Chapter 25

Even the most sensible shoes she owned were no match for standing on the stone dais for hours, and by mid-afternoon, Kit’s feet ached, even though they had taken an hour to dine not that long ago. So far, she’d met a few interesting candidates, but when the delegation from Warchester Keep arrived, the day suddenly became more interesting.

A full foot taller than the man before him, the one she assumed would be doing the introductions once they passed through the security line, Kit caught the Representative’s easy smile and instantly remembered him from her eighteenth birthday celebration. His green eyes sparkled and his curly mop of dark hair caught the breeze. His eyes never strayed from her face, and for the first time on what was becoming the longest day she could remember, she was intrigued.

“Your Majesty,” the stooped older man began, addressing her mother first, “may I present the representative from Warchester Keep, Cassius of the family Peet.”

For the first time, his attention moved away from her to the queen, but only briefly, and when the older gentleman began to introduce them, Kit didn’t hear a word he said. “My Princess, it is so lovely to see you again.” He took her hand and kissed it gently, and the feel of his lips on her flesh sparked a flame that shot the length of Kit’s arm.

“You as well, Cassius. It has been far too long.” She grinned at him demurely, and a crooked smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. The last time she’d seen him, he had been several inches shorter and not nearly as muscular.

“I am delighted to be representing my province in your Choosing, my Lady. And I do hope we get the opportunity to do some horseback riding. I hear you are an excellent rider, and I would love to show you my skills as well.” The second part of that sentence especially seemed to have very little to do with horses, and Kit felt a blush come to her face. She suddenly felt more alive than she had all day.

“I am certain we shall have that opportunity.” She hoped he understood she also had a double meaning in her message, and by the way his smile widened, she thought he did.

“Excellent.” He bowed and kissed her hand one more time, his warm lips lingering a little longer than necessary, and then he moved on to greet the rest of the council, but Kit couldn’t keep her eyes off of him, and it seemed after every greeting, his attention returned to her. At one point, his gaze was so intense, she thought she might need to fan herself.

“Is it hot out here?” her mother asked, leaning down to her ear where only Kit may hear.

Embarrassed, Kit looked up at her mother to see a wicked gleam in her eye. “Mother,” she said quietly, reminding herself to close her mouth. Rona only chuckled, and Kit thought perhaps she’d just had a bonding moment with her mother, though she didn’t know what to think about the queen knowing she was interested in Cassius. He might end up somewhere on the other side of the ocean.

A commotion out on the road caught her attention, and Kit strained to understand what she was looking at. The path to the castle meandered up the side of a hill, so even though the scene was unfolding directly in front of her, it was still some distance away, down the winding road, and she couldn’t quite see through all of the people who had come to watch the proceedings, but the sound of hurried hooves and shouts had her concerned.

“You needn’t worry,” her mother said, reaching out and pulling her daughter back into line. “It’s the delegation from Eastbury arriving.”

Kit looked up at the queen, unsure why that would cause such a fuss, but her mother seemed to be finished speaking.

Zora leaned in to speak to the princess, and Kit turned the other direction. “The army riding in always alarms the people a bit. But it’s nothing to worry about. “

As soon as Zora finished speaking, Kit saw the battle flags and realized the hoofbeats were from the detail her mother had dispatched, likely leaving the assignment now that the caravan from Eastbury had arrived. Kit also spied the familiar blue and red flags that represented the nearest province, and the fanciest of carriages in the line, which likely held her Representative. She was eager to greet him, to make sure he was all right and assure him that he would be well looked after now that he had reached the castle. She had spent much of the evening after the discussion at dinner wondering how he might be. It would be good to see him for herself.

Her mother made a low groaning sound beside her, and Kit turned to look at her again, watching her eyes follow the group of riders as they hurried past the turn that would’ve brought them to their location. Kit raised up on her tiptoes to try to see them, but there were too many obstacles and too great a distance between herself and whatever her mother had noted. It seemed the horsemen—there must’ve been a half dozen or so of them—would be going around the side of the castle to another entrance, which made sense to Kit since they wouldn’t be needing to greet her. The military barracks were on the other side of the castle from her quarters. Still, something had upset her mother, and she couldn’t fathom what it might be. When she looked back at Rona, she realized the queen was whispering something sharply to one of her guards who immediately took off back toward the castle.

“May I ask if you’re all right, Mother?”

“I’m fine, dear,” Rona replied through gritted teeth. “I am only wondering if I’ve made a poor decision.”

“A poor decision about what?”

Before Rona could answer, the guards released the next delegation, and the queen was occupied by a plump woman she seemed to know. The lady introduced the next Representative, and Kit fought her waning focus so that she could pay him the attention he deserved.