Page 94 of Kingdom of Feathers

That jab brought a flare of anger into Sir Gelding’s eyes, but Basil didn’t miss the moment of understanding that preceded it. The baronet’s gaze flew to the ring now dangling on the outside of Wren’s gown, and he let out a small breath. Sir Gelding must have sensed the magic in the ring, but it seemed he’d been unaware of the artifact’s purpose, and for that Basil could only be grateful.

“You’ve concocted some fine tales to cover up your own misdeeds, Your Majesty,” said the enchanter smoothly. “But somehow I doubt King Lloyd will give much weight to the word of a deceiver and a betrayer.”

He suddenly raised his voice, making both Basil and Wren jump.

“Guards! Over here! King Basil is attempting to abduct the princess again!”

Wren’s fury was rolling off her in waves, but Sir Gelding ignored her completely, smirking instead at Basil. Already they could hear the sound of running feet, rapidly getting closer.

“Or didn’t you know that the guards are currently scouring the castle for you, Your Majesty? Apparently you went missing from your rooms during the night, and are suspected to be up to no good.”

Before Basil could respond, half a dozen guards converged on them, two of them immediately seizing Basil by each arm. He could hear more approaching, and he made a split decision not to resist. It would only make him seem guilty. He’d have to trust that King Lloyd would hear him out.

Wren, however, wasn’t taking Basil’s arrest so tamely. She flew at the guards, pulling at their arms and stamping on their feet. She looked absolutely fierce, and Basil felt a thrill at the determination in her eyes. She’d certainly come a long way from the princess he’d first met, who’d kept in the background and never drawn attention to herself.

“It’s all right, Wren,” he said quickly. “We’ll explain it all to your father.” He shot a venomous look at Sir Gelding.

“We’ve found the princess as well!” one of the guards called, and the shout was taken up by others out of sight.

“Ah, how delightful,” said Sir Gelding quietly, looking between Wren and Basil. “The princess was also missing, was she? How…convenient, to find you both together.”

Basil growled at the insinuating tone to the man’s words, but a moment later one of the guards seized Wren, and all other considerations fled from his mind.

“What are you doing?” he demanded. “Are you going to arrest your own princess?”

Wren, of course, said nothing, but she turned startled eyes on the guard in question. He had the grace to look uncomfortable, but he didn’t loosen his hold.

“King’s orders,” he said gruffly, his eyes fixed on a spot over Wren’s shoulder. “We’re to arrest King Basil on sight, and if you’re found, we’re to take you before him as well, Your Highness.” He cleared his throat. “Forcibly if necessary.”

Wren’s scowl didn’t show much surprise, from which Basil surmised that she hadn’t left things in a strong position with her father the night before. The guards had just begun to march them both toward the castle when an aggressive bugle sounded behind them, followed quickly by several more.

The swans had obviously realized Wren’s predicament, and they’d arrived in force to protest her arrest. They flew at the guard who was holding her, and the man cried out in alarm, releasing Wren’s arm. But Wren made no attempt to evade him. She flapped her arms at the swans, for all the world like she had wings as well, her glare clearly telling them to back down.

The guard seized her again, looking nervously at the swans as he did so, and this time the group made short work of hauling both royals inside. The swans, denied entry to the castle, flew along outside the windows, trumpeting angrily as they followed Wren’s progress through the castle.

It was all the most surreal experience of Basil’s life, and he hardly knew whether he was awake or dreaming as he was marched into King Lloyd’s public audience hall. Sir Gelding, he noticed, slid smoothly into the room before the guards, approaching his king with a spring in his step. Either he truly thought he had the upper hand, or he was extremely skilled at feigning confidence.

Basil straightened his back, trying to reclaim his usual calm. He had barely a thought for his own dignity—he was too outraged by the sight of Wren being hauled before her own father, as if she’d been caught in some wrongdoing. Word of the drama had clearly spread as well, and the room was beginning to fill.

Sir Gelding was already at the front of the long room, muttering in his sovereign’s ear. The Mistran king’s eyes widened as they landed on Wren, and a look of horror flashed across his face before he could suppress it. Basil was fairly confident that, whatever he’d said to his guards, he hadn’t actually intended for his daughter to be arrested like a criminal and brought to a public audience in her nightgown.

“Release the princess, you fools,” he snapped at the guards, who hastily sprang back from Wren’s side.

King Lloyd’s eyes traveled to Basil’s face, anger in their depths.

“You were requested to remain in your rooms,” he said, in an icy voice that silenced the mutters of the crowd at once. “And yet I am informed that my guards apprehended you wandering around the gardens. What is the meaning of this?”

“Lloyd,” muttered the queen, her alarmed eyes on her daughter who, although no longer being held by the guards, was still standing next to Basil like a second criminal under accusation. But her husband seemed to have dismissed Wren momentarily from his mind after having the guards release her. His narrowed gaze was fixed on his Entolian guest, and he was clearly gripped by whatever pain or anger had always made him unreasonable where Basil was concerned.

“Precisely what I would like to ask you, Your Majesty,” said Basil, with a little less than his habitual calm.

“This is no time for games,” snapped the Mistran. “You were not in your room this morning, but my guards remained at your door. How did you reach the gardens?”

“I climbed out the window,” said Basil matter-of-factly.

There was a little gasp around the room, and King Lloyd swelled in anger. “Fine behavior for a guest,” he said darkly. “Care to explain why you considered such conduct appropriate?”

“I have a constitutional dislike of being trailed by guards,” Basil answered simply. “My own I tolerate, as a necessary evil that comes with being king. But I draw the line at those of another king.”

---