Page 54 of Song of the Shadow Prince
“But nothing,” he cut her off. “We cannot afford to upset the emperor. Not in our family’s current situation. We need to stay in his good graces. You must stay away from Prince Damien.”
“Father, it’s not his fault!” Gianna pleaded. “Prince Damien is merely a victim of—”
“It doesn’t matter!” Lord Zacharia shouted, slamming a fist on the table hard enough to make the table rattle.
Not expecting the normally mild-mannered man’s vehement reaction, I jumped and peered at Gianna, whose golden eyes were wide in fear.
“Prince Damien has offended the emperor. As such, wecannotside with him on this matter,” Lord Zacharia said plainly. “It’s also my understanding that he ended things with you, which means there is nothing to discuss.”
“But I—”
“Butnothing!” A prominent vein twitched in his forehead.
“Gianna,” I whispered, reaching for her clenched hand under the table. She fisted her dress with trembling fingers and met my eyes. “Stop,” I murmured.
Lord Zacharia shook his head and tossed his napkin on the table before pushing his chair back and storming out of the dining hall. Gianna and I stared at his retreating back in bewilderment.
Gianna pulled her hand out of my grasp. “Why did you stop me?”
“Because he was obviously agitated and not ready to listen to reason. You don’t want to be on his bad side,” I said carefully. I didn’t know much about him, but I knew my own father had a temper. If they were anything alike, it was best if she didn’t push his buttons.
Her angelic face crumpled. “Arya, it’s not fair!” she cried. “No one says anything about yourrelationshipwith Prince Julian. I don’t understand why it’s such a problem for me to be with Prince Damien!”
I grimaced. “God, don’t mention me and Prince Julian. I don’t want anything to do with that bastard.”
Gianna gasped. “Arya!” she scolded. “You can’t say that about a prince!”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, okay, my bad. Anyway, me and Prince Julian are not a thing.”
She furrowed her brows. “Really?”
“Really,” I repeated.
“But still… Prince Damien is—”
“Prince Damien is complicated,” I finished for her. “He has a complicated history. On this, Father is right. It’s best if you don’t involve yourself with him so you don’t get yourself and the family into trouble.”
Gianna frowned. “I can’t believeyou, of all people, are being so… reasonable.”
I chuckled. “Call me a new woman. I’ve been reborn.”
She eyed me suspiciously. “I can see that.”
I tossed my napkin on the table and stood. “Look, I gotta go. Will you be okay?”
“Yes… I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t do anything crazy, okay?”
She nodded, but her silence spoke volumes. Cataloguing her troubled expression to dissect later, I left the dining room, the echoes of our conversation and the unsatisfying meal lingering in my mind.
I walked backto my room and found Maeve waiting for me with an anxious expression. She rushed to the door and quickly closed it behind me before slipping a piece of paper into my hand.
“A raven arrived for you this morning,” she nervously whispered. “From Garrick.”
My eyes widened. “Really? Sweet!” I hurriedly unrolled the paper to read his message.
Have a lead. Meet at the tavern at noon. G.
