Page 26 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
From behind, I heard the Commander mutter, “And she says she’s not slow.”
“Hush, now,” Kaya admonished. “You were just as confused when you first arrived here. Remember the glass incident?”
“How could I, when you selflessly told every living soul about it? The Viper still pretends to spill her water around me every chance she gets.”
“Uhm…” The boy cleared his throat, then muttered, “I’m greeting you.”
This was ridiculous. Why were we having a hushed conversation while he kneeled on the ground? “Is this how people in the Citadel usually greet strangers?”
I’d read of weirder greetings. Up North, they sniffed each other’s hands to weed out the weak, according to the Majestic Mores: A Manual for Meticulous Manners in Malhaven.
He looked up at me with wide, bright eyes, and shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe this was happening either. “This is howIgreetyou…Your Grace.”
I flinched back as if scalded.
Grandpa Constantine had ruled one of the fiercest Clans and nobody had ever kneeled in front of him, unless they werebegging for their lives with thick tears that did nothing to soften his heart. It was all bows and curtsies back at the Protectorate.
And nobody had ever called meYour Grace.
New life, new rules, Evelina.
“Your Grace, I’m your new steward. I’ve readied the house and hope you find it to your liking.” The words rushed out of his mouth with a slight lisp.
I studied him like I would a fox that got too close. He seemed harmless, more scared than me. But he had Blood Brotherhood gold on him.
“What should I call you?” I asked, straightening my back like I knew what I was doing.
He hesitated, surprised. “My name is…my friends call me Goose, Your Grace.”
Ah, he’d been warned about the all-mighty Protectorate magic I had none of.
“Please stop calling me that, Goose.” An awkward laugh forced its way out of me before I felt it bubbling up my dry throat. With my parents, I could tell if they’d had a bad day from the way they stretched their vowels in the morning. But I needed to learn how to read other people. Or react to them. I couldn’t exactly carry out a conversation by bringing up the awful weather that had halted the Five-Day Rebellion sixty years ago. “I might get used to it.”
“I–that is not possible,” Goose stammered. “It’s the rule…Your Grace.”
I swallowed a sigh. Grandpa Constantine had warned me about the famed Blood Brotherhood protocol. Rules were sacred and anyone who broke them was a traitor. He could’ve mentioned the whole kneeling thing while he was at it.
“Alright. Goose.” I licked my lips again. “Nice…nice to meet you.”
I might’ve been raised in the mountains, but I was still Vegheara First Family. I didn’t want to be seen as thehickwho’d stumbled her way into Blood Brotherhood territory.
Show them you’re the best damn queen they ever had, grandpa’s words murmured in my thoughts.
“Ni–nice to meet you, too?” Goose said; even the back of his neck blushed.
“He’s really nice,” Kaya said, wandering to the reddest flower in the bushes next to the edge of the fence.Mybushes, now. What did that even mean? “The prince insisted Goose was the only one trustworthy enough to help you with everyday tasks.”
That didn’t mean as much to me as Kaya obviously wanted it to. I didn’t like The Dragon, and judging from the way his lip had curled when I agreed to marry him, the feeling was very much mutual.
I looked up at this great big house, heart tightening.
A movement next to the low eave caught my eye.
My muscles tensed instantly.
A snake.
The biggest godsdamned snake I’d ever seen in my life–and it slithered its gigantic head right above Kaya.
