Page 104 of The Princess's Chosen

"Not long," I answered, eyeing the broad wingspan of an eagle passing over the roof of Danser Hall. "Wendell said there would probably be a meal and wine before the vote, or at least enough time for Roderick and Thomlinson to try and grease palms and secure the response they were hoping for. I'm hoping we're arriving while they're gathered and talking, so there's no time for them to notice our approach."

And it looked as though we were in luck. While a servant opened the front doors of the hall and a pair of groomsmen came around from the rear of the building, all three of them looked puzzled by our arrival.

"Let me announce you," Cresswell said without waiting for my answer as he pushed ahead, his horse skidding to a stop at the front steps, peppering the staff with pebbles from the drive.

"He seems cold," Owen whispered to me.

"He is either angry with me or…" I shook my head and huffed.

"Or himself," Owen finished, a sympathetic smile on his face.

Wendell and Thao had made an effort to polish Owen up for this occasion, ordering him a new suit and tall brown riding boots. The man at my side was familiar, but also somehow comical, like a watered-down and stiff version of the Owen I loved. He'd already undone the elaborate knot Wendell had tied at his throat, and I had a feeling he'd be unbuttoned and rugged before we made it home again.

"The crown princess?" the servant was whispering as we approached, wide eyes darting between me and Cresswell.

"Her Royal Highness herself, here to speak with the council."

"The-the council?" the old man stuttered, flicking a nervous gaze back at the doors. "N-no, this is a- a family party."

"Is it now? A family party of all the noble families of Kimmery?" I asked, pulling Crescent to a stop and smiling as his ears flicked irritably. "Am I not included?"

"Will you bar the doors to Her Highness?" Cresswell asked, a hand reaching down to his sword.

That seemed a bit like overkill, and I rested my hand on his elbow without thinking, a brief exchange of amusement passing between us before we remembered our own discomfort with one another.

"Lennox."

The skittish servant looked more terrified by the bark of his name from the door than he had when I'd spoken to him directly, and my eyes traveled to the man standing there, immediately aware of who was staring back at me. Edgar Farraque, Duke of Banesdale.

He both did and did not resemble his son. Edgar's hair was black as ink to Daniel's fawn color, and he appeared to be even taller. But there was a strength and ferocity to him that I recognized as the passion Daniel usually kept bound up. Behind us, at a distance, the sound of our party's carriage rattled on the avenue.

"Your Highness," Edgar Farraque said, his voice more velvet than his son's, and more full of courtly flourish. He bowed low at the top of the steps and then took the path down to us, Lennox scurrying backward out of his master's way.

I had no doubt that I was windswept from the ride, and the hem of my skirt was mud-splattered, but I was also well aware of the deference due to me and I stood proudly with my chin high at his approach, raising my hand for him to take when he was close. His hands were smooth and a little clammy as they wrapped around mine. Up close, I could see that the color of his hair touched his scalp too, and he smelled a little of boot polish. There were lines beneath the powder on his face—age refusing to hide and leaving him strangely distorted for the attempt—and enough cologne to make my throat tickle.

His kiss to my knuckles was nearly illicit, too wet and too lingering, and I wrinkled my nose and pulled away when he took too long in doing so.

"What an honor," he murmured to me, dipping his head again. "And a pleasant surprise, I'm sure."

"I understand there is a gathering of councilmen here today, Your Grace," I said.

Edgar's smile reminded me of a snake's, flat and curling uncomfortably at the corners. "A gathering of friends, really. But yes, many councilmen are in attendance." His eyes scanned over my shoulder at the approach of the carriage. "Ah. There are more of you."

"A number of my Chosen accompany me today, and my head guard, Cresswell Stark," I said, stepping away from the man and giving in to the urge to retreat to Owen's side, taking a deep relieving breath of him.

It was obvious the moment Edgar Farraque spotted his son descending from the carriage. His face went white beneath the powder, the smile vanishing and cold blue eyes narrowing. "Daniel." The word was clenched.

I kept my eyes on Edgar as Daniel's boots crunched over the pebbles until he reached my side. He delivered a shallow bow to his father. "Your Grace."

Edgar took one brief glance at Wendell and Thao and then gestured for the door. "Please, allow me to show you to the others."

So little was said between them, and it somehow left my spine prickling with tension. Daniel offered me his arm in full view of his father, and I curved my hand into his elbow, squeezing there briefly. Both men were stony and guarded in front of one another, and there was nothing I could do to relieve my Chosen but that minor touch.

Danser Hall was as elegant inside as its exterior, restrained and simple, its appearance austere and ancient, with tall creamy marble pillars and polished stone archways leading from one room to the next. The floor was new, decoratively angled tile in shades of black and navy, and our footsteps echoed ominously in the austere space.

I wondered how much time Daniel had really spent inside the hall, or if it had always been kept carefully out of his reach. I wanted to ask, but I was too aware of the tight shoulders of the duke just in front of us as he led us quickly through the halls. There were portraits on the walls, and both Daniel and I slowed as we passed one. Where there'd been little resemblance between Edgar and Daniel, the woman in the portrait was clearly related to my Chosen in some fashion, right down to the perfectly plump bow lips.

And then the doors at the end of the hall opened and the steady thrum of male voices reached my ears, faltering as Edgar stepped inside.

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