Page 17 of The Kingdom's Crown

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Aside from my new suite,the castle was as I remembered it, vast and beautiful, often quiet. There were fewer courtiers in winter, with even less now that my grandmother was on her sickbed, and the halls were remarkably empty as I passed through with Cresswell at my side, the rest of my Chosen still arranging the extra rooms in our suite to their liking. We'd delivered strict orders to the guards that no one, including my sister, was permitted entry to the suite while I was gone, and I tried not to think of what might happen if the guards couldn't be trusted.

"Where do you and the others sleep?" I asked Cresswell.

We were on our way to my grandmother's tower, my hand tucked into the crook of Cresswell's arm. I didn't miss the way guards in the hall took brief glances at us. Guards in the castle generally remained almost like statues, shuffled into the corners of rooms where they were less likely to catch the queen's eye, or the Hunger's attention. I could vaguely recall my mother pulling one of the guards away from his station at a ball once, the pair of them disappearing together, but it wasn't a common occurrence, and most of the guards we passed weren't much to look at.

"I took a room in your suite," Cresswell said. "The others have beds in the guards' wing. They got word this morning that they're to continue to report to me."

"That's good news, isn't it?"

Cresswell nodded, thoughtful as ever. "Seems to be. I plan on getting to know Head Guard Amos better if I can, but for now, he seems to be interested in doing his duty to keeping the queen's line safe, no special alignments with either you or your sister to consider."

"You could sleep in the main bedroom, you know," I said, bumping my hip against Cresswell's.

"I don't like to sleep while you and the others are. It leaves you too vulnerable."

"You have to sleep sometimes, don't you?" I asked, trying not to laugh. I was worried he really might try and avoid it altogether.

"I sleep while you are…occupied with your Chosen, and the others are on duty," Cresswell said, lips twitching.

I couldn't restrain the laughter now. "You sleep while we're fucking?"

"It's easier than standing outside the door and listening," Cresswell growled, ducking his head but stopping himself before he snatched a kiss from my lips.

We turned a corner and reached the doors of my grandmother's suite, two guards stationed outside the doors.

"Princess Bryony to see the Dowager Queen Violet," Cresswell called as we approached.

One guard knocked lightly on the door, turning to speak through in answer to some murmured question.

"The dowager queen will see the princess and only the princess," the other guard answered.

"No—"

"Cress, it's all right," I said, squeezing Cresswell's arm gently. He frowned down at me, and I nudged my hip against his again, letting him feel where my blade rested, still charmed to warn me of danger.

"I'll be right out here," Cress said.

I nodded and stepped forward as the doors opened. An old man stood inside, eyes a little milky but smile soft.

"Come in, Your Highness," he said, with a brief and shallow bow. "I'm Hector, one of your—"

"Grandmother's Chosen," I finished for him, nodding and examining the man. He was tall and broad-shouldered, although somewhat stooped with age, one hand wrapped around the top of a cane. "I recognize you, I think."

Grandmother had retired a great deal of her Chosen not long before Camellia and I were of age to take our own, but I knew a few remained. The doors shut behind me, and Hector sighed a little, gesturing across the sitting room to another door.

"I'm sure Violet might prefer to receive you in here, but we're trying to keep her resting as much as possible. It's good that you're here, she's been very impatient to see you."

He moved swiftly, a slight wobble in his walk, and I wanted to pepper him with questions. Why was he one of the Chosen who remained with my grandmother? How ill was she? What were her symptoms? Why hadn't I heard from her personally instead of just my mother and her ladies-in-waiting?

I paused in step as the door to the bedroom opened, bracing myself against the heavily perfumed and smoky air, frowning at the stark darkness. The curtains were all closed, and there was only a single candlestick lit near the door, leaving the large canopied bed on the other side of the room in murky shadow.

"Heck, what's all the coming and going about?"

My heartbeat stammered at the first notes of her voice, but I frowned at the weak tremor running through the words.

"You have a visitor," Hector answered brightly.

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