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“Enough.” I stand. The knights, clergy, and patrol guards bow, followed by most of the crowd, Jordy and his parents included. I set my eyes on Treena. “You are cruel, Treena. You take great pleasure in the discomfort of others. I have been on the receiving end of your taunts on many occasions. I have watched you mock and kick dirt in the face of a man in the stocks, berate and demean folks on the street who are not of your station, and I have crossed on opposite sides of the streets of Timberness to avoid your certain wrath. I am the blood-born heir of House Starling, and I will see my family name restored. And when I take the throne, if you question my lineage again, it will be an act of treason against the queen of Timberness. The punishment for treason is death and make no mistake. You will be dealt with accordingly.”
Treena’s eyes are wide. She bows quickly and joins are parents again. I take my seat.
“I will follow you into battle, princess,” a male voice projects from the back of the room. As he makes his way forward, I recognize him. It’s Kevan, the young man who brought his injured friend to the apothecary for Gram to treat. His friend had been stabbed by Malek.
“I will follow you,” he continues, “and you shall have your rightful place on the throne. You have a good soul and a pure heart. I will never bow to Malek.” He bows and shouts, “Long live Princess Milla.”
“Long live Princess Milla!” Voices join in throughout the town hall.
Sir Victor speaks again when the crowd settles. “You will each line up and swear your loyalty to Princess Milla. Starting this instant, no one is allowed access to the palace roads. Travel to the palace is strictly prohibited. We do not want the palace guards or members of court who dwell within the castle walls to know about the resistance. All able-bodied men will join us. We storm the castle after three morrows, and by that nightfall, Milla will be your new queen.”
The townspeople line up in front of me, kissing the top of my hand and swearing their allegiance one-by-one. When it is Treena’s turn, I remove my hand when her lips near my skin.
Treena looks confused and says the words she is supposed to say anyway. “I swear my loyalty to Princess Milla, the blood-born princess of Timberness and seal my devotion with a kiss.”
“Move along,” I say in response, shooing her away.
I don’t want her lips anywhere near me. I think of her kissing Jordy, holding his face in her hands, and I want to put her in the pillory like the mage she made fun of. Maybe I will before my reign is over. I smile at my devious thoughts.Why did she have to kiss myJordy?
Jordy is the last person in line. He steps forward to pledge his loyalty and I look him in the eyes, even though it is splintering my heart into pieces.
He says the words, “I swear my loyalty to Princess Milla, the blood-born princess of Timberness and seal my devotion with a kiss.”
He takes my hand, his lips delicately grazing across the top of it. I close my eyes, savoring the feel of him even though I know I should be yanking my hand away this very moment.
“Are we finished with the formalities?” he asks when the kiss is through.
“Yes,” I reply. “You are free to leave.”
“Leave?” He looks confused. “I don’t want to leave, my lady. I want to talk to you. I’ve missed you. I’ve been worried sick. You haven’t been to the bakery in days. I understand why now, though. I had a lot of scenarios running through my head. But I will admit, this wasn’t one of them.”
I ignore his attempt at conversation. “Why didn’t you defend me?” I ask.
“What?” Jordy’s expression is shaky. He’s more than a little confused and it’s showing. “Defend you? What are you talking about, my lady? I don’t understand.”
“Tonight, when Treena was rejecting my lineage to the crowd, why didn’t you defend me?” My throat tightens. His answer shouldn’t mean this much. It shouldn’t hurt to look at him, but it does. My whole body hurts, and I hate him for it.
“Everyone knows how I feel about you, Milla. When Master Burgess spoke up first, I felt it wiser to allow him to speak on your behalf, a more impartial party. Had no one said anything, I would have definitely championed for you. I would think you would know that. I would think—”
“I saw you kiss her,” I blurt, tears hot on my face before I can stop them. “I saw you kissing Treena outside of the bakery. How could you do that to me, Jordy?”
His shoulders fall, like he’s suddenly having trouble holding his muscles to his bones. His eyes are glistening when he looks in my face again. “So that’s why you’ve been so scarce of late. You don’t understand, Milla. I didn’t kiss Treena. She kissed me. That’s not the same thing.”
“Princess,” Sir Victor says, joining Jordy and me. “The crowd is dispersing. Are you ready to go?” He looks Jordy up and down. “Well, you’re quite the strapping fellow. You’ll defend your princess, aye?”
Jordy’s pained face never leaves mine. He’s fighting back tears that I still wish I could kiss away, no matter his indiscretion. But it’s a bit too little too late.
“Aye,” he says to Sir Victor. “I will defend my princess ‘til my dying breath.”
CHAPTER 20
Sir Victor helps me down from the horse when we make it to the cottage. I allow him to be a gentleman. I can dismount a horse on my own, but I suppose there are things I will need to get used to now that I am a princess.
“Won’t you come inside for a bit, Sir Victor? It can’t be comfortable living in a hayloft.”
“It will be better now that I don’t have to worry about patrol picking me up,” he admits.
“Well, what about the king’s guards?” I ask. “Won’t they still be looking for a traitor who escaped the hangman’s noose?”
