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“What the—”

Kallie pulled, and Sebastian hissed. “I do not think thekingwill take kindly to you touching his wife.”

“Futurewife, Kalisandre. Do not forget yourself.”

Sebastian tried to laugh, but the noise came out strangled when Kallie twisted his arm back further.

“My brother is no more a king than you will be a queen, Princess,” he hissed.

Kallie’s grip tightened around Sebastian’s wrist. Her buzz disappeared, her anger snuffing it out.

Sebastian chuckled. “Oh, did you think it was a secret that your little daddy was the one who was actually pulling the strings?”

Kallie didn’t move.

In her silence, Sebastian studied her from the corner of his eye. “You did, didn’t you? You are more naive than I first thought then.”

Kallie opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut when footsteps echoed down the hall. She pulled Sebastian close, her gift buzzing beneath her flesh. “You will not speak of this.”

She shoved Sebastian and quickly curtsied as Tessa appeared around the corner.

“Queen Mother,” Kallie said, curtsying.

Tessa’s gaze bounced between Kallie and Sebastian standing in the hall. “Kalisandre, I did not expect to see you here. I thought you were still recovering from your fainting spell?”

Kallie relaxed her jaw and offered Tessa a saccharine smile. “I’m much better now, actually. Thank you for your concern. I was on my way to the king. I wanted to thank him for taking care of me.”

“Oh, Laurince was the one who took you back to your rooms. My son had better things to do than carry a woman’s weight through the castle.”

Kallie’s hand curled into a fist at her side, and Tessa’s gaze dropped to it.

“Let me save you the hassle then,” Tessa continued with a triumphant smile, “The king is currently occupied.”

“So it may seem,” Kallie said, her gaze sliding to Sebastian.

Tessa looked at Sebastian again, noting the distance between Kallie and him—or lack thereof, for only a couple of feet separated them. Sebastian’s face was flush, yet his lips remained sealed. As Tessa surveyed the hall, Kallie straightened when Tessa’s eyes fell to the floor where the flask’s stopper lay discarded.

Tessa arched a brow. “Perhaps that it is for the best.”

Kallie’s lips parted, but she didn’t have time to explain before Tessa directed her attention to Sebastian.

“Your brother requires your presence in the advisors’ room,” the former queen said.

Sebastian cleared his throat as though he struggled to speak. “I will head there now.”

“Good.” Tessa nodded. As Sebastian made to slip past his mother, Tessa grabbed his arm, tugging him to a stop. “And about that issue? Have your men found anything?”

Sebastian shook his head. “Nothing yet, Mother.”

Kallie’s gaze bounced between the two, and the back of her neck grew cold. She noted how Tessa’s grip tightened around Sebastian’s arm before she released him.

“Let me know when they do,” Tessa said.

Sebastian nodded before disappearing down the hall.

Tessa glanced at Kallie. “Kalisandre.”

“Queen Mother,” Kallie said with a sweet smile plastered on her face. “If you don’t mind, I should be going now.” She arched a brow, waiting for Tessa to move.