I felt Gandal at my right lean forward, his clothes rustling on his seat as he anxiously peered around me at the prince. “Greetings, Your Highness; good evening to you,” Gandal said.
The prince ignored him and continued assessing me. I didn’t have to see to know. I felt his stare like a breathing, living thing working its way over my face and down my body. I resisted the urge to lift a hand to shield my face.
“You have the most extraordinary eyes, Luna.” I tensed at the compliment.
“Th-Thank you,” I stammered, motioning toward the dais. “Are you not expected to sit there?” Perla and Sivo had regaled me with enough of my parents’ life before the eclipse for me to know rudimentary household protocol.
“I am quite content here.” The prince leaned back, his weight creaking the wooden bench as he settled his palms along the edge.
Heat burned my cheeks. I could feel the unsubtle glances from others.
I let his words sink in, turning them over, wondering if there was a double meaning there. I couldn’t decide. My anxiety only grew as he continued to stare at me. I lowered my head, hoping that he would take the action as shyness. I didn’t want to face him. Not this close. Not in this brightly lit room. I might give myself away.
“Can you not look me in the face?” he queried. “Have I said something to offend you?”
“No.” I shook my head. “This place is . . . different. I can’t relax. Any moment I feel as though dwellers will storm the hall. I know your defenses are impregnable—”
“Nothing is impregnable.”
“Not very comforting as I sit here without a weapon and wearing a dress that would hamper my movements should I need to run.”
“You can always use your cutlery.”
The idea of defending myself with spoon and fork almost made me smile.
“Ah, I see I’ve amused you,” he added.
His words killed my almost smile. “Not at all.”
A deep thumping struck the floor several times, a signal that reverberated through the room. The musicians ceased to play. A hush fell over the crowd. No one stirred. Even the smelly hounds near the great hearth stopped swishing their tails.
Looking up, I leaned slightly to the left, asking the prince, “What is that?”
“They’re heralding my father’s arrival.”
King Tebald entered the room. I heard the whisper of robes over the floor as he cut a path toward the dais, a small retinue following him.
Suddenly he stopped before us. “Chasan, what are you doing sitting here?”
The prince rose to his feet. “I thought I would sit here tonight, Father, and visit with our new guest.”
At this, low murmurs broke out through the room. My cheeks heated; I knew this was a breach in etiquette.
“Guest?” Tebald said blankly, as though he had no memory of visitors, much less me.
“Yes, Father. You recall the prince of Relhok’s companion.” There was no response, and even Chasan sounded uncertain as he added, “Luna.”
“You’re the girl from today.” There was a touch of wonder in his voice.
“Yes, Your Highness.” I self-consciously brushed a hand over my hair near my ear. Clearly I had undergone a transformation.
“Stand,” he commanded.
The bench was pulled out so quickly I nearly fell. I’d almost forgotten the existence of the king’s guards. Sadists. Apparently they were never far.
The prince caught my arm, steadying me while turning me to face his father, but he said nothing. I’d almost prefer to hear his arrogant tone right then. In that moment, I realized the prince did not frighten me nearly as much as his father did.
The king stepped forward. No one else moved or spoke, making it simple to mark him in the now deathly silent hall. He held total dominion, and that unnerved me. He could do whatever he wanted and everyone else would just sit back and watch no matter how they felt about it.
“Turn around.”
I hesitated a beat too long because the guard stepped forward again, grasping my arm and tugging me in a small circle. The king was so close. I could hear the puff of his breath.
“Father?” Chasan voiced.
“It cannot be,” the king muttered so quietly I knew he was talking more to himself than anyone else. Wariness crept over me. My pulse hiccuped at my neck, fighting to break free from my skin.
Chasan spoke beside me. “What? What is it, Father?”
“You are the very image of her,” Tebald whispered. His fingers grazed my cheek and I flinched.
“Who, Father?”
My heart dropped to my feet. Before he said anything I was already beginning to suspect that he knew. Perla’s many words came back to me. She had told me stories of my parents, and I had always hung on every word.
Your mother had many suitors. Nobles from all over the land wanted to marry her. Princes and kings . . . but she chose your father.
A woman like that, my mother, would be memorable.
“Avelot.”
At the hushed sound of my mother’s name, I lifted my chin high.
“The late queen of Relhok?” Chasan finally asked, his voice rife with bewilderment.