I let out a sarcastic, “Ha, Leodin would serve me up as a buffet to every man in that room if it served his political aspirations.”
“He sounds lovely.”
“Oh, he is. Now what is it he told me?” I tap my lip as though deep in thought. “Ah, yes. He said his greatest mistake was not throwing me in the river the moment I was born.” I put on a big, phony smile.
Her eyes go wide. “Good gods, and I thought my mother-in-law was brutal.”
I chuckle. “It really doesn’t bother me so much anymore.” That’s a lie. It very much bothers me. I’ve just gotten better at hiding it, is all. “So, is she the reason you’re out here and not enjoying the delicious meal?” I bat my eyelashes innocently, and I’m rewarded with a true smile.
“It’s always something that’s not good enough. Today, it’s my dress. Tomorrow, it will be my hair or shoes or something I say or do.” She bumps shoulders with me playfully. “She doesn’t think I’m good enough for her son, so I stupidly refused to go inside with them, and now I’m standing out here like an idiot debating what I should do next.”
I can practically hear the puzzle pieces falling into place—the queen’s comments on her son’s wife, the empty seat beside the prince. “You’re the princess.” I drop into a haphazard curtsy.
“Please don’t,” she says, eyes pleading.
I freeze about halfway down, and if I thought my other curtsies were awkward, they have nothing on this one. I’ve got my knees bent, bottom out. I probably look like I’m about to defecate on the palace floor.
“Please. Stand,” she says, and I obey—slowly—just in case she changes her mind. “I get so tired of all the pomp and protocols.” She holds out her hand. “Elsbeth Glye.”
“Katya Valstrad,” I reply, shaking her hand.
“Elsbeth.”
We both startle at the sound of a man’s voice, and my stomach drops into my feet when I see Lieutenant Aemon Cregg striding toward us. His eyes rove down my body—slowly, purposefully, the weight of his gaze like phantom fingers caressing my suddenly heated skin. He stops in front of Elsbeth, hands clasped. Gods, the man is even more beautiful up close. His skin is a flawless, golden brown, his dark hair artfully disheveled—as though he just got out of bed looking that good—his blue eyes have gone from simply striking to piercing and he’s so damn tall. I’m above average height for a woman, but he towers over me.
Now that he’s standing here, the weight of his gaze has shifted to Elsbeth, and I can’t tell if I’m relieved or disappointed at its loss.
He folds thick arms across his chest, muscles flexing against the fabric of his sleeves. “Troi is getting pissy,” he says to her, looking pretty pissy himself, if I’m being honest. “You need to come inside.”
Elsbeth is obviously used to him because she isn’t phased in the slightest. Ignoring what he said, Elsbeth gestures to me and says, “Aemon, this is my new friend, Katya.” His eyes flick to me briefly, then back to Elsbeth without even acknowledging my presence. Elsbeth continues, unperturbed. “Katya, this is Lieutenant Aemon. He’s the royal…” She cants her head to one side. “What do you do, exactly?”
He rolls his eyes and grabs her around the bicep, his hand so large it wraps the entire way around. “Now is not the time for games.” He starts to tug her away, but Elsbeth tears her arm from his grasp.
“I am not playing games, Aemon. I just don’t want to go in there right now.”
This is beginning to feel like a private conversation, so I slowly back away.
“The longer you’re out here, the worse it’s going to be.”
“Oh, and now you’re going to save me, right? What a hero. Bravo.” She raises her hands and claps in his face. “Oh wait, that’s right. You just like to watch.”
“That’s enough.” He grabs her by the arm again, tight enough I can see her skin pinch around his fingers and starts for the door. “And you,” he says, blue eyes burning into me like hot coals. “Get your ass inside. This doesn’t concern you.”
“I’m just fine out here, thank you,” I reply, giving my best fake smile.
He stops just short of the door and still clutching Elsbeth’s arm, twists around to glare at me. “That wasn’t a request.”
Have I mentioned I don’t take well to pushy men? I level a glare at him. “No.”
By the shocked expression on his face, this is a male unaccustomed to hearing that word. The smart thing to do would be to take it back and apologize, but I’ve never been one to do what is smart, so I lift my chin and hold his gaze and pray this doesn’t get back to Leodin.
“Go on,” Aemon says to Elsbeth, nudging her toward the door.
“Be nice, Aemon,” she says, but he’s already stalking toward me.
“Go inside,” he replies, still holding my gaze.
Elsbeth lets out a long sigh and mouths “sorry,” to me. Then she opens the door and steps into the dining hall.
