Protect the Prince (A Crown of Shards Novel)

by Jennifer Estep

  I sent Calandre and her sisters on ahead, along with the guards, and told them all to have a good time. Then I walked over to a small alcove where Cho, Serilda, and Xenia were waiting.

  Calandre and her sisters had also worked their magic on my other friends. Cho was wearing his usual red jacket and ruffled white shirt, although these were made of fine material, and his jacket featured gold buttons stamped with dragon heads.

  Serilda looked beautiful in a white ball gown patterned with her swan crest. Each small swan was done in black thread, with tiny blue tearstones for its eye and beak, just like the pendant hanging from her neck. A black velvet belt studded with thin silver knives was cinched around her waist. I wasn’t the only one who’d wanted to have a weapon handy tonight.

  Xenia also looked lovely in a dark green gown trimmed with silver thread. She was clutching her silver ogre cane like usual, which was the only weapon she needed.

  “Is everything ready?” I asked.

  Xenia nodded. “Halvar and Bjarni are already inside. Halvar will shadow Dominic, while Bjarni will do the same to Heinrich. If anyone tries to harm the prince or the king, then Halvar and Bjarni will stop them.”

  “Paloma and I will watch Helene,” Cho added. “And see who she talks to.”

  “And I’ll watch Evie’s back,” Serilda chimed in.

  I nodded. “Good luck.”

  Cho, Xenia, and Paloma headed toward the ballroom, but Serilda stayed behind in the alcove.

  She looked me up and down. “I had my doubts about Calandre being your thread master, but she did an outstanding job. You look beautiful, Evie.”

  I gestured at her gown. “As do you. It seems as though we’re both black swans tonight.”

  Serilda smiled at my joke, then stared into the throne room. Her blue gaze grew soft and dreamy, as though she was looking at something very far away, and the hard, sharp scent of her magic, like coldiron mixed with blood, filled the air.

  “What possibilities are you seeing?” I asked. “Will we catch the traitor tonight?”

  Serilda shook her head. “It’s too early to tell. My magic isn’t . . . exact. Every choice a person makes ends a dozen possibilities and opens up a dozen more. I’m sorry, Evie. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear.”

  No, it wasn’t, but I nodded in understanding. Serilda squeezed my hand, then headed into the ball.

  That left me standing alone in the alcove. I drew in a breath, then slowly let it out, pushing away my fear, worry, and dread along with it. Then, when I was ready, I walked down the hall and through the open doors.

  On a normal day, the throne room was impressive enough, but Heinrich had really had the servants go all out for the ball. The floor and walls had been polished to such a high gloss that they seemed as smooth as glass, while the gray and white diamonds in the jet chandeliers cast out radiant sprays of light.

  Strings of tiny gray and white fluorestones had been wrapped around the columns, along with the second-floor balcony railing. The fluorestones’ soft, muted glows highlighted the snarling gargoyles embedded in the stone columns and made their silver faces and jeweled eyes flicker and flash like fire. The gargoyles seemed as lifelike as the gladiators in the tearstone columns at Seven Spire, and I half expected one of the creatures to swipe out at me with its paw.

  Nobles wearing formal jackets and ball gowns were clustered in groups, still talking, laughing, eating, and drinking. Servants carrying trays of food and drinks moved from the refreshment tables along the walls, through the crowd, and back again. Guards also lined the walls, making sure that everything was proceeding as planned. Over in the back corner, close to the raised dais, more than a dozen musicians played various instruments. Soft trills of music floated through the air, although no one was dancing yet.

  But perhaps the most eye-catching things were the two enormous banners hanging on the wall on either side of the throne. One of the banners boasted the Ripley snarling-gargoyle crest done in glittering silver thread on a black background, while the other banner featured my crown-of-shards crest, also done in silver thread, but on a midnight-blue background.

  The banners reminded me yet again that tonight would probably determine not only my and Dominic’s fates but the fates of our kingdoms as well. My stomach twisted at the thought, but I fixed my usual bland, benign smile on my face.

  I dropped my gaze to the dais. Heinrich was sitting on his throne, wearing a formal, short gray jacket that featured the Ripley gargoyle crest done in black thread over his heart. Dahlia was seated next to him in a small, plain chair. She looked beautiful in a dark green gown trimmed with gold thread. Her black hair was smoothed back into a high, elegant bun, and her gold locket gleamed around her neck like usual.

  Dominic was standing beside the king, and the prince looked exceptionally handsome in his gray jacket. Gemma was wearing a dark gray gown that matched her grandfather’s and father’s jackets. The princess was sitting on the dais steps and talking to Alvis, who was sporting a fine black cloak over his clothes.

  Rhea was standing a few feet away, speaking with Helene. The captain was wearing her usual uniform and weapons, although her black hair had been pulled back into a pretty braid, and berry balm stained her lips a dark red. And Helene was stunning as always in a pale gray gown patterned with green vines and purple flowers studded with amethysts. She smiled and gestured at something Rhea said, making her silver signet ring flash on her finger.

  I didn’t see Sullivan anywhere, and I had to force myself to stop looking for him.

  Heinrich had wanted me to make an entrance, so I held my position in the open space in front of the doors, and people slowly started to notice me. Murmurs rippled through the crowd, although I couldn’t tell if they were approving or not. The nobles, servants, and guards all turned toward me, and a hush fell over the room.

  Heinrich signaled the orchestra, and their light, lilting music trailed off, replaced by a low, rolling drumbeat. The fluorestones dimmed, although a bright, glaring spotlight fell on me. It was all a bit dramatic for my tastes, but I was the guest, so I couldn’t complain, although the spotlight made me feel like I was back in the gladiator arena at the Black Swan, about to step out into the ring and fight to the death.

  In a way, that’s exactly what I was doing.

  “And now,” Cho’s voice boomed out like thunder, “announcing Her Royal Majesty, Queen Everleigh Saffira Winter Blair of Bellona!”

  The spotlight burned a little brighter and hotter, but I smiled into the harsh glare and strode forward.

  Showtime.

  * * *

  Unlike the last time I’d been in here, Heinrich and Dominic didn’t wait for me to walk across the room. The two men came down off the dais and met me in the middle.

  Dominic offered me his arm, which I took, favoring him with the most dazzling smile I could muster. Dahlia also came down off the dais, and Gemma and Alvis stepped forward as well, along with Rhea and Helene.

  The plant magier sidled up to Heinrich, hovering by his elbow. I tensed, thinking she might attack him, but Helene only clasped her hands together, ready to listen to the king’s speech.

  I looked past her into the crowd of nobles. Two men were lurking a few feet behind Helene and Dahlia. One was a tall man with coppery hair, hazel eyes, and a fearsome ogre face on his neck, while the other was shorter and stockier with black hair, dark brown eyes, onyx skin, and a long, bushy beard. An ogre face adorned his neck as well.

  Halvar, Xenia’s nephew, and Bjarni, his friend, noticed me staring at them. Halvar nodded, while Bjarni winked. They were watching Dominic and Heinrich as planned. Some of the tension eased out of my body.

  Murmurs rippled through the nobles, but Heinrich held up his hands, asking for silence.

  “We are gathered here to celebrate Queen Everleigh’s visit, along with her engagement to Prince Dominic.” The king’s voice boomed out almost as loudly as Cho’s had. “This marriage will cement Andvari and Bellona as allies from this
day forward and also bring greater opportunity and prosperity to both our kingdoms . . .”

  Heinrich launched into his speech, droning on and on about what a glorious night this was, how Andvari and Bellona would be allies forevermore after I wed Dominic, and all the other usual pleasantries.

  I kept my smile fixed on my face, but I tuned out his words. They didn’t matter tonight. Only people’s actions did.

  While Heinrich talked, servants handed out champagne. Helene took two glasses off a tray and gave one to Heinrich. I watched her closely, but she didn’t slip anything into his drink. I drew in a breath, tasting the air, but I didn’t sense any poison in Heinrich’s champagne. Perhaps Helene was going to wait until later before she sprang her trap, whatever it was.

  “To Dominic and Everleigh!” Heinrich called out, finishing his speech. “May they have a long and prosperous partnership. To love!”

  “To love!” Everyone echoed the words back and took a long drink of their champagne.

  After that, the nobles surged forward, each one wanting to congratulate Heinrich on his shrewd new alliance and Dominic and me on our upcoming marriage. As I smiled and nodded and shook hands, I watched everyone who approached the king and the prince, but no one said or did anything suspicious, and Helene kept her distance from them, talking to Dahlia instead.

  Finally, all the nobles had been placated, and Heinrich signaled for the musicians to start playing again.

  Dominic bowed to me, then held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

  I placed my hand in his, as was expected. “Of course.”

  The nobles fell back, and Dominic whirled me around the center of the room. Only the two of us were dancing, and I felt more on display than ever before. Thankfully, that first dance was a short one. Heinrich held out his hand to Dahlia, and the two of them started dancing, along with the nobles.

  Dominic smiled. “I should have said this before, but you look absolutely stunning, Everleigh.”

  “And you look very handsome yourself.”

  He stared at me as we swayed from side to side. “You seem a bit distracted. What are you thinking about?”

  I couldn’t tell him that I’d been scanning the crowd for Mortan assassins, so I shrugged. “Nothing in particular.”

  The corner of his lips curved up into a small, crooked grin that was so much like Sullivan’s that it made my chest ache. “Ah, you just broke my heart. I was hoping you were thinking about me and how well we move together.”

  “Of course,” I murmured. “You are a lovely dancer.”

  That wry smile curved his lips again. “Just not the man you want to be dancing with.”

  I didn’t see the point in lying. “No.”

  Dominic nodded. “I can’t say that I’ve ever been truly jealous of Lucas before, but I feel a faint twinge of it when it comes to you.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Only a faint twinge?”

  He shrugged. “There’s no use being jealous when you know that something is forever beyond your reach, and you are definitely beyond my reach, thanks to Lucas.”

  His voice was light and flirty, but his gaze flicked to the right and locked onto Rhea, who was talking with a handsome nobleman.

  “Just like Rhea is forever beyond your reach?” I asked.

  He shrugged again, but I could smell his ashy heartbreak.

  “It doesn’t have to be that way. You are the crown prince of Andvari. You should marry whomever you want. And if the nobles don’t like it, then tell them to fuck off and go haunt someone else’s court.” I paused. “As long as it’s not mine.”

  He chuckled, thinking that I was joking. “My current fiancée might take a bit of umbrage at that.”

  “I’m not going to marry you, Dominic. I was never going to marry you.”

  Surprise flashed in his eyes, and he finally realized that I was serious. His steps slowed, and he stopped dancing, right there in the middle of the floor.

  “What do you mean, you were never going to marry me?” Dominic asked, his voice growing sharper and more suspicious with every word. “What game are you playing, Everleigh?”

  I hadn’t meant to say so much, but I couldn’t take my words back. Even more than that, I didn’t want to take them back. I was tired of lying to everyone, especially Sullivan. Besides, if Helene and the Mortans didn’t strike during the ball, then I would have to confess my scheme. Dominic deserved to hear the truth from me, especially since he and Rhea were also suffering because of my lies.

  I opened my mouth to tell him everything when a familiar voice cut me off.

  “May I have this dance?”

  Sullivan stepped up beside his brother. Like Heinrich and Dominic, Sullivan was dressed in a short, formal gray jacket, but he was easily the most handsome of the three men. His dark brown hair gleamed under the lights, and his eyes were as bright and blue as I’d ever seen them. But even more than that, there was an intensity to him, a fierceness that whispered that he wouldn’t be denied what he wanted tonight, and I couldn’t help the hope that flooded my heart that he still wanted me.

  Our gazes met and held, and Sullivan studied me from head to toe, heat sparking in his eyes.

  “You look exquisite tonight, highness.” His low, husky voice slid across my skin and made something hot and hard coil deep inside me.

  “So do you, Sully,” I murmured. “So do you.”

  All around us, people kept dancing, although whispers rippled through the crowd. Sullivan asking his brother for a dance with me, his newly announced fiancée, had already set the nobles’ tongues wagging.

  Dominic glanced back and forth between the two of us, then leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Like I said before, there’s no use being jealous when you’ve already lost,” he murmured in my ear.

  I looked at him. “Then you should go get the woman you truly want.”

  Dominic stared at me a moment longer. Then he winked, drew back, and bowed to his brother. “She’s all yours, Lucas.”

  Dominic winked at me again, then headed straight for Rhea. He didn’t notice Halvar trailing along behind him. Since Dominic was safe for now, I turned back to Sullivan and held out my hand.

  “Shall we?” I asked in a low voice.

  He stepped forward and curled one hand around my waist, even as he took my hand in his. The heat from his fingers scorched my own. “Yes, we shall.”

  The music ramped up to a fast, lively reel, and we fell into the steps. We didn’t speak during the dance. I didn’t want to talk to Sullivan. No, right now, I simply wanted to soak up every little thing about him and pretend like this was our engagement party and that we could really be together, instead of the fact that I’d probably torn us apart forever with my lies.

  The bright, sharp glitter of his blue eyes. The strong, warm feel of his hand in mine. The bunch and flex of his shoulder under my fingertips. His cold vanilla scent sinking deep down into my lungs. I concentrated on all that and more, so much more, until my heart was hammering in my chest even faster than the music was playing.

  Eventually, the reel slowed down into a more traditional waltz, and Sullivan and I stepped even closer together, staring into each other’s eyes. The rest of the throne room fell away, and all I could see, hear, feel, and smell was him holding me close.

  “I’ve been thinking about that night at Castle Asmund,” Sullivan said, his voice once again a low, husky whisper. “Do you remember that night, highness?”

  “I could never forget it.”

  That was the night when I’d first admitted to myself that I had feelings for him, that was the night when I’d confessed those feelings to him—and that was the night when he had first rejected me.

  “I made a terrible mistake then, the worst mistake of my life,” Sullivan murmured, still staring at me. “And it’s a mistake that I’d like to correct. If you’ll still have me.”

  My breath caught in my throat, but I forced myself to be cautious. “But what about—”

  “I do
n’t care about Dominic or your engagement or what my father or anyone else thinks,” he growled.

  I shook my head. Maybe it was wrong, but those things had never even occurred to me. I had been going to ask about how much I had hurt him, but he didn’t give me the chance.

  Sullivan pulled me even closer, his blue gaze burning into mine. “I’ve wanted you for months now, highness, and I think it’s finally time to do something about it. What do you say? Do you still want me too?”

  “Of course I do,” I whispered, my heart still hammering in my chest.

  “Wait a few minutes, then slip out one of the side doors and meet me at the hedge-maze entrance,” he murmured.

  The music stopped, and the dance ended. Sullivan and I stood there, frozen in place. Then he pressed a chaste kiss to my hand, turned, and walked away.

  He vanished into the crowd of nobles, all of whom stared at me, whispering about our heated dance. My cheeks flushed at the sudden, sharp attention, but I plastered my benign smile on my face again. Then I turned and walked in the opposite direction from Sullivan.

  I did a lap around the room, nodding and smiling at everyone. While I skirted around the nobles, I also looked for my friends.

  Bjarni was a few feet away from Heinrich, who was speaking with some nobles, while Halvar was lurking near Dominic, who was talking with Rhea in the corner close to the musicians. Cho, Paloma, and Xenia were all moving around as well, keeping an eye on everyone.

  My gaze locked with Serilda’s, and she pointed at a door in the wall. She had obviously seen my dance with Sullivan and was telling me that she and the others had everything under control and that I should go after him. I flashed her a grateful smile.

  I did another lap around the room, but it didn’t seem like the Mortans were going to strike anytime soon. Maybe I had been wrong, and nothing bad would happen tonight. I still had my doubts, but Sullivan was waiting for me.

  So on my third lap, I walked over to the door Serilda had pointed out, twisted the knob, and stepped through to the other side. A few nobles were milling around on the terrace outside, but I quickly moved past them. The second I was alone, I picked up my skirt and started running.