Page 75 of If The Crown Fits
“The first step is getting out Cai’s men, who have been moved from Woodsbrook to Levernia. Then we dispatch our own to infiltrate the palace,” Arthur replied.
“Hold on,” Ray chipped in. “I thought this would be our first strike at the Crown — and now it’s a rescue mission?”
“We can’t do anything violent on the day of the coronation. There will be civilians in the way,” I retorted.
“Once Cai’s men are rescued, he will send word to Norrandale in support of our cause,” Arthur said. “In return, there will be an alliance between the kingdoms once it’s over.”
* * *
Lara and I had entered her cabin when she swerved to face me. “You struck up a deal with my uncle?” she asked in what appeared to be mocking surprise.
“Yes I did,” I said sternly. “Those aren’t just my soldiers out there, those are my friends, and I am not leaving them to be slaughtered.”
“You didn’t think to at least tell me about it?”
“Oh.” I barked out a laugh. “So now we’re telling each other everything all of a sudden?”
“I’m sorry!” She raised her voice. “Is that what you want to hear? Get over it, we’ve got bigger problems on our hands.”
“Yes, like what exactly Arthur is going to do when this is over.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you think is going to happen once he’s killed the whole royal family?” I could feel my heart rate increase as I got closer to her, but I ignored it.
“My uncle will take care of it. It’s not my concern. As far as I care, I should have been long gone and across the border already. At this point, I’m just hoping we all make it out alive.”
“Did you ever stop and think that maybe this is about more than helping the poor?”
“Don’t you dare talk about him like that! This isn’t some kind of power grab!”
“Isn’t it? Do you really believe your uncle wouldn’t do something like that?” The question was earnest.
“Get out,” she said, with a fierce look in her eyes.
“With pleasure.”
I closed the door on my way out.
Chapter 21
Levernia
Lara
It was a cold day in Levernia, as if the weather could predict what was about to come. I fiddled with the laces of my dress, reminding myself that breathing was important, even though I was in the last place I ought to have been. I was supposed to be in another city — even better, another kingdom. I wasn’t supposed to get caught. I wasn’t supposed to get blackmailed into pretending to be a princess. I wasn’t supposed to go back to the clan. I wasn’t supposed to start developing questionable emotions towards a prince.
The throne room looked just as I remembered. Vast and elegant and yet even on this day of celebration, there was something dreary and cold about it. Something just melancholic enough to suit the weather.
My facial muscles twitched under the mask I was wearing. Lance must have had an appreciation for irony by making the theme of his coronation a masquerade. I stood among the masked faces of the aristocrats, all dressed to perfection, with no details spared on their lavish costumes.
My dress had been made by an old woman in the village, who apparently had to burn the midnight oil for it to be ready in time. At least that was her excuse when she charged us a fortune for it. I couldn’t exactly blame her for being greedy. She was thin and frail, the lines across her face a thousand tales of the hardships she’d had to endure in her life. And then there was the little girl I suspected was her granddaughter, who hid behind her skirts.
The dress was heavy, but perhaps the most beautiful thing I had seen for a very long time. It looked like it had been washed by an ocean storm, a combination of dark blue and slightlytinted green. Little golden stars spiralled up the skirts to my bodice. My mask, draped in shimmer, had a crescent moon at the corner of my left eye. I looked like I belonged there, among all those strangers with their masks.
Trumpets sounded almost proudly and all the chatter quieted as faces turned towards the entrance of the new king of Everness. I felt a pang in my stomach as Lance approached the throne, white fur cloak hanging from his shoulders, no crown on his head... yet. It was as if the wordbanditwere above my head, floating in big bold letters, and even though I knew there would be no way for Lance to recognise me from there, I was afraid that if I stared just a moment too long, he would catch my eye and call on his guards and our whole plan would be at its end.
We had barely slept in the past three days in preparation for this event. Every last detail had been planned and orchestrated and we could only trust that our sources were correct — that we wouldn’t have to rely on any of our backup plans.
