Chap 15
"No flower was ever invited into the council chamber."
Penny's favorite attendant muttered the words while dragging her down another endless corridor.
The woman walked entirely too fast.
When the thick door was opened the attendant bowed silently.
Then pushed Penny in.
The surprise was on every face made her attendant's words obvious.
A Vampire lord paused mid-conversation when she entered giving a look of disgust as if someone had opened their lunchbox while he had been talking.
Generals exchanged glances.
One elderly noble nearly dropped the papers he had been carrying.
Only one man not the king, did not seem surprised.
He stood near the council table in a dark military coat, decorated in medals beyond the others, with crystal-white hair tied back with a black cord from a face carved into sharp, disciplined lines. His eyes followed Penny the moment she entered.
The attention unsettled her enough that she looked away first.
The king ignored them all.
His hand settled against the small of Penny's back whispering.
"I will make sure Nyx is yours."
The magic translated his gift of the attendant to her, and she smiled up at him.
But his eyes were on his throne where he was guiding her too.
The room fell silent as they all watched a flower smiling adoringly up at their king.
Even the white-haired general's expression tightened almost imperceptibly.
The king seemed pleased by her reaction to his newest gift to her as he pulled her down into his lap as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
The queen's smile froze.
Just for a moment.
Her gaze lingered on the ribbon.
Then the dress.
Then Penny.
The smile returned.
Penny wished it hadn't.
Maps were unrolled.
Messengers arrived.
Reports were read.
Trade routes.
Taxes.
Border disputes.
Human villages requesting an increase in flowers for the year.
That one almost made Penny sit up.
Then the discussion wandered into grain storage.
Warm satisfaction drifted through the strange bond between them.
Penny smiled to herself.
The petal trick was brilliant.
For a moment their eyes met.
Penny felt his quiet pleasure.
Not over the meeting.
Not over the reports.
Over her understanding them through him.
The feeling brushed against her own satisfaction so closely that she almost couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.
The realization made her look away quickly.
Fear twisted through her.
Not of the king.
Of the queen.
If the queen noticed the looks they shared, noticed the strange connection between them, Penny was certain whatever she was planning would happen sooner.
The meeting continued.
Someone began explaining shipping tariffs.
Penny lasted almost three minutes before the numbers started making her head hurt.
The garden was more fun than this.
The complaint slipped through the magic before she could stop it.
The king smiled.
A slow smile.
Yet beneath it she felt his attention sharpen.
Puzzled.
Still trying to understand the flash of fear that had come from her moments before.
Without interrupting the speaker, his hand moved to her back.
Gently rubbing small circles there.
Penny frowned.
The circles continued.
Unfortunately, they felt nice.
Very nice.
The chair was comfortable.
The king was warm.
Well...
Warm because she was warming him.
Which somehow made the whole thing of sitting in the lap of friend's crush, more wicked feeling.
Her eyelids grew heavy.
The discussion shifted to livestock.
Penny lost the battle.
Curling against him, she tucked her head beneath his chin and let sleep claim her.
The last thing she felt was the king's quiet satisfaction.
The next was a soft kiss pressed against the top of her head.
Penny blinked awake.
The king was standing.
Strong hands settled on her waist and lifted her effortlessly to her feet.
Most of the council had already departed.
Only a handful remained, gathering papers and rolling maps.
Across the chamber, the queen watched her.
Hatred simmered behind her smile.
Penny felt it immediately.
Then she noticed someone else.
A young man stood near the far wall.
Watching her.
Not a vampire.
Human.
The realization caught her off guard.
No velvet.
No jewels.
No elaborate displays of wealth.
Just a dark military coat with silver embroidery at the cuffs.
His skin carried the warmth of sunlight.
His dark eyes were sharper than any vampire's she had met.
Something about the intensity of his attention made Penny lower her gaze first.
The king's hand tightened briefly around hers.
Reluctant.
As though he disliked letting her go.
His fingers lingered until the last possible moment.
Then he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles.
The room went strangely quiet.
"Come amuse her in the garden until the ball."
The command drew surprised looks from both the queen and the nobles still gathering papers.
The young man stepped forward immediately.
No hesitation.
No questions.
The king rested a hand on his shoulder.
"This is my son."
The meaning flowed through the magic.
Penny stumbled over the unfamiliar word.
Prince.
The old magic immediately confirmed it.
The king guided her hand into the crook of his son's arm.
For a brief moment, something unreadable crossed his face.
Then it vanished.
His hand rose to Penny's cheek.
His thumb brushed softly across her lips.
The familiar tenderness made her heart stumble.
As he spoke to the prince, she felt the meaning through the bond.
"She doesn't understand our words."
As he smiled warmly into her face.
"But she enjoys being spoken to."
Then came something else.
A feeling he didn't put into words.
Trust.
Deep and absolute.
The certainty that she belonged beside him.
Beneath it, another purpose.
Smaller.
Sharper.
Hidden beneath everything else.
A task.
The feeling brushed against her mind so quickly she almost missed it.
Listen.
Not to the council.
Not to the queen.
To his son.
The realization made Penny blink.
The king's expression never changed.
His thumb still rested against her cheek.
His smile still looked warm.
Yet beneath that warmth, she felt it.
The same quiet expectation he had carried during the meeting.
He had shared his council with her.
Now he wanted her to share his son.
Not with affection.
With information.
The queen's fingers tightened around the arms of her chair.
"What if I need him?"
The sharpness in her voice made Penny tense immediately.
The king finally looked at her.
"You won't."
The queen's smile became brittle.
Cold.
Dangerous.
"We still need to discuss last night."
The words were calm.
Far too calm.
The effect was immediate.
The few nobles lingering near the doors suddenly remembered urgent business elsewhere.
One messenger nearly dropped a stack of reports in his haste to leave.
A general abandoned a conversation mid-sentence.
Within moments, only the royal family remained.
Penny didn't understand.
But everyone else clearly did.
The prince offered her his arm.
No hesitation.
No glance toward his mother.
The queen watched him go.
For the first time, Penny saw something beneath the hatred.
Worry.
Real worry.
The heavy doors closed behind them.
Only then did Penny realize she had been holding her breath.
The tension eased from her shoulders.
Beside her, the prince noticed.
"Prints Saidbadton."
Penny smiled proudly.
The prince laughed.
A real laugh this time.
"How about Seb?"
He pressed her hand against his chest again.
"Seb."
"Seb." she repeated.
His smile widened.
"Perfect."
Finally releasing her hand, he guided her farther down the path.
Penny immediately shoved her free hand into the pocket she had discovered earlier.
A pocket.
Actual pockets.
Flowers weren't allowed pockets.
Her fingers closed triumphantly around the stolen perfume bottle.
The prince continued speaking.
Pointing out trees.
Buildings.
People.
Patiently teaching her words.
Penny was mispronouncing as many as she could.
And nodding whenever it seemed appropriate.
In reality, she wasn't listening.
She had important things to do.
A mermaid was waiting.
A sea prince was trapped behind a gate.
A wish spell still needed seawater.
And now she had somehow acquired a prince.
A prince.
The one thing she needed even less than another vampire.
Beside her, Seb smiled.
Completely unaware that Penny's thoughts had already moved on to the much more important question.
How exactly did one lose a prince?