I blinked away the tears blurring my vision. “You stopped writing. That was inconsiderate.”
“Terribly rude, I know. But I brought you a gift. Maybe you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me.” He stepped aside and swept out one arm, cloak fluttering. A line of men pushing canvas-covered carts came through the door.
Five carts. Ten. A dozen.
Everyone in the throne room stared silently as the men ripped away the canvas to reveal hundreds of thousands of palm-sized mirrored scales.
The Indigo Kingdom barrier.
Whispers cascaded through the room as people realized what Tobiah had brought, and what it could mean for Aecor. A cheer erupted, clapping and weeping and thankful prayers to the saints.
“Queen Wilhelmina Korte.” Tobiah dipped his eyes, a quick warning before he took my hand and lifted it to his chest.
Mine felt ready to explode, but I breathed through the sweeping elation of his life, our nearness, and the sound of his voice saying my name. I would be regal. I would be a queen.
“Wilhelmina,” he said again, and brought my hand to his lips. He kissed my knuckles, his eyes closed and his fingers tightening around mine. It lasted a heartbeat too long for politeness, and not nearly long enough for my heart. His jaw tightened when he released my hand. “I’d like to congratulate you on your ascension to the vermilion throne, and formally request refuge in the kingdom of Aecor—both for myself, and for my people. The Indigo Kingdom is lost. You are our only hope.”
It was a terrible, heavy burden.
Still, it was a burden I’d sworn to carry, so I pressed my hand to my heart and lifted my voice to be heard over the din. “King Tobiah Pierce, you and yours are welcome in Aecor for as long as you’d like. My home is your home.”
The coronation ceremony ended there.
Tobiah and James embraced. James’s mother found him and kissed his forehead again and again, while his expression shifted from glad to embarrassed. Though I took a few minutes to greet the Ospreys and Indigo nobility, there wasn’t time to enjoy this gift of their lives.
Paige hurried up to me, panic in her eyes. “Where will we put them? All the best rooms are already taken.”
I resisted the urge to groan. “See if anyone is willing to cede their rooms to those with higher rank. Others will have to double up or go to inns, with apologies, but there’s no other way.”
She nodded and scanned the newcomers, already sorting them in her mind. “The rooms you had as a child haven’t been taken. Would it cause offense if I offered them to the queen mother?”
“Probably, but they are rooms reserved for royalty. It may be helpful to remind her of that.”
“I will. And shall I remove Prince Colin from his room for King Tobiah? I know that will cause problems, but Prince Colin may tolerate it for his nephew.”
Problems indeed. I scanned for Prince Colin in the chaos. He was standing with his arms crossed and glaring around the throne room. Our eyes met, maybe for only a second, but it was more than enough time to communicate deep, boiling rage.
I turned back to Paige. “Put Tobiah in the king’s chambers.”
“Very good.” She hurried off to set the room assignments in motion, and I moved to call a council meeting in one hour.
Quickly, my crown was taken back to its vault, not to be seen until the next event worthy of its attendance, and Melanie and Theresa joined me in the queen’s chambers. I sent Theresa to the washroom to clean up; it’d be faster than waiting for her own rooms to become available.
Thumps and voices in the adjoining room indicated maids’ presence—cleaning and dusting and preparing for King Tobiah’s arrival.
“Tell me about Danie,” I said.
Melanie stilled. “Danie and a handful of other castle staff are missing. A valet and two other maids. They’ve fled. Patrick is still where we left him, at least.”
That was a relief.
“Whatever their plans are,” she said, beginning to unclip the cape from the rest of my gown, “they don’t want to interfere with your coronation.”
“Patrick wouldn’t.”
A deep voice came from the next room, as familiar as the sound of my own breath. He thanked the maids and the door shut. Then, Tobiah and James began a low conversation, the captain no doubt apprising his king of everything that had happened.
Melanie drew my gaze from the doors between the king’s and queen’s chambers, both locked for propriety’s sake. “That night at Snowhaven Bridge, James wasn’t joking when he said you liked Tobiah.” She gave me a long, appraising look.
“Was it obvious?”
She smirked and swept the cape away in a ripple of velvet and silk. “You two nearly started a fire in there. I thought the whole castle would combust when he took your hand.”
“Scandalous lies.”