I supposed I was his fiancée in a way, even if it never made it onto paper—and thank goodness for that. A shudder went through me as I thought about promises on paper.

“Anyway, I married Silas, found myself a sister,” I added, looking over to a hesitantly pleased Scarlet, “and my dearest friend shall soon be queen of Coroa. I hope. I’m very pleased for both her and King Jameson.”

One of them shook her head. “So, you gave up being queen?”

“Yes,” I confirmed.

“On purpose?”

“Yes. To marry Silas.”

The girl in front crossed her arms. “King Quinten was right. All Coroans should be tossed into the sea.”

The words were as sharp as a slap across the face, and they left me breathless.

“What?” Scarlet replied sharply.

“Silas was handsome and all, but that’s just common stupidity. Who passes up a crown?”

I glared at this girl. “And were you first in line when King Quinten was looking for a new bride?” I snapped quietly.

She swallowed and raised her head, looking at me down her nose.

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Leona Marshe!” Mother scolded. “I’m tempted to tell your parents about your disgraceful words.”

Leona finally looked away from me, shrugging as she did. “You could try, but I’m confident they’d agree.” With that, the three girls walked off, and I was left dazed.

I didn’t look around, not wanting to know who had overheard. It was true that in my short time at Chetwin Palace, most of my interactions had been kind, even positive. This one was so cold that it froze all the others from my memory.

“We can leave,” Scarlet offered sympathetically.

“I’m not leaving.” I stared ahead, looking at the first riders as they set themselves up, refusing to give away just how shaken I was. “We still have a job to do. I can’t go anywhere until that’s done.”

Seventeen

I KNEW THE RULES OF the joust well enough, as it had been Jameson’s favorite event. The goal was to land a hit on the other rider’s shield as he passed in the opposite direction, and you received even more points if you knocked the man to the ground. There were other rules, too, about the speed of the horse or hitting a helmet, which would take away points as quickly as you’d earned them, but all anyone cared about was watching someone getting hit.

I wasn’t particularly fond of the sound of lances hitting armor, and I was still haunted by the three men I’d seen die during the sport, one at Jameson’s own hand. But regardless of what happened today, I refused to leave the arena.

I kept looking over my shoulder. I needed to get to Valentina.

“Are you all right?” Uncle Reid asked after a few rounds.

I nodded.

“Good. Here.” He handed me his handkerchief. “The queen looks warm.”

I supposed in Isolte, this weather could pass for warm. I took a deep breath and snatched up the handkerchief, carefully sliding my note into the folds. I watched Valentina intently as I approached, hoping to convey wordlessly that this was more than a gesture. But first, I went to her husband.