“It must have been based on something Lord Roar said, though, as he’s traveling with the king. More importantly,they’re traveling on gryphons—my own father’s racing stock. They’re the fastest in the kingdom.”
A gryphon’s aerial speed was unmatched. And their stamina was second only to pegasi, which were far more rare. If the king took gryphons, he wished to get somewhere far away, and he wished to do so quickly.
“They flew southwest. Any idea?” Inga looked up at Leyv.
Anguish simmered in her blue eyes. Eyes that had entranced him when he was but a youngling being dragged to his liege lord’s castle with his mother. Leyv fell in love with Inga before he’d known the true meaning of the word.
“Last I heard, Vale was in Vitvik, which is that direction. However, that was days ago. I doubt they’re still there.”
“What if they are?”
“Vale loves Neve. You should have seen him when he thought they were related. It destroyed him, hence why I told him the truth. He won’t let her go, Inga, I’m sure of it.”
She did not look surprised. “I expect not. He’s much like his father in that way. Never lets go.”
Lord Riis smiled softly, happy to have passed down something to his son. If it was his steadfast love for a female who returned his affections, all the better. “Not unless the object of his desire wishes.”
“She doesn’t,” Inga said with a sigh. “They fell in love before they knew they were doing so.”
“Now that the king is gone, what of the Courting Festival?”
Inga laughed. “It’s already fallen apart. Myhusband has gotten a few alliances from it, but whatever is in the south seems to have captured his full attention.”
Silence hung between them before Lord Riis whispered, “We cannot let him harm Vale or Neve.”
“No, it’s time to do what we should have done many turns ago.”
So she was on the same page as him. He should have known. After all, Inga was the only reason Leyv had been able to free Duran from the dungeon. She wouldn’t have bothered if she did not see the threads of fate weaving through the tapestry.
“You’ll speak to Rhistel?”
“Do you think it unwise?”
“Rather the opposite,” he replied. “I can see Vale coming out with the truth to support Neve’s legitimacy. And I have to say that if she can bring Winter’s Realm out of the long night we’re suffering, I am for a new ruler.”
“As am I,” Inga replied. “I tire of Magnus’s foot on my neck. If he is gone, I’ll give it all up.”
She’d said as much before, but now that Magnus might fall and with it, his ability to tell the realm Inga’s secrets, Leyv burned with a hope he’d never allowed himself to feel before.
Her love was all that he’d wanted his entire life. He’d searched for a replacement in countless other females, but never been satisfied. Never been able to replace her. Finally, he’d stopped his dalliances, but not before fathering a small army of bastards, all of whom he loved, even if he could not have the relationships he wished with each of them.
“Shall I come with you to tell Rhistel about us?”
Inga swallowed. “I’d like you nearby, but this is something I must do alone. I’ve always wanted to spare my children pain. It’s the reason I’ve done everything I have, and with you there . . . Well, Rhistel might not like that.”
Lord Riis’s heart sank with the truth. He’d always gotten on better with Vale. The younger of the twins had been, and still was, more open to a relationship. In truth, had Rhistel ever wanted to spend quality time together, Lord Riis believed that they would have a lot in common.
They were both thinkers, manipulators. Of course, with Rhistel’s whispering magic, he could get whatever he wished, not that Leyv would ever say as much. No one, save for Inga, was aware that Lord Riis knew about Rhistel’s powers. He’d never put his son in danger by speaking of them.
Inga turned to him. “I saw some of the Falk children die. I regret that with all my heart. I regret that, when I was young, I was careless, and Magnus was able to use my weakness against me.” She sniffed, the slightest sign of emotion that hid a mountain of regret. “If war comes, I will not watch my children, not our sons or Saga, suffer the same.”
“Will you tell Saga about us, too, then?”
Lord Riis wasn’t against it. As a seer whose powers developed by the day, Saga might have a vision pertaining to them at any moment. Thus far, she had not. Or if she had, she’d kept it to herself.
“I’m not sure. Rhistel first. He deserves that much.” Inga took a step forward, touched the tree. “If you wish to watch, go to my waiting chamber. I’ll be there soon.”
“I’ll be watching,” he assured her. “Goodluck, Inga.”
