Tapping the table, Nina offered, “Flowers?”
She would have brought the stars down for their Princess if it meant having her trust them.
Nina had heard stories—rumors of her mother’s friendship with Irene Yarrow. The Rimemere castle libraries still had portraits Irene painted of them strung around the shelves. Nina admired them any time she could. She had dreamed of having that same sort of friendship with Irene’s child. Up until a month ago, the existence of that child had been a mere rumor.
But then that note found them in Graniela, leading them to Lady Lora and Yavenharrow. Whoever had sent them that letter with the Princess’s location had been right indeed.
“It will take time for her to trust you,” Lora said, walking toward them.
The woman radiated poise and knowledge, reflective of her previous position in Irene’s court. The Royal Advisor, responsible for political relations and second only to her mother Clarisse, Irene’s Royal Hand. Lora Yarrow had been the only human to ever hold a position of power in Rimemere. She and Axel Yarrow had taken the Southern Continent by storm with their unprecedented union.
Nina read their history as a bedtime story through the years, praying to Flora she would one day have a love as great and unabridged as theirs.
Lora smiled at her. “I promise my niece is a kind soul. She is just…”
“Distrustful?” Sawyer scoffed. “Family trait, I guess.”
“She might warm up to you first, Sawyer,” Lora said, taking a seat on a chair beside Cas, who gave her a polite nod. “Family…it’s important to her.”
“You truly will not travel with us, Lady Lora?” Alix asked from beside Sawyer. “Yavenharrow is not safe any longer.”
Lora shook her head. “I must reinforce the spells to protect the people. I cannot leave while Irene’s protections here deteriorate.”
“Will you be able to do those alone?” Nina asked. “Dark Magic is… unforgiving, I’ve heard.”
Looking out toward the window, Lora seemed lost in thought for a moment before responding. “I’ll be fine. You all take care of her.”
“King Semmena will want her to follow Rimemere traditions,” Alix said, standing. “All of them.”
Anger flickered through Lora’s features. “Let Arnold do what he wants while he still can.”
“Please boot him off the throne soon,” Sawyer pleaded with a whine. “My father has become insufferable.”
“He always has been,” Cas muttered, breaking his silence.
Nina angled her head at him. “What happened last night?”
He looked over at her. “Which part?”
“How did you two end up in the Helian Ocean?”
Amusement danced in his eyes. “She took me off guard and threw us in.”
“The great Cas Xanthos, Prince of Eswin and Royal Guard, bested by a girl with zero combat training.” Sawyer gestured in front of her with each word, exaggerating motions. “When the cadets get wind of that, they’ll never let you live it down.”
Lora chuckled. “Someone go back there to check on them. I’m afraid Sol will persuade the boy to jump on a ship with her to avoid this.”
SOL
AS SOON ASLeo was out of sight, Sol regretted not dragging him to the docks with her and onto a ship. When they were seventeen, Leo had traveled to the Scholar Towers to receive his formal diploma for finishing the fourteen levels of school. Sol had always dreamed of doing the same, of studying and one day receiving her recognition as Scholar. Leo tried to persuade her togo with him, using the excuse she deserved celebration too, since she always stole and studied his notes. But Sol stayed behind, taking care of Mina, counting down the twelve days it would take him to come back.
It had actually taken him twenty days to return. When Sol had spotted him walking toward her after her shift at the Hound, she sobbed and clung to him the whole way home. They had made a pact that day to only sail together from then on.
Sol poured steaming water into a mug, sighing as the herbal scents caressed her.
Where would they go if she fled right now? Graniela?
The town was rich in exports, primarily woods and jewels. Or perhaps Hillarcliff, where Lora was born.
