Page 25 of Kingdom of Dance

Chapter Five

Obsidian kept his face impassive, although he hadn’t missed Princess Zinnia’s reaction to her brother’s words. She wasn’t happy about his presence, it would seem. Did that mean that whatever she was hiding was something an enchanter could ferret out? For King Basil’s sake, he was determined to try. But he didn’t relish the task of digging into the princess’s secrets.

He took a seat as instructed. He was surprised to find that King Basil wasn’t at the table’s head, a position that remained unoccupied. Instead, he was seated a short way down one side, next to his wife, with his mother on the queen’s other side, and Princess Zinnia on King Basil’s left.

Obsidian’s place was across the table from the young king and queen, among what seemed to be the middle princesses. Queen Wren welcomed him with a friendly smile, which he couldn’t quite return as he dipped his head respectfully. He’d met her before, and he had no reason to think badly of her. But it was still uncomfortable for him to get his head around a Mistran as queen of his kingdom.

Had she been present at the council of war when her father ordered the offensive that had killed his own father? But no. She was a couple years younger than he was. Like him, she had been a child at the time, powerless in the events that shaped all their lives.

His gaze passed to Princess Zinnia, and for the second time, he caught her looking. She didn’t look away this time, instead meeting his eyes with a definite challenge. If she expected him to lower his gaze out of deference for her status, she would be disappointed. Obsidian had no blind respect for royals. Their elevated positions gave them increased responsibility, and his respect was dependent on how they met that responsibility. King Basil had earned it, but Princess Zinnia was as yet an entirely unknown quantity.

The silent stare off was broken by the king’s voice, and Obsidian’s eyes flicked to the young sovereign.

“I won’t go into the details of Lieutenant Obsidian’s assignment,” he said cheerfully, “but he’s my guest here in the castle for the time being. I hope he will join the family at meals.”

“Of course,” seconded Queen Wren. “We will be glad to host you, Lieutenant.”

“Thank you, Your Majesties,” said Obsidian, his face showing none of the surprise he felt. He was to eat with the royal family for every meal? What exactly had he gotten himself into?

Not quite what he’d expected, it seemed. He’d assumed that the royals would eat in formal, stately silence, but almost the moment King Basil’s welcome was completed, the end of the table occupied by the younger princesses devolved into lively chatter. Multiple conversations tumbled over the top of one another, and none of the adults—not even the dowager queen—made any attempt to curb the children.

“You’re an enchanter, are you, Lieutenant?” Princess Zinnia said unexpectedly, drawing Obsidian’s attention back to his own end of the table. “What form does your power naturally take?”

Before Obsidian could respond, the king cut in. “Master Enchanter Hughes, from the Enchanters’ Guild, was telling me that too much weight is often given to the concept that each magic-user has one area of natural strength. He said that with proper study and application, most enchanters and enchantresses can turn their power to almost any use. Albeit according to the limits of their power.”

The king’s eyes bored into Obsidian’s, a warning in their clear gaze. Interesting. It seemed that the usually forthright young monarch didn’t want his sister to know that Obsidian was innately gifted with an ability to detect deception.

“I’ve been told the same thing, Your Majesty,” he said. “Although I’ve never applied myself sufficiently to discover whether it is true in my case.”

“Why not?” The question came from a girl who looked twelve or thirteen, her earnest expression out of place on her young face.

Obsidian half expected one of the adults to tell her off for putting herself forward, but no one did. They all seemed to be waiting for him to answer. Taking a moment to seriously consider the question, he met the princess’s eye.

“I suppose because I felt no need to increase my capacity or my skill.”

“That seems foolish,” she said frankly. “Shouldn’t you want to make the most use you can of the talents you’ve been given?”

“Briar,” said the dowager queen, intervening at last. “We don’t call guests foolish.”

“She’s not wrong, though,” said Princess Zinnia. She frowned at Obsidian. “If I had magic, I’d do my utmost to use it to greatest effect.”

Obsidian considered her. Thus far she’d been honest, that much he knew. Was it too soon to push for answers? But why else would the king wish him to join the family at the meal, if not to commence his investigation?

“And what would you do with that magic?” he asked bluntly.

Princess Zinnia blinked, clearly surprised by the direct question. “I would…” She swallowed, glancing down the table. Her expression changed subtly, softening. “I would do everything I could to protect the people I love.”

“Very noble,” Obsidian replied, unmoved by these trite words. “But perhaps those around you are safer without magic. It can be just as much curse as blessing.”

He’d hoped the wordcursemight elicit a visible reaction, but it didn’t. The princess’s expression was still soft, but it grew a little sadder.

“True,” was all she said.

One of the younger girls jumped in with an unrelated story, and the conversation moved on. But Obsidian continued to watch Princess Zinnia as surreptitiously as he could. If she was under a curse, she was hiding it well. More likely she’d done something wrong and was trying to cover it up.

The meal continued with much chatter and laughter. The array of food was dizzying, and Obsidian barely knew what he was eating half the time. Princess Zinnia quickly recovered from her melancholy mood and soon had her sisters laughing with her cheeky comments. The talk flowed around Obsidian, no one seeming hampered by his presence, and very little contribution expected of him.

It was about as far from his own meals as it could be—both because of the lavish food and because of the large, boisterous family. It was all a little overwhelming, but if he could look past that, it was much more pleasant than he would have believed possible.

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