And, as a powerful and influential noblewoman, it shouldn’t be too hard for you to secure them invitations to the royal ball.” I gestured at the tea set and empty trays. “It looks like you’ve already made some new friends with your entertaining. Surely, one of them will be happy to do you a favor.”

  Xenia grinned. “Oh, I’m sure I can arrange that. What exactly do you want Halvar and Bjarni to do during the ball?”

  “Watch Dominic and make sure that no one assassinates him.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “You really think that Maeven and her Bastard Brigade will be so bold as to try to murder Dominic during his own engagement party?”

  I shrugged. “That’s what I would do. If you’re going to kill the crown prince, you might as well do so in the most public and visible manner. Besides, if Dominic dies during the ball, the Andvarians will assume that I had something to do with it, and they’ll be screaming for my blood. Maeven loves death and chaos, and that would be a perfect storm of problems for Heinrich and me.”

  Xenia nodded. “I’ll start securing the invitations. But the ball isn’t for a few days. What will you do in the meantime?”

  “I’ll try to find the traitor on my own. I have an idea where to start.”

  And I did have a suspect, one who had occurred to me the moment I’d realized just how much the poison in Heinrich’s body resembled venomous vines.

  Xenia nodded again, studying me. “And have you told Lucas about your plan?”

  My heart clenched, but I shook my head. “No. And I’m not going to.”

  “Good. For a moment, I thought you were going to be foolish enough to tell him.”

  “Why would that be foolish?”

  “Because if you tell him the truth, then his reaction won’t be genuine,” Xenia pointed out. “And you need his reaction to be genuine. You need him to think that you’re really going through with it, that you’re determined to marry Dominic. Lucas’s anger will sell your whole scheme to the traitor. He’ll do all the work for you. All you will have to do is hang on to Dominic’s arm and smile.”

  My stomach twisted with dread. That’s what I was afraid of.

  Xenia leaned forward and tapped her finger to the corner of her eye. “I can see when you’re upset, Evie, and I can almost hear the nausea roiling around in your stomach,” she said, mocking me with my own gesture and words.

  “And why would I be nauseous about marrying a prince?” I drawled, trying to hide my feelings. “Why, I thought that was every little girl’s dream.”

  She snorted. “Because you know as well as I do how much this will wound Lucas. He’ll think that you’re casting him aside for his brother, his legitimate brother, just like everyone else has his entire life. And he’ll be even more wounded when he realizes that you didn’t tell him the truth. He might grow to hate you. At the very least, he’ll probably never trust you again.”

  It made me sick—absolutely, positively sick—to think about the pain that my deception would cause Sullivan, but everyone seemed to know how I felt about him, and I had to assume that the traitor knew as well. So as much as it pained me, I had to let Sullivan believe the worst of me. Xenia was right—his hurt and anger would do more to sell my fake engagement than any flowery speeches I could make or any mooning I could do at Dominic.

  Apparently, being a queen was about more than just lying—it also involved hurting the people you cared about. Sure, the pain I was about to cause was in service of a greater good, but that didn’t make doing it any easier. Then again, perhaps being a Winter queen wasn’t supposed to be easy.

  “Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Xenia asked, her tone more sympathetic.

  I sighed. “I’m sure. As much as I care about Sully, I am still the queen of Bellona, and I have to do what’s best for my kingdom. And for Andvari too, whether anyone realizes it or not. This traitor needs to be caught now, before they do any more damage. Otherwise, they’ll go right back to poisoning Heinrich and targeting Dominic the second I leave Glitnir. I can’t let Maeven slaughter another family like she did mine. I won’t let that happen, not even if I have to hurt Sully. I would rather have him hate me than Heinrich and Dominic be dead.”

  “And what about the hurt to yourself?” Xenia asked.

  “Heinrich told me that kings and queens do not have the luxury of grief.” I sighed again. “This is me, not having that luxury.”

  She studied me for several long seconds. “Are you going to tell the others?”

  “Yes. Paloma will realize that I’m lying. So will Serilda, with her magic. I have to tell them, and Cho too.”

  “But not Lucas. You’re sure about that?”

  “Yes. It has to be this way.” My mouth twisted. “I might not have the luxury of grief, but I do have the luxury of telling others what to do. Paloma, Serilda, and Cho will agree with me. They know what’s at stake, and they’ll keep quiet. I just have to hope that Sully doesn’t figure out what I’m really up to before we catch the traitor.”

  Xenia nodded, then reached over, grabbed the crystal decanter, and poured us both a glass of brandy. “Lucas isn’t the only one who will be furious. So will Heinrich, when he realizes that you’ve lied to him.”

  “Hopefully, he’ll be more grateful that he didn’t lose another son.”

  She shrugged. “Perhaps. But grief and anger make people do all sorts of strange things, especially when it comes to their children.”

  “I’m sure you can sympathize with Heinrich.” I paused. “Since you also lost a child.”

  Xenia’s hand jerked, and brandy sloshed out of the decanter and splattered onto the table. She stared at the liquid, as if trying to gather her thoughts, then slowly set down the decanter. It took her a few more seconds to lift her gaze to mine.

  “How did you know that?” she whispered.

  “There was this tone in your voice yesterday in my chambers when we were talking about Heinrich grieving for his son.” I tapped my nose again, but there was no mockery in the gesture this time. “And I could smell your grief then, just like I can now.
”

  “Well, you and your damn nose are entirely too perceptive.”

  Xenia glared at me, and I wondered if I’d made a mistake in trying to learn more about her. But her glare slowly melted away, and she sagged back in her chair, as though all the strength had suddenly left her body, much like Heinrich had done in the library earlier.

  “Yes,” she finally said in a low, strained voice. “I did lose a child. Years ago. Not to assassins but to my own foolishness.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  She shook her head, and the ogre face on her neck shut its eyes, although not before a couple of tears escaped from the corners of its eyes and slid down Xenia’s neck. “No.”

  “If you ever do . . .”

  She nodded. We sat there in silence for the better part of a minute before Xenia cleared her throat, reached out, and picked up the brandy glasses. Just like that, she morphed back into her usual cool, calm self. Perhaps spies didn’t have the luxury of grief either.

  “Well, then,” she said, passing one of the drinks over to me. “Back to the business at hand. Let us toast to your engagement, Queen Everleigh.”

  She held out her glass, and I reluctantly clinked mine against hers. Then I put the glass up to my lips and threw back the contents. The Ungerian apple brandy slid down my throat before pooling in my stomach, although the slow, sweet cinnamon burn wasn’t enough to drown out my growing dread and nausea.

  Xenia took a sip of her own brandy, then settled back in her chair. “I’ll say this for you, Evie. So far, your reign has not been a boring one.”

  * * *

  I hashed out a few more details with Xenia, then returned to my own chambers. Paloma was waiting there, along with Serilda and Cho. I filled them in on my plan, along with my decision not to tell Sullivan about it.

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Paloma frowned, as did the ogre on her neck. “He could help us search for the traitor.”

  “I realize that, but he also knows everyone at Glitnir. He’s too close to this. I can’t risk him saying the wrong thing to the wrong person.”

  Paloma shook her head. “It’s your funeral.”

  Serilda and Cho shook their heads as well, agreeing with her. They might not like it, but they would keep my secret.

  A sharp knock sounded, but before I could tell the person to enter, the doors burst inward, and Sullivan stormed inside. Given his clenched jaw, he’d already heard about my engagement to Dominic. I hadn’t expected him to be happy about it, but seeing the raw, naked hurt on his face and smelling his ashy heartbreak almost changed my mind about my plan. Almost.

  But queens didn’t have the luxury of backtracking or indulging their feelings, and I had to be strong right now, not only for Bellona but for him too, whether he realized it or not.

  “Hello, Sully. Come on in.”

  He looked at me a moment, then focused on Paloma, Serilda, and Cho. His hot, angry gaze flicked to all of them in turn. Their features were as tense as his were, and Sullivan realized that we had all been talking about him.

  “So it’s true. You’ve accepted my father’s offer. You’re engaged to Dominic.” He spat out the last few words as though they left a foul taste in his mouth.

  “Yes. I was just telling everyone of my decision.”

  “Telling everyone but me.”

  “I was going to tell you. In private. But you didn’t give me the chance.”

  He let out a bitter laugh. “No, I suppose I didn’t.”

  I looked at the others. “Will you excuse us? I’d like to speak to Sully alone.”

  Paloma, Serilda, and Cho gave Sullivan sympathetic looks and left the chambers. Cho shut the doors behind them, leaving me alone with the bastard prince.

  Sullivan stared at me again. “So it’s true,” he repeated, his voice much duller and softer than before.

  I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to lie, and I especially didn’t want to hurt him. But I couldn’t be Evie right now. No, right now, I had to be a queen, and my heart had to be as cold and hard as the tearstone crown on my head.

  “I have to do what’s best for Bellona,” I said, trying to explain without actually telling him what was going on.

  Sullivan’s hurt and anger slowly melted into stunned disbelief and then twisted into outright disgust. He scrubbed his hand through his hair. “I knew that you would eventually marry someone. I just didn’t think it would happen so quickly—or that it would be Dominic.”

  I didn’t respond, and he let out another low, bitter laugh.

  “Getting passed over for one of my legitimate brothers. I should have expected this. Sometimes, I think it’s all I should ever expect. At least then, I would never be disappointed,” he growled. “I really should have learned this lesson by now. Especially since it already happened to me once before.”

  I stiffened at the obvious insult. “I am nothing like Helene.”

  “At this moment, I think that you are exactly like her.” A sad, resigned expression filled his face, although it too quickly slipped away, replaced by more anger. “Or maybe not. At least she had the decency to wait until after I’d left Glitnir to get engaged to my brother.”

  This time, I couldn’t stop myself from flinching at his words. “It’s not like that. Besides, you know this isn’t my idea.”

  “No, it’s my father’s. I don’t know if that makes it better or worse. But you didn’t have to say yes to him, or to marrying my brother.”

  His eyes darkened, a muscle ticked in his jaw, and his hands clenched into fists again. I didn’t know who he was angry at now—his father or me. Probably both of us. At the very least, he thought that I’d betrayed him, even though we had never made any promises to each other. But I would have felt the same, if our positions had been reversed.

  “It doesn’t really matter whose idea it was,” I said. “Only that I believe this is for the best. Just give it a chance; just give me a chance.”

  I’d wanted to reassure him, maybe even give him some small hint that things were not what they seemed, but my words made him even more disgusted. A bit of lightning flashed in his eyes, his mouth flattened into a hard, unforgiving line, and the hot, peppery scent of his anger stung my nose and brought tears to my eyes. At least, that’s what I told myself, instead of admitting that the tears were the product of my own turbulent emotions.

  “I shouldn’t have given you any chances, highness.” He spat out the nickname as if he never wanted to say it again. “Not the first bloody one. Not after I found out who you really were, and especially not after you took the throne. I always knew there was something different about you, but by the time I realized what it was, what you were, it was too late for me.”

  “Then why did you give me a chance?” I asked.

  “Because you were always making me smile and laugh, even when you were doing something as ridiculous as commandeering my jacket or stealing my pillow. You were always there. Always fighting. Always challenging me and yourself in the gladiator ring and out of it. Even after you found out that I was a bastard prince, you never treated me any differently. Not for one second. And that was so unexpected, so refreshing, so amazing to me.” Sullivan shook his head, as though he was deeply disappointed in himself. “I couldn’t help but be caught up by all of that, be caught up by you.”

  I didn’t think that it was possible, but my heart somehow sped up and stopped, soared and plummeted, swelled with happiness and cracked apart with grief, all at the same time. He really did care about me. And I had just ruined all that care, concern, and warmth with my lies.

  “And now I’ve chosen something else, someone else. I’ve disappointed you, hurt you, let you down just like Helene did.” I didn’t want to compare myself to the other woman, but I couldn’t deny the similarities.

  Sullivan gave me a thin smile, but the expression was utterly devoid of warmth. “You have to care about someone in order for them to hurt and disappoint you. And I think it’s past time that I
cared about you at all, Queen Everleigh.”

  This was the first time he had ever called me by my full name and rank, but those two simple words cut me to the bone, as though he had buried his sword in my chest.

  Sullivan pressed his fist to his heart in the traditional Andvarian style and dropped into a deep, mocking bow before snapping back upright. “I hope that you enjoy the upcoming royal ball, Queen Everleigh, along with your marriage to my brother. I wish the two of you nothing but happiness, and I hope that you both get exactly what you deserve.”

  Sullivan gave me another cold, angry glare, then marched over to the doors. He yanked one of them open, then stormed through to the other side and slammed it shut behind him.

  The resulting bang was hard enough to rattle the wall tapestries and more than sharp enough to completely shatter what was left of my heart.

  Chapter Twenty

  That evening, I had dinner in the dining hall with the king, just like the night before.

  Well, it wasn’t just like the night before. In fact, it was just about the weirdest reversal of fortune and the furthest it could get from the previous meal. For one thing, Heinrich was in a boisterous, jovial mood. I didn’t know whether it was because I’d cleansed the mysterious poison out of his system or if he was simply happy that I’d agreed to marry Dominic, but he made toast after toast to my health, Dominic’s health, and everything in between.

  I watched the king closely, as well as everyone he came into contact with, but Heinrich had no lingering effects from the poison, and no one seemed upset that he suddenly appeared so much healthier. The traitor had to be someone close to the king, but if they realized that I’d derailed their poisonous scheme, they hid it extremely well.

  I was seated to Heinrich’s left, with Dominic across from me. Dahlia was seated next to me, with Gemma across from her. Alvis and Helene were also at the table. Paloma, Serilda, and Cho were at another table, while Captain Rhea was standing along the wall with the Andvarian guards. Xenia was off doing whatever it was she did, which should include filling in Halvar and Bjarni on my plan and securing them invitations to the royal ball.