Read Online The Opal Crown by Jenny Lundquist - Free Book Online

a swirling letter A at the top. Guards wave the carriages inside. Just before Rolf and I turn away, I glance up at the balcony. A boy whom I recognize as Andrei stands looking down upon the crowd, a displeased expression on his face. The opal crown rests atop his head. The doors behind him open and my gaze is drawn to a second figure emerging onto the balcony.
    It’s only then that I understand the horrible mistake I have just made.

Chapter 11
    Wilha
    I follow Arianne’s quick strides into the palace, but stop when I hear excited shouts echoing from the yard. “What’s going on?”
    Arianne doesn’t slow down; she merely grunts that whatever scene Elara is currently causing isn’t her problem.
    The palace has not changed in my absence. The cream-colored walls, the vaulted ceilings that drip with crystal chandeliers, the ornate gold-leafed doors and gilded furniture are still here. And yet it all seems far grander than I remembered.
    When we arrive at my chambers, maids are scurrying around, lighting candles and stoking a fire in the fireplace. A golden teapot and a platter of cakes sit on a table. Once the servants have left, Arianne waits quietly while I explore my rooms. Here, too, nothing has changed; all is as I remember. Yet somehow I cannot help but see it through new eyes. I pick up the golden teapot and think of the man digging in the streets for a single opal.
    A thought occurs to me, and I put down the teapot and enter my closet. Far from being empty, as I had expected, several masks sit inside the glass cases. Most of my collection still resides with the Strassburgs in Korynth; these ones must be brand-new.
    “Andrei commissioned Master Welkin to begin producing more masks,” Arianne says, entering the closet. She steps closer, and I recognize the tinkling, musical sound that accompanies her movements. “More will be arriving soon.” She thrusts the necklace of jeweled keys into my hands. “I’ll wait outside a moment while you orient yourself.”
    After she leaves, I run my finger over the necklace. When I find the jeweled key that unlocks the glass cases, I remember all too keenly why I wanted to flee my life last year. It was not solely because I did not wish to marry Stefan Strassburg. It was the mask and everything that goes with it.
    Holding the keys, I finally understand something: I am not the same girl who once spent hours staring into the mirror, wondering what was so wrong with her. Nor am I the girl who once hid under a tarp, too afraid to venture into the city of Korynth.
    In the months since then, I have become someone else entirely.
    I find Arianne in my sitting room, eating a slice of cake. “Right, then,” she says when she sees me. “Your brother has planned a series of parties to welcome you back to the city. He will expect you to show him your support.” She pauses, and the scorn in her voice is evident. “So there shall be no complaining about all the public appearances you are to make this month. Understood?”
    She pauses again. No doubt she is waiting for me to acquiesce.
    Quietly I untie my mask, and thrust it into her hands.
    “Tell my brother I no longer prefer to wear the mask.” Ignoring the shocked look on her face, I add, “Things will not be as they were before, because I will not be as I was before.”

Chapter 12
    Wilha
    I pull on the thick black cloak Arianne offers and flip the hood up. We leave my chambers and make our way down the corridor. As we walk, we pass no servants, nor any of the nobles who often linger inside the palace, hoping to be received by the king. I wonder if they have been ordered away so as not to see my face.
    After Arianne relayed my message, Andrei sent back one of his own, summoning me to the Eleanor Throne Room to meet with him.
    “The king is expecting us,” Arianne says to the soldier standing guard outside the doors.
    He nods, glances quickly at me, and enters the room. When he emerges again, he signals we should go