He smiled. “If you could build your own castle . . .”

“Stained glass everywhere,” I sighed. “Obviously.”

“A huge garden.”

“Yes!” I agreed. “With a maze.”

“A maze?” he asked skeptically.

“They’re quite amusing. And sweet-smelling flowers.”

“A circular throne room.”

I squinted. “Circular?”

“Yes,” he insisted, his voice implying this was an obvious necessity. “If a room is rectangular, there’s a head and a foot. Clear ranking. If it’s round, everyone looks to the center. Everyone is equally welcome.”

I smiled. “Then it must have a circular throne room.”

The carriage came to a stop, and Etan gave me an encouraging but sober look. “Are you ready?”

“I think so. Yes.”

“Very well.” He hopped out quickly, kicking up gravel in his wake.

And I took his hand with what, I was surprised to find, felt like a very genuine smile.

Twelve

ETAN ESCORTED ME TO THE rest of the family as they, too, were exiting their coach. Mother was rubbing her back, and the tension in Scarlet’s shoulders was unmistakable.

“They look like different people,” I whispered to Etan.

“We all are at the castle,” he replied. “You try not to change. They’ll need you.”

I nodded as I came up to Scarlet and embraced her.

“Was it awful?” she asked quietly.

“Well, there was no bloodshed, so I’ll call it a victory.”

She chuckled, and we both turned to Mother. “What’s first?” I asked.

It was Uncle Reid who answered. “We present ourselves to the king.” He turned to offer Aunt Jovana his arm, and right behind them, Mother and Scarlet took one another’s hand.

“Right now?” I asked Etan under my breath.

He adjusted the dagger on his waist. I hadn’t noticed it in the carriage. “Better to get a sense of his mood and intentions straightaway. And it may even his temper when he sees Aunt Whitley and Scarlet alone. Best to do it right away.”

I smoothed down my dress, the motion about as difficult as I’d expected with the draping Isolten sleeves, and swallowed. It was always going to come to this. Eventually, I would have to look that man in the face. I had to be respectful and silent, all the while knowing I was staring into the eyes of the person who had ordered the death of my husband. I found myself drawing in short, staggered breaths as I realized how close I was to my enemy.

“What is it?” Etan asked, his eyes never actually coming down to me but instead surveying the crowd.

“Etan, I don’t think I can do this,” I whispered.

He held his arm out, so calm, used to doing this hundreds of times across the years. “You’re not doing this. We are.”

He offered a tentative smile, and I placed my trembling hand on his arm as we fell in line behind our family. The entryway to Chetwin Palace was marked by large, circular stone posts driven into the ground, making an edge for the stone path. Unlike the wide gravel area to leave horses and carriages at Keresken, there was a semicircle drive, and we were expected to disembark while the drivers moved the coaches to another area. It left room for a wide lawn, and, while it was a pretty piece of land, it was simply empty. I turned away from it, my eyes drifting up the pale stone walls.