He snorts and tugs at the scarf covering his jaw. “Trust me, I don’t like to think about that either.”
Under his flippant tone, I hear the genuine worry. I haven’t really spared a moment to think about what this must have been like fromhisside—and I should have.
I look over again. “You might have to. One day.”
I’ve said this before—and he never responds. He doesn’t respond now. His eyes are still fixed on the snow ahead of us. But I can tell he’s thinking about a decade of fighting at my side. Ten years of battles where we’ve both gotten into situations that were so close to life-or-death that we don’t even discuss them anymore. So many close calls where I saved his life—or he saved mine.
Until this morning, when I vanished from the palace, and there was nothing he could do about it. I imagine how I would have reacted if our roles were reversed, and my chest clenches.
I put out a hand. “But not today.”
He gives me a look. “Yeah. Nottoday.” But he reaches out to clasp my hand in return. In his grip, I feel the weight of his worry, and I realize how deeply unsettled he must have been.
Especially because he doesn’t let go immediately, and he holds my eyes. “You truly don’t believe they’re working with Draegonis?”
“No.” I think of Jory and Asher and how very desperate they were, and my voice goes quiet again. “I’ve never liked Dane. You know that. But being in their court...” I shake my head, thinking of those bruises on Jory’s wrist. Thinking of the way Asher went pale. “Everyone here is wary of Incendar. Ofme. Astranza is supposed to be the jewel of the continent, but something is wronghere.” I hesitate, trying to figure it out. Maybe Astranza cloakstheirwickedness in shadows, disguising anything distasteful. Maybe their brutality isn’t obvious, the way mine can be. Perhaps King Theodore hides Astranza’s corruption behind well-fed citizens and unpaid laborers.
Slavers. Bleeding skies. If I’d known about that, I might have had a few more demands for this alliance.
I glance over again. “I couldn’t leave them there, Sev.”
He looks right back at me. “I know,” he says. “I felt it, too.”
But then he heaves a sigh, because my soldiers have resumed their bickering.
“Don’t be jealous, Gar,” Callum is saying behind us, his voice low and mocking now. “You’re pretty, too.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Just the prettiest soldier in all the—”
His voice cuts off on a choked sound that tells me Garrett punched him—and it wasn’t playful. They grunt and swear when Callum hits back, and hooves shuffle in the snow as the horses adjust for their scuffling.
Those two will end up grappling in the snow in a second. They might share a bed again later, but they’ll try to kill each other first.
I turn my head a little. “Roman! Take second. Callum, move back.”
The scuffling ceases immediately, but it’s only a minute before I hear muttering behind me again.
“You’re not getting my fucking pack,” Roman is snarling at Garrett.
I can’t take much more of this.
I look at Sev. “Forget what I said. Let’s find an innnow.”
WE DON’T EXPECTto find one nearby, but after another mile, Nikko spots a faint glow across the snow, and a plume of smoke from a wood fire spills into the sky. The smell of roasted meat greets us when we draw close, and my stomach lets me know that it’s been alongtime since I put food in my mouth. When we reach the small cluster of buildings, the snow is tamped down underfoot, and our horses aren’t the only ones here. Some are tethered out front, and there appears to be a stable behind. Maybe others were desperate for a hot meal, too.
Once we stop, I open the princess’s carriage first. Jory and Lady Charlotte are sitting on opposite benches, and much like when they climbed in, they don’t look at me. Behind me, the soldiers are trading barbed words while they tether the horses, but the two women are stock-still.
Oh, that’s right. She still hates me.
I hold back a sigh. “My soldiers need to eat,” I say. “We’ve reached an inn.”
Jory keeps her eyes on the opposite wall. “We will remain here.”
“You’re going to avoid a hot meal and a warm bed just to spite me?” I say.
Her expression doesn’t flicker. “Yes.”
