The King's Queen

Chapter 18

"You use magical portals, yet you're late. How does that work?"

"One, they're not magical and two, sorry I'm late. I just didn't want to be here."

I narrowed my eyes at Garrett. "What happened to you getting paid to be here and protecting me at all costs?"

"I've discovered the horrors of working nine-to-five or in my case, from princess wakes to princess sleeps. I'm considering early retirement, but I need the money. You see my dilemma."

"Decisions, decisions." I laughed and he actually managed a smile back at that.

"What are we doing today?" He asked and I flashed him a secretive smile.

"Of course." He shook his head, realizing what I was going to do. "I had a feeling you weren't going to drop that."

Of course I wasn't going to drop it. I wanted to learn more about the Origins. They were the cornerstone of Origen history. My studies felt incomplete without knowing more about them. Besides, there was something alluring about unearthing information about the unknown. I'd tried bringing up the subject to my Empire History tutor, but he simply told me that I didn't need to know much about them other than the basics.

"You don't have to help if you don't want to. It could become a problem if they find out that you're assisting me."

"You're right about that." He glared at me. "It's dangerous, risky and most importantly, none of our business... which means we should check the archives first. That's where they keep info that's none of our business."

I did a double-take at him. "Did you just say we?"

"Yes, angel eyes, we. I'm not going to let you do something so reckless alone."

A smile crossed my face at that. "I thought you were worried about the dangers."

"Life tastes better when seasoned with a little danger."

"I think I like the sound of that."

We made our way to the archives, but our plan came to an abrupt end after security informed us that only the main adult members of the imperial family were allowed inside. Which meant that only the prinarch, prin, emperor, empress, Ashton and CaVaughn were allowed in. The Prinarch and his wife were out of the question, I would rather do ten laps around the palace than let Emperor Caden know what I was doing and Empress Arabella and Ashton would both say that my research was too dangerous.

CaVaughn was my only likely option, since he was half Origin himself. He had come to terms with who he was, but he still didn't like that he was no longer a full Origen. I would have to wait until he got back from Gregoria. Chances are, he would help.

"Well, that's that," I sighed as we went back to our usual spot. "I'll figure something out."

We spent another few minutes reading when Garrett suddenly stood up, his attention fixed on the left side of the room. Then, he bowed. In a second, Prin Odette appeared. Her bodyguard walked a few paces behind her. I got up to curtsy, surprised to see her here.

Her dark eyes lingered on me for a moment before she moved over to where I was sitting, tracing her fingers along the covers of the books.

"Getting yourself acquainted with Origens, I see." She glanced at me and I nodded, still very much surprised.

She furthered my astonishment by sitting down across from me and motioned for me to take a seat too. I sat down, feeling a bit nervous and stunned. Apart from mealtimes and meetings, I rarely saw the prin. Whether she passed her time in her room or in another section of the palace, I didn't know. But I'd never encountered her in the library before.