Gera handed her the matching earrings, then took the necklace out of its box. She moved behind Zarya so that she could fasten it around Zarya’s neck.

All Zarya could do was gape at something that probably cost more than a small planet. Why had Darling sent it to her?

She covered the stone with her hand—it was so large, she couldn’t even close her fist around it—while Gera worked with the catch. “Is this his mother’s?”

“No, Mistress. Lady Natale has all of her jewelry with her at the Summer Palace. His lordship went down into the vault to select these for you.”

Vault?

Zarya frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“These are part of what his lordship inherited when his father died,” Gera explained. “Every lady of the empire is given her own jewels by her husband. When she passes, she may will them to someone or return them to the vault so that they remain the governor’s property and go to her child who inherits. This set belonged to his lordship’s great-grandmother. They were given to her when she birthed his grandfather. The center teardrop is the largest blodesteen ever cut.”

Those were the rarest of all the precious stones in existence.

Zarya picked it up to stare in awe of the priceless gem that was worth even more than she’d originally thought.

“Her ladyship always wore this set for all state functions, and at all celebrations. She claimed the blue stones were to calm her nerves and the red to inspire her husband to become even greater than he already was. If you’ve been down the north hallway, you’ve no doubt seen her wearing them in her state portrait. They were her most prized possession.”

Gera moved to put the earrings on.

Zarya kindly stopped her. “I can do it. Thank you, Gera.”

Inclining her head, Gera took her leave.

Zarya fastened the earrings, then went straight to Darling’s door. Knocking, she didn’t wait for him to respond before she pushed it open.

She froze instantly.

Holy mother of all shoes…

Darling was absolutely startling in his regal beauty. The navy uniform, trimmed in gold and maroon, made his eyes an even darker shade of blue. His valet had cut his hair so that it no longer fell over the left half of his face. Rather, the much shorter style curled around his collar and formed a perfect frame for his chiseled features. A style that left both of his eyes visible.

And braided into his hair so that it fell from behind his right ear was his harone—the three graduating strands of jewels that designated his status as a royal governor. The longest strand was made of red stone beads with every sixth bead being yellow. At the end hung a larger briolette cut of navy blue. The next strand up was dark blue with every fourth bead being yellow. The briolette on it was maroon. The shortest strand was red beads with every fifth bead blue. Its briolette was yellow.