I’m probably not the best person to offer support. They’re the king and queen, and their marriage is more complex than any random romantic pairing in Briarlock.
Not that I’m any kind of expert anyway. I had a longstanding crush on my best friend, who likely feels no attraction for girls at all, and my last intimate encounter was with a man who’s still plotting against the king.
But despite all the complexity of who she is, the queen’s sadness is simple. She’s a woman at odds with the man she loves.
Another tear follows the first.
I give her hand a gentle squeeze. “We could light a lantern now.”
Her breathing hitches, but her fingers still clutch mine. “No.” Her voice is still whisper-quiet. “I don’t want him to know.”
Then it’s like she realizes she’s standing here crying, withmeof all people, because she pulls her hand away and swipes at her cheeks.
“Forgive me,” she says. “I should be more composed.”
“You should be whatever you want to be,” I say. “You’re the queen.”
She laughs a little through her tears. “Well, no one expects the queen to be standing at a window, mooning over her husband.”
I hesitate. “May I ask . . . ?” But then I stop.
She swipes at her cheeks again, but she doesn’t stop looking out the window. “Go ahead, Callyn.”
“Why two days? Did . . . ?did something happen?”
“I told him that fears of magic have escalated to a point where whatIwant and whatmy peoplewant might differ.”
“And he walked away?”
She begins to shake her head . . . ?but then she nods. “I thought . . . ?I thought we would find a way to move forward. But maybe there isn’t one. He does not want to come between me and my people. He does not want to be the cause of conflict in Syhl Shallow. He said if his continued presence is putting me and Sinna at risk, it puts everyone at risk.” Her voice breaks. “And I couldn’t deny it.”
Then she presses her hands to her eyes, and she’s crying in earnest.
Clouds above.My heart is pounding at what she said—but I can’t stand here and do nothing. I step forward and wrap my arms around her.
She grips me back, sobbing into my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I’m so sorry.”
I don’t know how long I hold her, but when she finally lifts her head, she looks wrung out and raw.
I gesture to the small table where we play games with little Sinna. “Sit,” I say. “Do you want me to call for tea?”
Again, she shakes her head, but then it turns into a nod. I step away to speak to one of the guards outside the nursery, and then I return to her side.
She glances at the window again. “He’s gone,” she whispers.
I look, and there’s only one man left on the field now.
“Do you know who he was talking to?” I say.
“Tycho.” Her voice is so rough. She swallows. “I haven’t seen him. I didn’t even know he was here until I overheard the guards—” Her voice almost breaks, but she catches herself. “Well. Once I knew the truth, Sinna begged me to go see him. And I almost did. I love him like a brother. But . . . ?but he’s always been so close to Grey. I don’t know what he’d think.”
I hesitate. “I saw him in the hall earlier. I . . . ?I don’t think he thinks anything. He seemed worried about you.”
She gestures at the window and her eyes fill again. “Maybe hewas. . . ? but I’m sure Grey has told him everything. He might not want to see me at all.” She takes a steadying breath. “And it’s quite telling that I’ve been given no information about whatever news he brought to the king.”
My eyes are wide. “I could send word . . . ?ask him . . .”
