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“Attack you with what?” I spread my arms and shrugged. “I thought my magic didn’t work on you.”

Lavinia’s smug smile died on her lips. Murmurs rose from the crowd.

I moved closer to the princess. “I am not responsible for this spectacle. You are.”

The murmurs grew louder, faster.

Lavinia bristled. “How dare you?—”

“You know what I think,PrincessLavinia?” I said with an indulgent smile. “I think the stress of the upcoming Games has gotten to you. You’ve lost your mind. You’ve cracked. You’ve gone totally and completely bananas, and now you’re seeing things that just simply are not there.”

“They’re there!” Lavinia insisted.

“And yet no one can see them but you.”

Lavinia’s mouth dropped.

I turned to address the crowd. “Or is anyone else here seeing giant purple ducks, big black spiders, and some dancing armored creature?”

The crowd answered in the negative.

I turned back to Lavinia. “Well, there you go. And that’s too bad. People who’ve lost their marbles can’t compete in the Princess Games to be the next monarch, can they?”

“You did this, Leda Pandora!” The accusation exploded out of her mouth, and she rushed toward me, reaching for my neck.

But before she could grab me, she stopped.

“Get it off of me!” Lavinia shrieked, frantically brushing her hand down her arm. “Get it off! Get it off!”

And that really was the cherry on the top of this spectacle. Guards moved in and seized her, carrying her away. She screamed all the way out of the ballroom.

I grabbed another glass and lifted it to Aspen. “Well, I’ll say this for your monarchy: you guys sure know how to party.”

CHAPTER 9

PLAYING PRINCESS

Later, as we were leaving the ball, Aspen caught up to us on the drawbridge. The large silver moon lit her up like a searchlight in the darkness. Her whole gown glittered like diamonds, but it was her face which was truly beaming.

“Leda!” she said, sucking in air.

We stopped and waited for her to catch her breath.

“The Committee just announced the candidates for the Princess Games. I’m one of them!”

I winked at her. “Yes, I had a feeling you would be.”

Her smile faded a little. “Leaving so soon?”

“We have to head home. Sierra’s beat.” I indicated our daughter, sleeping contently in Nero’s arms. “I think it’s the post-sugar crash. She must have eaten at least twenty cupcakes tonight.” I set my hand on my stomach. “And so did I.”

“I did warn you about overindulging in all that icing,” Nero said.

“Yes, well, I figured if I could drink poison, I could handle a little icing.” My stomach gurgled. “In any case, Aspen, what happened after they dragged Lavinia away?”

“Things got pretty heated in the ballroom,” she told me. “The royal psychologist declared Lavinia mentally unfit to rule, whichmeans she’s been disqualified from competing in the Princess Games. That threw the Committee into complete disarray. They were just about to announce her as one of the candidates.”

“Then I’d say her outburst in the ballroom happened just in time,” I commented.