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"One knife," Mott said, walking over to stand directly in front of Tobias "With a blade about as long as Sage’s wound Do you know anything about it?"

Tobias took a step backward, and his eyes darted around as he searched for a response, but I spoke up "None of us would knohere the chef oing out that particularagain, so there should be no injuries in the future"

Mott scoffed,it clear he didn’t believe me, but all he said was, "Line up behind your servants, boys The dinner will be ready soon"

Conner’s dinner that night was served in the great hall, not the dining roouests were already there, but the princess and her parents, who apparently had accompanied her to Farthenwood, had not yet entered

I was assigned as a door servant, with no apparent function other than to stand beside the doors of the great hall and observe as other servants canment was no better They stood at the far end of the roo sun got in anyone’s eyes

Mott announced Princess A with the entrance of her parents and some of their courtiers

Amarinda was as beautiful as Conner had described her, with chestnut brown hair swept away fro in thick curls down her back, and piercing brown eyes that absorbed her surroundings As she recognized Conner, her entire face lit up with a suest hadwith the others at his table, and bowed to Princess Amarinda and to her parents Master Graves had told us about them, and how Amarinda came to be the betrothed princess

The alliance between A Eckbert was er than Darius, and the product of a lengthy search by Eckbert He wanted a foreign girl whose connections were powerful enough to forge a e that would create a bond between her country and Carthya, but not a direct heir to the throne, ould have political ambitions of her own

A of Byh to crawl as an infant, her parents had promised her to whoever inherited Eckbert’s throne, iven a choice in e, the older Arew Both were said to be eager for the tie and they could marry

Amarinda stopped when she passedat?"

Whatever rules Mott had given us blurred inht at her, which was not allowed

"Forgive hi forward

"No forgiveness is requested I "

I looked to Mott to see if I should answer With a stern warning in his eyes, he nodded perot dirt on your face"

She arched her eyebrows "Is that a joke?"

"No, Your Highness On your cheek"

Amarinda turned to her attendant, who flushed and wiped the dirt off "Why didn’t you tell me before I walked in here?" Ahness I didn’t see it"