Page 116 of To Touch A Silent Fury
I dropped my eyes back to my dance partner, coming up with some lame remark about the flowers. Lady Bellandric’s eyes lit up, and she replied at some length about her childhood estate near Ville-Fleur, and I realised I had forgotten she was even a Scentlander until that moment.
Princess Margot was by far my father’s top choice. The Tastelands' king’s younger and only sister. Of all people here, Tanidwen had to be speaking with her.
If I did not pick a bride myself by the end of Tanmer, a privilege I was certain he only bestowed upon me out of some fatherly impression of pride at my commitment to our northern war, he would certainly choose Princess Margot. The Princess of Barrow’s Rest. Her brother, King Markus, was my own age and currently without an heir, making her next in line to the throne.
More than that, the Tastelands produced half the Triad’s food and laid claim to three working gold mines in their mountain. More strategically, they held the ocean gateway to Port Damren. The produce of the isle of Vintarrun stopped us from having to trade with the Twin Lands for the same fine goods, and we didn’t have Vintarrun without the Tastelands.
Sure, the princess was a little plain, but she was a strong rider and of pleasant enough countenance from our couple ofconversations. A year before her fifth span, it would be a smart match. A very smart match indeed.
So why could I only seeher?
I tried my best to ignore Tanidwen in the next three dances, but when the dinner bell rang, I found my eyes locked to the hem of her dress.
Tanidwen walked alone ahead of me, her shoulders sloping elegantly as she picked up her dress to mount the first step into the hall.
Foxlin slapped a hand down on my shoulder, and I jumped. “You’ve hardly been dancing, my prince.”
I glanced at him, already noting how Tanidwen had stiffened in front of me. “I cannot make my attentions too pointed, Foxlin.”
He grinned. “Who is the lucky lady, then?”
“That would be telling.”
Tanidwen did not turn as we spoke, but I knew she could hear every word as we followed her into the room. So many sconces littered the inside of the southern guest hall that we would feast in perfect candlelight. Our banners hung in red and gold, and wisteria lay horizontal along the tables' edges. From the smell alone, I knew our Tastelands chefs had outdone themselves.
She paused in the middle of the room, looking at the tables along two of the room’s walls. The king's setting was in the centre of one table. Derynallis would sit at his right, and I on his left. I stopped just to the side of her, facing Foxlin.
The other table had begun to fill, with several guests finding their seats.
“I suppose you will have to sit with one of them,” Foxlin said.
Tanidwen was only a foot or two behind my back, and I could hear her breathing. Anyone would think we were merely taking in the room, and by all accounts, that’s exactly what we weredoing. But my hand shifted towards her, hoping to brush her arm, her gown, anything.
I nodded. “I suppose.”
Foxlin rubbed his hands together. “Then I will find a fetching thing to sit beside.”
And then he was off, and we were two people standing with our backs to each other. Did she feel the tension as I did?
Theollan appeared, bowing to me before speaking softly to her. And then she was gone, and I blinked as the warmth of her closeness faded in an instant.
I blinked, regaining some sense. I strode over to the brunette drifting towards the opposing table, and bowed deeply.
I straightened, staring at her blue eyes. Once, I would have found them pretty, and a rarity for a Tastelander. But now, they only looked like the lifeless pond in the eastern gardens compared to Tanidwen’s piercing dragon-blue. Must she spoil everything?
“Princess Margot, would you do me the honour of sitting at my side?”
She dropped into an elegant curtsy, her cheeks warming. “I would, Your Grace.”
I ate mechanically, speaking when it was appropriate. Halfway through our meal, I realised there was a fair chance I would have to spend a good portion of my life sitting next to this woman, and I couldn’t let Tanidwen prevent me from knowing her.
I swallowed down a bite of creamed potatoes and honeyed pork with a gulp of their Vintarrun syra. The wine was a constant reminder of the value of this union. “Are you missing Barrow’s Rest?”
Her brown hair was lustrous, with sun-kissed golden tones. I found it quite pleasing. It was easier when I focused on the things she did not fall short on. By the Five, I was terrible.
Princess Margot took a dainty sip of her own wine. “I find I am not. The temperatures here are not quite so stifling as my home city. Besides, the journey home will take a fortnight, and I do not look forward to living from inn to inn once more.”
I nodded in understanding. “I can imagine it is a good time of year to be out of the city. Though, of course, you will return for Heape’s Harvest?”
