Page 87 of Songs and Spun Gold
“What are you trying to hide from me, Axel?” Her eyes narrowed in on him with the same intensity that she directed at his nobles when she was seeking something outrageous to say.
“Nothing!” he insisted. “As I said, I only want to keep yousafe. Your cousin is best suited to protect you.”
“From accidents?” Katy snorted. “In any case, if there is danger at the theater from which hecanprotect me, shouldn’t he be with you?”
“I—” How could he possibly explain about Lotti? Examining Katy’s belligerent posture and remembering her reaction to his failure to disclose his identity, he decided it would be worse to not try. “It’s my voice instructor. The one who helps me with my technique and taught me the blocking forThe Tanner’s Secret. She’s been acting strangely since I met you.”
Otto straightened, his arms dropping to his side as he fell into guardian mode. “You think she’s dangerous? Your Highness—”
“Not to me,” Axel hastened to assure him. “I’ve worked with Lotti for years; she’s had plenty of opportunity to hurt me if she had wanted to. But Katy...” He directed his gaze at her, making sure both she and her cousin could see how earnest he was. “I don’t want Katy anywhere near her.”
There was silence for a minute as his two companions looked first at each other and then at him. “You realize that doesn’t make me feel better about lettingyounear her, don’t you?” Otto finally said.
“I have to meet with her, Otto,” Axel sighed. “The note-writer insists that either I or ‘Gunther’ perform, and I can’t do that unless I know the blocking. Lotti can teach me.”
“So can the production director.”
“If I spend that much time with him, he might realize who I am,” he argued back. “And if I’m bringing Katy with me, not to mention a guard, someone will figure it out.”
Otto pursed his lips. Axel could see the man’s duty to protect his prince warring with his desire to help him protect his secrets.
“Please, Otto. I promise, Lotti isn’t going to hurt me.”
~
Axel crept onto the stage. “Lotti?” he called softly. It had been weeks since he’d been there, but this was where he usually found her in the mornings.
It would also be the best place to rehearse. His guard didn’t like the idea of standing in the hallway – already a concession on Axel’s part – but Axel didn’t want Katy where she would be impossible to miss, as she would be inside a practice room. In the auditorium, Otto and Katy could lurk in the shadows of the audience chamber and avoid notice, just as Lotti did.
He hoped.
“Lotti?” he called again, his voice echoing through the open space. “Are you in here?”
Just when he was about to give up and begin searching the rest of the building, a slight scuffing noise caught his attention. Spinning, he saw the shadows move in the light of his candle.
He stepped closer, holding the light aloft. “Lotti? Is that you?”
“Where have you been?” Her sultry voice was hard. “Why have you not come to see me in weeks? How do you expect to be ready for Cesar?”
Despite his assurances to Otto, Axel took a step back at the vehemence in her tone. “I’ve been learning the music on my own, but I need help with the—Wait, how do you know I’ll be performing again?”
The dim light of his single candle wasn’t enough for visual clues, so he crossed to a candelabra, keeping one eye on the area from which her voice had come. “The same way I know the blocking. I observe what happens in this theater.”
“Right. I’ll be in trouble if I’m not back for breakfast, so can we get started? My parents have been a little jumpy since I spent an unplanned night outside.”
“Not while she’s here.”
Axel froze, then turned his head in Lotti’s general direction. “Beg pardon?”
A single pale hand breached the shadows and pointed to the side of the auditorium. “The upstart for whom you abandoned me. Her companion, too. They leave first.”
Following the direction of her finger, he could just see the gleam of Otto’s sword hilt reflecting the candlelight. It shifted slightly, and the faintest movement nearby suggested a tanned hand gripping it.
“Do you mind waiting outside, Otto?” Axel called out. He shielded his eyes from the candelabra’s brightness and peered into the darkness, watching and listening for a response.
“I won’t harm your precious prince,” Lotti assured, raising her voice. “Just as I did not when you stood on the front steps, waiting for your master like a good dog.”
“Lotti—” Axel protested.
