“Aroyal portrait?”I repeated.
“Yes. Every monarch has one—they hang in the portrait gallery,” Skye said.
“We have aportrait gallery?”
“Yep. It used to be in the castle, but when the hall’s glass ceiling collapsed Queen Nyte had them moved here.” Indigo marched up to my chair and gave me a plateful of assorted donut holes.
“What’s this?” I stared at the plate and tried not to drool.
“Donuts. Have some—though I’ll warn you they might not be top of the line. This is my first attempt,” Indigo said.
I licked my lips as I peered over my donuts. Some were chocolate, others were covered in a glaze, and a handful of them were rolled in cinnamon sugar. “What inspired you to try?”
“You seemed to really want some when we were at the ceremony last week,” Indigo said.
I ripped my gaze from the amazing desserts. “And you made some—just for me?”
Indigo coughed and looked away. “Yeah.”
“Aww! Thank you, Indigo!” I squealed and threw my arms around the brownie, hugging her tight.
“I get it, I get it, you’re welcome.” She squirmed in my grasp, but when she paused, she patted my back.
“You’re the best.” I grinned at her as I let go. “What’s this one?” I pointed to a donut at random.
Indigo made a point of brushing herself off and straightening her sweater. “A chocolate yeast donut with raspberry sauce and a line of chocolate frosting going down the center. I call it the eye of Sauron.”
I laughed—most of the food she made me somehow referenced superheroes, books, or movies—but then I took a bite of my donut and lost the ability to sit up right—it was still warm, and the outside had just a slightly crisp texture while the chocolate matched with the raspberry made a brilliant taste. “Wow. Indigo, these are justwow.” I closed my eyes. “You win forever with these.Wow!”
I finished my donut and shook my head. “Okay, sorry Skye. I’ll be serious now.”
A slight smile played on Skye’s lips. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Have a donut—they’re filled with Indigo’s love for me.”
Indigo rolled her eyes, but Skye took a misshapen cake donut that had so much glaze on it, it looked almost waxy.
“That’s a Gollum donut,” Indigo said.
Skye nodded—even though I doubted she knew what Indigo was talking about—then she bit into it and hummed. “Indigo, this is delicious.”
“Yeah, yeah, suckups. I’ll make you more donuts even if you don’t flatter me.” Indigo took a blueberry donut hole when I offered the plate to her. “But I’ll tell my mom—the base recipe is my grandma’s.”
“Bless your grandma.” I licked my lips and eyed another donut. “Okay. Focusing. There’s a portrait gallery of all the dead royals, and you want me to get a portrait to match.”
“It’s tradition,” Skye said.
“How surprising.” I clutched my plate of donuts to my stomach and stood up. “Let’s go tour it, shall we?”
“Right now?” Indigo asked.
“No time like the present.”
Skye was already trotting off ahead of us, opening the door for me, leading the way away from my private study and down the hall. “I thought you might be interested in seeing it. I have an appointment scheduled with an artist this afternoon, but I imagine you’ll want time to think it over.”
“What’s the deal with the portrait?” I asked. “Why do you have them when cameras have been around for a while. Wait, let me guess—”
“It’s tradition,” Skye, Indigo, and I said together.
