Page 3 of The Rook

The smallest movement from Madrid caught her attention. He shot her a disapproving look that screamed:Act like a Hound, like a lady. The two statements were not mutually exclusive; however, Tempest had witnessed many of her Hound uncles using blades to clean their teeth.Though I venture they never did so at the king’s table.With a grimace, she slid the dagger back into its sheath at her hip. She was drawing more attention to herself than she wanted.

A feminine snigger—an unexpected noise considering there were but three women at the table—reached her ears. Tempest did not imagine the snigger belonged to the single other woman on the war council, and so could only conclude that its source belonged to none other than the king’s one and only daughter Princess Ansette.

Interesting.

Tempest bent forward slightly to look down the right-hand side of the table and caught the princess’s eye. The teenage girl was smiling at her. It was not mocking, nor disgusted, nor forced.

It was genuine.

Perhaps not everyone in the royal family is so bad,Tempest thought, risking a smile in return.Perhaps there is hope for one of them yet.

TWO

Tempest

Tempest hid her smirk as the youngest royal continued to exchange secretive smiles with her across the table as servants came in to clear the dishes and bring out sumptuous, rich desserts for everyone to sample. Chocolate cakes shot through with dark coffee beans, topped with impossibly light and airy whisked cream. Exotic fruits macerated in vanilla sugar and liquor were served with wafer-thin shortbread and a brandy chaser. Her mouth watered as flaky cinnamon pastries were set near her. Her favorite. While the evening had been ghastly, at least something good had come from the night. She took a bite, and cinnamon goodness exploded across her taste buds. She hadn’t enjoyed the taste of one since—

Before my trial. When Juniper pilfered some from the kitchensfor me.

She lowered the pastry to her plate, the icing sticking to herfingers. Tempest’s heart stung merely thinking of her best friend. She had not spoken to Juniper since her return from the shifter village, for fear that she would open her mouth and all the secrets and lies she had become privy to would pour out. While she longed to speak to someone who wasn’t stuck in her tangled web of lies, she couldn’t put Juniper at risk. The king viewed all shifters as expendable, and if he discovered Tempest’s treachery… Well, it wouldn’t go well for her loved ones. She wouldn’t put more of a target on her best friend’s back than was already there, if she could help it.

Tempest wiped the frosting from her fingers and glanced to her right. Levka stood in a group of young men, his laughter boisterous and loud like his father’s. She quickly turned her attention back to the table, her gaze scanning the sweet delicacies while her hands fidgeted in her lap. She’d been avoiding him, too, though for entirely different reasons. After he’d professed his attraction and kissed her a week ago, it was far too difficult to face him. She’d never been a coward, but how was she supposed to tell him she didn’t want him in that way without making things awkward?

Then there was the timing of it all. He’d never shown the slightest inclination toward her until she’d passed her trials and gained a place on the war council. Was he courting her just to gain status? Her lips pursed. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities. Others had courted and married for less.

Temp sighed. Now was not the time to be worrying over such trivial matters.

“You have sighed a lot tonight, Lady,” Madrid said, once more speaking so quietly that nobody else heard him—except for Ansette, who was still watching Tempest with a curious look in her eye.

Tempest forced a smile to her face. “I am tired, that is all. I look forward to the end of this meal so that I might retire to bed.”

Madrid let out a huff of laughter. “You are on the council now. Your days of escaping social gatherings in favor of sleep are long since over.”

“Perhaps I should reassess my life choices,” she joked back, though it was not a joke at all. She’d spent much of the last week doubting and cursing every choice she had made that resulted in her being there, at the wicked King of Heimserya’s table, with the intention of bringing him and his coconspirators down. Her stomach swooped.

Even if his coconspirators were her uncles. Even if they were her family.

She retreated into her own head as the desserts were cleared from the table and people began rising from their seats to mingle with one another, goblets of wine and glasses of fire whiskey in hand. Tempest made certain to avoid both princes when she stood up, as well as the king, and in the process of doing so found herself standing next to Ansette.

The young princess curled her lips into the smallest of smiles. “My dear father is about to make an announcement I believe you may quite like, Lady Hound.”

That was debatable.“Tempest is fine,” she replied. “Or Temp. I am not one for formalities.” She blinked slowly at the words that had carelessly passed her lips. It wasn’t done in court circles to refer to each other so informally. What the devil had possessed her to say such a thing?

“Then call me Ansette,” the young princess said, her smile growing wider.

Temp eyed the princess, a true smile on her face for the firsttime all night. She didn’t know what it was about Ansette that made her feel comfortable, but she seemed like a kindred spirit. The way the princess scanned the room spoke of maturity and knowledge above her fourteen years. It was as if she was somehow aware of everything that was going on. While she seemed on the surface to be a quiet, mousy girl with large spectacles, Tempest could see confidence gleaming in Ansette’s gaze.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, pulling Tempest’s focus to King Destin as he raised himself up to his full formidable height and accepted a new glass of fire whiskey.

“Here comes the announcement,” Ansette muttered, her eyes wide behind her huge, round spectacles.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” King Destin said, smiling broadly for everyone in the room. “Dear friends and family. I’m sure some of you are aware of what I’m about to tell you already, and it will no doubt become common knowledge spread all across the capital tomorrow. Therefore, it is my responsibility this evening to tell each and every one of you some very exciting, important news.” The king glanced at his sons, who did not look all that enthralled by this supposedly exciting news.

Interesting. What was he all about? His sons certainly aren’t happy.

“It is my pleasure to announce that both of my sons are being sent as ambassadors to our brethren in Kopal,” King Destin announced. “This is a promising move for Heimserya and should mark the beginning of a long, happy, and very fruitful relationship with our new allies.”

An alliance with the giants of Kopal. A bold move.