where the thorns grow

CHAPTER TWELVE,

CHAPTER TWELVE | WHERE THE THORNS GROW

  "YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS," Irina swept into a small curtsy as she crossed the pathway to where Prince Stephen of the Ralloyn Dynasty stood in his royal colours, spine straight. They'd met before, most definitely, but not since their engagement. When they were much younger, perhaps. Rhys herself had never seen the prince and found herself studying him for a few moments—sharp jawbones, intelligent, dark blue eyes that seemed to scan every single person in the welcoming party, a pleasant, easygoing smile and light brown hair. Handsome. The rest of them all followed Irina's example, albeit all of their bows and curtsies were far lower. Rhys gave a one-knee kneel, as did Dom and Justine. The way of the warrior. Irina continued, straightening, "It is a pleasure to welcome you into the Scarlet Palace."

  Without missing a beat, as if they'd practised this dance of etiquette long before, the prince gave a slight bow, just bending his body enough to match Irina's and to be respectful. "Gulun Princess Mingxian Huancheng," he used the Arecian pronunciation even though they all knew he could speak Saian. "It is an honour to be here. May I present my cousin, Prince Frederick?"

  Prince Frederick was the split image of his cousin, albeit at least three to four years younger. Around fifteen or sixteen, probably. He bowed. "Your Imperial Highness."

  Irina clasped her hands before herself and tilted her head in greeting. "Prince Frederick." Ryan was waiting inside Fu Jin Gong. "Welcome to the Scarlet Palace. Allow me to introduce my companions." She turned to the rest of them, all of them still in their various kneeling positions.

  Prince Stephen said, "Oh surely they can stand. We are all friends here."

  So they all got up, slowly. Irina's eyes swept across them. "Allow me to introduce to you, Your Royal Highness, some of my closest friends here in court. You will forgive us—my cousin, the Crown Prince awaits your company nearby, but he was unable to come receive you himself. This is Lady Lu Junya, you will know her as Asteria Lu, the daughter of the Duke of Shui Xiang—" Asteria curtsied again, carefully lowering her gaze "—and my dearest lady-in-waiting, Lady Mai Ziyi, Myrina, the Countess of Li Han," Myrina's curtsy was far less confident, and the girl was clearly nervous under the careful glance of so many strangers, "Lady Ying Keling, Luciana, daughter of the Viscount Ying; Miss Pang Yinyi, Daneira, whose sister is the honoured Baroness of Xiang Zhou," for once in her life Danna's smile was kind.

  Irina continued, "General Lan Zhenfei, Justine, and the Briar and the Notus of the Iron Wolves. Besides them is Colonel Man," Malcolm had just reached the Scarlet Palace that very morning, much to their relief, "and his fiance Miss Naeva Li," Naeva didn't look nearly as uncomfortable as she usually did, which was nice.

  "It is wonderful to meet you all," the prince replied mildly, just with enough enthusiasm to be polite. But it was a lot of people he'd just met, so Rhys couldn't particularly blame him. Unless he had the memory of an elephant he wasn't going to recall any of their names, at least the ones he hadn't met before, which was about half of them.

  Irina said, "My cousin is eagerly awaiting your presence. If you and your entourage would follow me?"

  The prince tilted his head. "I'm afraid we brought quite a lot with us. Do you mind if some of us begin settling in first? We will all meet soon enough, yes?"

  Expected. Irina turned her head. "Danna dear," the woman stepped out and gave a small curtsy, "do help our guests settle in? You too, Luciana. Malcolm, Naeva, would you like to join them as well?"

  Naeva curtsied. "I'd be overjoyed."

  Rhys glanced at Malcolm, who with a bit of reluctance said, "Of course, Your Imperial Highness."