the palace. And Keely had been left with Florentyna to explain that she was now in a position to bring life into the world. Reynard had quickly appointed Keely as head maid to the princess and, with only a decade separating them, they had become firm friends.
Saria noticed that Florentyna was becoming far too confident and independent. She blamed Keely, having watched Florentyna beginning to blossom under the woman's care. And when Reynard had been away with her father, the queen had cornered Keely and suggested she do a 'tour', as she had called it, to the leper colony on the Isle of Trey. This was another of Cailech's innovations, encouraging his palace staff to show they were not above such things even though they were employed at Stoneheart and enjoyed many benefits as a result.
Keely was quickly pressed into service and even though she went quietly and indeed graciously, it was obvious to Florentyna that Reynard would not have permitted such a close aide to the royal family to be away for so long. Then Keely had become ill; not for a moment did Florentyna believe it to be leprosy, for the talk was simply that Keely was coughing a great deal, but that was irrelevant to Saria, who gleefully and instantly forbade Keely returning to Stoneheart. She was to remain on the island as, according to Saria, she had contracted the suppurating sores of the leper.
Florentyna's blood boiled even now at the memory of it, but she'd been a child and helpless. Her father was distracted on his return and even Reynard would not involve himself in domestic spats despite his disapproval of what had occurred. So Florentyna's life had again turned inward. Some had even begun calling her fey because of her reticence.
She smiled, allowing herself a rare moment of malicious joy as she recalled the moment when she realised what her father's death signified. It had nothing to do with wearing a crown, or ruling, or wealth or status. It wasn't about being the most revered person in the empire or the most powerful. It was quite simply about being in a position to give one particular command.
The king's death was unexpected and traumatic. Pearlis had slipped into shock as quietly as her father had slid from his horse two mornings previously in the bailey soon after mounting up. What had been dismissed as indigestion had been his heart weakening. The king had been immediately confined to his bed and his physics prodded, poked and generally shook their heads at his worsening condition while his breath became laboured and then shallow. His complexion had lost its grey pallor and turned waxy pale. The queen, accompanied by Darcelle, was called back from her sojourn to the famed spa at Tyntar, north of Pearlis, and was at her husband's side that same night, cooing and soothing in a way that made Florentyna feel ill.
As far as Florentyna was concerned, Saria, a widow of a distant cousin on her mother's side, had deliberately set about catching the king's attention and had done so through slyness, cunning and manipulation. Saria was still relatively young at thirty-five summers, still capable of bearing a son. She had been all smiles and friendliness in the early days of their courtship, but once the banns had been called and the echoes of the wedding bells had stopped resounding, Florentyna saw a different and far more ugly side to the new queen she now bowed to.
At the king's bedside, both she and the queen had locked gazes over the sick man. Florentyna remembered well that sudden shift of awareness as the pendulum of power seemed to swing from the queen's side of the bed to hers. And she could all but smell Saria's fear on the other side. Her father was still young by the standard of the day. No-one had counted on him having a weakness of the heart, least of all Saria.
And in that moment Florentyna had realised that Saria was petrified. Florentyna did not want her father to die, but she privately revelled in the uncertainty and terror reflected in the look her stepmother levelled at her as understanding dawned of how life might be about to change for both of them.
To Saria's despair her husband had suddenly awoken from the stupor he'd drifted into in an unnaturally alert state; it was a bad sign. The king spoke briefly to each of his loved ones separately, and then in front of those