Page 12

“She impersonates a lady, Your Majesty,” the herald answered. “I ordered her removed.”

“Does she, now?” Toren asked. Gods, this woman had poor luck. “Bring her forward. The rest of you may stand.”

His temper slipped the slightest notch at the sight of the guard jerking Ria to her feet and nudging her forward, but the brush of Mehl’s hand brought Toren some measure of calm. Fortunately, Ria walked easily in front of the guard, earning no more harsh treatment. The strange protectiveness he felt for her wouldn’t have withstood that.

When she reached the dais, Ria curtsied. Toren gestured for her to rise before pinning her with an impatient look. “Explain yourself.”

Her cheeks went pink, but she didn’t cower. “Pardon me, Your Majesties. I did not intend to cause a disturbance. I made no claim to nobility, but your herald thought I did with my clothing.”

Toren could see the mistake. Her rich brown hair was braided and twined with expensive blue jewels, and her soft yellow gown fit in easily with the court style. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” A hint of fear widened her eyes. “I give my word. These clothes are mine, granted with the rest of my father’s assets. I only wished to dress well when I came to request a private audience.”

Whispers and giggles echoed through the crowd, earning a frown from Toren that returned the room to silence. They thought her nothing but a foolish commoner, but the nobles gathered here knew nothing about what had happened the night before. None of those allowed in their private chambers would dare breathe a word.

“Is there some request that could not be made here?” Toren asked, unable to resist teasing her instead of granting her request for privacy. Not that anyone but Mehl would recognize it as teasing.

“I wanted…” Ria’s shoulders slumped, and Toren regretted the impulse at once. “I wanted to know the length of my father’s punishment. I need to make arrangements.”

For some reason, that soft statement had dread pooling in Toren’s gut. “For what?”

“To leave,” Ria whispered. “Before…”

The memory of her bruises flickered through his mind, and her full meaning became clear. She wanted to run away before her father was released, and he’d forced her to confess it in front of the court. Gods’ mingled blood. Why had he baited her instead of granting a private audience?

It was this blasted attraction, of course. Toren couldn’t remove his gaze from her beautiful face, appealing despite the fear he abhorred. And not only because he’d amplified it. The thought of her in danger, afraid, calling for help—it scraped at his insides, threatening to shred his control. He already knew he would kill for Mehl. Now it seemed he might kill for her, too, and he didn’t even know why.

He couldn’t let her flee into the unknown, waiting for the day her father would hunt her.

“Mehl,”he whispered into his husband’s mind.

“Do it,”Mehl answered, understanding at once.

“Curious,” Toren said aloud. He stepped to the edge of the dais, and the crowd lowered to their knees once more. Thankfully, the guard had more sense than to drag Ria down again. “I thought perhaps you were here to discuss another arrangement. The breeding alliance.”

* * *

Ria’s breathpuffed out in surprise, the soft sound like thunder in the sudden quiet. Surely, she had misunderstood. Surely. But High King Toren stared down at her with a heated, almost possessive look in his eyes that suggested otherwise. King Mehl smiled slightly at her when she looked his way, a secret smile full of happiness. And maybe relief.

No. Absolutely impossible. She was the tailor’s daughter.

That had to be it. Her father was no longer here to create the formal robes worn to celebrate a new breeding alliance, and the kings needed her help. These two perfect, powerful men didn’t want anything else from her.

Just look at them.

The high king’s pale hair fell, unbound, around a heavily embroidered, royal green robe that outlined his broad shoulders as lovingly as his dressing robe had the night before. His golden crown arrowed down across his brow like a circlet before rising to twine around his head in thousands of tiny, jeweled vines and flowers.

Beside him, King Mehl stood in equally gorgeous contrast, his robe a pale green and his silver crown designed to mimic the constellations. Each star a diamond. Part of his dark hair had been braided around the base of the crown, but it only served to highlight his sharp cheekbones and chiseled jaw.

They could have any woman—or man—in this room. Yes, she must have misunderstood.

“I see you are speechless,” High King Toren drawled. “A rare event in this room today.”

Ria gathered her resolve. She had no clue why he wanted to taunt her, but the sooner she escaped, the better. “I am uncertain I have properly interpreted your meaning.”

Brows drawing down, High King Toren stepped from the dais until he was close enough to touch, and behind her, the gasps were practically forceful enough to blow her away. Unfortunately, she wasn’t lucky enough to escape the king’s regard that easily. He brushed his finger along her jaw to her chin and tilted her head up, holding her gaze to his.

At the contact, his voice rang in her mind.“You understood well enough. Join with us and carry our heir.”