Rhistel’s mouth fell open. “Do I not have a say?”
“Not if you want to win this war,” Magnus said.
“I will give you your pick of princesses.” Tyra shrugged one shoulder. “I have many daughters around your age. Older and younger too. Whatever you prefer.”
“I prefer not to be forced,” Rhistel muttered, and not for the first time, I got the sense that he had someone. Maybe not someone he loved, but someone he cared enough for that he did not wish to wed another.
“You will do your duty.” Magnus stood. “Now, let’s see to getting my son wed so the oaths can be formally taken.”
Chapter 42
ISOLDE
Aknock came at my door.
“Y-yes?” I called out, the word sticking like syrup in my mouth. When was the last time I’d had anything to drink? I looked down at my hands to find my skin white and dry. My soulmate mark was duller than it should have been too.
Astril opened the door. Beside her stood Aleksander, black circles under his eyes, shoulders stooped. Since Vale and Thantrel had been taken, the fylgjarn had been joined with his hawk. He did not dare to rest in case he lost track of the pair.
“Aleksander.” I stood from the chair. “What’s going on?”
“They arrived in Kuro, the capital of the Mage Kingdom. Vale and Thantrel were taken to the castle with King Magnus, Prince Rhistel, and a cloaked figure. I can’t get Arla too close, and definitely not inside. I worry about the Shadow Fae recognizing her after that day in the mountain tunnels.”
“I understand.” Arla was a part of Aleksander, and the hawk had saved our lives that day. “But you think the cloaked figure is King Érebo.”
“I do.”
“And they’re meeting the Mage King. Asking for an alliance.” A ball of ice settled in my belly. “Who knows how long that will take?”
“I’m not someone who would have any idea.”
That made two of us.
“Isolde?” Aleksander’s tone had gone softer in mere seconds, alerting me.
“What else?” I asked.
“Vale and Thantrel walked into that castle on their ownwithKing Magnus, Prince Rhistel, and the Shadow Fae. They weren’t shackled or forced.”
Oh.Oh.
Aleksander studied me. Waited for an explanation.
“Rhistel is a whisperer.” When Aleksander did not appear surprised in the least, I continued, “he must have Vale and Thantrel in his grips.”
“I had a feeling it had to be something like that,” my brother admitted. “They looked much too willing.”
“Have you told Thyra yet?”
“When I passed her in the yard.”
“What was she doing?” Like me, my sister had been taciturn since the mission in Grindavik.
“Watching the soldiers arrive and train in small groups.” Aleksander’s lips tightened. “She’s watching from a window though, standing by that statue of three rams.”
Those of fighting age pledged to House Balik were assembling. At first I hadn’t understood why it would take two days, but then I learned of the vast numbers of fae and how many had to travel to the city. That was to say nothing of packing supplies for so many and placing them in the appropriate groups.
With the snow melted, no one was sure how long the march north would take, but the distance was not small. We guessed at least a week.
