Page 64 of The Royal Throne
After supper, Rainer excused himself to walk Lottie back to her room. Anton and Evander left to pack their bags in order to depart immediately for the League meeting being held tomorrow. Axel mentioned something about needing to visit a woman and a bed being involved.
In the few moments Sabine had with Evander before supper, she hadn’t been able to warn him about having Lottie arrested. However, since he was going to be out of the palace for a couple of days, that might work in her favor. Rainer couldn’t take his frustration out on Evander if he wasn’t here. Hopefully he wouldn’t come after Sabine.
The candles flickered, a soft wind cascading into the room.
Drew stepped inside. “Your Majesty,” he said. “It’s time.”
She stood and faced him. “You’re going with Captain Lithane now?”
“Yes. Erikin is taking over for me. I suggest you not be in your room. Go somewhere the king can’t find you, but make sure someone is with you so you have an alibi.”
Sabine took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Okay. Good luck.”
“Once we have her in the dungeon, Captain Lithane and I will remain guarding her until she’s brought before the court tomorrow. Expect an announcement to be made either later tonight or first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you.”
He bowed then left.
Out in the hallway, Sabine found Erikin and her guards waiting. They headed through the palace. As she walked by one of the courtyards, she spotted Karmen with a handful of women at her side.
“Good evening, ladies,” Sabine said as she passed Karmen and the others.
They all curtseyed and smiled.
“Your Majesty,” Karmen called after her, “a moment please.”
Sabine turned around and faced the group. “Of course.” She folded her hands together.
“We are having a disagreement,” Karmen said. “Perhaps you can settle it for us?”
“I’m not sure how much help I can be,” Sabine replied.
Up ahead, a handful of guards ran past heading toward the royal wing. It had to be something involving Lottie. Unease took root. The guards were probably escorting the princess to the dungeon at this moment. Hopefully they would use the inner hallways instead of going through one of the populated courtyards, such as this one.
“We need to know which lord is more handsome,” Karmen said. “Lord Garnet or Lord Henly?”
Sabine forced herself to laugh so no one would realize how uneasy she was at the moment. “I’m sorry, but I’m not familiar with either gentleman, so I can’t give you an answer.”
“Lord Garnet is on the upper level to your left,” Karmen said. “He’s the one in green.”
Sabine peered in that direction. “Oh, he is good looking.” He had blond hair, appeared to be in his thirties, and his skin was golden.
“Lord Henly is over there, to the right. The one in blue.”
“Hmm,” Sabine said. Henly looked to be in his late twenties with dark hair similar to Rainer’s. “I think I prefer Lord Garnet.”
“I knew it!” Karmen said, slapping her leg. “And we have a winner.”
The ladies all laughed.
Another group of guards ran by.
“Does anyone know what’s going on?” Karmen asked in a soft voice, her focus directed at Sabine.
Given that word would spread soon enough, Sabine decided to tell them. “Princess Lottie has been arrested.” There was a collective gasp. “As some of you may have heard, the princess hired an assassin to kill my sister, Princess Alina. She also hired an assassin to kill me. The king chose to do nothing since she’s his sister. However, the law doesn’t work that way, so I intervened.”
The women’s eyes widened, and no one spoke.
