Page 37 of Crown of Hearts
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’d really love to see you get yourself out of this.” She was so incredibly close and just the scent of her had me forgetting why I hadn’t accepted the proposal yesterday.
“That won’t be a problem.” She moved her shoulders but we both knew there was no way she could escape my grip.
“Surrender now and we can forget this ever happened. I’ll promise not to bring it up again.”
She huffed out a laugh. “How very chivalrous of you.”
“Well, I am nothing if not chivalrous.”
* * *
I tilted my head in an attempt to stretch out the discomfort in my neck.
“Your Majesty?”
“Mmmhhh?” I looked up towards one of my council members, Lord Burrow, and realised that I hadn’t been listening to a word he was saying. Most days, I didn’t mind the meetings too much. Half of the council members weren’t currently atcourt, but I felt it necessary to address the issues at hand as soon as possible.
A large table sat in the centre of the room and the drapes and windows were open, allowing a bit of the autumn air to filter in. The walls were lined with portraits of all the previous kings of Norrandale, their eyes overlooking my reign. Our family was proud of its long history of great kings. It was a lot to live up to. I looked at the faces of my forefathers as if their painted expressions held all the answers for me.
“I asked what you propose we do with the Argonian spies?”
Whatever was going on in my head, I needed to gain control of myself. Elara’s proposal wasn’t the only matter requiring my consideration and my council would soon lose respect for me, if only because of my lack of attention.
“We have not been successful in extracting any information from them,” Lord Burrow reminded me. He was many years my senior, a strong-willed man who’d been on the council since the beginning of my father’s reign.
“It leaves us with two options. We can keep them imprisoned here or we can send them back to Argon,” I answered.
“Is there any possibility that this could be their plan? That they wanted to be captured in order to gather information about the palace and the monarchy, just to take it back to King Aries once they’re released?”
“That is entirely possible.” I nodded and there were murmurs of agreement from the others. “So what do you propose? That we should keep the prisoners in Norrandale until further notice?” I needed to get out of this stuffy council room. I was drained, both mentally and physically, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if I started yawning.
“If I may interject,” one of my other council members said.
No one has ever managed to stop you from interjecting, I thought. Lord Stapleton was a rounded man with a weakness forgambling and cake, but he’d been very loyal to the Crown his whole life, thus earning him a spot on the council despite his vices. Most of the men in the room had been around during my father’s rule, and despite my personal feelings towards each of them, I knew I could trust my father’s judgement.
“Is it not also possible that the longer they remain here, the more information they are able to get?” Lord Stapleton asked, and I wondered if it was a speck of icing in the corner of his mouth.
“They are in prison,” Burrow retorted.
“Though we’d like to believe our guards to be loyal, we must also assume that anyone can be bought off,” Lord Stapleton suggested.
“What do you propose, Your Majesty?” All eyes turned to me.
“We know that the Argonian spies would more likely kill themselves before abandoning their king. And it’s like you say, Lord Stapleton, our men could be feeding them information. But we must also consider that if Aries does not get his spies back, he is likely to send more. Perhaps we may benefit from sending them back to Argon.”
“That can be arranged, Your Majesty,” Lord Stapleton commented.
“Yes, we must consider every possibility,” Lord Burrow agreed.
I stood up from the table. “Send them on the first ship back to Argon, and I want an increase in security at all the coastal borders. I would prefer not another one of them set foot in my kingdom.”
“There is another matter, Your Majesty.” Lord Burrow ignored my clear intention to escape the council room.
I refrained from letting out a sigh and slowly fell back into my seat. “Yes, Lord Burrow?”
“Well.” He folded his hands atop the table. “It has come to the council’s attention that you’ve recently had the company of the young Lady Meredette.”
I could already sense where this was going.
