Page 50 of Keeper of the Word

“I beg your pardon, Lady Elanna. What did you say?” King Rian said, giving her his full attention.

“What a preposterous rumor!I tell you, Dashiell was on the annual Dew’s Nay Hunt in the Emryn Forest. He certainly was not absent withoutmyleave. And he certainly was not in Askella of all places.” King Rian continued to pace the Royal Solar.

Elanna stood next to a chair she’d not been given leave to sit in. Prince Dashiell had been barred from the room.

“I am not here to utter rumors to Your Majesty, nor question Your Majesty’s knowledge of the whereabouts of your son for the last fortnight. I am here to warn you that the future of the Capella Realm hangs in the balance. Prince Dashiell must marry?—”

“Do you think me daft? Why do you speak in riddles? Dashiell’s betrothal contract with Lord Ulara’s daughter has been scheduled to be formally signed and witnessed in but a few weeks. Betrothal gifts have been exchanged. The wedding itself shall take place on the Harvest Nay Moon. The House of Sidra is perfectly intact.”

“I do not question Your Majesty’s authority. But you cannot question mine. I know what I have Seen. And I have Seen Prince Dashiell, your very son, shirk that contract.”

King Rian paused long enough to give a wrinkled-nose glare. ’Twas the first time he’d met her eyes since they’d entered the solar.

“Pray, why is this fortune so difficult to believe? The fact that I stand before you outside of the walls of Ashwin should convince you of the very gravity of this situation. Asalle’s Light is in danger?—”

King Rian held up a protesting hand. It took all the disciplinein Elanna not to continue. The sovereign tugged a velvet cord hanging from the wall. A moment later, his chancellor entered, his eyeballs twitching about.

“Griffith, fetch Lady Tara’s correspondence so that Lady Elanna may read it.”

Chancellor Griffith bowed out of the room and returned with a folded square of parchment on a silver tray. The sovereign nodded to Elanna, and she took it.

Tara had not painted Elanna in a good light.

“Lady Tara states you must have been through an ordeal as of late. She begs that Asalle lend knights to escort you safely home. And that Lord Tolvar not be involved henceforth.”

This is why she’d been all but locked in the Delara.

Think.She could buy time, just as she had with Tolvar. King Rian was a logical sovereign.

“And what will Your Majesty do if I request to remain at court?”

This was uncharted territory. Both for the StarSeers and the sovereign. Who ruled whom? But she could not offer the same threats as the guards in the corridor.

King Rian sat on his cushioned chair, tiredness plainly on his face. “The creed states that StarSeers are welcome anywhere they so choose to be. With very few exceptions. But you put your sovereign in a predicament. Shall the first or fourth StarSeer’s wishes be granted? I ne’er heard of a disagreement between the Seers of stars.”

“Your Majesty,” Elanna knelt before King Rian, hoping her display of humility would soften the sovereign’s heart. “I do not wish to cause any grievance. But I will not deny what I have Seen in the stars as I have been ordained with their Sight. If you would only summons your son to join us here. Ask him about his betrothal.”

The sovereign nodded to Chancellor Griffith. ’Twas not long before Prince Dashiell sauntered into the room.

Able to observe him head-on, he was younger than Elanna hadperceived at their first meeting in the Great Hall. Only twenty, mayhap? A few years younger than she. His eyes darted between her and his father. A carefree smile cut into his face.

“Father, this is most unusual, indeed. How am I to one day rule when you exile me from rooms like a naughty child?”

King Rian’s frown did not disappear. “Lady Elanna has brought some troubling news. A troubling fortune, more specifically.”

Prince Dashiell furrowed his brow. “Oh? Tell me.”

“Your Highness—” Elanna began, but King Rian cut her off.

“Were you in the Emryn Forest?”

Prince Dashiell cocked his head. “When? For the hunt? You know very well I was. Why this accusation guised as a question?”

Elanna felt her face flush. Surely King Rian could see how his tone pressed the prince into defense.

The sovereign studied his son.

“My man, Karro, can vouch for me. Though it wounds me, Father, to think you need more than my word.”