“Sure you have,” Vale teased his squire. “I’ve seen you in a brothel, Filip.”
“The tavern part! And I didn’t realize that server was also a fae of the night!”
Vale burst out laughing. I got the sense that a story lingered there, and it wasn’t the first time my mate had teased poor Filip about it.
“We won’t tell Papa Balik. Don’t you worry.”
“Let’s go.” I took pity on Filip because Sian appeared seconds away from joining in on the fun. “I’m dying to figure out who it is.”
We walked as fast as was appropriate for lords and ladies and princesses to move through the castle, and when we made it outside, we were met with the smiles of two friends.
“Sayyida!” Saga picked up her skirts, and nearly knocked Aleksander over when she sprinted for the younger Virtoris sibling. Vidar laughed, hanging back with Lord Riis and a young faerie with red hair and no small amount of mischief in her eyes.
“We wondered when you two would show up!” Vale shouted as a wide grin cracked his face in half. “Didn’t expect it to be in this manner.”
“Neither did we,” Vidar replied.
The groups came together. Saga wept as she embraced her best friend, and Sayyida, tough as she was, looked near to tears too.
My heart squeezed. I’d always had a hunch that there was more between them, a romance they never allowed to bloom. Or perhaps they had never acknowledged those feelings. After all, what would be the point? Before her father broke the engagement, Saga had been betrothed to Vidar—who seemed none the wiser that his fiancée preferred his sister.
“You came from Grindavik?” Luccan asked as he embraced the red-haired faerie.
“Vantalia, actually. Father has me stationed there to intercept the sea serpents.” The redhead met my eyes. “I’m Yrsa, Lord Riis’s daughter.” She curtsied, hinting she knew who I was.
“Princess Isolde,” I replied with an incline of my head. “And this is my sister, Princess Thyra Falk. I presume you’ve met the others?”
Yrsa scanned the group. “Not those four.”
Of course not. Why would she know rebels? Bac, Aleksander, Sigri, and Halladora had not been included in the wider society. Even now, they hung a few paces back, not quite part of the group.
The introductions were made. All the while, I sensed Lord Riis’s gaze upon me. Wanting my thanks for bringing the Virtoris siblings here? Or did he simply desire an acknowledgment?
He’d get neither.
“So, the snow is gone here too,” Yrsa commented. “Seems like the entire kingdom is free of it.” She craned her neck to peer at the mountains framing Ramshold. “Well, maybe not up there yet.”
She couldn’t understand that this was a sore spot, so I merely nodded. “We were finishing lunch. Would you all like to join us?”
“I need to be getting back to the tavern.” Lord Riis bowed shallowly. “I only wanted to make sure Sayyida and Vidar got here.”
“Hmmm. Well, the rest of us should head inside,” I said flatly.
Sayyida shot me a confused look. I’d been friendly with Lord Riis the last time I’d seen her.
“Yrsa, you too. Fill your belly before traveling home,” Luccan put his arm around his half-sister.
“Oh, yes. Traveling via gateway is so taxing!”
“I don’t get to see you often enough.”
“True, and don’t worry, I’m staying. It’s rare that I get to eat castle fare.”
“We have excellent desserts,” Filip offered. “Not for lunch. We usually just have a truffle, but I could have some of the better desserts brought out.”
Yrsa smiled at the young lord. “You know how to woo a girl, don’t you, Lord Balik?”
Filip swallowed loudly. “I didn’t mean for that to come off as?—”
