“I know,” I say. “But I can try.”
She studies me again, and I can’t make out much of her expression in the shadows beyond the lantern. Behind me, Ellmo is still digging through the supplies. “Mama, they have a jar of realhoney. Can we take it?”
Rocco clears his throat. “Miss Olive, if you would be so kind as to take this little demon off our hands, I would be most appreciative. Either that, or come help. The day isn’t growing any shorter.”
Olive shakes herself. “Oh. Of course.” To my surprise, she takes hold of the wagon railing, then pulls herself up to sit right beside him.
Both Rocco and I stare at her.
“I’m coming to help,” she says.
Rocco shrugs and cracks the whip.
“And my child is not a demon,” Olive adds, glaring at him.
From behind us, Ellmo growls like a wildcat. “I can be a demon.”
“Trust me, I know,” says Rocco.
After we reach the house, we busy ourselves with unloading the wagon, and there isn’t time for more banter. I watch Rocco carefully, and although he’s not moving as stiffly as I expected, I’ve still seen him wince a few times. When he’s untethering one of the horses from the wagon, I peer at him in the darkness while Olive and Ellmo are carrying things into the house.
“Truly,” I say to him quietly. “You should rest tomorrow. A goat can wait.”
“We’ll see.”
I frown, but he smiles. “I need to move, Miss Tessa.”
I put a hand on his arm. “I really meant what I said. I know you’re guarding me, but we have to help each other.”
He loses the smile, then nods. “I know.”
“And if we get the chance to go before King Harristan again, Iwilltell him that you did everything possible to protect Prince Corrick. To protect all of Kandala. If he tried to punish you for failing in your duties . . .” I set my jaw. “I wouldn’t let him.”
Again, it feels silly to say it, because what can I do against the king? But Rocco’s eyes soften. “Thank you, Miss Tessa. But I wouldn’t be trying to get back so desperately if I were worried.” The back door to the house creaks as Olive and Ellmo come out. Rocco looks back at me and clasps me fondly on the shoulder. “I know what people in Kandala think of the king, but after what I’ve heard in some of those meetings, it’s the consuls who aren’t to be trusted. I’ve been in King Harristan’s personal guard for four years,and if I’m offered the chance, I’ll give him forty more. He’ll grieve the loss of his brother. He’ll retaliate against Ostriary. But I don’t believe he’ll punish me. There’s a reason we closed ranks when the revolution started. Like every other man in his personal guard, I trust the king.”
His eyes are so dark in the shadows. I think of our conversation in the woods, how our thoughts can change as we learn new information. A few short months ago, I hated the king and his brother. I was wondering if I had the mettle to kill them both.
And now I’m on the other side, where a few shortweeksago, King Harristan slipped into my chambers and confided that he was worried about receiving the right dosage of medicine from the palace physicians while I was gone.
For the first time since we’ve arrived, a twinge of worry tugs at my heart. He’s always the center of attention, always surrounded by guards, and always so lonely.
There are very few people I trust, he said to me.Three of you are climbing aboard a ship tonight.
My heart twists again. I hope he’s all right.
“I trust him, too,” I say softly.
“Good.” Rocco nods. “Let’s hope we make it back to Kandala to tell him.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Harristan
The first knock at the door comes at midnight, and it makes me immediately regret my promise ofany time.
The small house is dark, the fire still burning in the tiny hearth, throwing shadows everywhere. It’s so quiet that for a moment, I sit up in bed and wonder if I dreamed the sound of the knock.
But then the shadows shift and Thorin appears beside the door. He looks to me. “Your Majesty?”
