Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Sabine entered the royal family’s private dining room.
Since she was the first to arrive, she headed out onto the balcony.
A light breeze blew, caressing her skin and offering a reprieve from the excessive heat.
Leaning on the railing, she thought over everything she needed to do once Lottie was arrested in a few short hours.
If something went wrong, she’d need a back-up plan.
If there was one thing she’d learned from Evander, it was that nothing ever went according to plan, so she had to be prepared.
“I’m graced with a moment alone with you,” Axel said as he sauntered onto the balcony.
Sabine twisted around to face him.
He stopped before her, blinking several times. “That’s another magnificent outfit.” He pulled the collar of his shirt away from his neck.
This was one of the more subdued dresses she’d had made.
The pale pink fabric clung to her with thin straps over her shoulders, widening to cover her breasts before falling in a straight, graceful line.
Slits on either side revealed long stretches of her legs.
A strand of silver wrapped around her waist, holding the fabric in place.
“It seems that no matter what you wear, whether it’s Lynk fashion or a new trend you’re setting, you’re lovely. Exquisite even.”
“You’re such a tease.” She laughed, shoving Axel’s shoulder.
He rolled his eyes. “I’m serious. You light up a room.”
Her eyes narrowed, considering him. He couldn’t possibly know what she had planned for after supper. “Why the sudden compliments?” If he knew she’d ordered Lottie’s arrest thereby condemning him, he might be trying to get in her good graces.
He shrugged. “I think the entire situation is rather ironic. You didn’t want to dress in Lynk fashion, but Rainer forced it on you. Now, you’re the epitome of Lynk. You’re everything he wished for and more.”
“I’m not sure that constitutes irony.”
He took a step closer to her, lowering his voice. “If you weren’t our queen, if you weren’t married to Rainer, every man in this palace would be vying for your affection, myself included.”
“I doubt that,” she replied, wanting to lighten the mood. She wasn’t used to Axel being like this with her. “Have you been drinking?”
He laughed. “Oh Sabine, you have no idea.”
She stopped paying attention to him when she noticed Anton enter the room.
Anton went over to the side table, pouring himself a drink before coming out on the balcony and joining them. “There’s a League meeting tomorrow. As soon as supper is over, I’m leaving.” He took a large gulp from his glass.
“Why is there a League meeting?” Sabine asked.
Anton stood a few feet away, his gaze going from Axel to Sabine before saying, “The League has a few matters to discuss.” He took another sip.
That was vague. “Is Evander going with you?”
“Evander?” Axel said. “Isn’t that Prince Evander to you?” His eyes narrowed.
Sabine felt her face warm—she’d need to be more careful with how she spoke about and addressed the Avoni prince so others wouldn’t question her relationship with the man.
“He is,” Anton said, taking another sip.
“How long will you be gone for?” she asked.
“I expect to be back in two or three days.”
Evander entered the dining room, heading straight out onto the balcony. “My queen,” he said, lifting Sabine’s hand to his lips. His mouth lingered against her skin, his eyes holding hers with a heat that made it hard to breathe.
She wanted to melt into him.
He turned to Anton. “I’m ready to leave when you are.”
Anton gave a curt nod. “As soon as this is over, we’ll take off.” He took another sip.
“Where’s the king?” Evander asked, releasing Sabine’s hand.
“Who the hell knows,” Axel said. “He’ll be here when he’s done doing whatever or whomever he’s doing.”
Sabine’s face flushed from the embarrassment of having Rainer’s affair so casually flaunted before other people, especially Evander.
“Your kingdom is very different from mine,” Evander said, sliding his hands in his pockets.
He came and stood beside Sabine, mimicking her position.
His shoulder brushed hers. “In Avoni, when we marry, we only are intimate with our partner. I don’t understand why you’d marry someone only to be with another. ”
Anton snorted. “You have an arranged marriage to Lottie. You can’t tell me you plan on being monogamous with someone you don’t even know.”
Evander tilted his head to the side. “In Avoni, when we marry, we make a vow to that person to be true. In my kingdom, we honor our vows.”
“Huh.” Anton took a sip from his cup. “What if you hate the person you’re married to?”
Evander considered him. “Why would that change anything?”
“If you don’t like that person, and that’s the only person you can be with—”
“Then that’s the only person I’ll be with.
I don’t understand why that’s so hard for you to grasp.
Let’s say, for example, that I married Sabine.
If I married her, made a vow to her, I would never lie to her, I would never cheat on her, and I would never forsake her.
” He glanced sidelong at her. “What’s it like in Bakley? ”
She licked her lips. “It’s the same in Bakley. We do not take lovers outside of our marriage.”
“Really?” Anton said. “I find this fascinating. I can see if you married someone you love, but an arranged marriage? A marriage for political reasons? That seems far-fetched. I can’t imagine being forced to marry someone, then only sleeping with that one person the rest of my life—especially if I didn’t like that person. ”
Axel chuckled. “Evander, you might change your mind after spending some time with Lottie.”
“I will be true to my wife until the day one of us dies,” Evander said.
Axel slapped Evander on the back. “That explains it—if your wife is annoying, you’ll just kill her.”
Evander held up a hand, a smile sliding over his face. “While I believe in not cheating on my spouse,” Evander mused, “I have no qualms about killing one.”
Sabine laughed, knowing Evander was joking. He was an assassin, in charge of a ruthless assassin guild, but he would never kill someone on a whim. Having spent so much time with him, she knew his heart.
Rainer chose that moment to enter, Lottie at his side.
Sabine’s laughter died in her throat. “Why is she here?”
“She is Evander’s fiancée.” Anton took another sip of his drink, finishing it off. “At least he didn’t bring Heather.”
“Probably because of Prince Evander,” Axel mumbled. “He’s afraid he’ll push Sabine straight to the prince’s bed if he keeps flaunting her around.”
Sabine looked at him, considering his words. “Is that true? Is that why she hasn’t been around as much?”
Axel shrugged. “If I were in Rainer’s position, and I had a beautiful woman I’d just married and a rival prince showed up, I’d tread very carefully. You’ve played your cards well, Sabine.” He winked then headed inside, welcoming his brother.
“Shall we?” Evander asked, holding out his arm to escort her.
“I’m sorry about last night,” she whispered. “Nothing happened between Rainer and me.” She slid her hand on his arm, reveling in the warmth and feel of him.
“Oh, I know.” He chuckled. “The entire thing felt like a setup. I could tell he wanted a reaction out of me—or you.” He led her toward the dining room. His free hand came up, covering her hand on his arm. “Though it would be well within your rights since you’re married to the man.”
“Evander.” She didn’t want to make light of the situation.
“Of course, if he took advantage of you, I’d either go insane or kill the man with my bare hands.” Evander released her as they stepped into the dining room. He went over toward Lottie, taking her hand and bowing over it.
Smug satisfaction filled her when she noticed he didn’t kiss Lottie’s hand like he’d kissed hers.
She went and took her place at the head of the table, opposite Rainer.
Evander and Lottie sat on one side, Anton and Axel on the other.
Once they were all seated, the servants brought in dishes of fish, rice, and vegetables.
“Prince Evander,” Lottie said as she scooped food onto her plate, “why don’t you tell me about Avoni. I would like to know about the kingdom I’ll be living in.”
“It’s the opposite of Lynk,” he replied. “It’s cloudy, cold, and it rains all the time.” He waved his hand at her. “You’ll need to dress differently there, not only warmer, but more reserved to suit Avoni fashion.”
“Oh.” Lottie pouted her lip. “I adore the fashion here in Lynk.”
“Our own queen has become quite the trendsetter,” Axel said, a wicked glean to his eyes. “Queen Sabine truly is the epitome of what a Lynk queen should be. We are lucky to have her.” He raised his glass, saluting her.
“When I was training with your men,” Evander said, “the sentiment was shared by many. Almost every soldier commented on Queen Sabine’s beauty—many saying it’s unmatched.”
“I’ve also heard many talk about her kindness,” Axel added.
Sabine didn’t know what Axel was trying to do, but she wished he wouldn’t push Rainer.
“It has been a long time since we’ve had a queen on our throne,” Anton commented before he, too, saluted Sabine with his glass of wine.
Not knowing how to respond to these unnecessary compliments, Sabine simply raised her glass in thanks, taking a sip of the heady wine.
Lottie’s eyes narrowed as she looked between Anton, Axel, and Evander. Reaching out, she set a hand on Evander’s arm, garnering his attention. “What’s the queen of Avoni like?”
“Queen Serilda has been trained in the art of assassination, as most women in Avoni are,” Evander said. “My mother and father live in one of our more centrally located palaces. My sister, the heir, lives with her family in another palace.”
“Which palace will we live in?” Lottie asked. Her smile had gotten larger at the mention of multiple palaces.