Page 129 of A Vow of Embers

I went over to him and slid my hand through his arm. I leaned up to kiss him softly on his neck. “There you are,” I murmured against his skin. “I missed you.”

He stiffened underneath my touch and I smiled. I enjoyed making him uncomfortable.

“Introduce me,” I said with a nudge.

“This is Stolos,” he said, his voice tight. “One of the archons from the council. This is my wife, Princess Thalia.”

Back to name formalities, were we? I turned toward Stolos. He was a middle-aged man with streaks of silver in his dark hair. He struck me as a serious sort of person. He offered me his hand and I shook it. I said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you.”

“And I you, princess. It’s gratifying to see how happy the two of you are. My own wife and I have been happily married for twenty-five years.”

“That’s wonderful,” I said, laying my head against my husband’s shoulder. His muscles hardened underneath me and I could tell how bothered he was. This was gratifying. I should have done this a long time ago. “I can only hope that Xander and I will be so lucky. Do you have children?”

“Six,” he said. “I hope that you and the prince will get to experience that joy soon.”

I put my free hand over my womb and smiled sweetly at him. “If not, it won’t be from lack of trying.”

Stolos stared at me for a moment, and then to my relief, he burst into laughter. “Knowing that an heir was coming would certainly make voting for you the easy choice.”

“I agree,” I said.

Someone called Stolos’s name. “Please excuse me.”

As soon as he was clear, Xander’s hand clamped over mine. “What do you think you are doing?” he hissed into my ear.

“You’re a fine one to talk,” I said back to him. “What was that in our room?”

“Not now. We will discuss this later.”

Themis and Heliodora came over to speak with us. After a couple of minutes, Xander excused himself and I stayed to talk with the two women. They spent the entire conversation discussing the surplus issue. I watched as Xander worked the room, shaking hands, making people smile. He had it in him to be so charming and delightful. I wondered why it was that I never got to see that side of him.

We were joined by other women, who all wanted to ask me how I felt.

“So much better,” I said. That should destroy Xander’s excuse that I was ill and keeping to my rooms. He’d have to come up with a new lie, although I knew that wouldn’t be difficult for him.

“Have your monthly courses come yet?”

“Not yet,” I said, embarrassed by the question but trying to behave as if I weren’t. As if the state of my womb were a normal thing to be discussing with strangers.

Although to be fair I had brought it up first to Stolos. I supposed I only had myself to blame.

Themis turned the conversation back to funding schooling for girls. The other women in the group all seemed to agree with her. It would be foolish of Xander to deny this request. The need for education led to a discussion on protecting women from men who harm them.

“It’s not enough to punish those men,” Heliodora said. “We must have examples of true loving partnerships to inspire people to do better. Like the prince and princess. Hearts and minds will change when our leaders show them the way.”

I tried to smile back, but we were the worst possible people to fill that role. I understood why Xander had made that contract with me. He had been right. Having a happy, loving relationship would make the council vote for him.

“We heard about how he saved you,” a woman in a pale red dress said to me. “That must have been so terrifying. You’re so fortunate to be married to such a strong and powerful warrior.”

I nodded. “I feel very blessed.” The lie felt sour on my tongue. But this would definitely help to sell the image that Xander wanted to project.

One of the women began to talk about her daughter and the foolish man she had married and I found my mind wandering. I looked around the room, realizing that I was seeking Xander out.

He wasn’t hard to find.

And Chryseis hadn’t had an issue finding him, either. She stood so close to him, her body leaning toward his.

They looked like they were lovers.