"Her Majesty seems to have a fine ear for music," Alfred's voice sliced through the air like ice water. He stood beside the harp, his silver mask gleaming coldly in the candlelight.
Isabella leaned into the harpist. "Not just music, Your Majesty—I've also a fondness for 'chivalry.'"
"Lord Romanov," Alfred cut her off, "I hear your father recently seized a Venetian vessel in the Black Sea?"
The harpist—no, Leonid, she was certain—rose smoothly. "Merely contraband, Your Majesty. Items potentially threatening royal security..." His eyes flicked to the dining knife clipped to Isabella's garter.
Alfred suddenly grabbed Isabella's wrist. "Walk with me, Queen." He practically dragged her through the crowd, not releasing her until they reached the moonlit terrace.
"Are you mad?" the King hissed. "That Russian is the infamous 'Ice Rose'—his bedpost could fill a crypt with corpses."
"And what of Lady Elena's lovers?" Isabella snapped. "Have you forgotten who threw me to these wolves?" She yanked down her neckline, revealing a bruise on her collarbone from their argument that morning.
In the moonlight, Alfred's expression changed. He reached out, brushing the mark—gentler than any king had a right to be. "Do you know why I wanted to see you before the banquet?" His thumb traced her pulse. "The envoy has a poisoned blade hidden in his sleeve. And your father..."
"I know." Isabella caught his wrist. "That's why I dressed like this." She guided his hand into the hidden pocket of her gown, where a miniature crossbow lay concealed. "Lily taught me. The Templars' final mercy."
His breath hitched. Their eyes met—just as a scream echoed from the banquet hall.
Through the stained glass, they saw Leonid pinning the envoy to a banquet table, Lily's blade at his throat.
"Well then..." Alfred released her slowly. "It seems we both have secrets, don't we?"
Isabella smoothed her skirts. "Just as Your Majesty never told me how you got those burns."
Moonlight poured over the King's silver mask. When he spoke, it was barely a breath:"The fire in Cambridge Library... saving a foolish girl who ran back in—for The Romance of the Rose."