Ren had been taught since childhood that Navinor was a place of bloodthirsty barbarians who murdered indiscriminately and always sought power at the expense of the rest of the world. So he couldn't hide his confusion at the sight of a palace made of gorgeous white marble that towered above any castle he'd seen in his life. 

Even the lowest guard wore chain mail and held a high-quality spear. Here and there, the famed "Vipers" stood shrouded in dark hoods, with their well-known poison daggers visible at their belts. Ren unconsciously put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Then he saw the prince and his confusion instantly turned to cold annoyance, barely masked. Prince Lorrin was about his same age, but unlike Iridalys royalty, he had short-cropped hair and wore few jewels. Though there was plenty of silver, which was one of the top trade items in Navinor, next to sapphires. It was probably all stolen from Iridalys mines anyway, Ren reflected. 

Still, the prince was impressive. He carried himself, not with the grace Ren was used to seeing in Illian and Kathryn, but with a cold, arrogant aloofness. He had two swords, and his well-muscled frame seemed to say he knew how to use them. He also had a burn scar over his left eye, no doubt a remnant from the war. 

Ren watched with something approaching disgust as his princess bowed before the arrogant brat from a bloodstained house. Then the prince said, “No need to make a fool of yourself, your highness.” 

Kathryn didn’t have to look at Ren to know what color his face was turning. But she stood tall and looked the prince in the eyes. “Then I won’t, your highness,” she said evenly. “I wish to be escorted to my chambers.” 

The prince gestured dismissively at a guard who stood nearby. “Take her and her handmaiden there.” 

He paused and turned to Ren. “Who is this, princess? Is this your famous war hero brother I’ve heard so much about? He looks a little more provincial than I would have expected.” 

“This is my bodyguard, General Ren Eldric,” Kathryn replied. Ren bowed without a word. 

“I see. Normally even a bodyguard here will attempt to look presentable. But I suppose it’s quite different in your kingdom, princess Kathryn,” the prince said wryly. “General, my men will show you to your quarters.” 

Ren glanced at Kathryn, who inclined her head slightly. He bowed again and turned to go. 

The prince ignored him and studied Kathryn. “You’re quite beautiful, as they said,” he observed.

Disgust welled up in her, and despite her attempts to control her emotions, she couldn’t hide it completely. “Thank you, your highness. I am also quite exhausted. May I retire?” she said coldly. 

“Are you angry because I criticized your guard?” Lorrin smirked. “Accept my apologies, your highness. I didn’t know you were so attached.” 

Kathryn decided it wouldn’t do any harm to put him in his place a little bit. “Your whole demeanor is quite offensive. May I remind you that I am here to solidify a treaty between our peoples, not to be insulted.” 

“Forgive him, my lady.” The new voice was deep, rich, and authoritative. Turning, Kathryn saw the first prince standing there. 

His bearing instantly reminded her of Illian; there was a peculiar grace to his movements. But other than that, he could not have looked more different. While Illian’s face was deceptively soft, this prince’s face was thin and austere. His soulless black eyes and strangely pale skin made her feel she was looking at a walking corpse. But there was something behind those eyes that was even more frightening, although she couldn’t have said exactly what it was. Kathryn stiffened, and her curtsy was almost wary. “My lord,” she said. 

“You know who I am?” the prince asked in surprise. 

“Yes, my lord. You are Prince Gregory, the Angel of Death on the battlefield. I have seen paintings of you and have heard you described many times,” she said. 

“I see. You are Princess Kathryn of Iridalys. Welcome to your new home, your highness. If there is anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable, please keep me informed.” His smile was gracious, yet for some reason it made her skin crawl. 

Lorrin said, “Why are you here, brother? Did you feel left out?” 

“Hardly. I simply wished to ensure you are behaving yourself. Princess Kathryn, I beg you to please retire to your chambers and rest. There will be a welcoming event tonight at the palace; I would have preferred to wait until you had more time to rest, but the king insisted. It’s essential that we get things in order to solidify the treaty as quickly as possible,” Gregory explained. 

He turned to go, but paused mid-step. “Your highness, I almost forgot. The man who came with you. You called him General Ren Eldric. Did he fight in the war?” 

“No. General Ren is simply my protector.” Kathryn looked up at Gregory and wondered how a man could be that tall. She guessed that he would be a formidable enemy. She would do well to avoid making him her adversary. 

He looked down at her and a thoughtful expression flickered across his face for just an instant. Then he said, “I see. Rest well, your highness.” 

When Kathryn was led to her room, the first thing she saw was the two black-hooded figures standing outside. Her face paled and her hand clenched at her side. “What are the Vipers doing here?” she asked her escort. 

The guard looked confused. “They are here to protect you, my lady. In Navinor, all of the royal family are assigned two of them for safety. And…here, we do not call them Vipers. We call them Protectors.” 

Kathryn accepted the correction with a slight inclination of her head. The “Protectors” threw open the silver-crusted double doors that led to her room. 

Kathryn was of course used to a high standard of living as a princess, but she had never seen anything like this. There were marble pillars in a bedroom that was nearly as large as the ballroom back home. Silver leaf covered half the walls, and every piece of furniture was either expensive polished dark wood or polished white marble. 

The floors were also made of marble, and her shoes made a light ‘tap, tap’ sound that echoed through the room. There was a hallway that led to a restroom and another hallway that led to a room full of clothing in the style of Navinor. 

But Kathryn barely glanced at all of this. Rather, she noticed a marble vanity that was encrusted with jewels, many of which were opals. She knew exactly where those jewels came from. In particular, there was a gorgeous fire opal, almost as big as her hand, and it seemed to glow orange in the light of the kerosene lamps that dotted the chamber. Kathryn could not seem to take her eyes off of it. The sight filled her with dread and something akin to rage. 

She said, “Who decorated this room?” Her voice was oddly stiff. 

The guard said awkwardly, “That would be Mistress Amala, my lady.” 

“I wish to see her.” Kathryn tried to keep her voice from shaking. 

The guard nodded. “I’ll find her.” He hurried out. 

The handmaiden exclaimed, “This room is amazing, your highness! I have never seen anything so beautiful!” 

“Yes.” Kathryn stepped over to the vanity and ran her finger lightly over the giant opals, diamonds, and emeralds that lined the mirror. “Dena, I wish to be alone.” 

“Oh…yes, your highness. It appears that my room is adjoining yours, and I see a string there that I imagine will call me, just as it was for you back at the castle,” the girl said cheerfully. “Simply call if you want me and I will come right away.” She paused and then added with sudden concern, “Although the string might be to call one of those Vipers…I mean, Protectors. Perhaps you should knock on the wall instead.” 

She left. Kathryn sat down on the feather bed. She had the feeling she was likely making a mistake by calling ‘Mistress Amala’ to her room. She needed to think through what she planned to say. Nothing must be impulsive. She needed to keep her head here even more than at home. 

A hard-faced old woman of about sixty came soon after and curtseyed. “Your highness,” she said coldly. 

Kathryn responded in the same cold tone. “Mistress Amala. I am told you were the one who decorated this place.” She rose and walked over to the vanity. 

“That’s correct, my lady,” the woman said in a tone that indicated she thought Kathryn was stating the obvious. 

“Did you choose these jewels?” Kathryn touched the fire opal as she spoke. 

“Ah, those ones, no. Those were a gift to you from the royal family,” she said, seemingly puzzled by the question. 

“I see,” Kathryn said. “The opals are so very beautiful…they remind me of something I had lost a long time ago.” 

The woman did not seem to understand, and Kathryn felt no need to explain it to her. She dismissed her, and the older woman left. 

Kathryn took a deep breath. She sat in the chair at the vanity and stared into the fire opal, trying to regain control. She felt like the air in the room was stifling her. 

She rang for her maid, who hurried inside. “Yes, my lady?” she said. 

“Find Ren and bring him to me,” Kathryn commanded. 

“What? I mean…of course, your highness.” Confused, the young girl hastened to obey.