Page 22 of Enchanted Crown
Esta gestured with her head to the seat next to her, so I sat there.
“That is why we are here,” Reyald jumped in to say. “Keir?—”
“Prince Keir,” Isolde corrected as she sat a container of biscuits on the table and busied herself with the tea at the stove. “Come now, it has been a while but are your diplomat skillsthisrusty? He is a prince, is he not? Even handed down being king, from what I hear.”
I was certain there was very little this woman didn’t hear. She had likely already known my mother was dead before I even told her.
“Prince Keirbelieves there could be something amiss within the royal bloodline. I assured him no one knows all of us as well as you do.”
Isolde didn’t turn from the stove. “You should know me well enough, my boy, to know that flattery will never work on me, but you are also not wrong in this instance.” As she turned toward us, her eyes met mine. “What is it that you suspect?”
I let out a deep exhale before explaining everything. I finished with, “I have this lingering feeling that will not shake that it is somehow within the family. A tension I cannot grab a hold of but feel, nonetheless.”
Isolde sat our teas down before us. “I love all of my children dearly. I would like to begin by saying that. Royal children, brats at times, all of them I love with my entire heart.” She paused for a moment, and I wasn’t sure a ghost of some memory wasn’t chasing her. “Lennix has always let the bitterness of not being first-bornfester. And I fear I wasn’t always as gracious to his denied yearnings as I should have been.”
“Mothe—”
Isolde cut Reyald off. “He once asked me if birth order were not of issue, which of you would have ruled.”
“Amaya,” Reyald said without hesitation, as if it were the easiest answer he had ever given.
She gave her head a sad shake. “No, I said it would still be you. From a young age you had the cunning ability to foresee possible futures. Rather than bluntly force the one you preferred.”
That seemed to stun Reyald.
“Amaya is gentle and far too kind for the cunningness the crown requires,” Isolde finished explaining.
“I understand Prince Lennix is not well,” I said. “Could it be any of the cousins of the queen stirring up this strife?”
Isolde answered without delay. “It could be any of them. Lennix as well.” She let out a sigh that seemed to torment her. “The crown changes most. Turns others. And does things to those who will never wear it that I rarely understand. If only we were to treat one another like humans and not royals, our family would be the better for it. It was my urgings to make Esta queen so young, hoping that her rule could finally kill the tension between my sons. She and Jagen have never acted as Lennix and Reyald.”
After briefly discussing Jagen and the order of the throne, I found out Morana would be next in line for the crown. Her brother Oziel after her. Then Samori and his siblings.
“But the thought that any of my grandchildren have been capable of this? This is not the workings of someone who snapped after missing out, this is someone who has waged a war to attack us from within.” Isolde gave her head a shake. “I do not want to believe that any of my grandchildren are capable of all this. But if they are, rest assured a lot more than my cane will be involved.”
I took a sip of my tea as I mentally moved Esta’s cousin Oziel tothe top of my suspect list. While Morana at least held the power of being a general, Oziel was left out entirely.
“Now,” Isolde began, turning toward me. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that your tea was weaker.”
I gave her an innocent shrug. “Tea is different in Wylan, but Dra Skor tea is finally growing on me.”
“Not the only thing growing on you, is it?” she bantered, never skipping a beat.
“Nana!” Esta again scolded while I put my teacup down, certain I needed all wits about me when facing the scrutiny of this woman.
Isolde batted a hand at her like she was nothing more than a pest. She got up just to grab a bottle of something off the counter, dumping a generous blob into my tea. The smell told me a liquor of some kind. “Try this. Now. Are you going to marry my Esta or not?”
I was sure to look her in the eyes as I said, “I would love to, should she have me.”
Isolde’s eyes went to Esta. “And you?”
“I—” she paused. “Do we have to talk about this right now?”
“Your father already tried to marry him off on someone else to keep him away from you. And I heard we are quite fortunate Reyald avoided a front row seat at his own funeral.”
Reyald, who had been taking a drink of his tea, choked on his drink and began coughing.
“So dear,” Isolde continued, “do you, or do you not want to marry this man?” She leaned in and whispered, “He is quite handsome. Far more handsome than his father ever was. Must have got the looks from his mother.”
