The queen’s table glittered with crystal and menace. We were seated too close to the throne and too far from the exits, and I hated how obvious it felt. My wine glass had been refilled three times already before I even realized I hadn’t taken a single sip.
Arabella, radiant in court ivory with silver threading, leaned toward me like she had a secret she couldn’t wait to share. “You’ve made yourself very interesting lately, cousin,” she said, her voice soft, sugared silk. “Almost… distracting.”
I smiled the way a blade does when it’s sliding back into its sheath. “How dull I must’ve been before.”
Her lashes lowered just slightly. “Dull women don’t summon revolutionaries to their door under the guise of trade envoys.”
My pulse caught, sharp, but my face didn’t move. “And you don’t find t
