The throne room was full, everybody murmuring and shifting. Vera had urged her father to make an announcement due to the whispers and the wondering that was happening within the walls of the castle. She remembered Aly and Merida, their confusion, and urged the king to grant his subjects clarity in what was happening.
She was standing beside him as he sat the throne, hands clasped behind her back, too anxious to sit still, yet too composed to fidget now. She saw James standing with his father on the upper balcony, but her gaze didn’t linger. They’d conversed in the kitchens while she ate, but in her opinion, it was all surface conversation.
Lord Rayne was in the crowd before her, taller than everyone around him. She could feel him watching her. She liked having his gaze on her, much more
