Page 41 of Song of the Shadow Prince
She gulped. “Okay… thank you, Cat.”
“Now.” I spun on my heels and walked toward the bed, where I dropped onto the downy blankets and made myself comfortable. “I heard we got invited to a luncheon,” I smirked. “Care to fill me in?”
Maeve’s eyes widened even more and she hurried closer, completely forgetting her fear in her haste. “Oh, my lady! The emperor has invited the Ryder family to the palace for lunch!” She leaned in and whispered, “No one knows what this is about, but Lord Zacharia is worried. I almost couldn’t hide the fact that you’d been out all night.”
I tilted my head. “Oh? What is he so afraid of?”
“Lord Zacharia is the Minister of Rites on the emperor’s council. He also provides the dragons with iron, which has beendwindling since there is less and less in the mines,” Maeve whispered. “Once the emperor finds out that Lord Zacharia has been keeping the emptying mines a secret, the Ryders might find themselves in hotter water than their tea.”
Maeve and I shared a conspiratorial glance. My unintended adventure in Arya’s shoes was turning out to be more of a saga by the minute. But on the bright side, this invite may not have anything to do with my little trip to Obsidian Reach and Damien’s secret.
“Why has Lord Zacharia been keeping this a secret?” I whispered in return. “Why doesn’t he simply tell the emperor that—”
“Because it’s a matter of national security.” Maeve nibbled her lip. “The iron the Ryders produce is the only thing that keeps the fae at bay.”
I frowned. “How so?”
“Iron is poison to the fae. It weakens them. So to avoid a rebellion from the fae, the emperor surrounded Faelight Forest with iron,” Maeve explained.
I grimaced. “That’s… horrible.”
“Don’t forget, Lady Arya—I mean, Cat, the fae are cruel creatures. If they ever rise to power again, it will be the end for us. The dragons are protecting us.”
I wasn’t reassured. It was a case of whether you would kill Hitler as a baby to avoid the holocaust if you had the chance to go back in time. The answer was complicated, and the right answer may be wrong. Since I wasn’t interested in a long-winded history lesson on the fae, I changed the subject. “What do I need to learn before going to the palace?”
Maeve nodded. “We need to have a quick etiquette class.” She grabbed my arm and dragged me off the bed, stopping in the middle of the room and facing the mirror. Her face was prim. “You can’t walk as you usually do. Do you see how gracefullyLady Gianna carries herself?” She waited for me to nod. “That’show noblewomen walk.”
I snorted. “And how exactly do I do that?”
Maeve placed her hand on my lower back to straighten it, then between my shoulder blades to push my chest out. My spine was ramrod straight. She floated around to my front and tilted my chin up; not too high where my nose was in the air, but enough to give the illusion of a regal air. She nudged my feet and pushed them together.
“Maeve—”
“Shh!” She took my hands and placed each one delicately on top of the other just above my belly button. Then she stepped aside so I could look at myself in the mirror.
Being former military, I was used to the pomp and circumstance of ceremonial positions, but this… this was something else.
“You must not sway your arms when you walk, my lady.” Maeve met my eyes through the mirror. “You must always maintain your hands in this position.”
“What if I get a cramp?” I was tempted to move, my nose itchy all of a sudden.
“Ignore it,” she offered dismissively. “You cannot make any mistakes in the palace. It could bring trouble to your whole family, and they certainly don’t need any help there.”
“Jesus,” I murmured. “All right, I got it.”
“Once you’re in front of the emperor, close your right hand into a fist and place it in the palm of your left hand with your thumb up, then extend it out at chest level and bow.” Seeing my confused expression, she demonstrated the move and I mimicked her position. “While you are bowing, you will say,Long live Your Majesty. May you be blessed with another thousand years.”
“He’s a thousand years old?” I gasped, wondering if he was older than Royal Prince Bai.
Maeve shook her head. “No, but dragon time is relative. Now repeat it!”
I sighed as I placed my fist into my palm and bowed. “Long live Your Majesty. May you be blessed with another thousand years.” I went to straighten when she stopped me.
“You’re not allowed to rise until the emperor gives you permission.” After a moment, Maeve released the pressure on my back so I could rise.
“So many damn rules,” I murmured. “How come you know all of this? I would assume this would be something only the nobles knew.”
Maeve nodded. “It is, but I once entered the palace with my lady, and she taught me just in case we ever encountered the emperor.”
