Zandrue slowed down as she approached the concert room doors. She adjusted the sleeves of her gown and nodded to the servants, who opened the doors.

There were a lot of people in the hall—a lot more than was usual for these little recitals.

Annai strode towards her. “There you are, Zandrue. I was starting to get worried.”

Zandrue curtsied. “Apologies, your Highness. I had a...wardrobe emergency that had to be fixed before I could dare show myself in public.”

The truth was, her meeting with Ardon had gone longer than she would have liked. She had considered not going to see Quilla at all, but decided it was important to prepare for tomorrow. The wardrobe “emergency” was simply that she hadn’t had time to get ready at all.

Annai waved her hand dismissively. “Think nothing of it, my dear. It just gave us time to get our much larger crowd seated.” She came up beside Zandrue, leaned in close, and whispered. “We’ve even attracted some of the boys today.”

Zandrue had noticed that. Prince Malef was here, seated with Lidda Plavin. Pastrin and Gabriella were here too, and so was Rudiger, seated between the two. Zandrue hadn’t expected that. Barnol Friaz and his wife were here as usual, as was Nedwin Friaz, Lidda Plavin’s mother, and several others Zandrue recognised and knew the names of, but had had very little interaction with. There were even a couple of people Zandrue didn’t recognise at all. People came and went here at the Palace so frequently—visiting nobles arrived and others left—it was virtually impossible to keep track of them all.

“Try not to stare at Malef,” Annai whispered, leading Zandrue over to the harpsichord. Tianna stood beside it and gave Zandrue a forced smile. If Tianna had recognised Zandrue earlier, it seemed at the very least, she hadn’t told Annai or Laänne.

“Tianna had the most dreadful fright earlier today,” Annai whispered. “Poor thing’s all shaken up. I’ll tell you all about it later, of course, but for now, I thought maybe you could start today.”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry to hear that, Tianna. If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know, and of course I’ll start.” So it seemed Tianna had noticed she was being followed. It was not surprising, but it was disappointing. Zandrue needed to be more careful.

Annai moved to the centre of the room and cleared her throat. The light chatter between the spectators quietened down. “My Lords and Ladies, I would like to thank you all ever so much for being here. My friends and I give these little recitals out of a sheer love of music, but we are always happy for others to be here to experience the music with us. It makes me so happy to see so many of you here today. I only hope our performances live up to your expectations. Now, without further delay, my good friend, Zandrue will be starting for us today.”

Zandrue curtsied as the audience clapped and Annai moved aside. Rudiger was grinning.

Oh gods, she was performing in front of Rudiger. She wasn’t really a singer. She was just doing this to make nice with Annai. What if she screwed up? What if he hated her song? Her singing? She very nearly froze, but she managed to muster up enough courage to turn her head towards Laänne, ready to give her the nod to start playing.

“Your Highness, please forgive the interruption, but before you start, I simply must know who your singer is.”

Zandrue let out a slow breath, and curtsied to Lady Plavin, who had risen from her seat and was coming forth.

Annai came up beside Zandrue. “Of course, your Ladyship. Zandrue, my dear, do introduce yourself.”

Zandrue curtsied a second time. “Zandromeda Armida, your Ladyship.”

Lady Plavin regarded Zandrue with cold eyes. She was as tall as Zandrue, but skinnier, with a pinched nose and thin face. “Zandromeda, you say?”

“Zandrue, if it please your Ladyship.”

Lidda Plavin gave a very slight smile. “Zandrue, of course. I can’t say I’ve heard of the...Armida family did you say it was?”

“That’s hardly surprising, your Ladyship,” Zandrue said. “We’re a small family from Rivalle. Not very important. We’re distantly related to the Sildanes.”

“Ah, the Sildanes, of course.” Lady Plavin regarded Zandrue even more closely. “Please excuse my bluntness, Zandrue, but you look as if you have Eloorin in you. Yet you are a friend of her Highness?” She looked at Annai, whose face dropped into a scowl.

What was her game? Lidda Plavin had been there nearly three weeks now, and had done nothing to indicate she even recognised Zandrue and Rudiger, never mind actually doing anything against them.

Zandrue broke into a broad smile. “I get that all the time, your Ladyship. I am as I am.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to imply, your Ladyship,” Annai said, “but yes, Zandrue is a friend of mine. A dear one. She even saved my life last month. So I would ask that you keep your insinuations to yourself.”

Lady Plavin smiled and curtsied. “I am so sorry, your Highness. Please accept my apology.”

Annai nodded, still frowning.

Lidda Plavin returned to her seat.

“My apologies, everyone. There will be a very slight delay before we begin.” Annai came close to Zandrue again and they both turned to face the harpsichord so their backs were to the audience.

Tianna stood nearby with a neutral expression. Zandrue wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“I don’t know what Malef sees in that woman,” Annai hissed. “I can’t stand her. Don’t let her get to you, Zandrue dear. She’s doing this to get at me. Do you feel up to continuing or would you like me to start?”

“It’s fine,” Zandrue said. “I’ll start.” She was far more bothered by singing in front of Rudiger, and that wasn’t going to change regardless of when she sang. Might as well get it over with right away.

Annai kissed her on the cheek. “That’s my girl.”

Tianna frowned and turned her face away.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

While Annai moved around the harpsichord to stand near Tianna, Zandrue took a couple deep breaths. Then she turned to face the audience again, and curtsied. She did her best not to look at Rudiger and nodded to Laänne, who began to play. Zandrue started to sing.

She messed up a bit in the first song, but after that, the recital went smoothly. Annai put down the slips in that first song to Lidda Plavin’s comments, and Zandrue was happy to let her think that.

After the recital, she, Annai, Tianna, and Laänne gathered in Annai’s apartments.

“I can’t believe the nerve of that woman,” Annai said, accepting a glass of wine from one of her handmaids. “Just because Malef is showing her a bit of attention doesn’t give her the right to behave so atrociously to my friends.”

Laänne leaned over to Zandrue. “If nothing else, Zandrue, I think Annai’s response here shows you’ve been fully accepted into her inner circle.”

Annai chuckled and took a seat across from the two of them and beside Tianna. She adjusted her skirts so she could sit as close to Tianna as possible. “Laänne may just be on to something, Zandrue dear. As you know, I was unsure of you at first, mainly because of your association with Felitïa. But after you saved my life, I decided to give you a chance, and you’ve more than passed. I’ve never really thought of myself as having an inner circle as Laänne puts it, but she’s basically right. What do you say, Tianna dear? Is Zandrue now part of our inner circle?”

Tianna eyed Zandrue, then looked at Annai and smiled. “Whatever you think best, of course.”

Annai chuckled and put an arm around Tianna. “Tianna’s always so modest.” She raised her wine glass. “But yes, I accept you into my inner circle. I like the sound of that, to be honest. Tianna here, of course, is a sister to me. But you get to join a rare group of people like Laänne in my inner circle.”

Zandrue raised her own glass, and they all drank. “You honour me, your Highness.”

Annai tutted. “Just Annai when we’re in private. That’s a perk of being in my inner circle.” She giggled.

“Then you honour me, Annai.”

Annai put her glass down on the table in front of her. “Oh, Tianna dear, you must tell Zandrue what happened to you this morning.”

Tianna took another drink from her glass and nodded. She looked at each of them conspiratorially. “I was on my way to the concert hall.”

“Turns out she was being sneaky about something she was planning for my birthday next month,” Annai said.

Tianna stuck her tongue out at Annai. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but yes, I was looking to make arrangements for us to do a proper performance there.”

“It would have been the most wonderful surprise,” Annai said. “And it still will be a wonderful event, even though I know about it in advance.”

Tianna sighed. “Yes, after what happened, I had to tell her what I was up to. At any rate, on my way, I noticed there was someone following me. At first, I assumed it was just a servant headed in the same direction I was, but then I noticed this person was dressed too well for a servant, with reasonably expensive furs and boots. Well, I panicked a little.”

“Can you believe it, Zandrue?” Annai said.

“That sounds horrifying, Tianna,” Zandrue said. “What did you do?”

“I went round the corner between the Crown Prince Garden and the conservatory, and hopped the wall into the conservatory where I hid in one of the glasshouses until I was sure the person was gone.”

Annai took a new glass from a tray proffered by a handmaid. “Can you imagine it? Little Tianna here climbing over a wall? I am aghast you were forced to do something so undignified, my dear.” She looked at Zandrue. “I was wondering if maybe this might have something to do with the attempt on my life last month. Perhaps the assassin has started to target my friends?”

Zandrue put her glass down. “It’s possible, though it has been a month and a half without further attempts. Nonetheless, we shouldn’t ignore the possibility. I’m so glad you’re okay, Tianna.”

“Thank you, Zandrue,” Tianna said.

Was Tianna telling the truth? Was she really innocently planning a surprise for Annai’s birthday and had panicked at being followed? Maybe, though it didn’t explain why she reached the conclusion she was being followed. They had not gone far enough that it couldn’t have been coincidence.

No, the story about the concert was probably for Annai’s benefit, though it was interesting Tianna felt the need to tell Annai anything had happened at all. At least she hadn’t recognised Zandrue. If she had, Zandrue suspected things would be very different with Annai right now.

When Zandrue told Ardon earlier about Tianna’s strange behaviour, he had been characteristically nonchalant about it. He had said he’d never received any reports about Tianna that would have made him consider her a Darker; however, he agreed they couldn’t ignore the possibility. With her father having the ear of the Queen, Tianna would be in a position to do some substantial damage as a Darker.

Zandrue leaned forward. “Annai, if I might make a suggestion?”

Annai nodded. “Of course.”

“Given the circumstances, I think none of us in this room should ever be alone. We should always have guards with us if we go anywhere.” She looked at Tianna. “Even if it’s to arrange a fun surprise. The risk is just too great.”

“No, you’re right of course, Zandrue,” Tianna said.

“We should also keep each other in sight as much as possible as well. Maybe at least two of us together at all times.” That would make it harder to investigate, but with luck, after tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter that much.

“That will be difficult at times,” Annai said. “When I meet with my mother or at family-only dinners.”

“Just whenever possible then,” Zandrue said.

“Agreed,” Annai said. “In fact, I’d like to suggest you three all stay here with me tonight. We’ll make it a little party. First though, you should go get your handmaids and bring them here. We don’t want a repeat of this morning, do we? There’s only so much my girls can do to fix you lot up.”

They all laughed.

Laänne nudged Zandrue. “Won’t Rudiger get lonely without you?”

“Probably, but it’ll do him some good. He’s a big boy now and needs to get used to being on his own once in a while.”

They all laughed again.

Zandrue looked over at Tianna and caught her eye. The young woman smiled at her, and Zandrue smiled back. Wider investigation might be more difficult with this, but at least this meant she could keep a close eye on Tianna—assuming, of course, there was any actual reason to keep an eye on her. She was doing a very good job of acting innocent.

Oh well, Zandrue could worry about that in due course.

All that mattered for the moment was Quilla’s performance in the morning.