Page 133 of The Dragon Queen

They are like chickens clucking when a fox sneaks into their hen house, Glimmer opined. I turned to face her so as to hide my smile.

And what are we?

Dragons, was her all she would say in reply.

The good women of the court couldn’t disobey a direct order, though. They swept from the room, no doubt to ready themselves to escort me down the aisle. When the door finally clicked shut behind them, Rex approached.

“Pippin—”

“Pippa,” I corrected, my jaw muscle already spasming at the prospect of talking to him. “Your Highness or, is it too early to call me Your Majesty?”

“Highness,” he acceded with a nod of his head. “Today is an important day, one you must’ve dreamed of your whole life.”

Was it? I’d swanned around the halls of Deepacre wearing one of my mother’s good lace tablecloths as a veil when I was young, just like my playmates, but I’m not sure I really dreamed of marrying anyone, let alone a king.

“When you walk out that door and into the grand abbey, you will make a promise.”

“To marry the king?” I couldn’t help but be waspish. I’d thought the general a solid, if somewhat hide bound, fellow before this, but after the fight in Harlston? I found him far too ready to sacrifice people for his aims. It set my teeth on edge any time I was forced to speak with him. “Yes, I know. Draven and I have talked about it at length.”

We had. Behind closed doors he had reassured me, reassured us, that nothing would change. He would install the wing in rooms at the palace adjoining to ours. Travelling through the secret passageways of the Duke of Harlston’s estate had reminded him that he had a similar network in the palace. My men could come and go from my room at will and no one would be the wiser.

No one could ever, ever be the wiser.

“Did you?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. “Then there’s no need to discuss this further. If you’d sign here, Highness.”

The divorce papers. I stared at them, unable to believe what I was seeing. Marcus had stolen them. We hadn’t returned them to the general. How…? When…? He smiled when he saw my face, my shock no doubt very evident.

“One set of the divorce decree papers went missing, but important documents like this? They’re always produced and signed in triplicate. One for the archives, one for the king, and one to be lodged with the court, to ensure everything is legal and above board.”

It felt like all my skin crawled as he took a step closer.

“Polygamy is legal within Nevermere,” he said, then wrinkled his nose. “Tends to be something the common folk indulge in. Those of us that are highborn know better than to indulge in something so… primal.” His tight smile forced my heart to beat faster and faster. “The queen of Nevermere, however? She does not enjoy the same freedoms as some lass in Cheapside.”

“The old queens did.”

I regretted my words as soon as I said them because I sounded more like a querulous child than a queen.

“The old queens.” He nodded, a dangerous light flickering in his eyes. “Thank you for bringing me to my next point. We had an era of queens with multiple consorts, and the country nearly fell into ruin as a result.”

Did it? That’s what I wanted to say, but instead, I smiled. My jaw muscle ached with the effort of it.

“We’re facing a period of upheaval. The former queen’s machinations and her brother’s treachery all cast some… doubt in the people’s mind about the king’s right to rule. If people weren’t aware of Queen Raina’s plots hatched with the duke before, Marcus Lighthands has taken care of that. There have been reports of unrest both in the poorer areas of the city and in some of the duchies.” He frowned. “We may have made a mistake installing a child as duke of Cantlyn, despite his mother acting as regent.” His eyes met mine. “Women are always so unpredictable when it comes to power. The gentler sex often struggles to wield it wisely.”

You are sure I cannot eat this one?Glimmer shook off her attendants and then dropped down from the table, the golden necklace she had been given bouncing on her chest. How did the general not hear her thoughts, particularly when she sat down at my feet and stared at him steadily.I don’t think he will taste very nice, but I will, just to shut him up.

His dragon might have something to say about that,I replied.

Herald will forgive me. She sounded so very sure of herself.Especially after I tell him what his rider was thinking.

What is he thinking?

She didn’t get a chance to answer me, because the general forged on.

“The country needs stability. We enjoyed hundreds of years of peace and we must return to that. The country follows the lead of the king and queen, and so they must be the ones to provide that model of stability.” He shook the paper like I was a recalcitrant child and he was my tutor. “You need to sign the divorce papers.”

That’s not all, Glimmer told me.

“Draven said that all record of the marriage would be removed and locked up in the royal vaults.” I hated the fact that my voice wavered as I spoke. “He said no one will ever know that Brom and I didn’t sign the divorce papers.”

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