Page 90 of Ties of Dust

Flora didn’t back down. “As a matter of fact, I won’t.”

The prince eyed his sister with disfavor. “You’re too old for these antics now, Floriana. Have you still not learned decorum? What are you wearing? She ought to change at once, don’t you think, Mother?”

“Absolutely,” the queen agreed. “Some of her old gowns may still fit her. I will invite the earl for a private dinner once Floriana is presentable, and—”

“Did you always speak of her as though she’s not in the room?” Cassius demanded. “No wonder she ran away.”

The three royals bristled, paying him attention for the first time.

“Who are you? The so-called bodyguard?”

“I am the man who intends to marry your daughter,” Cassius said. “So I’ll thank you to stop mentioning this earl, whom she clearly does not wish to marry.”

“Absolutely not,” the king said, his gaze outraged as it passed over Cassius’s ripped and stained attire.

“Come, Floriana.” The Dernan prince spoke in a voice of command, stepping forward to seize Flora’s arm.

“No!”

Cassius heard real panic in Flora’s voice, and it propelled him toward her.

“Let go of her,” he said furiously. He noticed that Flora had begun to flick her hair back and forth purposefully, the movement a little frantic.

“Don’t you dare try to use magic on me,” her brothersaid sharply, distracted from Cassius’s advance by Flora’s actions. “Your tricks won’t help your cause.”

“I think you’ll find my tricks have grown as much as I have,” Flora said mulishly. “You wouldn’t let me study magic here, so I found a school where I could. I’m skilled enough now to find employment with the craft.”

The queen gave a low groan. “Like a common tradesman.”

Cassius felt foolish for how helpfully he’d explained the restrictive view his father took on magic for the titled. It seemed Flora knew that attitude much better than he did.

“Like a highly skilled and respected expert,” Cassius contradicted. “Your inability to value your daughter as she deserves reflects poorly on your wisdom as monarchs.”

“How dare you?” the prince gasped. “Who are you to speak to your king and queen in such a manner?”

“They’re not my king and queen,” said Cassius coolly. “And as for who I am, I am Cassius Leopold Detwold Tristan of the House of Renmark, the son and sole heir of my father, King Aelius of Carrack.”

There was a moment of stunned silence—into which Flora mouthedLeopold?with laughter in her eyes—before his audience of three gave vent to noises of disdain.

“You are as outrageous as ever, Floriana. What benefit do you hope to derive from this charade?”

“It’s not a charade,” said Flora. “He is Crown Prince Cassius. I’ve been serving as his bodyguard for some time now. Prior to that I served as bodyguard to Her Highness Princess Miriam of Siqual. And I can categorically say that the way we do things in the castle here is the worst approach in the entire Peninsula.”

“You expect us to believe this?” the king demanded. “That the heir to the throne of Carrack is wandering aboutthe country with you, in torn and bloodied clothes and with no other attendants?”

“I have never yet had need of proving my identity,” Cassius said in his haughtiest voice. “But I am perfectly ready to do so should the need arise, Your Majesty. As for our condition, we have narrowly escaped from enemies of Carrack who abducted me from Crandell. Flora, on duty as my bodyguard at the time, was caught up in the attack as well. Were circumstances different, I would apologize to you as her parents for the injuries she suffered in the course of her role, but given you’ve shown no sign whatsoever of caring about her wellbeing, it doesn’t seem that it would be appropriate.”

There was a moment of silence, and Cassius could almost see the king and queen hesitating, wondering if there was any chance his shocking tale was true.

“Father, remember the news we heard this morning,” the other prince said in an undertone. “Could it be…?”

“What news?” Cassius asked sharply. “News of my kingdom?”

Flora’s brother stared at him, uncertain. “It was not an official missive. It was a rumor. That Crown Prince Cassius is being held as a prisoner within Torrens, betrayed by a spy sent by Siqual to aid in the Torrenese scheme to…”

He trailed off as his eyes came to rest on Flora, and he put the pieces together. Flora shot Cassius a rueful look.

“I suppose we should have expected the tale to go something like that.” She frowned at her brother. “What else do the rumors say?”

---