Page 85 of The Queen's Crown
Sabine stood there watching the entire exchange as something clicked into place. She’d been here for weeks and had no idea who any of these siblings really were. They’d only shared with her what part of them they wanted her to see.
“Well then,” Sabine said, still smiling though she wanted to scream, “I’ll leave you two alone to continue your riveting conversation.” Neither seemed to notice the sarcastic tone to her words. “Let’s go, Harta.” She strolled away, the dog and her guards trailing after her.
Back in the palace, she turned and asked one of her guards to take her to the library. Without questioning her desire to go there, they simply led the way. At the entrance, her guards remained out in the hallway with Harta.
Sabine stepped inside, surprised at how vastly different it was from the library in her castle back home. As with everything in Lynk, it felt half-naked. Most of the bookshelves weren’t even full. The walls were white instead of covered with dark wood. One of the walls was entirely covered with windows, allowing light to cascade through it. The light would ruin the books. At least there were windows instead of archways leading to the outside. Half the books were covered with dust since it seemed as if no one ever came in this room.
Sighing, she meandered through the library—if it could even be called that. She perused the shelves, looking for anything about the League of Rulers. She didn’t know why, but she felt like a lot of what was going on had to do with this League. If she could learn more about it, it might help her understand everything. In one of the rows, she found books with maps, in another row she spotted several stories, and another row contained some books on Lynk’s history. With her hands on her hips, she shook her head. This was not a proper library. There needed to be more books. Lots more books. What would she read in the winter? This was simply unacceptable.
“Princess Sabine,” Markis’s voice rang out.
“I’m over here,” she said so he could easily find her.
Footsteps pounded and then he rounded the corner of the bookshelf. His eyes were tight and something about his energy felt off.
“Is there a problem?” she asked, reaching down to pat the dagger strapped to her thigh.
Skidding to a halt before her, he bowed. “Your Highness.” He held a letter in his hand. “I need to speak with you,” he whispered. Then loudly he said, “A letter arrived from your father. I knew you’d want to read it right away.” He handed her the envelope.
She hoped his odd behavior didn’t have to do with bad news from Bakley. With shaking fingers, she opened the envelope and found a blank piece of paper. “What’s going on?” she whispered, panic starting to build.
“Something’s wrong,” he replied. “Members from the Avoni delegation have been snooping around your hallway and they’ve been asking all sorts of questions about you.”
Cold fear slithered over her skin. “What sorts of questions?”
Markis glanced over his shoulder to ensure they were still alone. “About the marriage contract, your relationship with the king, whether you came here of your own accord, about the children being kidnapped in Bakley.” His shoulders rose and fell. “I know I don’t have any evidence, but something’s amiss. I’m certain of it.”
“I agree with you.” Like Markis, she didn’t have anything concrete other than a feeling. “Out of curiosity, do you know if the king thinks anything is wrong?” He’d acted oddly at breakfast this morning.
“I have no idea. He doesn’t confide in me.”
“And you haven’t heard anything among the other guards?”
He shook his head.
“What do you know about the League of Rulers?” she asked.
He glanced over his shoulder again. “Only that each kingdom has a single representative in the League.”
She nodded. That made sense. “I’ve been trying to find a book on the League, but this library doesn’t have a single one.”
“Do you know who Lynk’s representative is?” Markis raised his eyebrows, expecting her to draw her own conclusions.
“I do. Perhaps it’s time for me to go and speak with my brother-in-law on the matter.”
“I’m going to guess Anton?”
“Correct.”
“I…” Markis trailed off.
“You what?”
“What do you know about Avoni?” he asked.
“Not much.” Her studies rarely included the other kingdoms, especially since her parents saw no need since she was sixth in line for the throne. When she had children, she would make sure they learned all they could about the other kingdoms so none of them ended up in a situation like this one.
“They are quite wealthy,” Markis said.
