the hallway to see who he was talking to.
No one was there.
“Mademoiselle.” The young guard approached, clad in the kente of yellow and green that signified the lowest rank in the guards corps, the guards stationed deep inside the palace amongst more seasoned comrades while the highest ranking guarded the outer areas. “No one but royal advisors and our mighty king himself are cleared to pass here. We’ve already had one attempted infiltration from an outsider today. Identify yourself.”
Her mouth dropped open but nothing came out except the last bit of her pride. She was so furious with embarrassment that her words left her, something that rarely happened. She’d been finally, finally stepping into her queenly stride, literally, only to be knocked down several pegs again. Why should she have to explain that—
“She is your queen,” a deep voice rumbled behind her. “Do you not know the face of the woman you’re sworn to protect?”
Shanti turned her angry gaze onto Sanyu as he approached, wearing one of the robes that made him look like he was sculpted by the goddess herself, trailed by two advisors.
“Queen?” The young soldier dropped to his knee and brought his fist to his chest. “I am sorry, Madame Your Highness. I meant no disrespect. I didn’t recognize you. In fact, I had forgotten . . . uh. I apologize.”
He was so flustered he spoke Njazan, though Sanyu had spoken English.
“It’s all right,” she responded calmly, speaking Njazan as well. “You have never seen me. You tried to stop a strange person walking around the palace and you did your job well.”
She just wanted this moment over and done with. She’d been grateful for her ability to blend into the crowd whenever she snuck out to the bookshop, but she could only imagine how people would laugh if they knew she was a queen who was literally unrecognized in her own castle. There was no peppy quote from her field guide to recover from that—it was the kind of humiliation that was hot-wired to every bad feeling she’d been pretending didn’t exist for months. The bad feelings that had just been verified by the strange woman who’d offered to save her.
“Are you happy?”
She didn’t need to be happy, damn it. But she needed something more than this.
“He will be reprimanded,” Sanyu said from behind her, his voice echoing in the hallway. “The guards have been on high alert this afternoon because of a strange guest.”
She turned to face him.
“Why should he be reprimanded?” she asked in a carefully measured tone. “Was I properly introduced to the palace guards? Does my photo hang anywhere? Have I been allowed in public since the wedding? If he doesn’t know who I am, it’s not his fault.”
She saw the confusion flash in Sanyu’s eyes before he answered.
“If I say he’s to be reprimanded, he will be,” Sanyu said, drawing his shoulders back. “Don’t question my authority.”
“In public,” she said. Angry tears pushed behind at her eyes, though they didn’t fall. She’d foolishly played the role of obedient wife-in-waiting, and then helpful advisor, but for what? He could come to her room at night, demanding her assistance. He could look into her eyes as he brought her to orgasm, his hunger for her nearly overwhelming. He would do both of those things, but he’d talk down to her in front of others, all while looking for a new wife?
“Why should your authority be above questioning?” she challenged. “You want to punish this man for not respecting his queen, but he hasn’t bothered to get to know me because I’ll soon be replaced. Aren’t you guilty of the same offense?”
“He’s meant to protect you,” Sanyu said, ignoring her second and more important question.
“There’s been one guard in the queen’s quarters this entire time, and she’s worked overtime to keep me safe. Of her own accord, not because she was directed to do so,” she replied. “Unless I passed them in the hallway or committed some cultural faux pas they needed to comment on, no other guard has paid me any mind. I don’t see why they should suddenly be punished for business as usual.”
A different kind of stiffness seized Sanyu—realization. Maybe he’d suddenly understood that Kenyatta had been working herself to the bone since Shanti’s arrival.
“Yes, having more than one guard is something to keep in mind when your next bride from Royal Match arrives,” she said. “As for me? I can protect myself.” She said the last sentence condescendingly, wanting to