Page 25 of The Royal Throne
Her guards led her to the royal dining room. When she entered, she found Anton and Axel both already eating breakfast.
Anton went still, his eyes bulging in shock.
A smile slid across Axel’s face and he set his spoon down, admiring her. “I see you came to play.”
Anton glanced at him, his brows pulling together in question.
“Our dear, sweet queen must know that our beloved brother returned with his mistress,” Axel said as he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.
With a sigh, Anton resumed eating, focusing on his plate as he spoke. “He’s a fool. You’d think he’d be more worried about the state of the kingdom than who’s in his bed.”
It was embarrassing how everyone knew Rainer was sleeping with another woman. She took a seat at the head of the table, thinking about her own parents. Her father would never have treated her mother this way. Even her two brothers who were married loved their wives and wouldn’t consider taking a mistress.
A servant entered, setting a plate before her.
“Perhaps the state of the kingdom wouldn’t be so dire if the king weren’t so eager to go to war and destroy the League.” She plopped a blueberry in her mouth, her irritation growing. “Perhaps his own brothers could offer him counsel and encourage him to do the right thing.”
“Maybe,” Anton said. “If Rainer would listen to us, we could do that. But Rainer does what he wants with no regard to our feelings. We’re only half-brothers after all.”
“He put you in charge of the League and his spies,” she replied. “That has to mean he trusts you.”
Anton rubbed his face. “The League position goes to a prince of the kingdom, so he didn’t have many options. And as for the spies…” He chuckled.
Sabine so rarely saw Anton laugh that the sight made her pause. “Are you all right?”
Axel picked up his fork and resumed eating. “The late king caught Anton spying,” he explained. “That’s why he put him in charge of all that. Rainer has just kept the status quo since being crowned.”
She took a sip of her tea. “How old were you when that happened?”
Anton shrugged but didn’t answer as he took a bite of his toast.
“My dear Sabine,” Axel said, his words taking on a sing-song quality “I’m glad you’re here. You definitely keep things interesting.” He took a bite of his eggs, winking at her.
She plucked a blueberry from her plate and chucked it at him, hitting him in the head.
Startled, his eyes widened. “See, I didn’t expect you to do that.” He picked up the blueberry, tossing it in his mouth.
Shaking her head, Sabine took another sip of her tea. She heard movement at the entrance to the room and suspected Rainer had finally arrived. He’d always gotten upset with her for dressing too demurely. Hopefully this outfit would please him and show him how hard she was trying to be the queen he wanted and needed. Although, that wasn’t the real reason she’d chosen this dress. The real reason was needing the people here in the palace to see and believe she was one of them. In order to stop the war, she needed them on her side.
Nonchalantly, she peeked at Rainer to see his reaction and almost dropped her fork when she spotted Heather walking in behind him. He sat in the chair opposite Sabine, not even bothering to look her way.
Swallowing her fury, Sabine set her cup on the saucer and decided to play dumb. “I need some fresh hot water for my tea,” she said to Heather.
Heather sat in the chair to Rainer’s left, not realizing Sabine had even been addressing her.
Axel chuckled, shaking his head, enjoying this far more than he should.
“The hot water isn’t going to magically appear on the table, Heather,” she said, using the woman’s name to make it clear she was speaking to her.
“Excuse me?” Heather said, confusion showing on her face.
Sabine snapped her fingers and pointed at her tea cup. “I need hot water. And pregnant or not, sitting at the royal family’s table is inappropriate. Servants have their own quarters. If you need to work less, take that up with your husband. Don’t embarrass yourself in front of your king and queen by sitting down on the job.”
Rainer’s cheeks reddened. “Heather is not a servant,” he said, his voice low, finally looking at Sabine. When he saw her outfit, he blinked several times, then looked away.
“Isn’t Heather’s sister, Claire, my lady’s maid?”
“Yes, she is,” Rainer ground out, the words sounding forced and strained.
