At that precise moment, Falael recognized Lao as the prostitute who’d slept his way through all his immediate female relatives—and now finished by stealing his lover. Falael’s expression was beautiful. His eyes widened, his mouth tensed, then his entire face turned purple. I would have liked to remove that moment from time and keep it in a scrapbook.
I was going to make Laorich. I’d let him take his pick of the duchess’s jewelry. It wasn’t like it was mine anyway.
With a strangled gasp, Falael fled the chapel.
Lao unfolded a blue fan and started fanning me. “Ugh, someone needs to chase the stench of him away.”
Head Cardinal Augustin silenced the whispers and gossip with the sheer force of his presence. His voice cut through the air like a blade. “We’re here today for an important moment in history.” Then he launched into a long lecture that got off topic several times to discuss his real passion: laws to protect farm livestock from animal cruelty. Princess Antonia’s eyes were clearly drifting shut.
I spent the entire sermon trying very hard to keep my expression stern. Both Lao and Ari were pressed close to me, an interesting sensation, especially for someone who hadn’t gotten any recently. It was Ari I felt hyper-aware of … maybe because he’d be the one I’d have to face after this? Or maybe because he had that irresistible grin and flashing dimples I’d noticed from the moment I’d laid eyes on him? Every time he brushed me, it gave me goose bumps.
Outside the church, Falael wailed so loudly that he shook the chandeliers: “I’ve been greatly wronged! My love has been trampled upon! My pure heart!”
Cardinal Augustin glared harder, but even his deadly gaze couldn’t penetrate walls. He spoke more loudly, finally wrapping up with an admonishment about royal duty for the princess. When he looked at her, she straightened and opened her eyes wide. That had been shorter than most sermons. In all fairness, we hadn’t given the Head Cardinal much time to prepare his speech.
Donya draped Antonia with the purple Robe of Royalty, which looked like a blanket on her short frame. Then she helped the princess climb into the stone Coronation Throne. It was a solemn moment, and everyone in the room went quiet. Unfortunately, that made Falael’s wailing sound even louder. I would have felt guilty toward the princess for ruining her big moment, except she was giggling. I suspected she hadn’t liked Falael much, just like most people with the misfortune of knowing him.
Next, the Head Cardinal anointed the princess using a silver chalice of holy water. A choir in the back started singing, finally drowning out Falael’s crying. Cardinal Augustin presented Antonia with the coronation regalia: an orb, scepter, sword, shield, and too much jewelry for one person to wear. Then Donya took them away before they crushed the princess with their weight. Finally, he handed her a written oath. By then, luckily the crying had stopped so she could be heard. She read it out loud, then signed her name at the bottom.
When called upon, I read the oath of regent. No one asked me to stand up, which was probably for the best because my leg had gone to sleep.
Turning to the crowd, Cardinal Augustin bellowed, “The Sun God blesses the new queen!”
The crowd screamed the traditional response: “May the queen remain true to her oaths, and we will remain true to ours!” I missed my chance to shout, but I mouthed along.
Finally, a crown was placed on Princess Antonia’s head, and she became Queen Antonia. The spiked golden crown was clearly too large for her, so it had been heavily padded with an entire new layer of fur. The tips were razor sharp—legend had it a few past kings had used this crown as a weapon. Antonia looked pale and tired. I tried to smile at her, but the Head Cardinal continued to cover her eyes whenever she glanced in my direction, which was probably for the best.
At this point, everyone was supposed to come up to the stage, swear allegiance, and kiss Antonia’s hand. Typically there would be a royal parade and a huge ball afterward, but I’d heard it had been canceled for lack of time and money. The new monarch usually gavea speech, but fortunately no one expected that from six-year-old Antonia.
I tried to stand, but by then both my legs had pins and needles. Ari supported me as I wobbled. As the new royal regent, I had to go first. I kneeled down. Cardinal Augustin firmly had his hands over Antonia’s eyes. Squirming, she complained, “I’ve seen the duchess and her horrible boy toy do all sorts of gross stuff in front of me.”
“That word is not appropriate for you to speak, Your Majesty,” the Head Cardinal said sternly.
“What word? Toy?” Antonia pouted. “Toy isn’t a bad word!”
Cardinal Augustin had very expressive eyes, and they told me to get my vow over with quickly and then get out of here. I obeyed. A long line of nobles waited to give their own vows. After I stepped off the stage, Ari and Lao fell in step beside me.
Outside the chapel, Falael knelt in front of the door. “So cruel! You can’t treat me like this!” he wailed, grabbing my feet. “How could you claim that you loved me, then humiliate me in public?”
I remembered a thousand times Falael had claimed he loved me. He loved me, and that’s why he had to control what I ate and lecture me about my country accent, to make mebetter. He loved me, so I needed to trust him and not ask him any questions about where the money was going. He loved me, so how could I question why he draped himself all over my best friend? Shouldn’t I be happy that they were getting along? Didn’t I trust him?
I had no regrets for the next part of my plan.
At a wave of my hand, a trio of guards stepped forward. “Falael, you’re under arrest for fraud,” the sergeant said. His fake business had stolen not only from me but also quite a few others in my village. The warrant had been active for many years.
Falael’s eyes went to me. “But … you promised you’d remove that old arrest warrant when we came here!”
“I’d only do that for a current lover, not an ex.” I swept off to my carriage, an escort hanging off each arm, ignoring the pleas behind me.
* * *
After giving Lao his pay and bonus, I was in quite a good mood. “That was a great idea,” I told Ari.
“You pulled it off stunningly. The look on his face!” Ari beamed. “Would you like me to help you unbutton your dress? It’s a bit trickier to get off than on.”
I froze. Objectively, I knew that Ari and Araceli were the same person. But Ari seemed so masculine and Araceli so feminine. I couldn’t imagine letting a man help me change, even if only partway. “I … uh …”
Ari didn’t push it. “I’ll send another maid.”
