Chapter 11
Yalina
I’m startled awake by the fanfare of trumpets.
I sit up, rubbing my eyes, wondering if I imagined it, but the noise goes on and on until I push back the covers.
I’m about to stumble to the balcony to see what on earth is making that commotion when a servant rushes into the room.
Her gaze is firmly fixed on the floor. “A royal visitor, oh, Light of the Sun. I was sent to get you ready.”
“A what?” I blink, trying to remember if Master Solen mentioned this, but I’ve been avoiding the council.
“A prince. People are saying he’s a great prince from very far away. And he’s here to woo you, Light of the Sun.”
I roll my eyes. “We already have one. We do not need another.” Just the thought of another Aurelion makes me yawn and wish I could crawl back into bed.
His mind games are exhausting, as is trying to stay one step ahead of him long enough to breathe.
If I step out of my rooms for a walk, he is there to accompany me.
At every meal I do not take on my balcony I must make conversation while he devours me with his eyes.
I cannot even escape him in my greenhouse. “Where is Master Solen?”
The girl hesitates in the act of laying out a dress for me to wear. “Shall I fetch him, oh, Light of the Sun?”
“Yes. I think you had better.”
She dresses me hastily and rushes off to find my spiritmaster. Another girl comes soon after with coffee and pastries, and I stop her as she places them on the table by the couch. “Is there really a new prince? What is happening?”
“I do not know, Light of the Sun.” She drops into a respectful bow and hurries off.
This is ridiculous. I take a gulp of coffee and stand.
The doors burst open and bang against the walls as I leave my room, and I feel a little sorry for the servant waiting outside who jumps.
“Fetch my council! Tell them to attend me immediately. I do not care if they have not had breakfast.” If Master Harmer thinks to go behind my back and call another suitor here, he is sorely out of line.
Or perhaps it was not Master Harmer. Perhaps it was Master Vos. I have always wondered if she had political alliances beyond Vathira’s walls. Perhaps it is not my power she seeks to undermine, but one of the other advisors—at my expense.
At any rate, I am not a toy in their game.
By the time I come to the council room, I am strung tight like an archer’s bow. I sit at the head of the table, then launch from my seat again with a growl and pace the room.
Master Solen is the first to arrive, and I round on him, unable to hold it in a moment longer. “Who is this prince, and who invited him?”
He bows low. “Good morning, oh, Light of the Sun. I’m afraid I’m just as surprised as you. Perhaps Master Harmer will have an answer for us.”
“He had better.”
The kindly old man smiles at me sympathetically. “Forgive me, Your Highness, I am not as young as I once was. Perhaps we might breakfast together as we decide how best to welcome our new guest?”
Just then, Masters Vos and Tahlir enter and bow, and I sigh. Shouting at my council will not make this problem go away. “Yes, send a servant to bring us something to eat and drink. There’s no time to waste.”
Master Solen leaves and returns soon after, and the others join us. When we are finally sitting around the council table with fragrant fruit tea, bread, and cheese, my anger has faded and my head feels a little cooler. “Can someone please explain to me what is going on?”
They all look at each other around the table.
Master Harmer coughs. “We do not know, Light of the Sun. None of us has invited this new guest.”
Master Vos chimes in. “Your Highness, the whole thing is very odd. I have never heard of the kingdom of Emrakai. Nor of this prince. He comes with such a small retinue. We must be cautious that this is not some political maneuver made by our enemies.”
I nod. “I agree. But if he is real? We should not turn him away until we can find out more.”
Vos nods. “This is true, Light of the Sun. I think you should welcome him as if we were expecting the visit and learn what we can. You must walk a fine line of keeping Prince Aurelion happy until we know who is the better match.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “And if this new prince is more powerful you think I should marry him regardless of my feelings?”
He smiles knowingly at me. “I think if this new prince is more powerful, you may have a reason to follow your feelings, Light of the Sun.”
So my spymaster can tell I do not care for Aurelion.
I wonder if the prince himself can tell.
I have not been very careful to keep my thoughts masked.
He unsettles me too much for that. I must be more cautious until we can see the lay of the land.
But surely any suitor must be better than the dragon prince.
Was I not just lying in bed the other night wishing for an alternative—any alternative? Well now I have one.
I only hope this is not a case where I must regret what was wished for.
“Have the reception rooms prepared,” I tell Master Solen.
I’m so flustered as I return to my rooms to dress properly that Aurelion takes me off guard. He slides around a corner as silent as the dawn, and heat creeps up my neck when he leans close. “What is this I hear about a new guest?”
I wheel around to stare at him. “I think you must have heard the news as soon as I did. Tell me, what have you heard, since you seem to be so well informed.”
He only grins. “I hear I have competition. But do not fear. I’ll be sure to scare him away for you.” The grin stretches wider until his sharp teeth are obvious.
I clamp down on my retort and force a smile onto my face instead. “How kind. But you’re assuming I won’t be able to scare him off myself.”
He laughs. “I should like to watch you try.”
By this point we have reached the entrance to my rooms. I cannot figure out if Aurelion means he would like to watch me fail and grow frustrated or that he would like to watch me while I scare off his competition. Perhaps both. Perhaps he is just trying—as usual—to get under my skin.
I hate that he always succeeds.
I need to be especially calm and level-headed as I manage this difficult situation. At least Aurelion did not seem angered by the suggestion that he has competition. I know Master Solen was worried about this.
Dressed and ready, I stand outside the royal entrance to the throne room and draw in a slow breath, letting it out and forcing out my nerves along with it. I can do this. I can greet a new prince and keep everyone calm and happy, never showing my true feelings.
I set my chin, step forward, and wait while the servant opens the doors for me. Then I stride through the room to take my place on the throne and lift my hand to signal to the herald to let in our visitor.
The doors open. “Prince Noreth of Emrakai, oh, Light of the Sun.”
A tall handsome man steps forward, dressed in fine silks.
Jeweled slippers poke from beneath pure white pants.
His smile is bright as a sun flare, white teeth against bronze skin—so familiar.
And then it hits me. The prince looks exactly like Kaelun, but it can’t be.
My Kaelun was a street thief, a man with no family, living in a disused room above the temple.
This man is a foreign prince, with the retinue and wardrobe to prove it.
He strides forward, and I cannot take my eyes from his face. Everything about the way he moves is so exactly what I remember that I’m mesmerized.
He stops in front of the throne, and I wish I could leap from my throne and ask him if he recognizes me too; if it really is the man I remember. But why wouldn’t he have said something? Why, when I tried to tell him who I was, did he refuse to believe it?
“Her Royal Highness, Solha Yalina, Light of the Sun, Blessing of Vathira.”
The bow he gives me is stilted, awkward, unlike the rest of his movements, as if he is unused to bowing. But does that mean he is indeed a prince or truly the vagabond I met on the streets? I can’t decide.
A tall, well-built man with pale skin and long white hair steps forward carrying a delicate silver box.
I have never seen anyone so young with such pure white hair before.
That and the man’s handsome features and regal bearing distract my attention for a moment, and I stare as he holds out the box.
“Prince Noreth wishes you to have this gift, oh, Light of the Sun. A little gesture of his regard for your beauty.” When he speaks his accent is impossible to place.
The prince says nothing.
A servant hurries over and takes the box from the servant, carrying it up to me.
I open it carefully and find it filled with tiny sweets—candied rose petals, soft sweet dumplings, and intricate molded sugar animals.
It is him! And he does remember. He remembers my sweet tooth.
This is a sign. I’m desperate to know the true story, but it’s impossible to ask him here.
“Thank you.” I want to say more, give him some indication I know who he is, but I cannot think of how to do that with everyone watching us.
At last the prince speaks. “I know my visit must be a surprise. It seems my messengers were lost on the journey. I myself was… waylaid by a sandstorm and lost much of my… retinue.”
It is him! It must be, even his voice sounds the same. But his words are so stilted, as if he is carefully choosing every one.
I do not know what to say. Finally I settle on something equally as stilted. “Well, it was so good of you to travel all this way to bring me this little gift. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“To a desire to know you better, oh, Light of the Sun.”
My heart skips inside my chest. This is exactly what I wished for. A chance to choose for myself. To choose the man I want.
I hand the gift box to one of my servants and let my smile show—for once not a courtly mockery, but my true smile. “And I think I would like to know you better also, Your Highness. Won’t you tell me more of your ah… your journey here?”