Page 61 of Kingdom of Flames & Flowers
Before I could respond, she pushed me out from behind the screen. Zion’s eyes snapped up to me from the book he’d been perusing, which then fell out of his hands and landed on the floor. Haza clucked her tongue and rushed to pick it up, smoothing down the cover and its pages. Zion ignored her, standing immediately at the sight of me. His silver eyes trained on me, his face oddly blank.
“Majesty,” Haza mumbled, giving a little bow before excusing herself from the room.
“I want Haza as my f—maid,” I said quickly, wanting to get it out there before I forgot or became too intimidated to ask again.
Zion smiled. “Of course you can have her. You can have anything you want. Zariah has explained this, hasn’t he?”
I sighed. He grabbed my hands, kissing them. Zariah must have slipped out of the suite when Haza was with me because he was nowhere to be found. A sudden roar came from high above us, confirming it.
“It can’t be fun having one of you constantly ducking out like that,” I remarked wryly. “Why don’t you just reveal yourselves? Even by ‘accident’ or something?” Sure, the queen would be furious, but it would be too late to do anything about it, wouldn’t it?
Zion’s eyes shuttered. “Our existence brings enough fear and chaos to the kingdom. We don’t wish to cause any more.”
I wanted him to explain further, but a short blast of trumpets came from directly outside my door. Trumpets only meant one thing—
Two fireguards swept my doors open as the queen strolled in, dressed in a sparkling silver gown with diamond jewelry that made her look like a star come down to earth. Did she ever wear another color? I couldn’t help but compare it to my diamond gown and fought down an inappropriate grin. Was the queen trying to subtly outdo me? Well, not so subtly, really. Two more fireguards followed behind her, making the spacious common area feel suddenly cramped.
“Darling, there you are. I haven’t had to blow the whistle in years, but I couldn’t find you.”
Her smile was sweet, but her eyes were hard. Zion blinked, but otherwise didn’t show any other signs of surprise. “Mother.”
The queen’s eyes flashed, a cruel smile playing on her lips. “I called for you, didn’t I?” She tossed her white braid over her shoulders.
“Mari wasn’t ready for an audience. She’d been in the same clothes for—”
Zion shut his mouth hurriedly, realizing that revealing my previously soiled state wouldn’t exactly endear me to the queen.
Her eyes snapped to me as if she was just deciding to acknowledge my existence. They narrowed, then slowly raked me up and down as if looking for fault. “Bare shoulders. How gauche.” The queen took in my uncomfortable stance and smiled, reminding me of a satisfied predator who’d just picked out the juiciest prey in the pack.
“I wish to have a word with her before our first public appearance tomorrow at the ball. You may wait outside.”
My heart pounded in my chest as Zion took one step forward, then stopped himself. “Mother, I don’t think that’s necessary. Anything you have to say to her, you can say to me.”
The queen’s own silver eyes were so different from her sons’: they were cold and lacked any source of warmth. “Now, dearest. I’d hate to make a scene. She doesn’t mind, does she?”
Zion glanced at me, and I made my best panicked face. He looked at his mother, who was glaring. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, and went to the door.
My hand ached to reach out and snatch his, keeping him from going.
“It’s not like I’m going to feed her to the dragon.” The queen laughed as if it was a hilarious joke, but Zion didn’t react and the fireguards weren’t allowed to. Anger churned in my gut as Zion walked through the open doors. Zariah wouldn’t have left me alone with the woman who’d tried to kill me, mother or not. Perhaps that’s why Zion was the heir and Zariah the beast; the queen knew which son she could control and which one would fight her.
The door closed with a finality that made me twitch.
“There now. Why don’t we sit down?” She gestured toward the couches and the leftovers from where the boys had raided my food. Her tone was the most gracious I’d ever heard it, and there was no real reason to say no, so I slowly walked to the nearest couch and sat down. My bottom sank into the cushions.
“Would you care for some—”
“What do you want?” I cut across her, refusing to play her little social games and niceties.
She sniffed, picking up a porcelain teacup and sipping delicately from it. “You’re a horrid little thing, aren’t you?”
“Only to those trying to kill me,” I quipped back, unafraid. Knowing you had two dragon boys behind you gave you a huge burst of confidence.
“So you don’t want my gifts, then?”
Her voice was all honey and sweetness, and I didn’t trust it.
“What gifts?” I asked warily.
