The Nanny Wages

Chapter 2 The Stolen Royal Ring

Caleb had predicted I would never get near the castle gates. Like most of his predictions about my life, this one was wrong. I had an invitation and no reason to sneak inside.

At the outer checkpoint, Caleb and Ruby were waiting in the long line for lesser Alphas and their entourages.

Caleb shifted whenever the line stopped. Ruby snapped her fan open and shut, insulted by every delay.

Ruby spotted me and stared at my hand.

“There she is!” Ruby's shriek turned a dozen heads. She pointed a trembling, manicured finger at me. “That ring! Guards, look at her ring!”

The black obsidian rose sat cool against my finger. Kaelen had carved his personal sigil from the heart of a volcano and placed it there himself.

The ring carried both his promise and his authority.

“That is the Alpha King's sigil!” Ruby shouted. “She's a rogue. A nobody. She's wearing a forgery to mock the throne! She's a thief!”

Gasps ran down the line. Every wolf there knew that insulting the King carried a death sentence. Ruby had made sure the guards heard her accusation.

Caleb stepped forward and raised his voice. “Sera, this has gone far enough. Admit you bought a cheap copy, and I'll speak to the guards for you.”

A senior royal official strode over from the inner checkpoint. The King's crest was embroidered in silver across his uniform. He looked irritated before he even reached us.

“What is the meaning of this disturbance?” he demanded.

“This rogue is impersonating royalty,” Ruby said. “She stole the King's sigil!”

The official looked from my simple dress to my face, then down at the obsidian rose. His mouth closed.

The color left his cheeks. His hand stopped halfway to the hilt at his side.

He dropped into a bow so deep his forehead almost touched the courtyard stones.

“Your Grace. Forgive me. We were not told you would arrive through this gate.”

Caleb's smile slipped. Ruby lowered her pointing hand, but her finger remained rigid. Behind them, nobles who had been leaning closer now took a careful step back.

The official rose and turned on the guards. “Why is Her Grace waiting in this line?”

He waved at the nobles behind us as though their presence answered the question.

“Open the Royal Archway. Clear the path now!”

He bowed again and moved to my side. “This way, Your Grace. Please forgive the delay.”

He led me away from the queue toward a gilded gate set into the wall beside the main entrance.

It opened without a sound. Beyond it, sunlight crossed a private corridor lined with royal banners.

At the threshold, I looked back.

From Caleb's place in line, all he could see was a royal official escorting me away from the crowd. The gate itself was hidden from his angle.

His smile returned. He turned to the wolf beside him.

“A shame, really. Pride is dangerous for a lone wolf. I'll visit the dungeon after the banquet.”

“By then, she may understand that I'm the only one who can save her.”

The gilded gate closed before he could see where the corridor led. I heard his last promise to rescue me cut off behind the metal.