Chapter 25

Even the most sensible shoes she owned were no match for standing on the stone dais for hours, and by mid-afternoon, Kit’s feet ached, even though they had taken an hour to dine not that long ago. So far, she’d met a few interesting candidates, but when the delegation from Warchester Keep arrived, the day suddenly became more interesting.

A full foot taller than the man before him, the one she assumed would be doing the introductions once they passed through the security line, Kit caught the Representative’s easy smile and instantly remembered him from her eighteenth birthday celebration. His green eyes sparkled and his curly mop of dark hair caught the breeze. His eyes never strayed from her face, and for the first time on what was becoming the longest day she could remember, she was intrigued.

“Your Majesty,” the stooped older man began, addressing her mother first, “may I present the representative from Warchester Keep, Cassius of