been lost in the chaos of the moment.
'She's fine, your majesty,' the messenger assured her. 'It's her visitor. He dropped dead before her. She says she needs you.'
'Oh, my precious girl,' Florentyna uttered. 'Tamas ...'
But the king was already moving. 'I told them no visitors when I left,' he growled, and only just managed to stop himself pushing the queen aside. Cassien realised Tamas wasn't used to anyone going before him.
'Where is she?' Florentyna demanded of the servant.
'In my suite?' Tamas roared, and the servant nodded.
Cassien blinked. It wasn't possible for someone to die after the roaming. This didn't make sense. 'Let's go,' he said and, with the queen between himself and Tamas, they ran after the servant through the twists and turns of corridors. They seemed to gather people along the way - guards followed and so did other servants. Cassien left everyone else waiting in the king's entrance chamber while he, Florentyna and Tamas continued through the suite into the herb garden. They found Darcelle sitting beneath a mosaic set in the wall, a linen handkerchief dabbing at her nose. Her two senior maids were with her, offering comfort. They stood and immediately dropped into low curtsies on sighting the two sovereigns. Darcelle didn't bother to even look up.
'I'm all right, I'm all right,' she said, holding up a hand.
'Thank Shar's blessings,' Florentyna said and Cassien could hear the tightness and terror in her voice. She sat on the bench beside Darcelle and put her arms around her sister and hugged her, all previous offence forgotten. 'What happened, dear one? Why were you alone?'
Over the top of the queen's words, Tamas was demanding to know about the corpse at his feet. 'Who in hell's flames is this?' he demanded of his own personal guards, standing by the doorway, shocked and embarrassed.
'The man had papers, my liege,' his senior guard said. 'Chancellor Burrage had granted him access. The queen's seal was upon it.' They pointed to where the parchment lay on the ground, near Tentrell's corpse, which lay face down.
'I wasn't here,' Tamas roared at the man.
The guard shrank and Cassien felt sorry for him. 'We changed watch, my king, from Morgravian to Ciprean. I was not told that you'd left. I was simply informed that Princess Darcelle was within. We doubled the guard as a result. Her own servants waited alongside.'
Tamas's shoulders dropped. Cassien reckoned the king had wisely decided to cool his rage and not create a scene when more important matters were at stake. 'My princess is safe. That's what matters,' Tamas said. The king turned back to Darcelle. 'Did he touch you, my love?'
She shook her head, emerging from Florentyna's embrace. 'No, no, not at all,' she said, now dabbing at her eyes. She pointed at the jewel in her hand. 'But he did give me this.' At everyone's noises of surprise she explained all about Tentrell's visit. By its end, her somewhat forced tears had dried and her sniffs were getting less frequent, Cassien noticed. 'He was kind and funny,' she added.
'And what actually happened, Princess Darcelle?' Cassien said, speaking for the first time. As was usual for him he stood aside from everyone.
'What do you mean?' she said, frowning at him.
Her eyes were not even red, he noted. 'Did he make a sound, clutch his heart, call out to you for help?'
'All of those,' she answered, growing haughty at having to answer his questions. 'His eyes grew wide as if in pain and then he put his hand here,' she said, mimicking the motion by touching her chest. 'He groaned and then he cried out for help.'
'And then he fell here?' Cassien pointed.
She nodded, frowning. 'Why is he asking these questions, Florentyna?'
The queen stood, giving Cassien a glare to halt his questions. She moved to the entrance of the courtyard, where it led into the king's guest rooms, and beckoned. Two maids emerged.
'Take my sister to her chambers and wait for me there. Make up a warm bath for her. She is in shock. Tamas, will you send some of your guards with ours, please? It might reassure you to have some of your people around Darcelle,' she offered. It was a kind gesture, Cassien thought. 'No-one is to go in or out of Darcelle's rooms without my permission other than you two,' she said to the maids, both of them senior, and taking in the guards with her glare as well. 'Understood? No-one. I don't care if they're waving a