Page 37

O nce again, Arden stood at the glass double-doors in the Bleu suite at the palace, feeling like a complete imposter as she gazed out at the water and toward home.

It wasn’t that she’d never worn one of Jade’s dresses before—both her sister and their mother had forced her to set aside her own comfortable things in lieu of borrowing from them for special occasions.

But she’d never chosen one herself. She’d never taken it without asking—or without being forced to. She’d certainly never worn one of Jade’s pretty dresses in the palace, knowing that soon she’d be wearing it in the cathedral, where she’d be sitting beside the king.

“Please tell me this isn’t going to become our new habit—me coming out to find you stewing about what you have to wear, looking with longing toward home.”

At Storm’s voice, she turned with a self-conscious grin.

Did he mind seeing her in Jade’s things?

Knowing it should be her here with him? Not that he’d have been here if Jade had been, but that wasn’t the point.

Arden sighed. “This is the last time. Promise.” Her gaze swept him from top to toe.

He was in a Guardian dress uniform that made uncertainty swell within her.

“Though probably because you’ll be in the barracks soon? ”

Relief flooded her when Storm shook his head. “Apparently I passed all the admission tests usually given at the end of training, thanks to Uncle Rico’s drills. I’ve been assigned to stay with my crazy cousin who thinks it’s fun to jump on the back of a hawk without notice.”

Arden rolled her eyes and moved away from the balcony doors, toward the exit of their suite. “It wasn’t without notice. Not this morning, anyway.”

“You certainly didn’t give me a head’s up.”

“It’s not my fault you were sleeping.” She bumped their shoulders together when he fell in beside her. “It was the king’s fault, you know. He’s the one who had the brilliant idea of calling for Ora and taking another scouting trip. Take it up with him.”

Storm shook his head again. “I seriously don’t know how you do that.”

“What?” She opened the door, not surprised to see Alexei standing outside it, ready to show them the way to the cathedral.

“Talk to him—and about him—like he’s…” But Storm trailed off as he, too, spotted their Guard. He came to attention, saluted.

Arden had to stifle the urge to roll her eyes again.

She knew the training, of course, and that now that he was in uniform, the salute was important.

It made her grateful she’d decided years ago that the Guardians was not her fate.

She much preferred striding into the hallway and working out some of the nervous energy with quick steps.

She’d already updated Storm on all that had happened that day, when she arrived back at what would be her quarters for the duration of her stay at the palace and found him waiting for her.

Seidon, who had escorted her back to the suite himself, had cleared her to share anything she wished with Storm.

The king hadn’t mentioned at the time that it was because her cousin had been assigned to guard her whenever her feet were on the ground.

Ridiculous, of course. And she’d have told him so, if she wasn’t afraid he might see her point and assign Storm elsewhere, which would leave her alone in this enormous suite of rooms.

Best to button her lips on that concern and be glad she had her cousin nearby.

Once they reached the end of the corridor, she slid aside and let Alexei take the lead, since she had no clue of the quickest way to get to the cathedral from here.

The Guard smiled at her as he passed, motioning to the right with his head.

“This way, my lady. And Centa Bleu, I had the privilege of being on the committee evaluating your drills today. It’s an honor to welcome you to our ranks—your uncle didn’t exaggerate in his recommendation. ”

Arden glanced over to see a barely-discernible blush darken her cousin’s dusky cheeks. Until now, only Jade had ever had the power to make him blush. But apparently praise from a stranger could do it too. She could understand that.

“Thank you, sir,” Storm said in a voice as even as his stride. “It is my honor to serve my king and empire.”

Centa . Arden drew in a long breath. She’d always known her cousin would rise quickly through the ranks, given his training at Papa’s hand, but she’d thought it would take him more than a day to be given command of a hundred soldiers.

He’d excel at it though. He’d lead them with that same quiet strength with which he led their little diving fleet. She sent him a proud smile and wondered how Jade would have planned to celebrate with him.

Cake. Jade would insist he needed a cake, like she had when he’d won a cross-training competition last year, against Unawakened youth from all over Daryatla. And she’d wheedle Arden into helping her make one. Chocolate, because it was his favorite. With an orange-buttercream frosting.

Storm narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you scheming now?”

“Cake.” She grinned, and he did too. He could obviously trace her thought-process back to Jade. “Think the chefs will let me into the kitchen?”

He snorted a laugh. “Not if they’re smart.”

“They’re rather territorial,” Alexei put in. “Though they do accept requests from the king’s guests, my lady.”

She opened her mouth to say she wasn’t the king’s guest but held her tongue as she spotted Seidon himself standing at the next intersection of hallways, tugging at his cuffs and looking as nervous as she’d felt last night before the ball. Funny how that made her smile.

Because it proved that he was the king that the Triada wanted for them, didn’t it? The very fact that he questioned it, that he could face the enemy armies without flinching but shook with nerves before attending a simple missa service spoke to the pure heart within him.

Storm frowned at the king’s fidgeting, cast Arden a look that silently asked if she knew what was going on with him, and then quirked a brow at her smile.

“It’s his first service back in a cathedral in a few years,” she murmured. “And he’s too humble to go into it with any certainty.”

“Seriously?” Storm’s expression probably mirrored the one she’d worn in the dinghy when she asked the same thing. “He held off an elite mer force single-handedly last night!”

“Yeah, I tried that one already.”

Alexei, only a step ahead, chuckled at their exchange. “That’s what makes him the best ruler Daryatla has ever known.”

“I tried that one too. He’s still tugging at his cuffs.” Which was touching, really. And added proof that her father had been right all along to claim Seidon was the best king, the best man anyone could ever know.

If only all of Papa’s praise throughout the years could have prepared her for the way Seidon’s presence made her pulse react.

He must have heard their voices—though hopefully he couldn’t make out their words. Seidon straightened, turned, smiled at them, and strode their way, even though he’d have to backtrack with their group. She had no trouble understanding nervous energy.

“Looking sharp, centa,” he said in greeting to Storm, reaching to brush an imaginary something off his shoulder. “How’s it feel?”

“Like a dream, Your Majesty. In all the best ways and a few of the worst too. This isn’t quite how I imagined joining your Guard.”

Seidon nodded, his smile serious. “I know. Even so, we’re glad to have you. And Arden.” He turned to her, and his smile twitched into a grin. “I liked yesterday’s dress better—but you look beautiful.”

His mother must have taught him to compliment everyone he met, so she tried to hold back the roll of her eyes. She even mostly succeeded. As she tucked her hand into his proffered elbow, she said, “Don’t get used to it, Your Majesty. I’ll be back in my own uniform at the first opportunity.”

He chuckled and led them onward. “About that. I’m commissioning some more appropriate riding clothes for you. The tailors already have your measurements, but if you want any input in colors and fabrics and design, you ought to drop by there tomorrow.”

She would have stumbled to a halt if he didn’t pull her onward. “Really? Why?”

“You ask this a lot.” He grinned down at her. “Yes. Really. And I don’t know why you’re arguing. Wouldn’t it be nice to have something with pockets to hold some crystals and recorders and other tools? Something to better match Ora? I’m talking utilitarian here, Arden, not a gown.”

She sighed, even as an image of a nice leather vest with compartments for those tools flashed before her eyes.

She loved her open skirts, yes, but the cotton did flap like a pennant in the wind, and that might not be best for daily work, if for no other reason than it would start to tear the skirts apart like, well, a pennant in the wind. “Fine.”

“Although if you wanted a few more lovely gowns to wear to dinners—”

“Careful, Your Majesty,” she said as they turned another corner and arrived at a large set of doors. “I’ll find some way to hurt you, so ingenious that none of your Guards will see me coming.”

Seidon laughed. Storm shook his head. “Don’t doubt her. I teased her a little too mercilessly once, and she snuck into my room one night and painted my feet green. Couldn’t get the stuff off for weeks.”

“Noted.” Though he didn’t look worried. In fact, his shoulders had relaxed a little. Good.

Alexei opened the doors, and more Guards led by Master Lee fell into formation around them as they walked along the alabaster path. From this vantage point, there was no chance of getting lost on the way to the cathedral—it loomed directly ahead.

The Guard, she knew, was ceremonial more than necessary, as evidenced by the fact that the king had gone alone to the Banks. Yes, his people protected him, but usually that meant watching his back while he concentrated on the work no one else could do.