Page 27 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

Letting it slide off my back, I pretend to be oblivious and smile at her brightly. “Oh yes, I can’t imagine being without him any longer.” I almost allow a little skip into my step but stop myself at the last moment, deciding that would probably be overdoing it.

Slowing her pace, she frowns and looks me over once more, attempting to find fault or proof of me belonging to another empire. However, I know I look flawless today, and my posture is immaculate. One of the good things about the amount of training I do is that it helps keep my posture rigid and my body healthy, everything a princess would have.

Seeming to find nothing to complain about, she clicks her tongue and purses her lips. “What do you have to gain from this? Did your family put you up to it?”

I frown prettily and tilt my head to one side. “I’m sorry?” I play dumb, as though her question makes no sense to me at all. In all honesty, I am a little surprised by her bluntness.

A frustrated sigh leaves her lips, and as she speaks again, I can tell she’s losing patience with me. “There has been silence from Jade Empire for years, and now all of a sudden, you turn up to marry our king. You don’t think that’s a bit strange?”

After letting several seconds tick by, I brighten my expression as I pretend to understand whom she’s asking about. “My family? Oh, they didn’t want me to come, since they think you are all murderers, but I told my father that wasn’t true. A kingdom with a king as good as Joha is worth giving a chance,” I explain, glancing down at the hem of my skirt and allowing a hint of sadness to enter my voice. “My papa didn’t want me to leave, but he understood and reluctantly allowed it.”

I keep my gaze down as I feel Queen Mother’s penetrating stare on me, trying to pick me apart like I’m a puzzle she’s dying to demolish. “Hmm, I see.” Looking straight ahead, she admires a beautiful tree we happen to pass, pausing to reach up and touch its blooming flowers. “You know of the responsibilities that will come with being his queen?”

I’ve been so busy watching her that the change in topic almost throws me off. As she stares up at the blossoms on the tree, she smiles slightly, genuinely, and her whole face lightens. I doubt many people get to see that smile. Clearing my throat, I remind myself why I’m here and frown slightly again as I make it look as though I’m thinking deeply.

“Well, I’ve watched my sister prepare for the throne, and I know it will be hard work.”

She laughs, looking away from the tree and shaking her head as she pins me with her stare again. “You don’t have a clue, do you?”

I see the exact moment when she decides I’m clueless and that she can make this work for her—a perfect blank slate for her to mould into another puppet and leverage to use against the king if he ever decides to go against what she wants him to do. Her calculating expression is only there for a second, and most wouldn’t notice it, but I’m an assassin who is trained to notice these things. Her face smooths into a smile as she offers me her arm.

“Luckily for you, Princess, I am going to take you under my wing. You shall attend court with me, and I’ll teach you everything you need to know, and in return, you can tell me how the king is. I worry about him, you see.”

Taking her offered arm, I link mine with hers and sound breathless as I smile up at her, not quite believing the kindness she’s offering me. “Oh, of course. Thank you, Queen Mother.”

In reality, I can see right through her honeyed words. She wants me to be her spy. What she doesn’t know is that I’m already employed to do that very job, but with her as the target.

She just made my job a whole lot easier. I was worried I would have to beg and scrape to be near her.

Idiot.

Laughing, she squeezes my arm just a little too hard, digging her nails into my skin. “Oh, I think you and I will become good friends.”

“Oh yes,” I chirp, hiding the smug satisfaction I feel as we walk arm in arm for everyone to see. “The very best of friends.”

It’s almost too easy.

Chapter

Fifteen

CRUX

The word fury doesn’t hold enough weight to describe my feelings, but it’s what I settle on, especially last night when I watched her walk into the palace. She knew I was there, yet she didn’t call out or change her mind like I hoped she would.

She turned away and went inside.

I spent all night switching between feeling angry and proud and finally settled on infuriated, but despite how upset I am at her, I can’t leave her alone in there. Regardless of what Alyx thinks, she is the reason I have done and built everything, and I will not let this argument be our downfall.

If she is determined to do this, then I know there is no changing her mind—it is one of the many qualities that both exhaust and humour me about her—so as the darkness changes to the bright colours of dawn, I put my plan into motion.

After greasing hands, forging papers and lineages, and breaking into official offices to plant information, I am ready.

All the while, I can’t help but wonder why she is doing this. It can’t just be for money. She has more than she could ever need, and even if she didn’t and doesn’t know it, she has half of everything I own. It leads me to question if it’s the king.

That sour thought puts me in a bad mood all morning as I am shown to my new lodgings within the palace walls. They are much too open for me and shared with many other men all in the same position as I am. My back feels exposed, the light is too bright, and the creaking floor is too loud, but it’s what I have to put up with as I change into the supplied gear. It is worth it to ensure she is safe.

Frowning down at the form-fitting bright colours of the palace guard uniform, I almost laugh at myself. Who would have thought I would end up here?

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