“Who did you hear that from?” Vi knew neither of Ellene’s mothers would say such a thing. She was fairly certain she’d heard them espousing the opposite.
“Darrus,” Ellene answered simply, quickly, as though she could sweep the name away. It didn’t work.
“Who’s this Darrus I keep hearing of?” Jayme asked from where she sat, legs stretched into the sea foam.
“Don’t get her started,” Vi cautioned, pulling up her leggings to step into the warm waters of the northern sea. If she didn’t know better—didn’t know that to the northwest, just over the horizon, there was a whole series of tiny islands separating the Main and Crescent Continents—she’d think she stood at the edge of the world itself.
“Darrus is just a boy.” Ellene huffed, sitting back down where she’d been before.
“Wait, it’s notthatDarrus, is it? From the spring dances?”
“The same,” Vi affirmed. The last time Jayme likely heard about Darrus would’ve been months ago. Which was the last time he was anything to Ellene.
“I thought we weren’t speaking of him any longer? How did you word it?” Jayme made a show of thinking, but there was no way she’d forgotten Ellene’s emotional tirade. “He was ‘dead to us’?”
“Apparently asking Ellene to dance at the winter solstice can bring a man back to life.” Vi grinned.
“So this is still about dances?” Jayme’s eye roll conveyed exactly what she thought about that.
“Can we please change the topic?” Ellene begged.
“Sure, how about Lukke?” Vi recounted the last suitor before Darrus. Ellene had quite a few. But it was hardly surprising. She was smart, fierce, beautiful, enjoyed the chase, and most importantly—had the time to deal with boys.
“Another boy?”
“You two are the worst!” Ellene laid back into the sand with a huff.
Vi and Jayme both shared a small laugh at her expense, but allowed the teasing to subside.
“What about you, princess? Any suitors catching your eye?” Jayme turned the tables.
“You know the answer is no. If it wasn’t no, you’d already be aware from the gossip that would be flying around the capital.” There was one thing Romulin had always been quite clear on—that regardless of where she was in the world, any romantic involvement on her part would have the gossip mongers of the capital talking. She was the heir to the Empire, and just about everyone seemed to want to have a hand in her match… except for her.
It wasn’t that Vi didn’t care. She hoped that she’d find love, or love would find her someday. But she’d just never felt that way about anyone, not like the storybooks made it out to be, all butterflies and stardust. Certainly not the instant attraction that had Ellene swooning over someone new each of the three springs since she turned twelve. Vi counted her blessings for the fact, since it made following Romulin’s sound advice to avoid romance entirely even easier.
“Plus, I have too much to worry about. I don’t have time to add a boy to the mix.”
“The Senate might disagree with that when you get back,” Jayme muttered.
“Yes, the crusty old men and women who want to take my crown also want to decide my romantic fate.” She’d never be so bold in front of anyone other than Ellene and Jayme. Her directness had them both laughing, and Vi spared a small smile on the outside. She knew it was no laughing matter though. Eventually, she would have to marry—and it would no doubt be a politically arranged union.
“And what about you? You’re doing an awfully good job at pointing fingers at Ellene and me.”
“What time would I possibly have to find a suitor?” Jayme shook her head. “Last I heard, most suitors like their other half at least relatively present, and I’m traveling across the continent every few weeks.”
“Well, you won’t be now.” Vi sat down between them, not caring about her clothes getting soaked in the process. She didn’t know when she’d feel the water again. “Sounds like you’ll be stuck with me now.”
“Lucky me,” Jayme said, deadpan.
Vi roared with laughter. “I’mthe worst, aren’t I?”
“You have no idea.”
Even Ellene snorted with amusement at that.
“Perhaps you found love already in the man you’re traveling with?” Vi suggested, not entirely sincerely.
“How dare you!” Jayme gasped and Vi couldn’t tell how much was for show. “Andru is awful.”
