“Well, then, I suppose it’s a good thing you’re about to be a Baer queen, Bryn Lindane.” He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close enough for his lips to scorch their way across her jaw and neck, finally settling on her own lips. When he broke the kiss, he kept his hand on her waist. “Are you ready to say goodbye to your home?”
She took one last look at her parents’ headstones, then shifted her gaze up to the stars again.
It’s the same night sky in the Mirien and in the Baersladen. The moon and stars don’t change.
“I’m ready,” she said.
Chapter 3
GOODBYES . . . a falcon overhead . . . a warning of wolves . . . no maiden roses . . . honey
The first time Bryn had left the Mirien, she’d fled with nothing to her name, sharing a horse with Rangar and sleeping in the open. This time, a closed carriage and team of horses waited to transport Bryn, Rangar, Valenden, and Saraj. Bryn wasn’t a disgraced princess fleeing a siege anymore, but rather the future queen of the Baersladen. And yet, if she was being honest, she had to admit that she missed those days of riding in Rangar’s arms on a single horse.
While Saraj helped the maids load baskets of food for the five-day journey, and Valenden and Rangar checked the horses’ harnesses, Bryn prepared to say her goodbyes.
“Bryn,” Illiana said, reaching out to squeeze Bryn’s hands. “We wish you a safe and swift journey.”
Bryn took note of the ornate wedding ring on Illiana’s finger. It would be a tumultuous few weeks for them in the Mirien as they tried to win back the trust of their people. It didn’t help that the wedding and coronation had been so rushed.
“Yes,” Mars said, “Send word as soon as you’ve arrived safely at Barendur Hold. This time of year, the roads can be treacherous. In winter, bandits are more desperate. The rain and snow can bring flooding, too. We’ve also received reports of wolves attacking travelers near the Vil-Kevi border.”
Rangar, finished with the horses, came over and placed a hand on his sword hilt. “Wolves tend only to attack single travelers on foot, or the weak and elderly.”
“Not these wolves, so I hear,” Mars cautioned. “Apparently, they brought down an entire team of horses.”
“We’ll be fine,” Bryn assured her brother, folding her hands together as she took one last look at Castle Mir.
Rangar rested a hand on Bryn’s back. “The carriage is ready as soon as the last of the luggage is loaded. Valenden will take the first shift driving.”
Valenden looked up from where he’d been tightening a bridle and gave a snort. “I volunteered nothing of the sort.”
Rangar patted his brother on the shoulder with a wicked grin. “Ivolunteered you.”
Saraj finished helping the maids stow the luggage and dusted off her hands. “Good thing we’re traveling light, since we only have a team of two horses.”
“We can spare another pair,” Mars offered. “It will get you to the Baersladen faster.”
Rangar shook his head. “We’ll manage, and your soldiers will need those horses. You should prepare for trouble among the common folk. Not everyone will agree with your decision to bring magic to the Mirien.”
Mars gave a solemn nod. “We’ll be prepared.”
Valenden still grumbled as he climbed up into the driver’s seat. Bryn embraced Illiana one final time, then her brother, while she tilted her head up to whisper in his ear, “I’m with you, Mars. The Mirien and the Baersladen will lead the Eyrie into a new era of peace.”
Mars felt for her shoulders and gave her a grateful squeeze.
Rangar held the carriage door open, but Saraj pointed up at a castle parapet where her falcon, Zephyr, perched. “I’ll ride up front with Valenden for a while,” she said. “Zephyr wouldn’t like being cooped up in the carriage. He’d rather fly along with us.”
She whistled for Zephyr, who took off in a circle overhead.
Bryn climbed into the back of the carriage with Rangar and settled in as Valenden drove them out of the castle grounds and through Mir Town. Watching out the window, Bryn tried to gauge the mood of the populace. Some of them had been loyal to Captain Carr and weren’t pleased to hear of Prince Mars’s miraculous rise from the dead, sudden marriage, and coronation.
She flinched, startled, as Rangar rested a hand on her knee.
“Sorry,” she breathed, touching her chest. “I’m jumpy.”
“Worried about the journey north?”
She glanced back out the window. “More worried for Mars and Illiana. Half the Mirien is on their side, but the other half isn’t.”
