Page 115 of The Shadowed Oracle
Ingrid thought there was a flicker of recall in the newly crowned male’s eyes. A glimmer of his home, where his true wife still resided. But Arryn didn’t linger, and Enitha didn’t seem at all fazed by her husband’s recollection. She waved a finger and coolly tilted her head toward Gerhardt. The lord of coin leaned down to whisper something in her ear, hovering a few moments before priggishly crossing his arms.
“My treasurer tells me you are all related?” Enitha asked.
“Forgive me, my queen,” Gerhardt cut in. “Brother and sister, both.” He pointed to the pairs. “But notallfamilial.”
“Ahh,” Enitha mused, coiling a piece of her hair around her finger. “But one pair hails from the Northern Bays, yes? Was Gerhardt correct in that?”
Dean and Ingrid nodded.
“How exotic! Now, considering your roots, can I assume this stone comes from the Belannes mountains?” She looked at Dean quizzically, noticeably ignoring Ingrid. “Is that where you grew up in Danneslaw? I’m told only the mines there produce Eolithe this size.”
There was a beat of silence, then Raidinn decided to speak for the first time. “Very astute, my Queen!”
“We have links all over the north,” Dean put in. “Though our representative in Belannes is one of our oldest and most trusted friends. He deals only in the finest uncut gems.” Or so Callinora told him in the reports she’d drawn up.
“I’m happy to hear. It is quality you can see up close, but, one can never be too sure with these things.” Enitha twisted to her side and ran a hand through Arryn’s hair. “My love? Does it please you?”
Arryn cupped her hand, brought it to his cheek, and kissed her palm in a dreamily gentle way. “It does so, yes. If you approve, I think I’ll have it.”
Enitha smiled, scanning the room from end to end like she meant to lock eyes with each and every guest in attendance, demanding them to pay close attention. “We’ll take it!”
The applause was instant. Shouts and cheers and congratulations pinged around the massive hall.
Enitha raised a fist to silence them. “Gerhardt here will escort you to his chambers, where your price will be discussed and covered. I hope to meet again soon...” She said the last words like throwing out a piece of trash, her voice losing its luster as she trailed off.
All too quickly, it felt like the room had been cut in half, a clear line dividing royalty and guests. Gerhardt took a few steps down the staircase, already leading them out with an outstretched hand.
“Raidinn! The name is Raidinn, my Queen!”
All of Tyla, Ingrid and Dean had been nervously racking their brain for a plan, a way to redirect. So it was fitting the only member of their team whohadn’tsensed their mission going awry, was the one to save them. And famously, it was a mistake on his part. Mishearing Enitha’s trailing off as an inquisition for their names, he said, “And this here,” he continued, “Is my sister Tyla.”
The queen turned back slowly, flitting her eyes around the room in curiosity. “Oh…yes, of course.” She was hardly embarrassed, but she didn’t seem pleased either. “How forgetful of Gerhardt not to ask.”
“Apologies.” Gerhardt shifted from pouty to polite in a half-second.
“And you?” the queen followed up, looking directly at Dean. “What do I call you?”
“Denille,” Dean answered with his chosen alias. He’d insisted Ingrid do the same, seeing as their names were mostly heard on Earth. “Thank you for asking, my queen.” He took a few tactical steps forward, keeping his eyes locked on hers.
The queen stared, wrapping another lock of hair between her fingers. “Lord Denille. A pleasure.”
Dean bowed but did not step back. He wanted to show himself, Ingrid realized, give Enitha time to really look. She hadn’t seemed particularly taken with his resemblance to Arryn at first. Either she didn’t care or hadn’t deigned to look that closely when he’d walked the chest full of jewels up to her dais. But for the moment, he seemed to intrigue her.
Unblinking, Enitha took another hard look at him, then at her husband, recognition dancing in her light green irises. “I must say, you two could be brothers.” She frowned playfully. “You don’t have another long-lost sibling by any chance?”
Dean chuckled, “I’m afraid not.”
“Our parents are far too boring for such a scandal,” Ingrid added.
Light laughter emitted from the crowd and Enitha flashed a plastered-on smile, looking to her new husband.
“Darling,” Enitha said in a sickeningly infantile voice, stroking his cheek. “I think I know what I want for my wedding memento. Would you be amenable to that?”
It was an interesting choice of words: amenable. Because Arryn only nodded vacantly, kissing his wife’s hand in the same spot he had earlier, like a mechanical default. The now distant look in his eyes was the first sign of something being amiss. An opening they could exploit.
Ingrid took notice.
“Forgive me,” she suddenly intervened. “Your majesty?”
