Page 76 of If The Crown Fits
Lance reached the priest, who made a long speech about the responsibility and honour of being king.
He took a staff and the crown was lowered slowly to his head. It looked exactly like the one he had worn before, decorated with so many beautiful jewels that I could not even begin to imagine what it had to be worth. I got lost in my train of thought, thinking about everything else that was happening in the dungeons and empty hallways of the palace, while no one in this room had even half a suspicion, but I was brought back to reality when the crowd cheered and the sound of a choir erupted from the upper levels of the throne room.
I didn’t want to, but I knew I had to smile. I couldn’t risk standing out. The people of Everness always did love a good celebration. They would not think about their dead king. They would not worry about what the new king would do for them, what his reign might change. They didn’t have to.
The only thing on their minds would be the alcohol they would consume in the next few hours. They would only concern themselves with the food they were about to eat, the music they were about to dance to and the lavish attire they would brag with. That was all they ever needed to care about. Little did they know that if all went according to the wishes of Uncle Arthur, it would not be like this for long.
“Let the celebrations begin!” Lance’s voice rang out and the audience cheered once more. He gestured towards the great hall and guards opened the large doors so that the people could enter.
Lance began making his way from the throne, and the crowd parted to let him pass. Unfortunately for me, I found myself exactly where I didn’t want to be, in front of all the people. Lance was going to walk right by me. I tried to step back and see if I could disappear into the crowd but everyone stood so close together to get a glimpse of their new king that it was impossible. The people bowed as he walked past them, chanting, “Long live the King.” By the time he reached me, I was in a deep curtsey, keeping my eyes glued to the floor. Once more I was thankful for the masquerade theme that kept my identity hidden.
The party quickly filled up the great hall, where large tables had been decorated and laden with expensive cutlery, delicacies and cups of wine. I would even admit that I was impressed by the glamour of it all. If there was one thing I would give to Lance, it was that he knew how to throw a party. There was no question about that.
Musicians started playing their stringed instruments and the great hall was filled with a jolly melody. Of course, these were not the musicians that the festivities coordinator had originally hired. They were “most unfortunately” attacked by bandits in the woods and all the uniforms and instruments were stolen. Instead, it was our men who produced the happy music,weapons most conveniently hidden within their instruments. Lucky for them, they didn’t sound too unprofessional.
My eyes scanned the crowd for Cai, who was undercover too. Nobody had asked him to be here. Yet he’d insisted he wanted to help. There could be no question as to how important his men were to him. Guards were stationed around the room, most of whom had been bought off or blackmailed, or were our men undercover. Soon they would change shifts with the guards stationed throughout the palace and should reach the prisons without too much trouble as Rhen would be waiting there for them.
I hadn’t spotted Damon yet, which concerned me. Cai made his way across the floor and, once he reached me, held out his hand, silently asking me to dance. I followed, my eyes going back to Lance every few seconds, but he appeared much too occupied with his own party.
Cai pulled me closer into the formal dancing position and we swayed to the music, both of us constantly scanning the room and me falling over my feet a few times.
“You weren’t lying about not being able to dance, that’s for certain.”
I purposely stepped on his foot. “This isn’t dancing. You nobles have no idea how to actually dance.”
He shrugged off my rude comment. Cai was in charge of getting his men out and my responsibility was finding Cordelia. Rhen could tell us where Jack and the rest of them were, but he hadn’t seen Cordelia around the palace recently, which meant that she could be anywhere, or dead, for all I knew.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” I murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.
“As soon as the song ends, we have to move.”
We hadn’t spoken since our fight, but both of us knew we had bigger things to worry about than our bickering. This wasabout the mission, not about our feelings, whatever they might have been.
We danced until the song stopped and the next one began, signalling to the guards to change shift. It gave Arthur’s men the opportunity to stand guard on the route to the prison while Lance’s guards kept an eye on the guests at the party.
I started pulling away, ready to do my part, when Cai pulled me close by the waist. “Please be careful,” he whispered softly as I met his pleading eyes. They trailed down to my lips momentarily before shooting back up to meet my gaze and then he let me go. Before slipping out of the ballroom, I cast a glance at Lance, who was seated at the head table at the far end of the room. His eyes were focused on the people, not a hint of concern on his face. But the almost empty cup of wine hinted he wouldn’t be concerned about much tonight.
The skirts of my dress swished as I ran down the mostly empty hallways, a few people talking and guards standing here and there, but no one spared me a second glance. I tried to focus on where exactly I was, remembering against my will the path I had walked to the prison, and then to Lance’s chambers the last time I was here. There was a nauseating feeling in my stomach. But I couldn’t think about that. I had to think about Cordelia.
She wasn’t in the prison. This Rhen could confirm. She had travelled back to the palace with her brother and the palace guards but Rhen hadn’t seen much of her since arriving in Levernia. When he asked Lance about his sister, the prince shrugged it off. But Rhen mentioned seeing her once in the company of a few noblewomen when he looked out of the window into the gardens.
I made my way back to the bedroom where I had stayed the night that I was captured, and Lance blackmailed me into working for him. One turn at a time, the halls became more familiar. I doubted I would find Cordelia in a room, but this atleast would be a starting point. Because of the celebration, the guards were stationed far away from the rooms of the palace. I started running faster, lifting up my skirts higher to avoid tripping. I turned another corner before running smack into another body, causing me to stumble backwards.
Cordelia’s eyes widened abruptly. “What . . . how?”
I didn’t allow her to find her words before grabbing her arm and pulling her in the direction of the kitchens. We sprinted down the stairs and slowed down only when passing guests, politely nodding.
I swerved around a corner into the servants’ quarters, as Rhen had directed me very specifically to do. Stopping in a small empty hallway, I caught my breath and took a second to inspect Cordelia, but she didn’t appear to be harmed in any way. “Go through the passages. The others are waiting outside. We’re getting Cai’s guards out,” I told her.
“And you came for me?” She was heaving a little herself, clearly not used to all the running.
“Of course I came back for you.” I smiled. “I can’t get anything done without my lady-in-waiting.”
She returned a warm smile. “It’s happening, isn’t it? The rebellion?”
I met her gaze. “How did you know?”
“Rhen told me this would happened eventually.”
