Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1) - Kendare Blake Page 0,45

cannot believe she survived,” Katharine says. “Natalia must have had all the servants searching.”

“She must have,” says Pietyr.

“So.” She removes her hands from the cage and folds them onto her lap. “I am really to meet my first suitor?”

“Yes.”

She and Pietyr stand close together without touching and without looking each other in the eyes. Pietyr runs his fingers along the back of her brocade-covered chair and worries at a loosening thread.

“Are you sure I cannot poison my sisters first?”

Pietyr smiles. “I am sure. This must be done, Kat.”

He looks through the scant space between her curtains, out at the overcast sky and all the shadows in the courtyard. The small lake they rode beside that morning lies like a slate-gray puddle to the southeast. Soon, it will be bright blue, and the courtyard will be green and sprouting daffodils. Already the weather has turned warmer. The dawn brings more fog than frost.

“Mirabella will be hard to overcome,” Pietyr says. “She is tall and strong and beautiful. In Rolanth, there are already songs about her hair.”

“Songs about her hair?” Katharine asks, and snorts aloud. She ought to care about this. But in truth, she would not mind if all the suitors preferred Mirabella. None of them will kiss the way Pietyr kisses. He holds her with such desperate wanting that she cannot even catch her breath.

“Do you think the suitors will kiss like you do, Pietyr?” she asks, just to see his lower lip stick out.

“Of course not. They are mainland boys. All fumbling and drool. It will be difficult for you to pretend to enjoy it.”

“They cannot all be bad,” she says. “I am sure to find one who I like.”

Pietyr arches his brow. His fingers dig into the back of the chair but relax when he sees her expression.

“Are you teasing me, Kat?”

“Yes.” She laughs. “I am teasing you. Is that not what you have taught me to do? To counteract my sister’s regal formality with smiles and a beating heart?”

She touches his chest, and he grasps her hand.

“You are too good at it,” he whispers, and pulls her up against his chest.

“You will have to laugh at their jokes,” he says, “even when they are not funny.”

“Yes, Pietyr.”

“And get them to talk about themselves. Make them remember you. You must be the jewel, Kat. The one who stands out from the others.” He releases her hand a little reluctantly. “No matter what you do, they will still want to try all three. Even plain-faced Arsinoe. And Mirabella . . .” He breathes deeply through his nose. “Whatever gown she wears to the Quickening, you can be sure they will be dying to tear it off her.”

Katharine frowns. “I suppose she will be presented as the prize.”

“And what a prize,” Pietyr sighs, and Katharine thumps him in the chest. He laughs.

“Now, I am teasing.” He pulls her closer. “I would not touch that elemental if she got down on her knees and begged. She pretends to be crowned already. But she is not. You are our queen, Kat. Do not forget it.”

“I will never,” she says. “We will do good for the island, Pietyr, when I am crowned and you are the head of the Black Council.”

“The head?” he asks, eyes sparkling. “I think Natalia would have something to say about that.”

“Of course, Natalia will remain in her position as long as she wishes,” Katharine amends. “But not even she can stay there forever.”

Behind them, the coral snake climbs the side of the cage. Its scaled head slips above the opened hatch and pauses there, tasting the air with its tongue. Unaware, Katharine lets her arm drop back to rest on the top of the table. The snake does not like the movement. It curves back to strike.

“Katharine!”

Pietyr’s arm darts forward. The snake’s fangs catch him in the wrist. He holds the reptile gently until it releases, even though he ought to break its neck. Katharine will not be safe around it, and no harm can be allowed to come to her so close to the Quickening.

“Oh,” Katharine says. “I am so sorry, Pietyr! She must still be out of sorts.”

“Yes.” He puts the snake back into the cage, making sure to close the lid tightly this time. “But you should use caution with her from now on. Retrain her. Even a few weeks on her own may have been enough to turn her wild.”

Twin drops of blood dot Pietyr’s arm. The wound is not bad. As strong an