“And?” The Lady of Ships spoke as if she intuited what her daughter wanted, and she probably did. Their mother knew her children well.
“I want to go with a small fleet.”
“Why?”
“They’re searching for Vale and Neve and, I bet you anything, Saga intends to stand with her brother as they fight the king!” Sayyida tossed her hands in the air.
She was fire on the sea, but her words did not warm Vidar. Rather, a trench-deep cold spread through him.
“You wish to go against the king and side with a Falk in an open rebellion?” Lady Virtoris asked with a carefully measured tone.
“In case you didn’t notice, I’ve already gone against King Magnus.”
A fist slammed on the table, making both Vidar and Sayyida jump and the letter roll off the edge, to the ground. “Why do you think your brother and I are here?! We’re trying to work out a way to defend the island when the king comes, becausehe willcome, and he’ll want revenge for my children defying him.”
Sayyida’s chin jutted out. “I’m proud of Njal for standing up for himself and saying he didn’t want to marry that lady. It’s not our way. We belong by the sea.”
“Mother isn’t denying that.” Vidar cut in before things got ugly. “But Sayyida, we’re sending ships out to protect the people of our island. And now you want to leave? They respect you and will want you at their side.”
Three heartbeats passed in which his sister looked chastened, but when she met his gaze again, she nodded. “I do wish to go. And I’m aware that it’s selfish, but don’t you two see? This could be the start of something new! Something better!”
“The Falk princess posed as a commoner her entire time at court.” Their mother pressed her lips together before continuing. “Lies were told. How can you trust her?”
“She’s with Vale,” Vidar said, surprising himself. “I’d trust Vale with my life.” His mother didn’t know, but he had already done so more than once.
“And I know Neve better than you think, Mother,” his sister added.
“Isolde. Her name isIsolde Falk,” the Lady of Ships spat out the name as if she had not just been using Neve herself. “She’s the daughter of the Cold King, a ruthless ruler if there ever was one. You can’t recall the end of his reign, my loves, but I do, and it was horrendous. That same blood that needlessly tormented and killed so many fae runs in her veins.”
“That’s the name she was born with,” Sayyida said softly but not meekly. “That’s the family she was born to. But that is not who Neve—Isolde—whatever you want to call her is. You may not know that, but I do.”
Their mother leaned back against the table. “Tell me then. Convince me to give youmyships and allow them to sail south when they’re needed here to defendmyland frommychildren’s choices. Convince me to lend the might of our house to a princess I do not trust.”
Vidar trained his attention on his sister.
“She was born here, but Neve grew up in the Vampire Kingdom. A blood slave.”
“That’s common knowledge now,” their mother said.
“I’m not done.” Sayyida scowled but continued on to spin a tale of horrors and fear at the hands of the vampires. She told them of Neve’s time in the Winter Court since, and how the female was not one to abuse power. Sayyida wasn’t sure she wanted power, but one thing was certain: The lost Falk princess always stood up for those who needed her to.
“From what she’s told me and what I witnessed during our mutual time at court,” Sayyida continued, “I consider Neve a dear friend, Mother. House Virtoris may sway with the sea, butwe do not abandon our friends in its cold and deadly waters.” Sayyida pinned her mother with a stare as cold as a mage’s touch.
“I’ll consider it,” the Lady of Ships conceded. “Until you hear my decision from my own lips, do not even think about taking a ship. Now, leave, Sayyida. Your brother and I have much to discuss.”
Sayyida’s mouth dropped open. “Mother! I?—”
“Leave us.” The tone was final, the tone of a high lady.
Sayyida spun and stormed from the room. Vidar watched her go, and when the door slammed shut, he exhaled.
“You don’t approve?” His mother was staring at him now.
“I like Neve and love Vale like family.”
“You cannot imagine what would happen if we brought our people into a battle that I’m not even sure this lost princess wants, only for Isolde Falk to take the throne and then turn out like her father.”
He didn’t speak. The only sound in the room was the constant crashing of waves against the rocks below the castle. But then Vidar drew in a breath as he scrubbed the back of his neck.
