Page 96 of Ties of Dust

“Come inside, Sir, and we will notify—”

“No, we can’t,” Flora cut him off. “We need the griffin to carry us again, and he won’t stay unless I stay with him. I’m afraid the princess will have to come to us.”

“The royal family are eating dinner,” the first guard protested.

“If you tell Miriam that Flora is here, she will come,” Flora said firmly. “I guarantee it. And you should tell Their Majesties that the missing crown prince of Carrack is also here. I think they’ll all want to speak with us.”

Her predictions proved correct. The guards sent two of their number with the message, and it wasn’t long before Miriam came running from the castle with unladylike haste, her parents and Prince Theodore following close behind. Prince Xavier was nowhere to be found, as usual.

“Flora!” Mim’s cry of relief was so high-pitched, it was almost a shriek.

Flora gladly received her friend as Miriam slammed into her.

“You’re alive!” Miriam’s voice was shaking. “When we heard the prince might have been taken hostage, I was so afraid for you, because I knew that of course you would have been dragged into it, too, and—”

“I’m all right,” Flora cut the other princess off. “I’m not so easy to get rid of.”

“Be gentle with her,” Cassius said in a voice of authority as Miriam squeezed Flora in a bear hug.

“He’s right,” Flora said. “I’ve taken a sort-of beating and I’m still very sore.”

“What?” Miriam drew back, distressed. But the other royals had reached them, and Flora gave her friend an apologetic look.

“There isn’t time for me to tell the whole story right now. But it’s been dramatic since I left you, to say the least.” She looked at Cassius for a moment, then drew a deep breath. “To whittle it down to the main points…firstly,” she bowed to the king and queen, “you should know that I haven’t been honest about my identity. I was born a princess of Dernan. I ran away at fifteen, and my parents had no idea that I went to school in Torrens or that I was serving as a guard here.”

The king and queen said nothing, their faces blank with shock.

“The next key piece of information is that an imposter has infiltrated King Aelius’s court and is manipulating the king against the proposed alliance and promoting war within the Peninsula. He orchestrated the kidnapping of Prince Cassius—from which we’ve recently escaped—and is painting it as an attack by Torrens with the assistance of Siqual. I believe I’ve been given the role of Siqualian spy sent to lure the prince into a trap.”

A noise of protest escaped the king’s throat, but beyond that, everyone still seemed too stunned to speak.

“We need to return to Crandell to prevent war,” Flora said. “Immediately. But we need your help first. We have a proposal, and we think that if you provide official confirmation of your willingness to consider it, that will convince King Aelius that the best path forward is to stabilize the Peninsula with an alliance. A three-way alliance between Carrack, Siqual, and Dernan.”

“It’s not likely, Flora,” said Prince Theodore. “I mean,” he started to correct himself, “Princess—”

“No, no,” Flora cut him off. “Flora, please.”

He gave a curt nod, too sensible to be distracted by quibbles. “The advantages of an alliance between Carrack and Siqual have been mutually acknowledged for some time as we’ve prepared for the marriage alliance. Dernan is a different matter. The only circumstance in which an alliance with Dernan would be beneficial would be one centered on the trade of chameleon steel. And as we all know how closed Dernan is to increasing its exports—”

“Not anymore.” Cassius raised the parchment he’d received from Flora’s father. “Flora has negotiated a deal with her parents which will significantly increase chameleon steel exports.”

“It does hinge on one final detail.”The look Flora sent her friend was mischievous, at odds with her apologetic words. “I’m very sorry, Miriam, but I’ve stolen your betrothal.”

Miriam let out a miniature squeal that was drowned out by the queen’s voice.

“You go too quickly, Flora. To be frank, your claims are shocking, and this conduct is highly irregular. We are of course delighted that you and His Highness are safe, but if you will come inside, there is no doubt a great deal to discuss.”

“I’m very sorry, Your Majesty.” Flora bobbed a curtsey. “But we simply can’t afford to delay.”

“What if I step inside with Their Majesties?” Cassius suggested. “We will need to remain within twenty feet, of course. But you could stay with the griffin, and I could explain the situation, hopefully to Their Majesties’ satisfaction.”

He gave Flora a look that said,let me take it from here, and she was quick to nod her approval. The king and queen would speak more freely when they were no longer in the courtyard and no longer grappling with the fact that the princess trying to negotiate with them was the bodyguard who’d been protecting their daughter for minimal wages for a year.

“I’ll stay with Flora,” Miriam declared. “I’m not interested in the politics.”

Flora ran a reassuring hand down Griffy’s neck as the others left. The poor creature was fidgety. Griffins enjoyed movement, and she knew he would fly great distances in her company in a heartbeat. But staying still in a foreign environment so far from his home was making him uneasy.

Miriam turned to Flora the moment her parents were gone. “Tell me everything.”

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