Page 49 of A War of Crowns

And she had taken Alyx with her.

The Oracle was the first person Seraphina had ever seen her little usuru take a strong liking to other than herself. It was strange, being without the winged serpent’s familiar weight about her shoulders.

She felt positively naked without it.

With dinner drawing to a close, music lilted from the musicians seated in a corner of the room. After-dinner dancing was a common enough pastime in the midlands of Elmoria, though Seraphina rarely participated.

The only men who ever asked her for a dance were those wanting something from her.

“You two should dance,” Seraphina encouraged her godparents. “I do so enjoy watching you dance.” Which was true enough. She did.

But, more importantly, she could then deal with her next bit of business without her godfather worrying at her shoulder.

Duke Percival and Duchess Edith shared a glance.

“I do believe she’s trying to get rid of us,” Duke Percival murmured to his wife.

“It does seem that way,” Duchess Edith agreed with a smile. “But that suits me just fine. I was rather hoping you would ask me to dance.”

“Always, my love.”

Seraphina’s heart ached as she watched her godfather take hold of Duchess Edith’s hand and impart a gentle kiss to his wife’s fingertips. Would anyone ever look at her the way her godparents looked at one another?

“Off with you now,” she teased the elderly couple. “Shoo.”

Her godmother offered a quick wink and helped Duke Percival to his feet. And then the two departed, whisked off to the middle of the great hall, where the space between the lower tables provided a natural dance floor. All of Seraphina’s attempts to keep a smile on her lips faded the moment her godparents had eyes only for each other.

It was time to get all her unpleasant business over and done with.

She lifted a hand to hail the closest footman. “Please inform the Lord Exchequer I need to speak with him.”

The footman bowed and strode further down the high table to where the Count of Wellane sat with his wife and daughter. The moment the footman whispered her message into the Lord Exchequer’s ear, Wellane jumped to his feet and hurried over. His family craned curious looks after him.

“Your Majesty,” Wellane greeted as he swept into a bow. “You honor me with the opportunity to offer you one last farewell before you set sail. Though, of course, we will be at your send-offtomorrow.” A smile curved his lips when he righted himself. “My daughter is an avid admirer of yours.”

Seraphina shot a glance toward the young lady in question, but Wellane’s daughter blushed and ducked her head the moment their eyes met.

Looking back to her Lord Exchequer, Seraphina declared, “Upon my return, your daughter will become one of my ladies-in-waiting, alongside your wife.”

Wellane’s sudden intake of breath was audible, and the smile which followed was particularly brilliant—a pleasant change from the worry lines her Lord Exchequer often wore when they discussed the kingdom’s finances together. “Oh, Your Majesty. You honor us beyond measure. Thank you. She will probably not believe me when I tell her.”

Seraphina raised a staying hand, rooting the man in place before he hurried back to his family to share the good news. “There is…something else, my lord. A favor I must ask.”

“Oh? Whatever it is, Your Majesty, we of House Blakewood would be delighted to assist.”

Swallowing, Seraphina cast a sidelong glance further down the high table, to where the Duke of Coreto sat with his second son, Lord Bennett. Both watched her and the Count of Wellane with all the rapt attention Alyx usually paid the palace mice.

She snapped her attention back to the Lord Exchequer and decreed, “In my absence, you will sit the throne as my Steward, my lord.”

In the wake of those words, the Count of Wellane laughed. “You are teasing me, surely.” But when she had no smile for him in return, all the color drained from the man’s face. “But…the Lord Chancellor would be the more natural choice.”

“The Lord Chancellor will be accompanying me to Nerina Reef, my lord.”

Wellane wet his lips and glanced down the length of the high table. “Then the Duke of Coreto is the next natural choice, Your Majesty.”

Seraphina steeled her jaw. She wouldn’t trust the Duke of Coreto to reshelve a book in the royal library, let alone rule her kingdom while she was away from its shores. “I have made my decision, my lord. Will you deny your queen’s request?”

“No,” Wellane breathed, shaking his head. “Of course not. Never. I simply find myself…undeserving of such a great honor.” He bowed low again, though the man visibly trembled when he asked, “By your leave, Your Majesty? I will go tell my wife.”

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