Royal Fools

XXVI. The Chosen

A hand grabbed her by the arm. "Where have you been?" Cassian asked in her ear. "Can you not smile? You look like a ghost mourning your own death."

She looked up at her brother, eyes begging. "Can we leave? Cass, please. I want to go."

He sighed, looked over the hundreds of heads that filled the ballroom. "It's not the best time. The king's here. It would be considered rude."

"But—"

"Flo, should we go to the garden?" Lucy asked, taking her hand with a gentle smile.

"I'll come with you," Cassian said.

Florence knew he was only tagging along to keep an eye on her and Lucy. To make sure they didn't do something stupid.

He sat across another bench just by the entrance of the garden. Crossing his arms and legs, he gazed at Florence and Lucy. Florence just sat there, unable to think or do something.

"Steffan thinks you don't have to talk to the king," Cassian said. "He thinks you'll only take the chance to manipulate the man and he doesn't want to take the risk."

Florence let out a bitter chuckle. "Manipulate Emory? Is he insane?" She turned to Lucy. "They think I can manipulate him. Can you believe it?"

Lucy just smiled, squeezing her hand in comfort.

Florence stared at her brother, jaw twitching. "I'm planning to talk to him."

Cassian raised a brow. "What for? Apologize?"

"He deserves it." And she was hoping that he would forgive her. That he would order her to leave Sutherland. She could not stand it here any longer. "Please, Cass. Help me. Just a short moment with him, please."

Her brother shook his head and groaned. "Why does this always work on me?"

***

"Not more than five minutes," her brother repeated as he gripped her arm tightly, quite literally dragging her down the corridor after they stealthily passed the royal guards. Or maybe Marius saw her and turned a blind eye, which gave her hope, which was bad because she shouldn't hope for anything.

Only his understanding.

He didn't have to forgive her. She had lied and misled him. In Gavaria, it was a crime to lie to a royal, punishable by death or banishment.

"Did you hear me?" Cassian hissed, stopping outside a door. "Lucy cannot keep Steffan's attention for long."

Of course, she heard. Five minutes. Just say what she needed to say and leave.

She looked down the corridor, and so did her brother.

"Go, go, go," Cassian hastily whispered when a royal guard started to approach them. Before Florence knew it, her brother had pushed the drawing door open and then shoved her inside, where she stumbled and almost fell to the floor.

Her upper body was bent halfway to the ground when she finally found her footing and looked up. And she froze.

Emory was seated in a winged chair at the center of the room, surrounded by people she didn't recognize. Except for two: Henry and Tatiana Temple.

The woman was with two other ladies, both of which Florence never saw before, not even in Artemis. The two ladies frowned at her with curiosity, while Tatiana was smiling. Florence stayed frozen. She knew that smile. She recognized it from the many faces she had to deal with back in Gavaria. It was contempt hidden sweetly by a deceptive curl of the mouth.

Her jaw tightened, and she tore her eyes off Tatiana, making sure the woman saw the look of practiced disinterest as she turned to Emory and curtsied. "May I have a moment of your time, Your Majesty?"