Page 109 of Of Brides Of Queens

I would not reveal my new sight of him. I dipped my head, and though he could not be sure I would see the gesture, he nodded back.

Respect?

Trust?

Belief?

I could not say, and there may never be a night when I could. But he had come, and so I would cling to romantic possibilities between us a while longer, especially as I had hidden my bridal gifts, and he could not destroy us that way.

I strode into my queendom, hearing Bring’s great shout of pleasure at the sight of my behind.

Enjoy the thought of me while it lasts, sir.

There were other matters to attend.

Valetise waited within, and she wrapped a robe of purple velvet around me, tying the front together. She held out my crown, and I settled it atop my head. The crown was as light as a feather and fit impossibly well.

“Thank you,” I said, then noticed that her attention was fixed behind me.

On Picket.

A smile etched over my stitched face, and I left her to moon over the newest monster in Vitale. Could a dusk romance float in the night air? I hoped so. If love was impossible for me, then maybe another would experience it for me. They could share a delightful love that was not just about the flesh like the Takes’, nor warped in any way like the Raises’. A lively love that burned through the ages instead of fading to indifference like the Brings’. A love untouched by mad obsession too. That was what I wished for them.

I had walked with no idea of where to go. “But where is my throne room?”

A drawling voice answered me from the second floor. “Middle of the ground level.”

I glanced up at Princess Raise. “Thank you.”

Her face was more shadowed than ever. “Three kings joined to ruin you, and you disappeared through a grave. Your queendom morphed and expanded while you were gone, and you…”

“And I?” I asked when she trailed off.

She shook her head, and Princess Bring called down from out of view. “You are very composed, my queen. We cannot understand your calm, nor much about anything that has happened.”

Was that all? “It is not for princesses to understand the rhyme nor reason of a queen, so there is nothing for concern in that.”

Bring gargled an ‘ahh’, though Raise’s posture indicated uncertainty over what I had said. Then again, she loved her king and must fear how I might threaten his kingdom and immortality.

I said, “I must confer with pawns first, princesses, but please await me in my chambers. There are important matters to discuss.” I softened my voice. “Particularly with you, Princess Bring. You were right.”

She swallowed damply. “I will await you there, of course.”

I left them in search of my throne room.

The hotel had pushed outward to accommodate the new chamber, and a grand copper archway was present in the exact middle of the ground level. Six chambers for pawns sat either side of the archway. I puzzled over the mere twelve chambers before spotting three kennels by the throne room entrance. They formed a row and served as a warning to any monster who might enter. And on each kennel was a copper badge of valor, a hellebore that I had intended to present the werebeasts with as a reminder of our deal.

“Your renovations are perfection, Mother,” I whispered.

I entered the throne room, and though the gems and copper and tarnish met my mind, there was urgent business to attend.

I climbed three cobbled steps and settled on the tarnished copper throne. Hellebores tangled over the back and armrests. They stroked at my hair and cheeks, and I was grateful for the clarity they offered.

For I felt horrendously desperate about the fact I was missing a bridal gift.

If King Take had learned of his princess’s actions, then news of her garter may be open knowledge. Princess Raise would connect the series of events, I knew. Then her king might learn of my obsession. Raise had wanted me for eternal servitude for a while, and he would not hesitate to use me where King See had resisted.

And could King See resist again? He had not hunted down the last bridal gift during my absence, but he could do so at any instant.

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