Page 111 of Twin Crowns

The dressing table groaned as Rose sagged against it. “Icannotwear that!”

The next few minutes felt like an eternity, but when Agnes finally excused herself, Wren rolled out from under the bed at such a speed she gave herself carpet burn.

“Where is it?” she said, leaping to her feet. “Show me the outfit!”

Rose had flung the dress on the bed. It did indeed look like an overgrown wolf’s tail. It was warm and plush, strands of black and gray andsilver intermingling in the afternoon sunlight. It was the tiniest dress Wren had ever seen—even her underthings covered more than this—and it smelled faintly of blood.

She snatched it up, whipping it around her neck like a scarf as she pranced around the room. “Really, Rose. It’s so versatile! Just be careful not to move too vigorously.”

Rose had gone deathly pale. “Oh, Wren, this might be the only time in my entire life that I wished I wereyouinstead of me.”

Wren cackled wickedly. “And I think this might be the only time inmyentire life that I feel truly and thoroughly relieved not to be you.” She flung the wolfy dress at Rose. “This one is all yours. It truly is fit for only a princess such as yourself.”

38

Rose

The courtyard at Anadawn Palace had been transformed for the Gevran Feast.

Enormous ice sculptures lined the entranceway, towering over the guests, and in the center, atop the pale stone fountain, stood the most impressive one of all: a mighty ice bear with glistening teeth. It loomed over figures of a man and a woman peering up at him in frozen awe. Caged fires roared from every corner, as a nod to the long Gevran winters.

While the flames were caged, the beasts were not. Tonight, they weren’t even leashed. White wolves prowled by the sides of Gevran soldiers, while three regal snow tigers sprawled on a raised dais, watching over the festivities. Winter foxes leaped mischievously from table to table, threatening to topple the wine goblets and startling several members of the Anadawn court. Even Alarik’s ice bear roamed freely, its neck adorned with a collar of rubies. A fur-clad priestess wandered alongside it, her soothing hand resting on its shoulder.

The tables were laden with meat and poultry, all freshly killed inhonor of the evening. Huge slabs of Eanan elk, skinned rabbits, legs of lamb, and whole pheasants glistened in the firelight. And on a table of its own, the Gevran delicacy: a squid so large, its tentacles spilled over the sides. It had been caught by the Gevran fleet on their journey across the Sunless Sea and had been roasting over an open fire all afternoon.

Rose hovered at the edge of the courtyard, listening to the thunder of the Gevran drums. She could feel them pounding against her feet, bidding her to enter. She desperately wished she had a cloak to cover herself.

Whoever had called this thing she was wearing a “dress” had an interesting sense of humor. After hours of primping and preening, she still wasn’t certain she was wearing it right. Two lengths of silver fur crisscrossed her chest, barely covering her breasts, before meeting in a knot at the nape of her neck. Another darker piece encircled her waist, then spilled across her hips, where the Gevran brooch pinned the paltry material together. The dress stopped several inches above her knees.

Rose could barely walk without fear of the entire thing falling off, never mind attempt one of the notoriously dramatic Gevran dances. But she couldn’t refuse to wear it and risk causing offense. No, tonight everything had to go perfectly. And that meant she had to look perfect. She wore her hair long and loose, cascading down her back and pulled away from her face with bone hairpins that looked unnervingly like fangs.

One more night of playing the simpering princess, and then everything would change. Forever. The thought of being able to decide her own destiny, to make her own choices, suddenly made Rose feel brave.A shiver danced down her spine, and she wasn’t sure if it was the chill of the wind against her half-naked body or the thrill of what the future held, but it was enough to nudge her onward, into the mouth of the feast.

“Yoo-hoo!I spy my winter rose!”

Rose’s jaw fell open. “Oh, Ansel.”

The prince was standing in the middle of the courtyard, wearing a skinned ice bear like a cape. The jaws of the bear had been prized open so the eyes and snout were resting on Ansel’s head as if it were about to devour him. He swayed a little under its weight as he waved at her. “My darling! Over here! Don’t you recognize your ice-bear prince?” He held up his hands like claws and attempted a roar.

Rose wished her sister were here to see this. What would her life have been like, having fierce and fearless Wren always next to her? Rathborne had taken that from her. He had taken her parents and with them a whole life she would never know. Anger flared inside her, as hot as the flames crackling in their cages.

As if she had summoned him, the Kingsbreath appeared at her side. Unlike her, he was dressed in traditional Eanan attire—a slim-fitting suit of forest green, trimmed in gold.

“Your prince is calling you. It won’t do to leave him waiting.” He prodded her in the back. “I expect perfect behavior from you, Rose. Nothing like how you were last night.”

Swallowing her revulsion, Rose offered him her warmest smile. “I don’t know what came over me yesterday. But I’m feeling much more myself now. I hope you can forgive me for speaking out of turn.”

“As long as you do as you’re told, all is forgiven. You know I alwayshave your best interests at heart.”

Rose made her bottom lip tremble. “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you for taking such good care of me, Willem.” Then, before she lost her nerve, she flung her arms around his neck.

The Kingsbreath stiffened. When Rose pulled back from him, the key was curled safely in her fist. Wren had enchanted her nails so they could cut easily through the twine around his neck, and for a moment, Rose wished she could use them to claw the skin off his face, too.

“I must find my prince,” she murmured as she scurried away. As she moved through the courtyard, she passed Alarik and Anika. Like Rose, Anika was wearing an eye-wateringly revealing outfit, but the fur of her dress was jet-black, making her crimson tresses stand out even more.

The king was almost as naked as his sister. He stood pale and shirtless before Rose, wearing fitted leather trousers and his glistening silver crown.

Burning stars! What do the Gevrans have against shirts?

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