“No, I’m not. Now dry those tears.”
She swiped her cheeks and straightened. “But… but I promised.”
“When you sent your brother, you believed you were helping me?”
She nodded emphatically. “He’s a good man. And he can understand you—more than you think.”
I very much doubted that, but I also understood the blinding power of sibling love.
“Then I can’t be cross with you. If the roles were reversed, I couldn’t have kept such a secret from Teller, either.” I brushed away a stray tear from her cheek and smiled. “You’ve been a very thoughtful friend, and I’m going to need that friendship in the days ahead.”
Her face brightened. “Oh yes, I’ll do anything you need!”
“Do you know of any way to bring Teller here without anyone in the palace seeing him?”
“Easy,” she said, a smile finally breaking through. “I sneak in and out of the palace all the time.”
I laughed. Teenagers would be teenagers, Descended or mortal. “Perfect. Bring him here tomorrow. I don’t mind if Luther knows, but please, tell no one else.”
“My lips are sealed—really this time.” She threw her arms around my neck, crushing me against her. “Thank you so much, Di—um, I mean, Your Majesty.”
“None of that. Call me Diem.”
I returned the hug with a warm squeeze. Lily was a good soul, and I suspected my brother cared for her more than he let on. I would have to protect the Princess from my plans as much as I possibly could.
But destroying her brother, her entire family—there would be no way to spare her the pain of those consequences.
Luther finally joined us. “Lily, it’s getting quite late and you have school tomorrow. You should get to bed.”
She rolled her eyes. “We have a Queen for the first time in centuries, and you expect me to sleep?”
“I can order him to let you stay up,” I offered. “If he says no, I’ll have him beheaded.”
Lily giggled. “I suppose I’ll have to decline. He does love to say no, and I’m rather fond of his head.”
“Lucky for me,” he said dryly.
Lily raised up on her toes to kiss his cheek, and he hunched over to give her an easier reach. It was, to my deep irritation, rather adorable. She ambushed me with a final hug, then threw Luther a coy grin as she headed out of the room.
Once she was gone, Luther eyed me carefully. “She seemed happy.”
I shrugged. “She’s a happy girl.”
“You didn’t punish her.” An observation—and a subtle question.
“Of course not. She’s still young. Misplaced as her faith in you may be, I’m not such a monster that I’ll hold it against her.”
A shadow crossed over his face. “Thank you for that,” he said quietly.
A long, awkward silence passed. I glanced around the room, looking for someone, anyone, to save me from this conversation.
“You handled the meeting extremely well,” Luther said.
My chest warmed at his compliment, and I internally scolded myself for it.
“I meant what I said earlier,” he went on. “Whatever your plans with the Crown, we can help. I can help.”
“An hour ago, you tried to threaten me into choosing your House.” I crossed my arms. “In fact, that’s the third time you’ve threatened my life since dawn.”
“I didn’t—” He scrubbed his face, his calm facade beginning to fracture. “Those were misunderstandings. I have never intended you any harm. What I said earlier was a warning, not a threat. If the other Houses find out about you, they’ll be breathing down your neck.”
“Maybe that’s what I want.” I shrugged. “Maybe they’ll have a better offer for me than House Corbois.”
He worked his jaw. “If that’s your wish, I will set up some meetings discreetly—without my family’s knowledge. But if you choose another House, you’ll be entirely alone. At least here, you have allies.”
I snorted. “Like who, you?”
“Yes,” he growled. “And Lily. And others—people who are not loyal to House Corbois or to my father. People who will be loyal to you, if you get to know them.”
I studied his face, scouring it for some trace of the scheme I was sure he must be hiding. “How did you know the truth about my father?”
“I didn’t. I guessed.”
And now I’d just confirmed it.
I groaned and rubbed my temples. “You just announced my biggest secret to your entire family. What happened to telling them as little as possible?”
“You left me no choice. If you try to pass yourself off as the first-ever mortal Crown, you’ll be dead in a week. Telling them you’re half-mortal isn’t ideal either, but they can’t punish you for it now that you’re Queen. It was the safer option. Besides…” His head cocked in a predatory tilt. “We both know you have far bigger secrets than that.”
I stilled, my voice dropping to a low hiss. “And what of your secrets, Prince? You stole one of mine. I think I’m owed one in return.”
His expression shuttered as he silently looked away.
“Where is my mother, Luther?”
More silence.
My anger spiked, hands fisting. “Where is she?”
His head whipped toward me, his gaze hard and dark as night. He leaned his face down to mine and opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, a third figure sauntered toward us, and his lips snapped shut.
“Your Majesty,” Aemonn said smoothly, coming to stand so close beside me that his knuckles grazed the edge of my hip.
Not an accident, I suspected.
He gave a deep nod, though his glittering eyes never left mine. “I pray your introduction to our family was not terribly overwhelming.”
“Not at all,” I said, my smile tight. “Your father was particularly charming.”
Aemonn clicked his tongue. “Calling you a half-breed… such vulgar words. I beg your forgiveness for his behavior. The events of the day have been a shock for him.” His gaze flicked to Luther, and his expression turned smug. “For all of us, I imagine.”
“Interesting,” Luther said icily, “given how often I’ve heard those same words from your mouth.”
Aemonn didn’t flinch, his brilliant smile only growing. “You’re mistaken, cousin. Perhaps your own involvement with the half-mortal children is coloring your memory.”
I glanced between the two men, fascinated by their frozen glares and tense posture. These two definitely didn’t like each other.
Aemonn’s attention returned to me and warmed. “I’d be happy to give you a tour of the palace grounds tomorrow. That is, if you can escape the clutches of your royal babysitter here.”
Luther stiffened. “That won’t be necess—”
“What a kind offer,” I interrupted. “I’d love to. After all, if I’m to accept this proposal, I should get to know my future cousins.” I smiled sweetly at Luther. “Don’t you agree?”
He stared at me with that stony look of his, a silent warning in the flare of his nostrils. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”