Page 18

Clarissa

T wo guards followed Mother and me as we entered the dining hall on the first floor, facing the ocean to the north.

Instead of an outer wall, there was a set of open rolling doors, exposing an outdoor patio and letting in the humid night air.

From the palace’s elevated position, I could nearly make out the Avonige Ocean a few miles north beneath the clear, bright moon that set the land aglow.

Long banquet tables stood inside the room, as well as one on the attached patio. Galen and Thorne were already seated outside, engaged in a whispered but heated conversation.

I exchanged a look with Mother as we silently made our way over.

I hadn’t been able to get a good read on the two of them yet.

One moment they were easy-going; the next they were elusive and intense.

Thorne’s back was to me, but I could see him clutching his glass of water, his forearms tight and knuckles white.

“...understand why you refuse to tell her,” I caught him saying once we were within earshot.

Galen’s light brown eyes immediately found mine behind Thorne. The crease in his brow disappeared as he swallowed, replaced with that cheery smile from before. One I was beginning to think wasn’t as sincere as he wanted us to believe .

All three of them—him, Lady Reaux, and Galen—had given me a strange feeling, like something nagging in the back of my mind.

But I couldn’t pinpoint why . I’d spent mere minutes with these people—I had no reason to be suspicious of them, no reason to assume the worst. That was always Leo’s first inclination, but I tried to enter scenarios and relationships with an open mind. Cautious yet optimistic.

I was probably just uneasy because I no longer had my magic. That pit in my stomach, that clenching sensation like a fist squeezing my gut, hadn’t gone away since the moment we left Veridian borders. I’d never realized how much I relied on my fox half.

“Clarissa, Evadine, you both look lovely!” Galen stood and extended a gloved hand to the chair beside him. We took our seats right as two new men emerged from the side door, both dressed in formal pants and button-down shirts.

Galen greeted them. “Ah, yes. May I introduce you to Lord Sadim and Lord Davies, two members of my council.” The two newcomers bowed, then pulled out their chairs at the other end of the table. “And, of course, you already know Lord Reaux.”

Thorne’s stare landed on me, still heated from whatever his conversation with Galen was about. He ran his fingers through his long hair and took a breath, nodding to me.

“I’ve had the kitchen prepare an assortment of traditional Mysthelm dishes for your first evening here.” Galen waved a hand in the air to signal to the servants in the interior of the dining hall.

They rushed out tray after tray of silver plates, with more food than six people could possibly eat.

A tiered platter bearing several different kinds of fish was set in the center.

Small jars of honey and pears were scattered across the table.

Bowls and bowls of rice, little cylinders that appeared to be some kind of noodle, and spiced potatoes followed.

The briny scent of salt and fish mixed with the sweet, fruity one of the pear reserves, creating an enticing combination as it wafted over me.

“We have salmon, trout, and cod,” Galen explained, gesturing to each of the fish layered decoratively across their platter. “With a salted pear and honey preserve. Pears are our specialty,” he added.

“This looks wonderful,” Mother said.

“It smells delicious,” I agreed as I spooned several of the side dishes onto my plate, then glanced at the platter of salmon.

I could’ve sworn the fish was staring at me, its little eye wide and fixed on my forehead.

Flashes of the great mass of dead fish floating on the surface of the water raced across my mind.

“I take it the fish industry is quite large here, being so close to the coast?” I asked Galen as I took a sip of wine.

“The largest one in the North Territory, yes,” he responded. “We have fisheries up and down the coast, catching and harvesting all year round.”

I hummed. “So you’d know if they were experiencing any issues lately?”

Across the table, Thorne shot me an exasperated look, his lips thinning into a grim line. His eyes said “let it go.” I merely tilted my head to the side and swirled my glass of wine.

Galen hesitated. “I suppose so. What types of issues do you mean?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Some sort of disease, perhaps? Or an infestation? A predator that might be wiping out large amounts of sea life?”

Thorne cleared his throat, and Galen looked between the two of us, confusion written on his features. “Not that I’m aware of. Why do you ask?”

I glared at Thorne. So much for “ I’ll bring it up to His Majesty at once. ” He hadn’t even bothered.

“Well, as I’m sure you were made aware of”—my gaze sliced to Thorne’s and then back— “we had quite an experience on our trip here. Just a little ways off your shores, right before the storm hit, there was some sort of…attack. All the animals fell dead around us, and —”

“Ah, yes, there you are! You, pour some more wine for our guests,” Galen interrupted to call out to a passing servant, averting his eyes from mine. I bit down on my lip to hide the surge of frustration.

“Thank you, but I don’t need any.” I put a hand over my glass, bumping into the servant’s arm. A gasp slipped out when the cool red liquid spilled across myself and the table. Jumping to my feet, I grabbed a napkin and began dabbing at the small pool of wine.

“I’m so sorry; I didn’t see you,” I said to the young girl.

“Don’t bother, Clarissa. That’s their job.” Galen waved a hand to usher me away from the mess.

Annoyance flared inside me again. I shouldn’t have expected anything different—a king born into luxury with servants waiting on him hand and foot from the moment he drew breath.

I probably would’ve been the same way, had my father remained the emperor, and I’d grown up in the silver spoon-fed environment of the palace.

But I hadn’t. And I wasn’t in the habit of justifying poor behavior in those who treated others as less than.

“It’s not a problem. It was my fault, anyway.

Here, let me help,” I said to the servant girl.

Taking the clean cloth from her hand, I dried my arm and sopped up the remaining liquid, which had stained the rose-gold satin fabric of my gown.

I ignored the pointed stares of the lords, but I could feel one in particular—a guarded icy blue pair of eyes that hadn’t left my skin since I first arrived.

The servant bowed to me before she scampered off to get more wine.

Another pair of footsteps echoed from the interior dining hall, causing me to peer over Thorne’s head to find his mother striding toward us.

She wore a blood-red gown that trailed behind her, with sheer sleeves that fell past her wrists.

Her brown-and-gray hair was no longer in a bun but hung loose down her back, the top half slicked back and collected in a clip.

“I apologize, Marigold’s nanny was late,” she said in her clipped tone as she came to a stop at Thorne’s side and leaned over, brushing her cheek briefly against his. “I assume I haven’t missed anything important. ”

“We were just about to discuss details of the tour, Azura,” Galen said smoothly.

I blinked. No, that wasn’t what we’d been discussing, but one stern look from my mother told me this wasn’t a hill I wanted to die on.

“Yes, the tour ,” Azura Reaux repeated, her eyes shifting to mine before taking a seat next to Thorne and across from my mother. “We will have our hands full keeping these two boys in line for the next few weeks, won’t we?” she said to Mother and me, pasting on that same tight smile from earlier.

I looked between her, Thorne, and Galen, finally resting on her son. “You’re coming with us?”

“Surprised, Empress?” Thorne responded as he brought his glass of water to his lips.

I tried not to notice the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed, or how that curious necklace he still wore swayed and brushed against a hint of dark hair at his chest. Something hot fell from my cheeks to my stomach, pooling there as a reminder of my irritation.

Ignoring him and his cocky tone, I took a sip of wine and turned to Galen. “When will we be leaving?”

“In the morning. We have a rather full itinerary. Lord Davies, can you fill Her Majesty in on the festivities?” Galen nodded to the white-mustached man at the other end of the table.

Lord Davies rifled through a handful of parchment.

“Yes, Your Majesty. You will depart early tomorrow morning for the Mid Territory and arrive by the evening, where you’ll dine with the Silenus regent family and stay with them for several days.

They have plans to take you through their planting district and host the annual Harvest Tournament and Festival at the end of your stay.

You’ll then journey to the Penworth Estates in the South Territory. ”

“Both Silenus and Penworth will be tricky,” the other man, Lord Sadim, interjected.

He stroked his thick chin and leaned forward on the table.

“Dion has been difficult to work with, even with Vespera attempting to calm him. And Rhys Penworth’s territory has been divided ever since the announcement was made. ”

I furrowed my brow at the onslaught of new names and places I didn’t recognize, trying to pick out the important pieces. “What does that mean? What announcement?” I asked, turning to Galen.