Forbidden Crown by Victoria Pinder

Author:Victoria Pinder [Pinder, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pronoun
Published: 2017-08-21T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Kristin held her tongue. She had no idea what to say in Antonio's family discussion because she didn't know any of them. So she stuck to his side and waited, listening. The room had probably been white and sterile, but the walls were now stained with bullet holes and the air smelled of gunpowder. Her eyes burned but the closer she came to the king in his white sheets, the more she realized that he was untouched.

Antonio's shoulders were square, but she could tell he wanted to hug them all again. Yes, she might be reading into his body language, but his shoulders caved in and then straightened too many times to mean anything else. He crossed his arms as if to stop himself from showing emotion. "Mother. Father. I—I’m sorry that I wasn’t here."

"You led our rescue." His mother reached out and pressed her hand on his cheek. “We’re glad you weren’t here.”

His father, the king, settled back and closed his eyes as if to rest, more peaceful. Kristin fixed his blanket so he'd be covered to his thin shoulders.

Antonio glanced down and spoke to his mother. "Only because I wasn't home."

His mother reached out and took her hand as well. "As I said, we're glad you weren't. I hope you and Kristin had a good time exploring the kingdom."

Antonio waited for her to stand next to him. The moment she did, he placed his hand on her hip and stared at his mother. "Mother, Kristin's agreed to marry me."

The queen smiled at them both. "Perfect."

Kristin's entire body had tensed, expecting another reaction. She swallowed and said, "Really? Those men came in to kill you. They said I was American. Is there a revolution happening here?"

“The men were not our citizens.” Antonio answered fast.

His mother shrugged and then motioned for one of the nurses to come in to check on the king. She watched the nurse like a hawk though she said in a bright tone, "Tonight, we will have the official announcement of your engagement made. Have you selected one of the dresses I left for you yet?"

"No." Kristin hadn't even thought about clothes or dinner. Adrenaline rushed into her veins from the danger that had just happened. Clothes seemed banal. “I haven’t gone back to my room.”

The queen turned toward Kristin as if this was the most important thing to do. "I need you to select one immediately and tell the servant I’ve assigned to your chamber. She'll inform me of your choice."

Antonio made to leave, but Kristin pressed her heels together. "Wait."

Antonio paused. "For what?"

Clothes were the least important thing, to Kristin’s mind. Her heart still beat wildly. "Ten men just stormed the castle. You’re still going to have a formal dinner?”

None of this made sense. Shouldn’t they be worried about more insurrection and danger and what to do about it?

Queen Anna Camilla said, “One must keep up appearances for the people. We have a very important election at stake.”

Antonio interjected, “Clearly they had help from someone inside, Mother.

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