before dessert was served.
Flushed and glassy-eyed, she looked at me over her bread pudding and asked, “Even if you are who you say you are, what gives you the right to the throne? You’re a girl. An ugly, abandoned, cursed girl.”
My uncle’s low chuckle was followed by his mild reprimand. “Franca,” he scolded. “She is my guest.”
“She’s trying to take your throne,” Lady Leffenmore insisted. “And your crown.”
I could hold my tongue no longer. It would not help to be polite to these dreadful people. “The throne Tyrn sits upon does not belong to him. And when the council decides that I am who I say I am, Tyrn may keep his worthless crown. I have my own.”
The table fell silent. I felt the glares of my fellow diners burn against my skin, but I focused on Tyrn.
His voice scraped the air. “We shall see what the council decides, Tessana, about you and your crown.” Before I could make any retort, my uncle continued, “I think you’ve had enough excitement for the evening, Niece. You look tired.” He turned in his seat and ordered, “Crenshaw, take my guest back to her room.”
Crenshaw appeared in the doorway. With a short curtsy that took all my grit, I left the meal without looking back.
When we were near my room, I finally found the courage to speak. “Crenshaw, tonight at supper, I met my uncle’s general.”
He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Do you have a point?”
“I assumed you were his general.”
I caught his sneer before he faced forward once again. “I am the Master of the Guard.”
“Ah.”
He stopped at my door. “The King trusts me completely.”
“I have no doubt that is true.”
“Again, what is your point?”
I stepped through the door to my room and turned to face him. “I’m just trying to understand the order of things.”
He leaned forward, menace twisting his features. “Be careful, girl. You are not equipped for palace intrigue. I would hate to see something happen to you should you try your hand at it.”
I lifted my chin defiantly. “I am not interested in palace intrigue. I am interested in the throne that belongs to me.”
His lips spread in an arrogant smile. “They are the same thing.”
I shut the door without another word and pressed my back against it. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath and my head spun with all that had happened tonight. Crenshaw was right.
I was not equipped for this.
25
It had been two weeks.
My uncle had not invited me to another dinner. I had not seen nor heard from anyone except Matilda since the first night we arrived.
The days crawled by so slowly, I thought I would die from a combination of nerves and boredom. At least at the temple I’d had daily chores and lessons and people to watch.
I had only Shiksa in this room. She had developed into a sleek little lady by now. Her coat gleamed as white as ever, but she was becoming more ferocious and harder to keep secret.
Matilda assured me that Oliver had posed as a Soravalian servant and everyone in Elysia was leaving him well enough alone. I found it ironic that my monk from Heprin could roam the palace freely while I was confined to this room as a prisoner. At least I didn’t have to worry about him.
Taelon had the crown, but he had not stopped by even once to pay me a visit or update me on my situation. All my information came through Matilda, who heard it second hand from the Elysian staff, who heard it by eavesdropping. There was no way to be certain whether what finally passed to me was true.
Three mornings ago, Matilda had come barging in the room declaring that the trial was to be delayed several months because the king of Barstus had an unfortunate case of the pig mumps. All day I sat fretting over how I would survive months confined to this room.
But by evening she had returned to say that no, the Barstus king did not have pig mumps, it was only wished that he had pig mumps by a chambermaid that he had tupped during his last visit.
My blush had stretched from my cheeks to my toes.
When I couldn’t stand it for a second longer, I’d asked about Taelon. Matilda had told me that he still wasn’t in residence. And that he hadn’t been for our entire stay. His staff and royal guard had remained, but Taelon had urgent business that required him straightaway.
Shiksa