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rode the wind, holding her still. Valoria leaned over the balcony, the wind whipping her hair from its braids. The stone turned her fingers to ice. For a moment, the voice became clear, and she could have sworn she heard her name.
     
     

Chapter 4
     
    Simmering Meat
     
    Valoria’s velvet gown weighed her down as she hustled across the corridor. She dared not wear anything more revealing. Any show of skin would only make her more vulnerable, more pitiful in Brax’s cold eyes. She was not desperate for his attention.
    “It’s not my fault you’re late.” Cadence shouted after her.
    “No. But coming back soaked in blood did not help.” Valoria struggled to remember the path Nathaniel had taken her down earlier. Was it a right or a left at the large painting of King Thoridian cutting the head off the necromancer?
    “I told you not to wait for me.” Cadence caught up and tripped on her hem, tumbling forward.
    Valoria caught her and hefted her upright. “I’m not attending this alone.”
    “Very well. But, I’m not following you on your wedding night. Sooner or later you’ll have to face him without my company.”
    Valoria preferred later. After witnessing an arrow pierce a minstrel’s back, Echo’s bloody shoulder, a man’s decapitated head bounce on the floor, and a spine-chilling voice call her name on the wind, she’d had enough unpleasantness to last a fortnight. “All I want to do is get through this dinner.”
    The stench of roasting meat hit her nose, and she coughed, covering her mouth with her sleeve. Unlike the minstrels’ plant-based fare, Ebonvale’s people savored their animal flesh. Just one more aspect of castle life she had to accommodate. “This way. I hope they have some roasted turnips or squash.”
    Cadence smoothed down her dress. “I wouldn’t count your wyvern’s eggs before they hatch.”
    They turned the corner into a room lit by flaming chandeliers. Two guards stood at duty, ushering them forward into a room filled with guests drowned in gowns and finery. As she entered, the people bowed before her, lowering their faces toward the floor. The royal family sat at a long table along the back wall below three stained glass windows.
    At the center of the table, a roasted hog sat on a silver tray. Brax sat above the snout, gorging on a piece of the hog’s leg. He glanced up, and put the leg down, chewing hungrily as he laid his uninterested eyes on her.
    Disgust sickened her stomach. Could anyone else be so ill-suited for her? Might as well deliver her to the undead. She could not expect them to wait for her to eat. Yet, she felt like a servant wandering into a ball with no serving platter in her hand.
    King Thoridian stood and extended his arm. “Dear Princess Valoria, your presence is a welcome sight. We wondered if you’d gotten lost. I was about to send Lieutenant Blueborough to check on you.”
    The queen rose as well and gestured to the empty seat next to Brax. Although she’d changed into a burgundy evening gown, she still wore the violet pearls around her neck. “Please join us.”
    Valoria froze, unable to step toward the lumbering brute with hog juice dripping from his chin.
    Cadence poked her finger in Valoria’s back. “Get on with it.”
    “May I escort you to the main table?” Nathaniel appeared beside her like a beacon light in a foul storm. She could not deny him.
    “Of course.” Valoria took his arm, holding on a little too tightly.
    He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I was beginning to worry.”
    “My handmaiden needed freshening up.”
    “So kind of you to wait for her.” He smiled warmly.
    “Indeed.” If only he knew the real reason for her procrastination. Would he think any less of her?
    Valoria approached the great table and met Brax’s gaze. She bowed her head. “My apologies, my prince. My handmaiden found it difficult to remove the blood stains from her clothes.” Guilt panged inside her at her spiteful tone. Her father would not