Each woman put a hand on the vase and raised it in triumph. There was wild cheering.
Hidden at the side of the audience, Qip looked at Mekos and Tam. “Think you two can live up to that?”
“No,” Mekos said. “Not even close.” His voice told of his pride in the woman he loved.
“Definitely not,” Tam said. “However, I was wondering about the affair part. I could—”
“Touch my relative and you die,” Mekos said amicably. “I’ll call the fox world on you. And the birds.”
“Since when are you related to Princess Bree?”
“Since—”
They bickered all the way back to the wagon. Behind them, Qip nodded toward the young men and thought,I just want those two to stay alive.
18
Hours later, Aradella was riding bareback on Qip’s gray horse. It wasn’t easy to hold on, but the wolf had given her some confidence in her ability to ride anything. She still had on the corseted, low-cut costume she’d worn in the play.
She and Bree had— At that thought, she almost halted. The concept that she and her cousin had done somethingtogetherwas more than her mind could comprehend.
After the play, they saw Qip and the men arriving in the wagon. As before, Bree sat on the seat beside Qip while Aradella got in the back.
“That’s some dress,” Mekos said. His tone didn’t agree with the look on his face. He took off his jacket and put it around her.
“Tell us what happened,” Tam said.
Bree twisted around to glance at Aradella, then turned back. By silent agreement, they weren’t going to tell the whole story.
“Nothing really,” Aradella said. “We did a play and as payment they gave us the rose.”
“And the dresses?” Tam was smiling.
“We, ah, left quickly,” Bree said. “We should return them.”
“Some woman put your clothes in the back,” Qip said. “Was the play easy to do?”
“Too easy.” Aradella closed her mouth and answered no more questions. She tightened Mekos’s jacket around her. As they rode back to Qip’s house, Mekos and Tam talked about training with Darr, about how quick he was and that he could fence with both of them at the same time.
Aradella’s mind was too full to think clearly. What she’d learned about Bree, about the secrets her cousin had kept, had destroyed what Aradella thought to be true.
When they got back to the house, food was waiting. Qip proudly displayed the rose in the middle of the table. Later, there would be more training before... before the battle.
“The entertainment goes on all day,” Qip told them. “After the play, the stages are moved to the back and it becomes an arena.”
Maybe it was the reality of the play that was making Aradella realize the seriousness of the coming contest. Like her, Bree was quiet, saying little, but the two men were excited, even looking forward to what they were facing.
I must stop this, Aradella thought.As Bree said, all of this is my fault. If I’d married Nessa, none of this would be happening. Or if I’d not killedValonathey’d be safe. If I’d not—
She knew she had to stop regretting what had happened. It was time to go forward.
The others went to the garden, but Aradella said she wanted to rest.
“And change clothes,” Mekos said as he left the house.
She’d given him a half smile, then went to the room they shared. It was as cute as the rest of the house. There were four shelves holding replicas of animals. Each was about the size of a hand, but they were made of different materials.
“Were we right when we joked that the rose and the medallion are for Qip’s collection?” she whispered. “Is that all they are?”
