A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) - Amanda Joy Page 0,123

Despite the early hour, she was already made up. The kohl lining her vivid eyes seemed to make them glow. Or Isa could be playing with glamour. Hard to say.

She’d been suspiciously quiet when I asked about it.

“What will you do for me if I say yes?” Mira countered. She and Isa were like two cats who couldn’t help but accept that they enjoyed each other’s company.

A week after we returned to Ternain, Isa rescinded her claim for the throne before the Court. We had both Rival Heir diadems melted down and created a new crown for her.

And in a quiet ceremony at the Temple, Sarou and two Sorceryn supervised the removal of the Entwining. Though we’d both wondered what would be the harm in keeping the spell intact, the Sorceryn warned that magick left untended had a habit of growing strange. The connection between our souls was best severed.

Though I hadn’t officially been crowned, I gave her a new title, Princess Advisor to the Throne, which so far meant she sat in the meetings between the Queen’s Council and the half of the Elderi who’d remained in Ternain. The rest had gone to the Southern Enclosure on the edge of the Kremir. We’d sent notices that all detainment of any people on Myrean soil was now outlawed, but hadn’t yet heard any news back.

Though every gathering of the Queen’s Council and the Elderi was contentious, we were attempting to rewrite the Rival Heir laws. I was looking forward to seeing what they came up with. When I’d suggested a reversal back to the old system, of the Elderi choosing candidates, though perhaps with some qualifications more than a couple in a generation could meet, Ysai graciously told me their meetings were to be private from that moment on.

The other struggle with the Queen’s Council had been deciding on the matter of my mother. The law was quite clear that Queens could not be executed, and thank the Gods because I would have refused, but jailing her in the dungeons of the palace indefinitely would not work either. The compromise we’d found was exile, though Isa and I had not yet determined a place where we were comfortable sending her. And I knew Isa still visited her once a day. I hadn’t gone to the dungeons and had no plans to.

When Mirabel had finished with my hair, we all retreated to my closet, where three of the most ornate gowns I’d ever seen hung.

The first was pure white with a full skirt, seed pearls beading every bit of the low-cut bodice. I’d declined to wear this one immediately, as it reminded me of something Mother might wear.

The next was quite dramatic, its skirt made from long strips of crimson and black silk embroidered with the flowers tattooed on my arms, complete with blades hidden inside their petals. I’d been tempted by it, but when I saw my seamstress’s final offering, I knew it was the one.

It was like liquid gold, falling in a clean sweep to the floor. Unadorned, simple, Queenly in its simplicity.

We finished off the fruit and pastries—priorities—and then Mira helped me into the dress, while Isa spectated and tried on my jewelry. She had already slipped into her own gown of vivid green silk embroidered all over with ivy leaves.

She gasped, finding a green enameled bangle in one of my drawers. “This is mine!”

“Absolutely not,” I argued. “You gave that to me!”

We bickered back and forth until Mirabel began to hum loudly, drowning us out.

Around midday, an hour before the coronation was set to begin, three knocks sounded on the door. Baccha, Aketo, and Falun were waiting in the sitting room when I opened the door.

Baccha was in bloodred. The color set off his tan skin and flaxen hair perfectly. The only other color I’d ever seen him in was the gold of his jewelry. At the sight of my dress, he groaned, “I thought we agreed on red.”

“I told you, Baccha. It’s too reminiscent of blood.”

“That is the point, Princess,” he protested. Then he paused, face falling as if something terrible had occured to him. “Oh no. I’ve just realized this is the last morning I’ll get to call you that.”

I grinned. Somehow I suspected Baccha would still be calling me Princess long after I’d been crowned. If he did indeed stay in Myre. “I’ll wear crimson tonight. Just for you.” After the coronation and the party that entailed, Ysai, Baccha, and I would be meeting