“If I’d returned under any other pretense,” Bryn said, “Captain Carr would have slit my throat.”
Illiana lifted her eyebrows in acknowledgment of this fact, but then cocked her head. “Why even return at all?”
Bryn glanced at Mars out of the corner of her eye. Once upon a time, he had been fiercely protective of his little sister’s honor. How many times had he warned her away from the “savage” Baer princes?
What would he say if he knew she’d become embroiled with all three?
“I returned for Rangar Barendur,” she said quietly.
Sure enough, as she had feared, Mars’s nostrils flared with outrage. “That bastard prince from the Outlands who stole you away?”
“I went with him willingly.” Bryn kept her head high and her voice firm. “He saved my life that day.”
Mars scoffed, a ghost of his arrogant former self coming out. “He’s in the dungeon for a reason. In fact, the only joyful news I’ve heard in months was that he was captured.”
Bryn shook her head slowly, though she knew her brother couldn’t see it. “You’re mistaken about the Barendur family. They did right by me. Trei married me in an effort to save the Mirien. Hediedfor it. Valenden risked his life to get me here. And Rangar . . . ”
“The rumors are true, weren’t they?” Mars spat the words like a curse. “You two wereromantic.”
Speaking evenly so as not to back down from his harsh tone, she said, “I came here to free Rangar from the dungeon. He and I had a plan for how to take the Mirien from Captain Carr: We were going to lean on the Hytooth family in the Wollin for aid. But when Rangar was captured, I had to change strategies. If you think I wished to risk my life by coming back here, you’re wrong. But I refuse to abandon Rangar after all he’s done for me.”
“What exactly has he done for you?” Mars asked hotly.
Illiana rested a cautioning hand on his arm. He tensed initially, but then his shoulders eased.
He sighed. “I apologize for my temper, mouse. I spent years keeping you safe from that prince, so to hear now that you’ve ended up in his arms is a hard dram to down.”
“People were wrong about us,” Bryn pointed out. “All of us: you, me, Elysander. The common folk believed we were in league with our parents when that wasn’t true. You and Elysander knew of their cruelty the whole time. As soon as I learned the truth, I sided with the rebels. If people were wrong about us, why can’t you admit you might have been wrong about Rangar and his brothers?”
Mars scratched at his chin, considering this. “How do you know that about Elysander? Have you been to Dresel?”
Bryn told him about meeting the Forest King in the woods outside of Othwall and showed him the key Elysander had given her, sliding the chain off her neck and pressing it into his palm so he could feel it.
“It’s true. This is her key.” Mars examined the shape of the key, then cupped the three wedding bands also strung on the chain. They clattered together in his palm. “And these?”
Bryn quickly took the necklace back and replaced it around her neck. “Don’t worry about those. Just trinkets.”
Mars cocked his head, listening closely. “Rings. I can guess who from. You wear them next to your heart. Is that where your heart lies, Bryn? In the Baersladen?”
She pressed her hand over the rings dangling between her breasts. She’d been prepared to assume the Mir crown in the name of duty. It was the least she could do to attempt to right her parents’ wrongs.
But now that Mars was alive, maybe she was absolved of that duty.
Maybe I could return to the Outlands.
“It is,” she verified.
Mars didn’t seem entirely pleased by this revelation, but to his credit, he didn’t shout or order her around as he might have when they were younger.
Had he truly changed, she wondered?
Illiana rested her hand on Mars’s knee. “This is good news, Mars,” she urged. “Your sister is on our side—not to mention the fact that she has Captain Carr’s ear.”
Bryn piped up, “Yes, and speaking of the captain, the day our carriage was attacked in Saint’s Forest, Captain Carr was on the verge of proposing marriage.” She briefly tasted orange biscuits in the back of her throat, which turned her stomach. “Which means he’ll probably attempt to propose again soon.”
“Put him off,” Mars said firmly. “Tell him you need time to heal after your captivity.”
“No,” Illiana cut in. “Accept his proposal. Make him think you’re perfectly willing to marry him. If he trusts you—even better if he thinks you’re nothing but a pawn for him to manipulate—he’ll lower his guard around you.”
