Thank you all for the reviews and for your patience! I finally graduated with my Master degree! Yay!

Chapter Eleven

Darina sat at stiff attention at the High table, staring out over the sea of courtiers. The only faces she focused on were those of her parents and sister. Of the three of them, only Karan seemed to be enjoying herself. Her mother's face was a blank, indicating displeasure, and her father—her father stared to Darina's left where sat the king, and though his face was neutral, his eyes were flame.

Arden had already presented her as Heir, and the Oath taken, Darina now picked at the food on her plate, having no appetite at all. The circlet of silver felt strange on her head, and her gown felt as though it squeezed the breath from her lungs. If that were not enough, Arden had been growing nauseatingly cheerful as the evening wore on. To his left sat Leesa, and from the way Darina saw Karan look at the queen, she knew Leesa wasn't having nearly so much fun as her husband. Darina refused to look for herself, however, as that would mean she'd have to turn towards Arden.

She'd rather burn in the lowest hell than turn towards Arden.

She should not be seated next to him. Leesa should be at his right, and Vaden at his left, and Darina should be seated at Leesa's right hand. The fact that Arden had changed the seating at the last moment served only to set the Court to whispering even more than usual. And from the lack of expression on her mother's face, Darina suspected the whisperers were suggesting that the seating arrangement was her idea, or, perhaps, hers and Arden's. For that reason, she refused to look at Arden. She would do nothing to give even a hint of confirmation to the rumors.

The fact that she hated Arden was merely an added incentive to ignore him.

:How long will this wretched feast last?:

:Once the dancing begins, you can leave if you like, I'm sure,: Aibrean replied. :It is your feast, after all.:

:Small consolation,: Darina returned. :Can't Malen just repudiate him?:

Darina started as she felt Arden touch her arm and lean close to her. A part of her mind noted that the entire Court paused momentarily to watch. Even Karan seemed to hold her breath.

"Your father doesn't seem pleased with this turn of events," Arden said in a low voice.

With her left arm—the arm that Arden was touching—Darina reached for her goblet, stretching it far enough to pull it from his grasp. Bringing the cup to her lips, she met her father's eyes, and knew the fire in his was now reflected in hers. Her voice, when she spoke to Arden, was low and deadly.

"If you touch me or speak to me again this evening, I swear by all the gods that I will throw this wine in your face, consequences be damned."

She heard Arden laugh lightly and felt him move closer to her. "You're quite the jester."

Darina's grip on the goblet tightened so that her knuckles grew white. She slowly turned her head until she looked Arden full in the eye.

His smile faded slightly, and he pulled back. Clearing his throat, he pushed back his chair and stood to address the Court. "Let's have a dance, shall we?"

Thank the gods, Darina thought with a sigh. It was a blessed end to a miserable evening. Darina stood as the servants swarmed into the room to clear space for dancing. She quickly stepped from the dias, slipping out of the Great Hall by the nearest door. She found herself in an empty corridor. She wasn't sure where it led, only that it led away from the farce in that room. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Vaden walking towards her.

"You should return to the Hall," he said. "Dance a few dances."

Darina folded her arms across her chest. "With who? Arden?"

Vaden lowered his gaze, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"You know he'll ask me," she said. "He's either too drunk or too stupid to know better, and I will have no part in his playing Leesa for a fool!"

"Enough!" Vaden hissed, his head shooting up. He sighed and took her arm, steering her down the corridor. "We can't have this conversation here." After several twists and turns, they arrived at Vaden's office, whereupon he bolted shut the door once they were inside.

"What do you think of his last-minute changes?" she asked.

Vaden shook his head and slumped into the chair behind his desk. "I don't know what to think anymore."

"That is not the man I loved," Darina said, flinging her arm in the direction of the Hall. "He seems to grow worse with each passing day. Does he even remember his Heraldic training?"

"I don't know."

"We need a war."

Vaden looked up. "What?"

"We need a war," Darina repeated. "With Karse. Or something to get him out of Haven and force him to stop thinking of himself."

A ghost of a smile crossed Vaden's lips and he rose. "We can't declare war on Karse just because our king is acting like—"

"An arse?" supplied Darina.

Vaden groaned. "The poetry was so bad I didn't want to finish the sentence."

Darina laughed, the first time in days, delighting in the feeling. There was precious little to laugh about recently.

Vaden moved around to the front of his desk. "Green suits you."

Darina blushed and glanced down at her gown. "Well, no one had time to make a set of dress Grays, and I couldn't borrow any of Leesa's velvet Whites." She smoothed a crease in the skirt and glanced up to find Vaden standing directly in front of her, gazing into her eyes. Her cheeks flared. "So I—I mean, we—decided to—just—that is—"

He kissed her.

"How wise do you think this is?" she asked once the kiss ended.

Vaden didn't hesitate. "Not very."

He kissed her again.

The following afternoon found Darina standing at the door to Leesa's solar, gazing upon the other ladies from Court. Leesa never struck her as someone who would want a solar, much less have one—probably her family's doing. Looking around, Darina spotted Lady Catalla, Leesa's mother, in the midst of the other ladies. Her embroidery lay unattended in her lap as she gave constant direction to the various ladies regarding seating and food and the gods knew what else.

With a deep breath, Darina stepped inside. Karan was the first to notice her.

"Darina, you're here!"

But before Karan could rise, Lady Catalla was out of her seat and by Darina's side. She took Darina's hand and led her to an open seat next to hers. "You'll sit next to me." And then, as if noticing her daughter for the first time, she added hastily, "And Leesa, of course."

Darina sat between the two of them.

Karan's expression was carefully schooled, but once glance at her told Darina that her sister had already reached her limit with this woman. She carefully avoided Karan's eyes, and with a smile for Lady Catalla, turned to the queen.

"You are well today, I trust, Majesty?"

Leesa opened her mouth, but Lady Catalla's voice piped up. "She is as well as can be expected."

Darina slowly counted to ten and forced a smile to her lips, sinking fully into her chair as Lady Catalla placed some embroidery in her lap. "You can work on that, dear, while we talk."

"Thank you," she said between clenched teeth. :Trample me now, Aibrean.:

:It would be a mercy, wouldn't it?:

Darina picked up the embroidery and feigned concentration on the stitches. :You will be the only thing keeping me sane this afternoon. How much longer until my class?:

At that moment, the steward announced the arrival of Herald Vaden. Darina felt her cheeks grow warm, and she bent over the embroidery.

"Forgive me, ladies," he said, "but I must speak with the queen."

Leesa shot out of her chair with a little too much eagerness—though Darina couldn't blame her—as her mother rose.

"Can't this wait, Herald?" asked Lady Catalla.

"I'm afraid it can't, my lady," Vaden replied, and Darina felt the blush in her cheeks deepen as she listened to his voice. "But I won't need her for long."

"It's all right, Mother," said Leesa, stepping from the circle of ladies to Vaden's side.

"But it's all so informal, darling," said Lady Catalla.

Vaden and Leesa stepped outside the solar, and Lady Catalla made a show of straightening the wall hangings near the semi-open door, while the rest of the ladies went back to their sewing.

"Darina," hissed Karan.

Darina looked up to see her sister seated next to her in Leesa's chair. "You're sitting in the queen's chair."

"She won't care," Karan whispered, making a show of working on her stitches. "What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" Darina asked, her voice a whisper to match her sister's.

Karen lowered her voice even more. "You and Vaden."

Darina felt her face grow hot. "Nothing."

"Liar." Karan stared at her, her eyes growing wide. "Did you—?"

Darina bent over her embroidery again.

"You did!"

"I did not!" Darina whispered, not looking up.

Karan's voice was so low, Darina could hardly hear her. "You slept with him!"

Darina's head shot up. "I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!" And she surreptitiously kicked Karan's ankle.

Karan kicked her right back, causing Darina to gasp in a voice loud enough for the other ladies to take notice. With a reassuring smile for them, she returned to her embroidery. "Did not," she whispered. "We stopped before we went that far." Darina neglected to mention just exactly how far she and Vaden went before they stopped, but the thought made her body run hot and cold at the same time. Good sense had kicked in last night, or perhaps it was the footsteps that paused outside Vaden's office. Darina wasn't really sure.

The door opened to admit the queen and Vaden, and Karan rose. "I want all the details," she hissed before resuming her own seat.

Darina caught Vaden's eye, felt his mental caress against her shields, and was unable to suppress a shiver. She couldn't help but glance at her sister once he left the room.

Details, mouthed Karan, and then Leesa and Lady Catalla took their seats.

Though Darina worked on stitches, she didn't come to sew, but she wasn't sure what she was looking for. Just anything out of the ordinary. Anything suspicious.

She heard Leesa's swift intake of breath, and glanced up to see the queen in pain. She looked around at the other ladies, who were politely ignoring it, and noticed Lady Catalla nod to Karan. Karan rose and went to a small table. She mixed some herbs and poured hot water over them. By the time she strained the brew, Leesa had relaxed, but she brought the cup of tea to her all the same.

"I'm well, thank you," said Leesa.

"You should drink it, Leesa," said Lady Catalla.

"Mother—"

"It will help. You know what the Healers said."

With a sigh—pitched at just the right level to indicate annoyance without being overtly rude—Leesa accepted the cup from Karan with a forced smile and drained it.

"Now," said Lady Catalla, "let's have some food."

Darina left for her class later that afternoon with no better idea of who was poisoning the queen—or how—than when she arrived. Everyone partook of the food, but it was only Leesa who had pain, so that couldn't be it. Yes, Leesa was the only one who drank that tea that Karan prepared, but the herbs came straight from Healers (she had asked). Her Whites might be poisoned, but someone would have to wear Leesa's Whites to prove that. The only thing she knew for certain was that her Foresight-uneasiness remained. But it couldn't exactly be trusted, and it wasn't sharp enough to focus on anything specific.

After class, Darina trudged back to her room, dejected, and found a note from Vaden waiting for her.

The fealty ceremony will be in a month. Come to my office in the morning to discuss.

Oh, gods. The fealty ceremony. Darina threw herself on her bed. "This is not happening to me."

:Could you come down to the Field?: Aibrean broke in. Her mindvoice was heavy with concern, and made Darina sit up, her own troubles forgotten.

"Of course," she said, rising and smoothing her hair. "Is everything all right?"

:It's Malen.: