Illiana paused, half-standing in the shadows. Moonlight lit up the other half of her face.
“About Mars,” Bryn whispered. “He’s really . . . changed?”
A corner of Illiana’s lips curled in a wry smile. “He was still a smug bastard when I met him, but it’s a wonder what almost dying will do to change a person’s perspective.”
Bryn countered, “I think his changed perspective has less to do with his near death and more to do with the beautiful rebel who nursed him to health.”
Illiana was too reserved to blush, but she turned her face away from the moonlight.
Bryn pressed, “Am I wrong in seeing a connection between the two of you?”
Illiana adjusted her herb basket to buy time before answering, “There are plenty of commoners who never saw your brother’s positive traits. I’ll admit that before I met him, I always thought him handsome but arrogant. I’m glad I gave him the chance to prove he was more than that. He could be a great king.”
Her words were measured but spoke volumes. It was plain to see she cared for Mars as much as he was taken with her.
Bryn returned to her room, and that night, lying awake and gazing at the night sky through her window, she wondered how much longer it would be before Rangar could look at the same moon.
Sunday, she told herself.Everything will change.
Chapter
Thirty-Three
A NECK FOR THE GALLOWS . . . second engagement gift . . . the Sunday Market . . . old friends
Sunday mornings were typically a day of reflection for the Mir people, when citizens would read from the great scientific and historical texts, go to the Mir Town square to listen to philosophers spouting wisdom, or tidy their homes for the coming week. Within the walls of Castle Mir, however, there was nothing peaceful about the following Sunday.
As soon as Bryn woke, she felt a blade of tension running throughout the entire castle’s population. When Lisbeth came with cinnamon tea, the girl was uncharacteristically quiet. The guards posted at Bryn’s door murmured amongst themselves but grew silent when Bryn stepped out of her room to use the latrine. As she made her way downstairs for breakfast, she noted most of the servants keeping their heads low.
Striding into the great hall where Captain Carr was flipping through parchment letters, she noted, “Everyone seems rather sullen this morning.”
He barely glanced up from his letters. “A soldier was recently caught accepting bribes. When pressed, he revealed that the rebel plot is more organized than we suspected.”
Bryn sat down slowly, reaching for a piece of toast. Now, the uncomfortable energy throughout the castle made sense. One of their own had been captured and likely tortured, and they were doubtless afraid of what Captain Carr would do to the rest of them.
“Goodness,” she exclaimed with careful blandness. “What information did he reveal?”
It had to be the soldier that Illiana had mentioned in the herb garden who had been caught helping Christof sneak out of the castle. She silently prayed that the captured man hadn’t revealed Christof and Illiana’s names.
“Very little, unfortunately.” Captain Carr took an angry sip of his coffee.
Bryn’s shoulders sank in relief. While buttering her toast, she cleared her throat. “I had hoped to go to the Sunday Market in Mir Town today to pick out fabric for a wedding dress. My former seamstress has a stall there, I believe.”
Carr flipped through the letters, shaking his head. “It isn’t the best time for you to leave the castle, even with guards.”
She leaned forward, batting her eyes. “That’s wise of you, and yet I want to have a pretty gown for our wedding. I think it’s important that the common folk see this union as a fresh start for the kingdom, don’t you?”
She’d captured his attention by leaning forward so that her low-cut neckline was on display. He set down his letters and let his gaze linger on her chest.
“Hmm. Yes, of course, we want it to be a grand affair as a show of future prosperity. I suppose it will be acceptable if you take a unit of guards.”
She beamed. “Of course.”
Now that she had his attention, he moved his letters aside and folded his hands on the table. “Speaking of the rebels, I must say that I was impressed with your animosity toward the traitor prince.”
She scoffed. “Rangar Barendur? A rogue through and through. It delighted me to see him in chains.”
Captain Carr smiled thinly. “In that case, I think you’ll be extremely pleased by my second engagement gift.”
