Page 53 of Her Dark Reflection

She laughed and seemed to recover a little more from the berating she’d just received. ‘His wife is quite young. And pretty.’

‘And he is not.’

She leaned forward, her face suddenly alight with conspiracy. ‘But Lord Terame is. They arealwaystogether.’

‘If that’s the case, I’m surprised your cousin hasn’t challenged him to a duel.’ Although, by the look of the man in his puffed-up clothes, I doubted he could successfully challenge anyone.

‘He can’t. Lord Terame is the Grand Paptich’s nephew,’ she explained, shaking her head.

Interesting. I filed that little morsel of information away. You never knew when a piece of gossip might be useful.

The princess was rose to her feet and pushed her chair in under the table. She twisted at the fabric of her skirt for a few moments. ‘You’ve made me feel a little better about the ball,’ she said finally. ‘Thank you.’

I watched her as she departed, envious of her light, graceful movements, like she was made of something other than flesh and bone. How could someone so beautiful be so painfully awkward? And how could someone so timid be born of Linus? I couldn’t see any of her father in her at all. Perhaps she took after her mother.

But fire and brimstone, did she ever inspire a foreign desire to protect and nurture. What a daft promise I’d made. I just had to hope her speaking tutor’s harsh methods reaped results, or I might be kissing the Grand Paptich before the week was out.

Theballroomwashungwith garlands of purple flowers, and their perfume practically choked the air. I was grateful for the fan Leela had paired with my gown, which was a whirl of glistening violet satin and lilac lace. Gwinellyn’s birthday ball was my first real public appearance as queen consort, so it seemed fitting to wear the colour of the royal family. As I looked out over the room, I was satisfied to see that I was the only one who’d dressed in purples, and that while the floor was teeming with women in fine gowns the full spectrum of the rainbow, mine was a standout. I was surely the most glorious woman in the kingdom.

Though it wasn’t clear whether Linus would agree. We were seated side-by-side on a raised dais at the front of the room, and the sidelong glances he kept firing at me were not affectionate. We had quarrelled before the ball; I wanted to attend meetings of his council, but he thought I was involving myself in things that were none of my business, and that I should focus my energy on befriending some of the court women I had slighted over the past few weeks. Some of the things he said, some of his knowledge of little run-ins I’d had with various people, made me suspicious that he had spies watching me. And the worst of it was, the whole argument had taken place in front of the still fragile-looking Senafae. It had been humiliating.

But what was even more disturbing was to see Linus show even veiled hostility towards me in such a public setting. He, who had been so skilful at masking his feelings, couldn’t hide his resentment when he looked at me now. It undermined the feeling of victory I had been anticipating, the triumph of finally being seated at his side as queen, looking down on all those who had gossiped about me and despised me.

As I contemplated this, Linus stood and surveyed the room, and the chattering of guests seeped away like an ebbing tide as he readied himself to speak. When the last murmurs had died, he swept his hands wide.

‘Welcome,’ he boomed. ‘You honour us with your presence here tonight as we gather to celebrate a very special birthday. Now, where is my lovely daughter?’ He scanned the room below when Gwinellyn didn’t immediately make herself known, as though expecting that she was having such a wonderful time that she hadn’t noticed he was giving a speech. But I picked her out immediately; she was standing at the edge of the room, half-hidden by a stone column, staring up at her father with wide eyes, clearly gathering the courage to step forward. She caught my gaze and I raised my eyebrows.

She seemed to take a breath and roll her shoulders back before crossing the room to join us on the dais. I shot a look at Linus as she mounted the steps, and he was wearing his blandest expression, all polite distance, and I wondered what he was thinking behind the mask. He had to have been at least a little proud when he looked on Gwinellyn. She was radiant in a gown of powder blue, her dark hair coiled around her head in a braided crown.

‘My Snow White,’ he said, still addressing the crowd. The words made me unaccountably angry. It was a stupid nickname, so tied up in the colour of her skin, in her beauty. I knew only too well how beauty and respect were uncomfortable bedfellows, and respect was what she needed if she was ever to rule over this court. He was reducing her before she had even begun to speak.

‘For so long you have been a little girl,’ he continued, ‘and now I present you to Brimordia as a woman, fully-grown and ready for her future.’

There was a spattering of applause, and Gwinellyn stepped forward to address the room. ‘Thank you,’ she tried to say, but her voice cracked and theyoucame out as a croak. She cleared her throat and tried again. ‘I have…’ She choked again, the words becoming strangled, and I watched as she swallowed a few times, her eyes scrambling over the hundreds of faces turned towards her. A few murmurs broke out and her gaze fell to her feet, the colour draining from her face, leaving her ashen and grey as her hand went to her stomach. With a jolt, I realised she was about to be sick, or to have the fit she had predicted. AndIhad promised her a scandal.

I began fluttering at my face vigorously. If I fainted, perhaps I could draw enough attention from her that she could slip away and hide out of sight. I was trying to decide where on the floor I would drop to when Linus stepped forward and placed his hands on Gwinellyn’s upper arms.

‘We are honoured to have with us tonight a delegation from our strongest allies and neighbours. Prince Tallius, I’d like to invite you to address the room.’

I picked out Tallius in the crowd as he immediately began pushing his way to the dais, his face glowing with triumph, though why he thought this a victory I couldn’t tell. As he mounted the steps, Gwinellyn was shuffled down them by one of her attendants, all while Linus stood smiling pleasantly.

Tallius clipped a weave around his throat and began speaking on the value of the close relationship between Brimordia and Oceatold and the benefits that would flow from a closer one. Doing anything other than standing and nodding and smiling would draw the wrong kind of attention, but I couldn’t steer my mind away from the sixteen-year-old girl who had no one chasing after her to make sure she was alright. I knew what it felt like to have my suffering met with indifference, the way it made the world seem cavernous and empty and cruel. It was not an experience I would have expected to have in common with Brimordia’s princess.

It felt like a small thing to quietly descend the steps and follow the girl, leaving Linus and Tallius behind, but I could feel the eyes of the room picking me over, measuring my movements and cataloguing the moment for later dissection. I’d likely pay for the decision at some point, but in the moment, I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

Judging from the commotion coming from a chamber just beyond the ball room, Gwinellyn hadn’t made it far. A handful of attendants bobbed curtsies as I pushed my way through and the sight of the princess on the floor made me freeze, my hand flying to my mouth. Her body was twitching and spasming, her head lurched from side to side and only the whites of her eyes were visible through her slitted eyelids.

‘Why isn’t anyone doing anything?’ I demanded, dropping to my knees by her side and helplessly holding out my hands. Should I try to hold her? To keep her from moving?

‘A physician will be here shortly,’ one of the attendants muttered. ‘We can do nothing else but wait, ma’am.’

‘We are not just going to let her lie here on the floor!’ I reached out and tried to touch a hand to her forehead, but she jerked away. I tried again and managed to sweep her hair away from her face. Her skin was clammy.

A man in the blue robes of a palace physician was suddenly kneeling next to me. ‘Please move away, Your Royal Highness.’

I considered defying the request, but I didn’t see what good it would do, so I rose to my feet and backed away a few steps, watching closely, clasping my hands together to keep them from shaking. Gwinellyn had stopped twitching and was blinking blearily at her surroundings as the physician held a vial to her lips. She shook her head and whimpered.

‘What are you giving her?’ I demanded.

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