Alexandra scoffed. “She may not have a choice with this rebel madness.”
The thought of her playing wife to some foreign prince or lord was incomprehensible, even if it was likely. What a waste of a warrior. Alexandra was so talented and her withering on some foreign throne was not something he could abide.
She spun her glass in a circle on the wooden table. “It’s unbelievable that our father has spent years trying to strip away his own power and hand it back to the people, and they still want to throw it in his face. Their arguments don’t even make sense. No one is making them worship any other gods, and yet they’re the ones trying to force their insane Endros doctrine on everyone else. They insist on a return totraditionalvalues, but they mean a world at war where only the wealthiest people thrive—where women are property who should only ever aspire toward being wives and mothers. They see the common folk being lifted out of poverty and offered the same opportunities as a threat instead of a good thing. It’s unbelievable how delusional they are and how quickly they have been able to spread panic instead of seeing reason.”
“This is part of ruling, Alex,” Teddy said. “Politics is more than just doing what’s best. It’s about getting people to buy in to what you’re doing. People hate change and, while I loathe their methods and their messaging, the Sons of Endros have done a spectacular job of reinforcing the idea that they shouldn’t have to change at all.”
“At least you get to rule over the crazies,” she said, taking a long gulp of whiskey.
“You think I want to be king, Alex?” The words would not stopcoming. He’d had too much to drink and that combined with Grace’s rejection had left him feeling there was nothing to lose and no reason to perform anymore. “You think this is fun for me? To always be an impeccable version of myself? To not ever have a chance to be more than just what is expected of me? It’s so easy for you to judge, but you are the youngest and a woman. The expectations for you are just not the same at all. You wouldn’t be so keen to rule if you understood the personal costs.”
For a moment, his sister appraised him with quiet shock. Fuck, he was drunk. He had not been drunk in public. Ever.
Alexandra stood. “Well,Your Grace, I suppose I’ll never get the chance to understand. I’ll leave you to your pity party.”
She disappeared into the crowd without another word.
Teddy sat at the table for several moments, barely even registering the loud music and dancing around him, and then stood with a start, eager to get back to the castle and away from the crowd. He took a step away from the table and the world tilted. He caught his hand on the booth beside him until it righted. This was bad. He was very drunk.
He tossed some coins onto the table and pulled on his cloak, tugging the hood up to shadow his face. It took every bit of concentration to cross the room and dodge all the dancing couples and barmaids without falling. Finally, he reached the door and pressed into the cool night air. The worst was over, and he’d be back at the castle and away from the public in no time.
15
STELLA
The moment Stella stepped out of the bar and into the bustling street, she felt uncertain about her choice to follow Teddy. She’d left Rosie inside with Alexandra and Leo. While she was sure that they could handle fending off Nathan, she didn’t like that she wasn’t there to deflect his sudden and inexplicable interest in her sister.
It had to be a bet. She’d known Nathan Aiger since they were teenagers and Teddy started bringing him to Olney for the Solstice Festival. Nathan didn’t do genuine interest.
It was part of the reason Stella had always tolerated him, despite his lousy choice of best friend. Nathan was harmless and he would be sure that Leo got Rosie home safe. That was all Stella cared about.
Stella turned to her right and hesitated, straining to hear footsteps over the muffled music from the bar behind her. She should just go back inside and let the prince brood. But Teddy had been a little unsteady on his feet. Perhaps no one else would notice. He held it together so well, but she sensed the fuzziness in their bond.
She looked both ways, scanning the damp cobblestones of the street. The rain had stopped, but the humidity was just as wretched as it had been all day.
“Where did he disappear to so quickly?” she grumbled.
A thread of panic shot through her. Perhaps someone else had noticed and already made off with him. She drew up the memory of watching him leave the bar and scanned it for anyone suspicious. There were a few people who bowed or curtseyed when he walked by, despite his waving hand dismissing the gesture as unnecessary. No one had seemed especially interested, but that didn’t mean someone hadn’t been waiting for him outside.
She closed her eyes and pressed her palm to her chest the way she’d seen her mother do when they were at the market and she was searching for Rainer. Cecilia had described it as tugging on a rope and waiting for a tug on the other side, or feeling a slight buzz across the bond whenever she got close.
Stella imagined it like a rope disappearing into oblivion. She tugged on it, but nothing happened. With a sigh, she started down the street until she felt a sudden pleasant hum in her chest. Torchlights reflected off the puddles between the cobbled ground, making the night feel more magical and sparkling, though Stella wasn’t usually allowed out so late in the evenings, so perhaps Olney City always looked so whimsical when the evening torches were lit.
The large flames had sparkling crystal clusters at their center and were spelled to ensure that the city stayed well-lit through the night and no loose embers would escape the magical fire, even on the windiest nights. In the morning, the flames died, and the crystal center charged all day in the glow of the sun, so they were ready to burn through the night again. On cloudy days, the torches sometimes needed to be recharged by fire witches. Since fire was her strongest affinity, Stella was well-read on the spellwork and ingredients used to make the torches work.
Last year’s Gauntlet Games had been plagued by rain and Stella had gone through town each day refilling the torches with her magic. Normally, it wouldn’t be a big deal for a few parts of the city to be darker. But during the Games, when so many people were in town just looking for a fight, the huntmaster felt it was best to ensure there were no dark corners for anyone to sneak off to fight in.
Stella paused in front of a bakery, took a few more steps, and the hum came again, stronger. She kept going a few tentative steps at a time until the buzz was so strong it sent a shiver through her body.
Teddy’s voice cut through the humid night. “Godsdamnit.”
She followed the sound to the alley beside the bakery and paused. Teddy was speaking emphatically to someone she couldn’t see. She was torn between stepping closer to hear what he was saying and running before he saw her.
Torchlights from the street at the other end of the alley wreathed him in a golden glow.
“Get it the fuck together,” he whispered, his voice low and vicious.
Stella was eternally a victim of her curiosity. She edged closer, straining to see who he was speaking to, but when she cleared the corner, there was no one else in the alley.
