“I think enough time has gone by. We must come out of mourning and open the palace once again. Bring back the festivals, the open courts, the balls… Let us breathe some life back into these old stones!”
A murmur of approval rises, and I can practically feel the excitement sparking off Marion with the mere mention of a ball.
“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” Four interjects, his voice cutting through the warm buzz of enthusiasm, “I must advise against such actions at this time. The palace has not remained closed simply because of mourning. There is unrest within the kingdom, tensions among the townspeople. There is potential for them to see your vigor as an opportunity to attack.”
Kane tenses as if bracing against a blow, his jaw set, his bandaged hand squeezing mine, a silent storm brewing.
King Lockhart chuckles and points his dazzling smile to his most trusted aide. “Have a flair for the dramatic, don’t you, Four? Perhaps we should have hired you to be our entertainment.”
Laughter washes through the dining hall, but Kane remains silent and rigid. I follow his gaze, fixed firmly on Four. The stocky man’s lips twitch. He rubs his thumb and forefinger together, and I swear a blue spark flashes from his fingertips.
Alderic’s knees buckle, and he collapses into his seat. The laughter dies abruptly, the king’s sudden fall sucking the air from the room.
This time, Kane stands along with Four and every other man seated at the tables.
“Your king is well,” Four announces with a dismissivewave, his other hand gripping Alderic’s shoulder. “Aren’t you, Your Majesty?”
Alderic bobs his head in a drunken nod. His crown of pentacles lists to one side, and Four catches it as it tumbles from the king’s brow.
“As the king said, it’s been quite some time since we’ve had a feast. The wine must not have been watered down as Your Majesty expected.” Four’s voice carries an edge that makes the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
From the other side of Marion, Lord Highgate shifts uncomfortably. “Speaking of reopening the palace,” he ventures cautiously, “perhaps a measured approach could be considered. Invitations could be selective, security tightened—just until we are certain of the people’s sentiments.”
Four’s lips thin into a semblance of a smile that sends a chill racing through me. “Precisely, Lord Highgate. Caution is our best ally in these uncertain times.”
Kane laughs, harsh and bitter.
“You have something to say, Lord Ashwood?” Four asks, his eyes narrowing as they lock onto Kane.
“Only if King Lockhart wishes to hear it.” The muscles in his jaw twitch as he glares at Four, a silent challenge sparking in his eye.
“And if he does not?” Four’s knuckles flash white as he tightens his fist around Alderic’s crown.
Chairs scrape the floor as the other men sit back down, their attention swinging between Kane and Four.
Alderic pitches forward, his irises blazing blue. “You remind me of someone…someone I lost…”
Kane’s gaze shifts to the king. “Greed should notdictate the future of this great kingdom, Your Majesty. Pentacles once outshined all others, and now…”
“Now?” Four probes.
“Have you gone beyond the palace gates? Pentacles’s only bounty is behind these walls. This palace has become a dragon nesting on its gold.” Kane motions to the honey-dipped room around us. “I have been out with the people. I have seen that your kingdom is in decline. Is that not why these trade negotiations have come about—to strengthen the ailing alliance between Pentacles and Cups before everything crumbles?”
Four bristles, sweat beading on his forehead. “You know nothing about our great kingdom, Lord Ashwood, and I would ask that you do not speak against Pentacles, lest we begin to suspect you are our enemy and have come to do us harm.”
“Some would say Pentacles’s enemy was in its midst long before I arrived.”
Four’s eyes darken, his smile twisting into something sinister. “We have not yet begun our trade talks with you, Lord Ashwood, and after a display such as this, I cannot be certain we will.”
“Those talks, like this one, do not concern you. Or have I made a mistake? Are you the king?”
Blood drips ruby red from Four’s punishingly tight grip around the points of the pentacle-laced crown. “When you address the king, you address me.”
Kane laughs again, the sharp edge of his tone meant to cut. “When I address you, Four, you will know it.”
I hold my breath along with everyone else in the room, our eyes locked on the two men. The tension is a live wire, crackling, spitting currents of heat across the dining hall.
Just as sweat begins to bead on my brow, Ivy claps her hands. Marion and I flinch, knocking into each other. The room takes a collective exhale as Ivy calls out, “Gentlemen, enough!” She rests her thin hand on Four’s arm and smiles like the winner of a beauty pageant. “Let us not ruin a perfectly good evening with petty squabbles. I believe it’s time for entertainment, don’t you agree?” She motions to McDougall, who rushes from the room without a second glance.
