Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1) - Kendare Blake Page 0,32
Did you really come here to escape the country? What did Natalia promise you?”
“She promised me a seat on the council,” he says, “after you are on the throne. But it is more than that.”
He looks at her pointedly, and she blushes. He likes it when she blushes. He says that Mirabella is likely far too proud to show any pleasure at someone’s interest.
“Poisoner queens are good for the island.” He feeds her another piece of bread. “We have run it for a hundred years. The Westwoods are arrogant indeed if they think they can do better.”
“The Westwoods,” Katharine says, “and the temple.”
“Yes. The temple. I do not know why they feel so slighted. Why they have to possess the entirety of the people’s hearts. But they do.”
Pietyr eats some bread smeared with apple jelly. He does not turn up his nose at untainted food like the rest of the Arrons do. He does not make Katharine feel small for being weak.
“It smells like dust in here, Kat,” he says. “I do not know why you like it.”
Katharine looks around at the tall stacks of leather-bound books. “Queen Camille liked them,” she says. “She liked to read about mainland queens. Did you know that is where Arsinoe got her name?”
“I did not.”
“There was a queen on the mainland who was murdered by her sister. She was called Arsinoe too. So when Arsinoe was born weak, that is what she named her. Arsinoe the naturalist.”
“Such a wicked way to name a newborn. I am almost sorry for her,” says Pietyr.
“The queen knows what we are from birth. She knows our gifts. A dud is a dud, even then.”
“She gave you a fine name, in any case, Katharine the poisoner. She must have known then that you would grow up to be sweet and thoughtful.” He traces a finger along her cheek. “And very fair.”
“Fair enough to capture the eye of every single suitor?” she asks. “Must I really?”
“You must. Imagine the look on Mirabella’s face when every one of them ignores her. Perhaps she will be so dismayed that she will throw herself off the Rolanth cliffs.”
That would be very convenient indeed. Though it would rob Katharine of the sight of her clawing at her throat, after it had been poisoned shut.
Katharine laughs.
“What?” Pietyr asks.
“I was thinking of Arsinoe,” she says. “Of how sad and easy she will be to kill, after Mirabella is dead.”
Pietyr chuckles. He draws her close. “Kiss me,” he says, and she does. She is getting much better at it, and bolder. Afterward, she bites his lip gently.
He is so very handsome. She could kiss him all day and never tire of it.
“You are a fast learner,” he says.
“But were you? How many girls have you practiced on, Pietyr?”
“Many,” he replies. “Practically every serving girl who came through our household, and most of them in the village besides. As well as a few of my stepmother’s more discerning friends.”
“I should not have asked,” she pouts.
He runs his hand up the side of her leg, and Katharine laughs. So many girls. So many women. But he is hers and hers alone. For now.
“You do not find me dull, after others who were more practiced?” she asks.
“No,” he says, and looks into her eyes. “Never. In fact, the hardest part of all this will be something that I had not really thought of.”
“What?”
“Remembering why I am here. To make you the kind of queen who wins hearts. To help you gain island support at the festival.”
“What does their support matter? They will not help me kill my sisters.”
“A well-loved queen has many eyes and ears. The support will matter very much, in any case, after you are crowned.”
Katharine’s stomach lurches, and she pushes her food away.
“It is all pressure and expectations. And I will fail. I will fail, like I did on my birthday.”
“You will not fail,” says Pietyr. “When you step onto your stage at the Quickening, no one will bother looking at your sisters’ stages. When the suitors see you at the Disembarking, they will forget that there are other queens to see.”
“But Mirabella . . .”
“Forget Mirabella. She will be stiff-backed and haughty. You will smile. Flirt. You will be the queen they want. If I can only get you to stand up straight.”
“Stand up straight?”
“You are very meek when you walk, Kat. I want you to move through a room as though it is already yours. Sometimes, it even seems that you scurry.”