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“I shall,” I told him, helping him remove my skirts and corset to get a better measurement.
A small sound drew my attention to the doorway, and I turned to find Alaric there, staring at my all but bare backside, a slight blush crawling its way up his neck. Of course, he would need to be present when someone entered by chambers. For safety. And I had to admit, I enjoyed the way he watched me, with something like admiration painting his otherwise stoic features.
“Alaric, have you chosen your sentries for my Royal Guard?”
He cleared his throat, “Yes, majesty. I’ve sent riders to notify them. They should arrive by this evening for your approval.”
“Good. You can station them to guard the royal chambers and retire to the captain’s quarters this evening when they arrive, Ronan’s things should be removed by then. You need your rest, captain.”
He nodded.
The tailor scribbled several numbers down in a leather-bound journal before rising, hands on his hips, “Now, the traditional style of gown for a Blessing Ceremony is white—very conservative,” he said with a tight-lipped smile, “But are there any particular fabrics or embellishments you’d like added?”
I thought about it for a moment, taking in the ghastly white room around me, imagining the same dull shade draped around me, cloying at my neckline, and all the way down to my wrists.Ugh.“I won’t wear a white gown. Or anything too constricting. I’ll let you decide the color and the style.”
“Liana, the noble families will think it an insult to tradition if you wear anything but white,” Thana tsked from her perch on the arm of the settee.
I gave her a mischievous grin, earning myself one of her exasperated sighs, then I told her, “You of all people should know, I’mnottraditional.”
It could have been my imagination, but I could have sworn I heard Alaric chuckle.
“Praise the gods! A queen with a mind of her own. It will be my pleasure to craft for you a gown that breaks tradition.”
Chapter Six
The official farewell to the fallen queen took place before we arrived. Alaric wasn’t exaggerating when he told me how covered her tomb was in offerings. Deep below the palace, in the cavernous catacombs lay my mother, in a coffin of polished gray stone. Hundreds of softly flickering candles surrounded the raised platform, along with thousands of white flowers—each enchanted by the those Graced in earth and fire, so the candles would never burn out, and the flowers, never wilt.
My being there was a formality. They expected for me to grieve her loss, and to lay an offering of my own on her tomb. When Thana asked me if she should summon a Graced noble to enchant my offering, I told her it wasn’t necessary.
The air in the catacombs was cold and thick with moisture and the unpleasant odor of mold. Alaric unclasped his cloak and draped it over my shoulders, “Are you alright, majesty?” he asked, true concern flitting into and out of his gaze.
“Yes. Fine.” I told him. He likely thought it was sadness that made my jaw clench and my hands ball into fists.Good, let him think that.Because the truth was ugly. I hated her. I was angry. Upset she never gave me the chance to know her.
She left me to rot on that island my entire mortal life, never once coming to see me, or even sending a letter. All for myprotection.All because once, a very long time ago, her first-born child was taken from her, found dead beyond the line separating the Night Court from the Wastes. Perhaps it was that she couldn’t stand the sight of me, only bearing me so that her line could someday continue. Either way, she was no mother of mine.
With barely concealed restraint, I pulled my offering from the concealed pocket of my gown and placed it at the center of her tomb.
Thana gasped. Alaric stiffened. I knew what they would think, but I didn’t care. It was customary to leave flowers, or a candle, for someone you mourned—someone you would miss. But I would do neither of those things.
The ashen gray pebble looked out of place among the flowers and flames. I chose one small enough to carry, but not so small it wouldn’t be noticed, from the shore where I spent my childhood skipping stones. It was her death that set me free, and now, it was her turn to be trapped in stone.
That evening,Thana retired to her chamber early, saying she had enough excitement for one day. For me, the thought of sleep flitted away sometime ago, my body and mind wired from days spent with so much, well, everything. So many people. So many sights, sounds, smells. I was high on the effect of it all.
Alaric stood guard as the servants laid the table with more food than I’d ever seen in my life, only relaxing his strained posture after the royal taster, a pretty female whose name I’d already forgotten tasted each of the dishes.
“Join me,” I asked more than ordered him as the servants left. “There’s enough here to feed the entire Horde.”
He pulled a chair from against the wall and set it to my right, “Yes, majesty.”
“Liana,” I corrected him, “There’s no one else here, we can drop the formalities.”
He relaxed into the chair, “Forgive me for saying this Liana, but you’re unlike any female I’ve ever met. And certainly not what I was expecting.”
I filled my plate with roast meats and some sort of fruit that was the richest color of red I’d ever seen, smirking, I asked him, “And whatdidyou expect?”
Alaric filled his own plate with a monstrous helping from each platter, smiled, “I don’t know, maybe for you to be more…”
“More queenly?”
