“You! Hurt! My! Sister!” She grabs hold of his armor and climbs him like a tree, then digs her fingernails into the shell of his ear andyanks.
Alek yelps and tries to push her away, but she clings more tightly so he’s only hurting himself. “Nora!” he snaps again.
The guards exchange glances, as if they’re unsure whether to intervene when an unarmed child in a sleeping shift is kicking a grown man’s ass.
Nora grabs hold of his hair with her other hand, twisting hard. I know this move well from when we were younger and used to squabble over chores.
“Cally-cal!” she calls. “Help me punch him!”
“I think you’ve got it,” I say.
Alek’s eyes have gone cold, and they lock on mine. “Get her off of me,” he growls. “Or I’ll be forced to do it myself.”
Any emotion I might have felt a moment ago is gone, iced over. I’ve already seen my sister die once, and I’m not keen to see it again.
“Nora,” I say, stepping forward. “Enough.”
But the queen’s sister sighs and lifts a hand, stopping me. “Oh, Alek,” Verin says, her tone exasperated, like she’s done with him. “You can’t handle a little hair pulling?” She steps forward, plucks Nora off him like she’s weightless, then sets her on the ground beside me. “Time to sheathe those claws, little cat.”
Nora gasps, then stares up at her in wonder, her eyes wide.
“Come find me later this week,” Verin says with a wink, “and I’ll show you a few things you’ll find more effective than tugging on his ear.”
Nora’s eyes go even wider. “Y-yes, Your Highness.”
Alek steps up beside Verin, but he doesn’t have eyes for me this time. He’s leaning down, glaring right at my little sister. A few drops of bloodrun from where Nora has clawed at his face. His hair is a rumpled mess. “Yes,” he says viciously. “Take your lessons. Because the next time you come at me,little cat, I’ll make sure you—”
I punch him right in the face.
He doesn’t see it comingat all, so I have the satisfaction of seeing him stumble back.
“Don’t you threaten my sister,” I say to him.
He spits blood at the ground, then straightens. For an instant, his eyes hold mine, and instead of rage, which I expect, I find something else in his expression. Something I can’t quite figure out.
Much like the tone in his voice when he said,You’re here. Are you well?
But Verin speaks, and the flicker of emotion is gone. “Alek,” she says, “if you insist on remaining here, I will arrange for you to be given a set of quarters where you will be confined until the queen sees fit to visit you. If you bring down the wrath of every Royal House over the matter of a few hours, then Lia Mara will have to handle it.”
He touches a finger to his lip, which is already swelling. “Fine.”
The guards begin to lead him away.
Nora looks up at me. “That was amazing,” she whispers.
Oh yes. Truly amazing. I want to burn myself to ash right here in the hallway.
“Do you think the sweetcakes are still warm?” Nora continues.
I’m glad her priorities are in order.
At least it gives me something else to focus on. I take her hand. “Let’s go see.”
When I turn, Verin is right there in front of me, and my breath catches. “Your Highness.”
She smiles, but there’s a hint of cunning to her expression. It’s hard to believe that she and the queen are sisters. Lia Mara is full of warmth and light, all curves and gentle hands and kind words. I haven’t knownher long, but I’m beginning to learn that she’s very levelheaded, approaching every interaction with rational thought. She prioritizes peace for her people.
Verin is smaller, leaner, made of sharper edges. I’ve caught glimpses of her on the training fields, and she looks like she could fight a war before lunch and be ready for an evening ball by supper. When Lia Mara first offered me this position, she said that her sister would teach me to defend myself, but it hasn’t been mentioned since then, and I haven’t wanted to ask. Just like the king reminds me too much of what happened to my father, I often worry that the soldiers and training fields would remind me too much of what happened to my mother.
