All eyes turned to Kallia’s bedchamber door as it opened and the princess strode out, looking quite lovely for having been locked up all day. She said nothing as she strode across the room to take a seat at the table next to Prim. She offered gracious smiles to both Lanhami before turning her attention to the handmaiden. She didn’t acknowledge Dante at all.
“Prim, sweetheart, what are you doing?” Kallia said in a too calculated tone that Prim knew meant she was not pleased to find Prim entertaining in her suite.
Prim blinked. “Prince Egan, Princess Torra, and I were just discussing the possibility of a Wassalia-Lanham union that wouldn’t require you and Egan to wed.”
The princess had been reaching over the table to ladle some rice onto her plate, but paused at Prim’s words. Her eyes widened. “Pardon me?”
Prim made a celebratory noise and pointed at Torra with both hands. “May I present your future bride?” she said with a bemused smile.
Kallia slowly set down her plate and the serving spoon. Prim did not at all like the look the princess was giving her. “Prim, a word?” the princess said, nodding toward her bedchamber.
Prim dragged her eyes to the Lanhami royals, pressing her lips between her teeth. She scooted her chair back, the feet scraping loudly on the stone floor, and slowly rose.
Princess Torra then scooted her chair back, rising quickly. “Actually, Kallia, may we talk?”
Kallia looked between the two women then nodded. Thank Solin. Prim decided she rather liked Torra.
The two princesses disappeared into the bedchamber.
Prim averted her eyes from the prince in an attempt to give him some semblance of privacy as he attempted to collect himself. She turned around in her chair, hooking her elbow over the back to look at Dante. His head was slightly tilted and she knew he was listening to the princesses’ conversation. She wondered if it had anything to do with curiosity--as it would have if it had been her with the super hearing listening in--or simply just to make sure Kallia was safe. She wouldn’t care either way. She’d be amused by the former and grateful for the latter. Dante winked at her as she stared at him consideringly, eliciting a smile that she tried and failed to hide.
He made a good guard. Too bad he was only playing.
Egan cleared his throat and Prim turned back around to face him. His face was dry but his nose and eyes were still a bit red.
“I tried to talk Neros out of it. You know, the distraction,” he said quietly in that rolling Lanhami accent. The prince swallowed, looking at Dante as if unsure if he could speak freely in front of him. He didn’t know Dante was intimately familiar with Neros’s plot, nor that he was too focused on the princesses to pay much attention to him right now anyway. He shook his head. “But once he set his sights on something, he would stop at nothing to get it.”
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Prim supposed that was a good thing to know if Kallia’s parents wouldn’t consider Torra and forced the betrothal to Egan to proceed, though she hoped Kallia would admit to Neros’s plot and Egan’s complicity if it came to that. It made Egan a bit more palatable that he didn’t approve, but not much more given he didn’t do more to stop his older brother, so Prim didn’t know what to say. If Neros was alive, she would have likely ignored Egan’s words, branding him a coward. But because Neros was dead, she felt the need to comfort the grieving prince.
“I got that impression. I also got the impression that it went both ways. That he would have stopped at nothing to be a good husband and a good king. I’m sure he was a good brother.” She smiled apologetically, but again looked away when silent tears slid down the young prince’s cheeks.
They spoke no more, instead sitting in tense silence, neither touching their food. Prim turned to look at Dante a few times, beseeching an update. He never said anything, only stroked a phantom hand down her cheek. She took that to mean all was well. At one point she excused herself from the table to light the fire and sconces as daylight began to fade.
Eventually, the two princesses returned to the entertaining suite. They said nothing but had subdued smiles on their faces as they retook their seats and began eating. Prim watched Kallia, but her princesses didn’t even glance her way. She’d have to wait until the Lanhami royals left to get the details. Or ask Dante later.
Only the sounds of clinking dishes filled the suite as the princesses ate, Prim pecked at her own food, and Egan pushed his around his plate without taking a single bite. When Torra and Kallia finished, Torra gingerly wrapped an arm around Egan and led him out of the suite, thanking both Prim and Kallia for the meal.
Prim locked the door behind them before Kallia’s guards could return. “Well?” she asked, whirling back to look at the princess who was still seated at the table, lazily swirling a glass of wine in her hand.
The princess didn’t look at her as she asked, “When are you to report your findings to my mother?”
Prim stalked across the room to stand by Dante, leaning her shoulder into his chest. There was something exciting about being in the same room with him and others and having to hide her feelings for him, but it was also torture to not touch him. She knew he felt the same way, and appreciated when he slipped an arm around her waist, palming her stomach.
“I was supposed to meet with her the day after tomorrow. The day before the announcement,” Prim said, though she wasn’t sure how Neros’s death was going to change their plans.
Kallia took a sip from the glass. “I want you to meet with her first thing tomorrow. You will tell her about uncovering Neros and Egan’s plot.”
Prim extracted herself from Dante’s grip to take her seat at the table again, facing Kallia. “Egan wasn’t involved. He told me he tried to talk Neros out of it.”
The princess slowly dragged her focus to Prim. “He told you that just now?” Prim nodded and Kallia narrowed her eyes and paused for a moment. “You will tell her about uncovering that it was Neros and Egan who ordered the kidnapping. You will tell her I know nothing about it--that you came to her first. You will suggest the only option to unite our countries will be Torra. As this is your plan, I’m assuming you have an idea of how to address the problem of heirs?”
Prim bit her lip. “I have some ideas,” she said hesitantly. She did, but she wasn’t sure Mallis or Achrod would find them acceptable.
Kallia closed her eyes, shaking her head. The wine in her glass sloshed up the sides with the motion. “This isn’t going to work.” She opened her eyes, looking intensely at Prim. She sat the glass down, keeping her focus on the handmaiden. Then she suddenly lurched forward, wrapping her arms around Prim. “But thank you for trying,” the princess said into Prim’s shoulder.