Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Everyone lined up to greet the King and Queen of Bane. Brendon stood next to me, the helmet facing the correct way, with Franny on his other side. The mood between them had drastically soured. I had no idea how much she knew, but she clearly knew Brendon wasn’t the same person she’d grown close to over the past week.

Mother noticed too. Right before the carriage pulled up, she took one of Brendon’s hands and one of Franny’s and forced them together. “Whatever disagreement arose between you two, put it aside for now. Show them how close you have grown and that you are a united front.”

I stared at their clasped hands until the carriage stopped on the cobblestones before us. I did my best to wrestle my expression into something pleasant and welcoming. The corners of my lips strained and my eyes stretched too wide.

An attendant stepped down from the driver’s seat and opened the carriage door. “Presenting Her Royal Majesty, Queen Clarissa Banes,” they called, voice echoing through the courtyard. A pale hand appeared and the attendant clasped it, holding it steady as a petite woman stepped from the carriage. The sun shone on her red hair, the same rich flaming color as Brendon’s. Freckles splashed across her face, giving her a cheerful appearance that made her look far too young to have a full-grown son. She smiled kindly at the attendant, then looked around the people in front of her. Once her eyes landed on Brendon, the smile softened into something more maternal.

Her gaze turned to me next, startling me into standing straighter as she assessed me from head to toe. She moved on, but it seemed like she’d spent half the time looking over anyone else. Finally, she stepped in front of my parents and curtsied deeply. “Thank you so much for hosting this wondrous occasion. We are so honored to be here.”

“The honor is ours,” Father assured her, bowing to her in turn.

“Presenting His Royal Majesty, King Gregory Banes.” Brendon’s father stepped out of the carriage without the attendant’s help. Tall and strong, he looked more like an ancient warrior than a king. He glowered as he surveyed the line of greeters before him, eyes narrowed and deep furrows carved into his shaved head.

“Honey, your glasses,” the queen murmured.

The king blinked a few times, then patted down the front of his coat until he found the spectacles folded into one pocket. He slipped the silver frames onto his nose and his whole face changed—the narrowed eyes now wide and kind, the deep grooves of anger morphing into laugh lines. When he surveyed us the second time, it was with clear interest and a spark of approval.

“Frederick,” he called cheerfully.

I started and looked at him with wide eyes, then realized he was actually speaking to my father. He reached us in two long strides and took my father’s hand, shaking it vigorously. “Good to see you again, been a long time.”

Father grinned and clapped the other man on the back. “Good to see you too, Greg. Your son’s been an absolute delight. Can’t wait for him to join the family.”

“My son,” Gregory said. His eyes skated to Brendon, then flickered between me and Franny. “So glad to hear that.”

While they chatted, another person stepped from the carriage without the same ceremonial announcement as the king and queen. Kit shaded her eyes from the afternoon sun and said something to the attendant as they closed the door, then turned to all of us.

The red hair caught mother’s attention first. Her smile froze in place as she looked between Brendon, Clarissa, and Kit. “I wasn’t aware you had any other…” she hesitated for a long time before landing on the gender neutral, “children.”

Gregory waved Kit over and said, “Allow me to introduce Katherine Holmwood—a family friend and Brendon’s Honor Attendant for the wedding.”

“You can call me Kit,” she explained as she greeted first my mother then my father. Unlike the others, she didn’t look at me. How much had she explained to the king and queen? What story had she told them to excuse the suit of armor?

“You must be tired after the last few days of travel,” Mother said, leading everyone back into the castle. “Let’s get you settled in your rooms and then we can begin the final preparations for tomorrow.”

I wanted to hang back and talk to Brendon, but Mother grabbed my elbow, her fingers digging into the meat of my arm, and pulled me along with them. Somehow, she made it look completely casual, like I was escorting her through the palace instead of being dragged.

The smile remained firmly affixed to her face until the new guests were settled. I did my best to act like a dutiful son. As soon as she was gone, I’d pull Brendon aside and—

“Brendon,” she said, “you must be so tired after your … exciting night. Why don’t you rest up before dinner?”

“Actually—” Brendon and I said at the same time.

Mother’s grip on my arm tightened further until her nails almost dug into my bone. “We’ll see you at dinner.”

Brendon hesitated before doing his best to bow in acknowledgement.

Once he closed the door, Franny announced, “If you’ll excuse me, Mother, I have some last-minute details to attend to.”

“Of course, dear,” Mother replied, her smile softening for Franny. She still held onto my arm, guessing I would escape the moment she released me, as she leaned over and kissed Franny’s cheek.

Franny slipped away without another word. I frowned, noting that she’d left down a hallway that only held other guest rooms. It would eventually circle back to the stairs, but it would be a roundabout journey.

“Frederick, walk with me,” Mother said, giving me no choice as she dragged me away. “What did you say to Brendon?”

I hadn’t even had the chance to talk to him since that morning because she kept forcing us apart. When would I have had the chance to say anything? I mean, we were alone in the sitting room for about thirty-seconds when I told him his parents had arrived, but literally all I’d had time to say was: ‘Your parents are here.’ Then we’d both hightailed it out to the courtyard to meet them.

“Do you know what I saw before Brendon left to find you last night?”

No, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.

“Domestic bliss,” she said when I remained quiet. “Franny and Brendon have grown close over the past week, spending all their time together, as a new couple should.”

Hearing their names combined like that twisted my stomach into a knot. Even though I knew the person Franny had been with this week was Kit, not Brendon, the words conjured an image of him laughing with her, reading books together, pushing her hair behind her ear. His fingers brushing against her cheek, gentle and teasing. I looked around the hall furtively for some potted plant to purge my distress.

“And yet, five minutes together after his night with you, they can hardly look at each other.”

She was right that it was my fault, even if she was on the wrong track. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t kidnapped Brendon and set things into motion. I doubted it would be the lovey-dovey picture she’d described. I hadn’t necessarily ruined their relationship—that ship had sunk long before it’d ever left the dock. Instead, what I’d done had somehow raised everyone else’s hopes with a false fantasy, then dashed them when reality returned.

I hadn’t said a word during the entire interrogation, too wrapped up in my own thoughts. Mother sighed and said, “I think it’s best if you distance yourself from Brendon until the wedding. This spell is too important for our kingdom. We can’t risk anything going wrong.”

Too late for that.