Page 78 of The Abandoned Princess

Dropping into a shallow curtsy, she smiled at Xander. “My apologies. It’s been a long day and it isn’t even midday yet.” She glanced inquiringly at me and Lori who were lurking behind Xander, her fixed smile indicating she was ready to welcome us as well.

“Daisy!” The unfamiliar voice exclaiming my name in surprise made me start and look around the rest of the room.

A third woman was approaching from the far side, her eyes focused on me. I didn’t need an introduction to know her, although I had no idea how she knew me.

I had thought Danielle startlingly beautiful only because I hadn’t yet met her mother. There was no doubt in my mind that the dark-haired, golden-skinned woman in front of me was Princess Celeste, also known as the great spymaster Aurora.

I dropped instinctively into a curtsy. But when I straightened, I blurted out the first words that came to mind.

“How did you know it was me?”

“I requested a portrait from your family years ago,” she said, finally reaching us. “You’ve grown up, but you’re still recognizable.”

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Don’t tell me you really were the girl in the tower,” she said in a voice that promised trouble for the agents who had been sent north to investigate the story.

I wanted to defend them, but Xander cut across our conversation.

“Apologies if I’m interrupting you, Daisy. You might already be telling them everything. But just in case you’re not, we need to find out what’s happened to the children.”

I could see the thoughts chasing across Celeste’s face far too fast for me to follow and felt sure she had noticed the oddness of Xander’s words and had theories about it. But as expected, her reply focused on the most important part.

“What reason do you have to be concerned for our children?”

“They weren’t just causing trouble this morning with the smoke,” he said. “They were helping me under Princess Danielle’s direction.”

All four of the parents stilled at that statement before exchanging a rapid series of concerned looks.

“We were only gone for a day!” Cordelia wailed.

Celeste held up a hand to silence her. “First we need to find the children. Then we need to hear what’s been happening.” The line between her eyes made it clear how unhappy she was that something of magnitude had been happening in her own palace without her knowledge.

She turned and signaled to someone I hadn’t noticed before. The man was lounging in one of the furthest chairs, his attention on the riot of beautiful flowers outside the window. But he must have been watching us from the corner of his eye because he responded instantly to her silent summons.

Standing, he took a moment to straighten his clothes before strolling toward us. I watched him come in astonishment, blinking as I took in the magnificent splendor of his coronation outfit. I had never seen such an elaborately dressed noble. He outshone even the princesses in wardrobe.

He took Celeste’s hand and bent over it. “Nothing short of your beauty could rouse me to such heights,” he drawled. “But for the gift of your smile, I would dare far greater feats. I will find and retrieve the children.”

He straightened, smiled at us all, and strolled out of the room with the same unhurried air.

“I can’t say he’s wrong,” Rafe said into the silence that followed his departure. “I’ve always considered wrestling Ben into submission to be a feat.”

“Rafe! That’s our son you’re talking about!” Marie frowned at him. “And he might be in trouble right now.”

“If I believed that, I wouldn’t still be standing here.” Rafe gave her a beguiling smile, slipping an arm around her waist. “You should give the children some credit. And remember just how hard they are to catch when they’re on familiar ground.”

She relented, leaning against him for a moment.

“Who was that?” I asked in a dazed voice, struggling to understand what I’d just witnessed.

Rafe and Cordelia both chuckled.

“I always forget the effect Rivers has on the unwary,” Cordelia said. “He’s obsessed with beauty—his own and Celeste’s in particular—but he’s far more intelligent than he seems.”

“He also knows every noble and courtier in Arcadia, Lanover, and Northhelm,” Celeste added. “And not one of those nobles takes him seriously. In short, he’s one of my most valued agents.”

Marie’s eyes shot up, but Celeste just shrugged. “Thanks to Celine, everyone in this room already knows all about Aurora.” She glanced at Lori. “You are Lori, I assume?”

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