Once they were outside of the overly warm great hall and into the cool night air, Bryn felt better. She sucked in a few long breaths to calm herself. Then, she leaned against the railing of the breezeway, resting her forehead on the cool stone.
All she could picture was Rangar atop his horse. Dripping rain. And then his eyes so full of fury and pain. He must have ridden at breakneck speed all day and night to make it back as quickly as he had.
She said breathlessly, “How . . . how did he even hear? How did heknow?”
She’donly been informed of the marriage plan two days ago. How was it possible for a messenger to make it to the borderto give Rangar the message in time? Unless perhaps it was a homing pigeon, except there weren’t any more of those. Another type of bird, perhaps . . . .
“Saraj,” she said. “It must have been Saraj! She sent a falcon.”
“It wasn’t Saraj,” Valenden muttered darkly.
When Valenden remained oddly quiet, Bryn suddenly whirled on him. “What do you know, Val?”
He scrunched up his nose, and Bryn gaped at him. “Youdid this?”
He winced.
She sank back against the railing as her mind spun. “That rider I saw you with in the square a few days ago . . . it was a messenger, wasn’t it?Yousent the message to Rangar about the wedding.”
He looked away and didn’t deny it.
She rested her hands on her hips accusingly. “Why would you do such a thing?” she demanded. “Is this about . . . what happened between you and me?”
Valenden scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself that much, princess. I didn’t tell Rangar you were to wed Trei because I wanted you for myself. It was because, believe it or not, I care about my brother. That one night between you and I was nothing—just me being a drunken cad. Rangar worked it out with his fists at the time, and it’s done between us. Butthis, Bryn.” He shook his head. “Marrying Trei is not nothing. It isn’t a drunken night. Rangar deserved to know what was happening. My father and aunt were wrong to have sent him away.”
“But Val, you saw how he reacted. He looked like he was going tokillTrei!”
“He deserved to know, Bryn.”
She felt a shiver and wondered if he was right. Everything felt like such a mess. Did she regret marrying Trei? She thought of the Mir refugees’ faces at the ceremony, how hopeful they hadbeen. She hadn’t had a choice, had she? Tens of thousands of people’s safety hinged on this marriage. But maybe it was true that Rangar should have been informed from the beginning, his feelings listened to and given consideration. Perhaps it had been cruel to have kept it from him until it was too late for him to stop it…
She started sobbing as the weight of what she’d done hit her.Saints, it’s all my fault.
Valenden let out a curse, then a sigh, then gathered her up in his arms and rested his sharp chin on the top of her head. “There, there, now.”
She sniffled as she pressed her face into his chest. “Aren’t you going to tell me duty comes before love? Everyone else has.”
Valenden barked a laugh. “You know I do precisely the opposite of what everyone else does.”
Bryn felt herself melting into his arms, relieved to have a friend. As much as she wanted to be furious at Valenden for sending the messenger to warn Rangar, she couldn’t find anger in her heart. Rangar would have found out as soon as he’d returned, anyway. He’d ruined her wedding feast, but she had never cared about the festivities. The gown, decorations, and food hadn’t mattered in the slightest—all she’d cared about had been the look on her people’s faces when they’d realized their kingdom would soon be in benevolent hands.
She murmured, “I need to see Rangar.”
Valenden stroked her back gently. “Not a good idea. Not tonight. Let his temper cool. Besides, there’s no way my father and aunt would allow it. You’re married to Trei. Even in the Baersladen, where decorum matters little, a married woman can’t speak alone to a former lover.”
Bryn drew back, peering up at Valenden. “Ihaveto speak to him, Val.”
Valenden scrubbed a hand over his face and then sighed. “Fine, fine. I’ll see what I can do. They put him in the jail cell in the tower, and I happen to know one of the tower guards has a weakness forstatuaherb.”
She wiped her eyes and breathed, “Thank you.”
But Valenden looked troubled. “You still have a wedding night ahead of you.”
The blood drained from her face. Rangar’s arrival had stricken those thoughts from her mind. She’d been worried enoughbeforehis arrival about what it would be like to make love with Rangar’s brother . . . and now she had to do so while Rangar was under the same roof, cursing both her and Trei with every bone in his body.
Valenden reached into his pocket and came back with a flask that he passed to Bryn. “Drink this. All of it.”
She took it gratefully and drained it to the dregs. Then, shaking, set off to find her new husband.
