The Kingdom's Crown (Inheritance of Hunger #3) - Kathryn Moon Page 0,128

said, grinning down at the coins.

"It is safe, though?" I asked, glancing at Aric.

"Safest I can think of, princess," Aric said, hands circling my waist to steady me. "Metal's more resistant to taking magic on and tougher to pull it out of."

I nodded and rolled my shoulders. The pulse of the conduit was a little overwhelming from this close, but while Aric and Simon had sorted out a way to draw the magic out, it tired them in a way it didn't with me. I took one deep breath, reached both palms out, fingers splayed, and felt the brief curious tug from the conduit at my own magic before grabbing fistfuls in my grip, yanking with all my might and concentration, then bending to thrust them down to the coins waiting in the crate.

Metal rattled as if the pennies were wriggling in excitement, and the shaking grew stronger until the wooden crates were thumping and bouncing in place. I released the magic and stood, blinking down at the instantly still coins.

"Two down," Simon said.

"Doesn't even feel like a dent in the conduit though," Aric said, frowning at the prism over my shoulder.

"Then we do it again," I said, standing straighter, taking another breath, and reaching out to the magic of the queen's line.

Thao's orange tiger prowled around the rose garden, and my own itched to join him.

"We could seat the countess of Amonsbury with the Duke of Pemony," Morgan said, making a hasty scribble.

"Ah, no. Their families were cousins and there was a great falling out," Wendell said, fingers working almost aimlessly at the tense muscles of my shoulder as I traced patterns in the fine gravel of the pathway. "Seat her with Lord and Lady Sandimon."

"Urghh! Where is Nora? I hate this sort of nonsense," Morgan growled, scratching repeatedly at the marks she'd just made. We were planning the seating for the feast after the coronation. Well, the others were. I was resting my head on Wendell's thigh and enjoying the sudden warm spell of the day.

"This sort of nonsense is valuable if you want to work with the council," Wendell said, and I could hear his smile and the laugh he was trying to restrain.

"Then fuck the council and I'll join the mages," Morgan muttered.

"We won't have you," Aric answered easily.

I hid my grin against Wendell, nipping his muscle briefly through his pants as he tugged a strand of hair on the back of my neck. He grunted, and his fingers clasped the back of my neck in a commanding grip that made me think Wendell and I would be moving inside shortly.

"There you all are!"

"Nora McCallum, get your ass over here and solve this abominable puzzle of decorum!" Morgan shouted.

Wendell tapped the base of my neck, and I sat up, accepting his helping hand to move up to the bench, resting on his lap. Nora was hurrying to us from the double doors, a wide and shallow box in her arms.

"In a moment, I have a gift for Bryony first," Nora said, her cheeks flushed and smile wide.

"A gift?" I asked, glancing at the box she carried, a little spark of excitement bubbling up in me. I didn't receive gifts very often, and for some reason, it was even nicer to know this one was coming from Nora. I had not only allies in my ladies-in-waiting but actual friends too.

"It's for??ell, it's from the two-natured," Nora said, passing the box into my hands. "For the coronation, if you want it."

My eyes widened as the box weighed down my hands, an unexpected heft to it. "The coronation?"

Most of the time, it felt as though we were speaking about someone else. My mother hadn't made much of an effort to speak to me since Camellia's death, and our conversations were usually strained. She'd insisted on abdicating the crown to me as soon as possible, accelerating every plan for the event.

It was less than a week away now, and I hadn't wrapped my mind around it yet.

The box was wrapped in layers of shimmering, delicate tissue, and I hunted down within the tucked-in folds of paper, trying to unwrap it with care.

"Just rip it," Morgan muttered.

Thao moved closer, rising into his human self, and Cosmo abandoned his sketching to join us until my ladies and all my Chosen surrounded me.

I lifted the lid, my fingers sliding inside to brush against something soft and silkily sharp. Thao lifted the lid impatiently away, and I gasped. Inside the box, tucked thoughtfully in