Perhaps because of the descending slump of Hadrian’s shoulders, the holy man gave a markedly short exchanging of vows, singing through his prayers at such a speed it was hard to follow along. And then, quite suddenly, they were man and wife, prince and princess, the next key in a secure line of succession for King Quinten.

We all applauded as we knew we must, but I felt a part of myself sink. After knowing all that Quinten took from me, it was painful to see him get anything he wanted.

While the king, queen, their son, and their brand-new daughter-in-law filed down the aisle, we stood and waited. As soon as they were out of the temple, we paraded out behind them. At the door, the royal family waited to receive us, to be congratulated by the entire temple of guests before celebrating.

Uncle Reid and Aunt Jovana were first in line, and they bowed and curtsied, keeping everything—their anger, their disappointment, their sorrow—locked up tight. When I got to the royal family, King Quinten was first in line, followed by the new couple, and Valentina was at the end. I was confused as to why Quinten wouldn’t keep his wife beside him, but after a quick moment of thought, it made perfect sense: they were ordered by rank, if only in his eyes.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty. Such a privilege,” I said.

“I’m sure.”

He didn’t even look at me but passed me on to Prince Hadrian.

“Your Royal Highness. May you and your new wife have many happy years together.”

I realized then that I’d never heard Hadrian speak. I assumed he could talk, but he simply never spoke in my presence. Today was no exception. He nodded, pressing his lips into something that looked similar to a smile, while Phillipa did the talking.

“How very kind. I hear you are close to the royal family. I do hope we’ll see more of you at court.”

“Perhaps, Highness. That is entirely dependent upon my mother,” I hedged, unsure if I could trust the princess, and moved on to Valentina.

She held out her hand as if she expected it to be kissed. When I reached to take it, she gripped my fingers tight and pulled me closer.

“Take these to your room immediately and hide them. Get through the reception. Do not forget me.”

From the sleeve of the arm she’d been holding against her stomach, she pulled out several papers and shoved them up the wide sleeve of my gown. I put a hand over it to hold them all in place before sinking into an appropriate curtsy.

Ahead of me, Etan waited with his hand out for me.

“Not this time. I need to go by the room. I’ll meet you at the reception.” I went with the growing crowd back into the castle, finding Scarlet.

“I need the key to your trunk,” I murmured.

Without a single question, she slipped it out of her pocket and into mine, and I broke from everyone once we were inside, heading down the hall to our room. Once the door was shut, I pulled the packet of letters out of my sleeve. I stood for a moment in awe of Valentina. Not only had she managed to get ahold of the information we needed, she’d hidden it as she stood arm in arm with the person she took it from.