Page 69 of Burning Crowns

Wren frowned. ‘You want us tobathetogether?’

Willa crooked a silver brow. ‘Is that somehow more scandalous to you than colluding with a foreign king to cast a forbidden blood spell that once destroyed the very fabric of the kingdom that you are supposed to protect and rule?’

‘Well, not when you put it like that,’ Wren mumbled into her cup.

Alarik rested his hand on her shoulder, his mood appearing to be much brighter now that Willa had offered them a kernel of hope. ‘Wren’s just unsettled because she’s afraid she’s going to fall in love with me.’

Wren spat out a mouthful of tea.

The king laughed. The sound was a pleasant trill of relief, and despite her deep offence, Wren found herself laughing, too.

‘I wouldn’t be so confident if I were you,’ Wren warned him. ‘You’re a Gevran. If you bathe in Eana’s tears you might curl up in smoke.’

‘And you might burst into flames,’ he shot back.

As the Healer on High watched them bicker, a curious look dawned in her eyes. Wren wondered if Willa could sense something else stirring between them, but she was too afraid to ask.

‘Right then, witch,’ said Alarik. ‘Let’s get this over with.’

Rose

CHAPTER 22

Rose looked for Celeste in the crowded courtyard but she was nowhere to be seen. Tellingly, neither was Princess Anika. Well, at least Rose knew Celeste would be fine. Rose could look for her after she found the weapon she had come here for. She knew that one weapon likely wasn’t going to be enough to take down Oonagh, but it would be a start. If Thea said they needed a witch-made weapon to kill an undead witch, then Rose knew they would not be able to kill Oonagh without it.

Now if she could only remember her way to that marvellous armoury Shen had shown her the first time she came here. Rose turned on her heel, frowning as she tried to recall which pathway would lead her in the right direction.

A shadow appeared behind her. ‘Rose? I thought you were waiting for me.’

Shen Lo reached for her.

Rose snatched her hand away. ‘You think a lot of things, Shen Lo. That doesn’t make them true.’

Shen sighed. ‘Don’t be angry with me for dancing with Elladora,’ he said, with mounting frustration. ‘She nearly tugged my arm off. And the last thing I want to do is anger the king of Demarre.You know how notoriously sensitive he is. I thought you’d appreciate that.’

Rose glared at him. ‘You thought I’d appreciate you leaving me to go and dance with one of your preening admirers?’

‘I’m practising the art of diplomacy.’ He frowned. ‘Perhaps I’m not very good at it.’

‘What you are is dishonest,’ said Rose. ‘To call all of those princesses and queens from their homelands and make them think they’re making a strategic alliance with you.’

‘It’s not like that,’ Shen insisted. ‘I may not be romancing them or intending to ask for their hand in marriage, but Iambuilding alliances with them. My kingdom has to trade, Rose. It has to thrive. And for that to happen, the world needs to know about us.’

‘Then why didn’t you just throw a party? Why did it have to be the King’s Choice?’

Shen ran his hand through his hair. ‘You know the title wasn’t my idea. It’s an ancient tradition. And the truth is, the tradition matters to my people,’ he went on. ‘Once I realized what it truly meant, I tried to call it off, but Grandmother Lu counselled me to recognize the importance of the custom even if I don’t plan to avail myself of it. During my father’s King’s Choice, the storm my mother brewed was the most magnificent one anyone had ever seen. She made the lightning dance and the wind sing, creating an entire orchestra out of the elements. As soon as my father saw her, he declared her his queen.’

Shen’s eyes softened as he recounted his parents’ love story. ‘Though it might seem silly to me, and to you, it’s a way to honour their memory – to honour the ball that has helped sustain this kingdom for hundreds of years.’

‘And the flirting?’ said Rose. ‘Is that honouring tradition?’

He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I was only trying to be welcoming.’

Rose snorted.

‘Would you have preferred I turned my back on them?’

‘Yes,’ said Rose.

---