"Surely, with your newly acquired Affiliate status, you will be placed on one of the smaller ships with other Affiliates," Nyasha offered, her eyes gleaming.
"Oh, surely," Cyrene agreed good-naturedly. "As long as Prince Kael doesn"t request I be moved."
"And why would he do that?" Jardana asked. Her high voice was as tight as a whip about to crack.
"Now, I trust you ladies," she said, "so I know you will speak of this to no one. Prince Kael has requested I call him by his given name...as if we"re equals."
Nyasha, Cheala, and Adelas slowly turned and peered at Jardana. She seemed to be boiling over, ready to combust at any moment. Maelia covered her mouth with her hand.
"How wonderful," Jardana snapped.
Just then, Cyrene noticed a figure walking toward them on the gra.s.s path she had taken this morning. The four other women turned around when they noticed her looking.
A smile spread across Cyrene"s features. She had never been more pleased to see the Prince. An image of a crown on his head popped into her mind, and she had to remember that it had just been a dream, a reality that would never occur.
Even from the distance, he was devilishly handsome. His Dremylon green silk shirt fit perfectly on his muscled chest. Muddy brown leather riding boots reached the knees of his chestnut-brown pants. His hair, which was a bit too long for royal custom, was tousled, and his cheeks were flushed, like he had recently been on horseback.
Jardana and her friends preened as he walked slowly up the steps into the gazebo.
"Ladies." Prince Kael swept them a deep bow.
"Prince Kael," Cyrene said with a heady flirtatious smile and hooded eyes. "So nice of you to join us."
To the Prince"s credit, he didn"t even skip a beat. "It is always a pleasure to spend time with such beautiful women."
"You flatter us," Jardana murmured, her high-pitched voice straining.
"You give me much to flatter," he said. His blue-gray eyes met each woman before returning to Cyrene. She could see the questions in his expression, but he was too much of a skilled courtier to speak of any of them. "I"ve never seen so many attractive women congregated in one place."
"To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Jardana asked hastily.
"Consort Daufina has requested an audience with Affiliate Cyrene," he announced as if the news would not strike a chord with the entire group.
Cyrene always wanted a proper audience with the Consort, and the other girls were as devoted to the Queen as Cyrene was against her.
"Really?" Cyrene breathed.
He inclined his head in the affirmative. "I was out hunting with the King and Consort. When we returned, I offered to come and find Cyrene myself as I knew she liked to study in the gardens."
"Well, thank the Creator you are so well acquainted with Cyrene"s whereabouts," Jardana murmured under tightly veiled anger. "The girls and I were just leaving anyway. Weren"t we, girls?"
The girls tripped over themselves to rise and agree with Jardana.
"I was about to leave as well. Consort Daufina paired me with a member of the High Order, and I am to meet him shortly," Maelia said.
When Cyrene met her gaze, Maelia winked. Cyrene would have laughed at Maelia"s made-up excuse to leave, thinking Cyrene wanted to be alone with Kael, but in actuality, it was the last thing she wanted.
"Until next time, Cyrene," Jardana said. She waggled her fingers at Cyrene and turned to Prince Kael. "Your Highness." She dipped a low formal curtsy and then stalked out of the gazebo with her entourage hot on her tail.
Cyrene"s false smile fell away as the girls disappeared around the corner, and she was left with Prince Kael.
"Do you wish for me to accompany you?" the Prince asked, providing his arm for support.
Cyrene retrieved her leather folder and tucked it under her arm. "I don"t want to go anywhere with you."
"And here I thought you had a change of heart. Court has transformed you since that first night. It appears you can play the game well enough now," he remarked snidely.
"I"m nothing like you."
"On the contrary, I think you played that even better than I would have." His face clouded with desire.
"You are sleeping with her, aren"t you?" Cyrene accused.
He laughed and reached out for her slim waist. She dodged his approach, rushed past him out of the gazebos, navigating the gardens with him hot on her heels.
"What gives you that idea?" he called out to her.
"You"re vile."
The Prince yanked on her elbow, pulling her to a standstill. "You"re so feisty, Cyrene," he said with a soft chuckle.
Still holding on to her elbow, he forcefully pulled her against him. She gasped and glared up into his blue-gray eyes as she tried to wiggle free from his tight embrace.
"Tell me why I should not be with her. Is it because you secretly harbor a desire for me? Is it because you long for me to return to your chambers?"
"Never," she snarled.
"Then, why did you speak my name at the Ring of Gardens?"
Cyrene froze. "I am to speak of that to no one."
"You said my name when you left the dreams. I was there. I heard you cry out. Was I there in your future?"
"You will never know," she snapped. She placed her free palm on his chest and shoved away. "Now, leave me alone." She stalked away from him, continuing through the gardens.
Kael followed behind her, ignoring her request. "Come now, Cyrene. You can"t avoid me forever."
He caught up to her again and latched on to her cloak billowing out behind her. The tug stopped her in her tracks once again.
She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "I"m not avoiding you. I have somewhere to be."
He ran his fingers over the soft material. "Where did you get this?"
Cyrene pulled it out of his grasp. "It was a gift."
"From whom?" he asked.
"I a.s.sumed it was a present for completing the tests." She hadn"t even spoken that thought aloud to Maelia, and now, she was telling the Prince of all people. The man could get under her skin.
Prince Kael barked out a short derisive laugh, but his face looked anything but happy. "Presents are not given for completing the Ring of Gardens."
Cyrene absorbed the information. She knew that she had been grasping, but she had wanted to brush aside the expensive gift as nothing more than a present for her accomplishments. She didn"t want to read into what Prince Kael"s eyes were suggesting.
"It doesn"t matter," she said, pulling the cloak out of his hands. That wasn"t the truth though. If the gift wasn"t for completing the tests, then she could only imagine a few people who had access to such rich material.
No. I"m not thinking about that at all.
Cyrene glared at him one more time and then started to walk away. She didn"t want to have this conversation anyway.
"I wouldn"t let Kaliana see you in that," he called after her. His laughter followed her out of the gardens.
Prince Kael put her on edge.
Now, she had thoughts swirling through her mind about her mysterious cloak. She had waited for this moment her whole life, and now, she couldn"t even concentrate on the fact that she had been summoned to speak with the Consort.
Cyrene reached the room where the Consort conducted her business. The noise and hectic behavior of the Queen"s rooms were replaced with laughter and the strumming of a harp. Only a select few Affiliates and members of the High Order lounged within the rectangular hall. It was a communal place of educational advancement, deep philosophical discussion, and entertainment that resulted in enlightened attainment.
An elaborately painted mural covered every inch of wall s.p.a.ce from floor to ceiling. It was as if she were entering a forest with hundreds of trees, gorgeous green undergrowth, and birds in the brightest colors imaginable. A panther stalked the forest floor on one side. Dozens of monkeys swung on the branches high above their heads.
Candles floated around the otherwise dim room, illuminating the atmosphere. A tiered fountain produced the faint sound of water trickling from the canopy. Affiliates rested on forest-green settees, and countless pillows that resembled a pebble-bottom river ran through the moss-blanketed room.
The men of the High Order sat in hard-backed oak chairs around a matching table that appeared to be coming out of the largest painted tree in the room. It was an unbelievably big oak that stretched beyond the wall and into the ceiling.
The most striking aspect of the mural was that the leaves only grew on one half of the tree. It gave the appearance of the tree being perpetually stuck in both summer and winter seasons-forever half alive and half dead. She could feel the power coming off the mural. It spoke of caution, the duality of nature, and perhaps the duality of the human condition.
She shook off the thoughts that had come over her and tore her eyes from the mural. Thus far, no one had noticed her appearance in the Consort"s chambers. She hated to interrupt the few people who were deeply involved in their work.
Suddenly, a door materialized out of thin air, peeling back one of the larger trees as it sprang open against the far wall. Consort Daufina stood regally in the open doorway. She was as majestic as the last time Cyrene had set eyes on her. She wore a gown with mult.i.tiered skirts beginning at her waist with the palest of lavenders deepening to the darkest amethyst at her feet. The tight corset dress interwoven with amethysts rose to a sweetheart neck, and soft sheer lace covered her arms and b.u.t.toned at her neck. Her midnight-black hair hung loose over her shoulders.
"Affiliate Cyrene," she said cheerfully. She waved Cyrene into the alcove she had just vacated.
Her study mirrored the outside forest, and the Consort reclined in a cushioned chair placed at a small circular table. As Cyrene took the seat next to her, as directed, she realized there was no head to the table. The thought made her smile.
"Would you care for some tea?" Daufina"s bracelets jingled on her arm as she motioned toward a teapot sitting over a burning fire.
"No, thank you, Consort Daufina."
Consort Daufina chirped with laughter. She seemed much more relaxed than any time Cyrene had seen her outside of these walls.
"Please, no need for formalities. This is my sanctuary, my escape. I refuse t.i.tles here. You will simply be Cyrene, and I will simply be Daufina."
"Of course, Daufina." It felt strange to say her name aloud.
Cyrene had only ever been around the Consort at her Presenting, on feast days, and during the Ring of Gardens ceremony.
"See? We"re already close friends," she said. "I"m sure you are wondering why I requested your presence this afternoon."
"I am, Daufina."
"If you keep saying my name like it"s a t.i.tle, then I"m going to make you call me Daffy for the rest of our meeting. You"ll get over the t.i.tle quite snappy then." Daufina smiled.
Cyrene giggled into her hand. "Has someone really called you Daffy?"
"I"ll have you know that my father did until I was seventeen. It was nearly impossible to get him to cease once I made Affiliate. He still starts all his letters to me with "Dear Daffy,"" she said with dismay. "At least he addresses me as Consort while he"s at court."
Cyrene had never thought about what the Consort"s past had been like-whether she was happy or how her friends and family treated her before or after her t.i.tle.
"I think I"ll stick with Daufina. It"s rather beautiful, if I do say so."
"Thank you. It"s a family name. Every first daughter across the generations has it. Can you imagine what it is like to get the entire clan together?" She rolled her eyes.
"No wonder your father called you Daffy."
"Yes, I suppose that was one reason." Daufina laughed along with Cyrene. "But enough about my embarra.s.sing history. I would like to make a request from you."
"Oh?" Cyrene lifted her eyebrows.
"I"m not sure if you are aware, but I ride alongside Edric during the procession. It is part of my duty as his Consort to entertain him. I"d heard the ch.o.r.e was burdensome, but I find it delightful. Edric is a wonderful man and ruler to his people. He cares for each one of them, and he makes it easy for me as he has many interests. And I believe you are one of those interests," she said with a smile reminiscent of a feline.
"Me?" Cyrene gasped.
"Indeed." Daufina examined Cyrene rather closely. "For instance, that cloak you are wearing on your shoulders, where did you get it?"
Her mouth went dry. "It was a gift."
"I"ve seen that craftsmanship before." She reached out and touched the soft material between her multi-ringed fingers. "It is the work of none other than a royal seamstress. Edric sent you that cloak himself, if I had to guess."
Cyrene"s stomach dropped. It was one thing for Kael to have suggested that the King had sent her a gift, but it was quite another for Daufina to confirm it.
"You must be mistaken, Daufina."
"I am not," she stated simply as a matter of fact. Her tone suggested she should not be second-guessed again. "Now, I"ve made accommodations for you to be on board upon Edric"s craft destined for Albion. Do you find this suitable?"
"What"s in this for you?" Cyrene couldn"t help but ask.
Daufina"s green eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly and then returned to their congenial nature. "I would tell you that it is only to procure Edric"s entertainment for the trip, but I can see you are a woman of reason. I"ll be frank then. You have not been afforded the privilege of being around Edric nearly all his waking hours. I have that privilege, and I believe I know him better than anyone else. Probably better than he knows himself. I see the way he looks at you, and I can see how he feels about you." Her eyebrows knitted together.
Cyrene"s mind flashed back to when she had been so close to him last night, certain he was going to kiss her. Did he always look at me like that? How many others had noticed?
Daufina continued, "I saw it the first time he set his gaze on you in the Presenting hall. I voted for your acceptance as an Affiliate because of that, whereas Kaliana voted against it for the same reason. Kaliana saw you as a threat, but I saw you as an a.s.set."
"Yet Kaliana is my Receiver and not you," Cyrene spoke boldly.
"Yes," Daufina said with a sigh. "I believe Kaliana wanted to keep tabs on you."
So, Cyrene had been right about the Queen all along. She liked Daufina better than Queen Kaliana, yet they both wanted to use her in some way.
"You suspected some of this?" Daufina asked.