Page 27 (1/2)

I was expected to say a feords, so I told everyone how happy I was that King Dahlmar and Princess Adriana had found each other, and added that I was incredibly flattered to have been asked to be part of the bridal party

One of the reporters in the back tried to ask probing questions aboutother, lighter questions instead Then I posed for a few more photos, before hisked across the tarh the city, our path cleared by an advance team Neither Chiyoko nor Adriana seemed to want to talk, which was fine byout the car

Serenity City was a lot like LA--minus the movie stars and plus a lot more flowers There were lots of boutiques and a handful of high-end departns of the earthquake that had roused h I knew from news reports that it had been felt here, too If there had been any da had been gussied up for the royal wedding Banners of black and silver alternated with ones of purple and gold above all the e in shop s that also displayed co else you could think of Adriana looked stunning, nearly ethereal Dahlant I think they’d added a little more black to his hair than he really has But hey--artistic license and all that

The place was pulsing with life, too Gulls wheeled and cawed overhead, their voices co with the sounds of the city Baker commented that the roads were packed because sofestivities It had to be a security nighth the town, and for the most part everyone fro lavalavas and Ber wildly as ent past, caes of royalty Adriana and Chiyoko did the tipping-hand "royal wave" as we drove down the street I couldn’t bring hway leading to the east half of the island before Adriana broke the silence "What is the status of the bridesmaid dresses?"

"They should arrive at Levy’s today" I s and the spell work Agent Baker told round check, so no worries there" I hadn’t been worried I’ve known and loved Isaac and Gilda for years But Adriana had wanted reassurance fro up very quickly and things hadn’t exactly been going soing according to plan Well, plan B Or C, or whatever plan ere on by now

"You should be using one of the royal tailors, not soer" Chiyoko didn’t even bother to look at Adriana when she said it It was a sht, but a deliberate one Since she outranked et aith it

Still, Adriana isn’t one to let things slide She smiled ever-so-sweetly and answered, "Isaac has done all of Celia’s tailoring for years In fact, that’s one of his outfits she’s wearing right now Cousin, how many weapons do you have on you at this moment?"

I took a quick uns with holy water, about a dozen various spell disks"--I paused, knowing I was forgetting soarrote"

Chiyoko turned away from the , her eyes just a little bit wider than usual "Truly?" She stared atme up and down very carefully "I can’t see any of it" Her voice wasSo, sighing, I pushed up my left sleeve a bit to reveal the hilt of the sheathed knife At Chiyoko’s raised eyebrow I opened un and the suns

"What are the empty loops for?" the queen asked

"Stakes, usually I’ any because there’s never been a vampire on Serenity"

"Until you" She smiled like butter wouldn’t melt in her ently, but enunciated every word past s onthat would cause trouble I wasn’t going to oblige her

"And yet obviously not fit for the throne"

"Very true I made that clear the last tiain, and this time it was the cat that ate the canary "Then your aunt, Queen Lopaka, has neither heir, nor any prospect of one"

Aha There it was, out in the open I sain, and this time I made sure my expression was every bit as predatory as hers had been "Oh, I don’t know" I looked at Adriana to confirm whether my suspicions about her vision of the other day were correct "My cousin is a prophet, and I believe she’s seen who the new heir will be It isn’t me"

The car turned and stopped; apparently we’d reached the gates to the queen’s coet out of this car, but Chiyoko needed to hear about the future High Queen of Serenity from the princess who had seen her