Page 54 of The Exile's Curse

"Perhaps. In time. I think Misha has more concerns with those at home right now." She took another sip of the wine. "To be a young king is not always easy."

Was that a subtle way of raising the subject of House Elannon? Not the place for such a discussion. But perhaps it was acceptable to reassure her that they didn't want Mikvel to fail.

"He was raised to the job. From what I've seen of him, he is strong and clever. Well suited for his task. And he clearly has good taste to want to marry you." Katiya had a spine of steel beneath her snow-maiden exterior, Chloe suspected. If she didn't, she wouldn't be risking the slightly disapproving looks some of the older women were directing their way because they'd been talking so long. Irina was still chattering enthusiastically with Giane a few feet farther away.

"I'm not sure it's a matter of taste. Our families came to this arrangement when we were young. But we were fortunate. We were friends as children and, over time, came to find something more." Her smile was more relaxed now, more natural. "I will marry the man, not the crown. I think, perhaps, that is a good thing."

"I think, perhaps, you are right," Chloe said. "It is the man who matters, not titles and trappings." Though it might not always be entirely possible to separate the two when the man was a king. Politics was part of that life, and Katiya would need some of that steel to see it through.

"Have you never been tempted to marry again, Lieutenant?"

Chloe still wasn't sure what Katiya knew of her history.

"No, not so far. I loved my husband." Which was true, if not the entire truth. Better to be thought the long-grieving widow than a betrayed one.

"I am sorry." Another sip of the pale green wine, making the row of woven bracelets slip down her arm in a flutter of color. "It is a long time to be alone." Her mouth quirked again, and the glance she gave Chloe was somewhat wicked.

"I think, perhaps, that is a conversation I'm not supposed to be having with the king's bride-to-be," Chloe said. She wasn't about to discuss any other aspects of the few men who'd passed through her bed in Anglion with an Andalyssian who was supposed to be a virgin. She and the king seemed genuinely in love, so who knew if she had managed time alone with him before their wedding, but given the gaggle of women surrounding her today, it seemed unlikely.

Katiya snorted. "I'm not ignorant, Lieutenant, of what happens between men and women."

Chloe glanced back over her shoulder. "I think perhaps this is a conversation not to have in a crowd. And if you're going to ask me about these things, I also think you should call me Chloe." And that Katiya should stop drinking wine and switch to tea.

But then again, Chloe wasn't the one about to marry an ice king. If the wine and some risqué conversation with a foreigner eased any nerves Katiya might be feeling, then all well and good. There would be nerves, of course, no matter how in love Katiya was. Chloe herself had nearly thrown up the night before her own wedding, despite the fact that she'd been certain marrying Charl was the right choice. Perhaps she should have listened to her stomach after all. Imogene, too, had threatened to flee Lumia and make a run for it two days before her marriage with Jean-Paul after a particularly fraught exchange with his mother.

Katiya had to be nervous, no matter how she felt about Mikvel. She wasn't just getting married, she was also becoming a queen. Chloe hadn't been present when Sophie and Cameron married, but she and Imogene had kept Sophie company in the days before her coronation, and there'd been wine and tea and more required to keep the young queen on an even keel. Sophie hadn’t been raised to know she would take on the crown as Katiya clearly had, but the responsibility—and the risks—were the same. Royalty was no guarantee of love and happiness and a long and healthy life.

"Katiya, we need to keep going," a voice called from behind them.

Katiya nodded at Chloe, then turned to take her place back in the chair.

Chapter 17

The ceremony went on for most of the morning. Katiya stood after every five or so braids and mingled with her guests but didn't come back to speak to the Illvyans until what Chloe calculated should be the last break. Irina still hadn't taken her turn, and she stepped forward to study her sister's arms.

However the magic bound into the braids worked, the colors of the threads almost glowed in the sunshine. Katiya was glowing, too, smiling, cheeks flushed. Irina gestured to the nearest servant and pressed a cup of tea into her sister's hands.

"Drink that. Any more wine and you'll fall asleep, and then I'll get in trouble for not watching you." For a moment, she sounded like the responsible older sister rather than a younger one. "I don't want to spend the rehearsal this afternoon being lectured by our mother and Sejerin Silya. They'll give us that speech about queenly responsibilities again."

Katiya laughed but took the tea, the tscherovs sliding down her wrists. Chloe leaned in to examine the patterns.

"Would you like to try?" Katiya asked.

"Is that allowed?" Chloe asked, surprised. "Isn't this for your friends and family?"

"It's for people who wish me well," Katiya said. Chloe noticed Honore listening a few steps away. "You wish me well, don't you, Lieutenant de Montesse?"

"Of course," Chloe said, meaning it. Whatever troubles Illvya and Andalyssia had had in the past, she had no desire to see them spill back over into the present. Katiya deserved as happy a life with her king as it was possible for royalty to have. Joy to offset the duties and protocol that would rule a lot of her time. She glanced over Katiya's shoulder at Honore, who raised one eyebrow slightly but didn't shake her head or give any other indication that she thought Chloe should decline. “I’d be honored to try.”

"Good," Katiya said, smiling. "You can go second last, before Irina. She can help you."

Chloe gestured at one of the more intricate patterned braids. It was striking, weaving two shades of pale blue, a deep brown, white, a deep green, and red into an almost sinuous repeating wave of color. Chloe had no idea how the pattern was achieved with mere braided thread. "Well, I can't guarantee I'll produce anything as complicated as that, but I'll try my best. And the good wishes part will be easy, Lady Katiya."

Katiya laughed again, shaking the braids back up her arm. As she did so, the light caught the colors again as the circled cords shifted and, Chloe realized the red she'd been admiring was actually a variegated blend of red and orange. The sunlight highlighted the latter, spotlighting a patch where the orange ran against the green for an inch or so.

Chloe blinked. Green and orange. House Elannon. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it slid a thread of unease down her spine.

As Katiya walked back to her chair, Chloe stepped a little closer to Irina and lowered her voice. "That one I was admiring. Do you know who made it?”

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