Page 112 of Knightfall
I didn’t flinch, though I wanted to.
Jorad had asked Abbas to assist on my orders. The game had begun. My heart hitched.
“I would be honored if you’d escort me, Prince Abbas,” I replied, making eye contact.
He looked handsome. He was in a deep blue jacket that offset his tan skin. The sunset gleamed against his black hair, which curled slightly at his shoulders. He held out a hand with a glowing blue ring on it.
I smiled and took his hand.
I fought my nerves. I had to play this just right, like a musician. This was a performance. Or like a gambler. This was poker. For a minute I wished I’d taken Kylee up on his offer to work in the gambling hall. I’d only seen bits and pieces of the bluffs that players pulled. I’d seen courtiers and grown up with them. But this was the biggest wager I’d ever made.
Quinn’s life—and the future of the kingdom—depended on it.
"Your Majesty," Abbas purred. "How are you feeling this evening?"
“Rather disappointed. My mage died this afternoon.”
“What a somber day,” Abbas’ mask of polite indifference didn’t crack.
“Yes. It was particularly disappointing to discover he’d betrayed me.”
“Betrayed you?”
“He was spelled to explode upon betrayal.”
Abbas’ raised a thick black brow. “Well, that’s one way to ensure loyalty.”
I waved at the crowd. “An unfortunate way, don’t you agree?”
“Very.”
“What I found even more interesting than his betrayal was the elven chain that he’d been wearing.”
Abbas’ eyes glittered. “I’ve heard such chains are powerful.”
“They’d have to be, to overcome the geas my mother placed on anyone who knew about my power.”
Abbas hid his smirk almost immediately, but I saw the minuscule quirk of his lips. He was growing smug. Good.
“I found it interesting that you left the chain behind. It was rather a mess, true. But I wondered all afternoon why you’d leave such a valuable weapon. I concluded that you wanted me to know it was you.”
“Sedara has plenty of those elven chains,” Abbas said.
“I have a Sedarian husband who could just as easily have told that country what they wanted to know.”
“Your husband would betray you?” Abbas put a hand to his chest in mock horror. “May I suggest an upgrade?”
“I believe you have, several times.”
“Well, perhaps, you’ve now come to your senses and will take me up on my offer.”
“You are now aware,” I paused and gave a special wave to two jumping children in the crowd, “that the alliance you seek with me, may not be entirely beneficial for you.”
“I disagree.”
I turned to face him and study his expression for a moment in the torchlight. He seemed earnest. But that was the problem with nobles. They always seemed earnest.
“This evening …” I began slowly, dragging the words out through my teeth as if they were painful for me, “there was a mistake. A servant mistook your chain for ornamental coronation chain. They placed this chain on one of my husbands.”
