Broken Dove (Fantasyland #4)(154)
Author: Kristen Ashley

Alas, they didn’t.

So I committed the moment to memory.

“Aurora is our queen, Maddie,” Apollo said quietly. “You curtsy.”

“Okeydokey,” I mumbled in reply and that got my hand tucked deeper into his side.

“Remember, my precious girl, you curtsy too,” Apollo instructed his daughter.

“All right!” she chirped.

He stopped us two steps down from Queen Aurora and I could feel Lahn and Circe trailing us. We waited while she leaned in and touched her lips to her grandson’s cheek then Frey moved his family from Aurora toward Cora and Tor and Apollo guided us up the last steps.

He let myself and his daughter go and swept into a deep bow.

I did my best to drop into a curtsy.

“Rise,” she murmured practically the instant we all got into position, something I thought was nice considering a curtsy wasn’t the most comfortable position I’d ever held.

We all straightened and I felt Chris get closer to me.

My heart swelled.

“You are well, my general?” Aurora asked Apollo.

“I am, your grace,” he replied and tipped his chin down to one side then the other. “You know my children, Christophe and Élan.”

She looked to the kids, murmuring, “Of course.” Then louder, “I’m pleased to see you both.”

“Same here!” Élan squeaked.

Aurora dipped her head to her then to Chris, who said nothing, and finally her eyes came to me.

“This is Madeleine, Lady Ulfr,” Apollo stated, his hand in mine pulling both of them up to press tight to the side of his chest.

“Madeleine, Lady Ulfr,” she said softly, eyeing me. Then she looked to Apollo. “Heartfelt congratulations, Apollo.”

He inclined his head.

She turned to me and I took it as good that her lips curled up slightly at the ends.

I didn’t know what to say, so I winged it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, your highness.”

“Knowing Apollo since his youth,”—her gaze swept him, me, Christophe and Élan, before settling back on me and it could not be missed her eyes were exceptionally astute—“I can assure you the pleasure is mine.”

Okay, she was a little aloof, but she was definitely nice.

I smiled at her.

The ends of her lips tipped up another millimeter.

Apollo moved us away and Circe and Lahn moved in behind us.

I wanted to watch how they met the queen since I didn’t suspect Lahn bowed to anybody, but seeing as Apollo was guiding us to Tor and Cora, I focused on that instead.

When we stopped, as they, too, were royalty, I dipped down into another curtsy.

“Oh, we don’t get into that kind of thing,” Cora said the instant I did.

“She doesn’t,” Tor muttered and it sounded exasperated.

I straightened out of my curtsy to see Tor and Apollo shaking hands. But I only caught a glimpse because Cora was yanking me into her arms.

She swayed me a bit side-to-side, saying in my ear, “So cool to finally meet you. The people here are awesome, but it’s good to have friends from home.”

Okay, being duped by the other Cora?

Total idiot.

I knew the real Cora approximately a nanosecond and this chick was the bomb.

I hugged her back. We let each other go. Apollo presented me and his children to Tor. Tor did not give me a hug but he did give a gallant bow to Élan (which, unsurprisingly, made her giggle). Then Apollo guided us to where Frey, Finnie and Viktor were standing so Lahn and Circe could say hello to Cora and Tor.

Queen Aurora didn’t allow them much time before she called, “Let us get out of the cold. I have refreshments and something special prepared for the children.”

She said this as she swept majestically to the front doors where two servants in weird uniforms of leather shorts, wool tights, boots, sweaters and slanted cloaks jumped to open them before she even had to hesitate a moment to await entry.

We were barely in when three women swooped down on Finnie. As other servants moved amongst the rest of us divesting us of our cloaks and gloves, they hugged, exclaimed and gabbled like girls.

Aurora allowed this for all of thirty seconds before she ordered, “Sjofn. The girls are here to take care of the children. Adult refreshments are awaiting us in the drawing room.”

It was Finnie’s turn to roll her eyes but Frey handed off Viktor, Circe and Lahn gave over Isis and Tunahn and Apollo bent to Chris and Élan.

“Go, make sure those maids take good care of our wee princes and princess,” he urged.

Chris nodded formally, his chest puffing out, clearly feeling this was an important assignment.

Élan jumped forward to give her father a loud kiss on the cheek before she skipped off toward the waiting women.

Apollo turned me Queen Aurora’s way and I saw she had her arm extended to something. I found that something was a someone when Finnie came forward, latched onto it and leaned heavily into her mother.

They led.

Frey behind them, Apollo and I behind Frey, the rest behind us, we followed.

Thus I was in the position to hear Aurora say to Finnie, “Must you wear breeches when you come to Fyngaard?”

And thus I was also in the position to hear Finnie reply, “You traipse after a toddler in a long dress.”

“My dear, you are not the first woman of Lunwyn in this generations or dozens before who managed to raise a child wearing a gown. In fact, I achieved this same feat.”

“You had servants,” Finnie retorted.

“You could too, if you installed your family at the Winter Palace where the future king of Lunwyn should be raised rather than sailing off into the sunset.”

“Okay, you convince Frey not to sail off into a hundred sunsets,” Finnie returned.

We entered an extraordinary room that seemed entirely made of dark intricately carved wood, including the wood around the blue velvet padding of the furniture, as Aurora retorted, “Your husband would anchor himself to a block of granite should you ask.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Frey entered the conversation. “So, wife, do not ask.”

Finnie threw a smile over her shoulder but did not unlatch from her mother. “I’d never do that, husband.”

He made no reply because he probably knew this.

I had to admit, I found it beautiful the way Princess Sjofn (who was not really Princess Sjofn) was with Queen Aurora.

I wasn’t privy to the entirety of the story that led to them being that way. I just knew the Sjofn of this world chose to leave it. This was for some reason considered a traitorous act and thus she could not return or she’d be hanged (a little gruesome but then again, a lot of this world was).