Page 47 of Rise of the Phoenix King (Crown and Crest 4)

She radiates excitement, her gaze instructing me to find her as soon as I’m finished here.

“Have you met my wife?” Count Flauret asks.

I bow my head to his countess, Lady Julianna. “I have not.”

The introductions are made, and I make my way through them, hiding my nerves.

Clover’s mother smiles. “I imagine you’ll have your hands full for a while as you settle into your new position, but we would be honored if you’d join us for dinner at your soonest convenience.”

“I’d like that,” I say, and from the way Lawrence snorts under his breath, I might have said it a touch tooeagerly.

“And you know my daughter, of course.” Count Flauret gestures Clover forward.

“Congratulations, Henrik.” Clover slides her hand into mine. It’s an innocent move, but the contact makes my stomach warm. She nods toward my new pennant. “Red looks good on you.”

It’s a mild flirtation, certainly nothing out of the ordinary for the ladies of the court, but I glance at her parents, unnerved. Clearing my throat, I say, “Thank you, Lady Clover.”

Clover steps back, running her finger intentionally along the center of my palm as our hands fall apart. She hides her promising smile so it’s only visible at the corner of her lips, but it’s nearly my undoing.

Clover and her parents leave, and eventually, her brothers follow them. I exchange pleasantries with half a dozen other families. Everyone else in attendance seems to have settled in for a long night. The stragglers talk at tables while nursing drinks, enjoying the excuse to catch up with old friends.

I begin to rise. “I think I’ll retire for the evening.”

“You’re the man of the hour,” Lawrence says. “Surely you’re not in a rush to leave? We must discuss my sister tomorrow, but tonight, we will dwell on pleasanter things.”

I would like to dwell on pleasanter things right now, and I think Lawrence knows it.

“Let him go,” Audra chastises. “You know Clover is waiting for him.”

“I do know Clover is waiting for him,” Lawrence says with a rotten grin. “Why else would I keep him here for so long?”

The elf rolls her eyes.

“Go while he’s distracted with Audra,” Ayan whispers.

Laughing under my breath, I make my escape, nodding to Lawrence’s knights and Lyredon. They dine at their own table nearby, and part of me wishes I could have joined them.

“It’s late,” I say to Brielle and Bartholomew as I pause by my sister’s chair.

My father retired earlier, managing a gruff congratulation before he left. Honestly, I’m surprised he came at all.

Brielle looks like she wants to argue, casting Bartholomew a regretful look as she stands. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

He nods, trying to contain his foolish grin in front of me. He fails. “Congratulations again, Henrik.”

As I escort Brielle into the hall, I say, “Don’t make too many plans. Now that the ceremony is over, you must return to Dulnmarin’s.”

Her face falls, and she turns to me, clutching her hands together in a plea. “Must I, Henrik? It’s almost summer anyway. Can’t I stay with you and then return in the fall?”

The idea of sending her back while Camellia’s whereabouts are unknown makes me uneasy, but I don’t want her to know that. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Sensing there’s a chance I’ll give in, she graces me with a winning smile. “Thank you!”

“I didn’t agree yet.”

We reach her quarters, and she hugs me like she did when she was a small girl. “But you will because you know how much I miss you while I’m there, and you don’t want to deprive me of this quality time we’ve been sharing.”

“I don’t believe it’s me you want to spend more time with,” I say wryly.

---